Automation

[Hephaestus]

Thanks man. I'm gonna go back and scrounge a parts list...I figure if we growers spend so much time and effort on our 'hobby' we could spend the time and make the effort to put something like this together.
I have NO IDEA what I'm doing...but it should be manageable...soldering practice...the ideal stoners passtime!

Start a poll. Would you pre-pay-for one of these items? More than one? More than two? Would you be willing to attempt to build one yourself?

Could it be more easily put together using a breadboard Aduino?

Perhaps if you contact the IC mods or staff. They might be interested in something like this for the auctions.


muA

Breadboards are for temporary work; not finished projects... Some of the components are only available as SMT parts (surface mount, those tiny bits that you'd never be able to hand solder) cannot go on a breadboard. But the majority of it yes you can breadboard the circuits.

I'll put a protoshield together for the project but even that will have to leave out some of the i2c stuff unless I can find some non smt components; or see if I can find another component that's similar...

 

[SpasticGramps]

Keep Your Sorrow SpasticGramps!
You did not see it there because I put it there because I saw it in your post!



Keep coming back...I will be updating and sorting out the first post in dribs and drabs.

Anything else of interest you come across, feel free to post it. I will get 'round to looking @it sooner or later.
That's how this thread will expand.

muA

HAHA I had chalked it up to "I must have been really stoned when I posted that"

With the Intellidose system you have the option of controlling a three part solution. You can go with a solenoid injection system that works off gravity The rez's would have to be mounted higher than the solenoid. You can, however, by their peristaltic pumps. They are the pumps that hospitals use to regulate complex IV systems. They are very precise. The solenoid system is harder to get dialed in. I would want to use the pumps just because I would want to have 100+ gallon rez's sitting on the ground. They are kind of expensive though, but if you are going to automate you may as well save your money for a little bit and do it properly.

I really dig this and was an inch away from buying it a few months ago, but laid off. Now this thread has giving me that new car fever again. Shit!

 

[antimatter]

how about a HI10000 fertilizer injection system by hanna http://www.hannainst.com/USA/prods2.cfm?id=006001

"HI 10000 Fertilizer Injection Systems precisely monitors and controls fertilizer concentrations and pH for all types of greenhouse and field agricultural irrigation applications. Unlike flow-driven systems of the past, the HANNA Fertigation System continuously measures the actual EC and pH of the flow-through, and precisely adjusts the concentration of fertilizer into the system. The HANNA System is a bypass system which will not interfere with main line flow and thus does not impede line flow or pressure. This unit will accurately inject fertilizer in flow rates ranging from 5GPM to 300GPM."

 

[medi-useA]

HAHA I had chalked it up to "I must have been really stoned when I posted that"

It puzzled me for the first month or two I was here...Until someone mentioned @ the bottom of a very long in-depth and detailed post that they would update the post as information dictated. Only then did it dawn on me that I could edit my own posts! Now that I'm thinking of it, I might also put mention of the constant updating @ the top of the first post also!

With the Intellidose system you have the option of controlling a three part solution. You can go with a solenoid injection system that works off gravity The rez's would have to be mounted higher than the solenoid. You can, however, by their peristaltic pumps. They are the pumps that hospitals use to regulate complex IV systems. They are very precise. The solenoid system is harder to get dialed in. I would want to use the pumps just because I would want to have 100+ gallon rez's sitting on the ground. They are kind of expensive though, but if you are going to automate you may as well save your money for a little bit and do it properly.

The Intellidose system really caught my eye too!
It was the only standout nute mixing system when I did a search 8 months ago...I will be doing a search for other nute mixing/dosing meters, doodah's and gadgets in the very near future.
How close is your Attic GrowRoom to functional status?
I would recommend the Intellidose and IntelliGrow systems from a cold start @ this moment in time.
Reasons are...
You are ready for your system now or in the very near future.
This system will do everything you want, is upgradeable to CO2 and somewhat modular...you can grow the control network as time, money and knowledge allows.
It is tried and tested with backup and support.
basically it meets all the criteria in my sig!

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

More useful stuff (mmm chinese 22$ for a ph and orp probe...)
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15959010

promising looking system... Hope he posts up the source/schematics
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1738997

Found some cool I2C EEPROMs while hunting for a port expander... 256k memory for staving high/low heat levels... sweet...

Dosing / Peristatic pumps are easy - off the shelf shields to drive stepper motors; just need your triggers...

 

[SpasticGramps]

How close is your Attic GrowRoom to functional status?
I would recommend the Intellidose and IntelliGrow systems from a cold start @ this moment in time.
Reasons are...
You are ready for your system now or in the very near future.
This system will do everything you want, is upgradeable to CO2 and somewhat modular...you can grow the control network as time, money and knowledge allows.
It is tried and tested with backup and support.
basically it meets all the criteria in my sig!

Man it should have done tomorrow, but between work, having a cold, and finding stuff my drunk contractors messed up I'm probably looking at the end of next week. They cut a hole for one of my pony wall doors too small. I had to cut 1/4in. out of a 2x4 and etc etc.

I'm probably going to hold off until my first or second harvest in the room to reinvest in automation. If I really wanted to I could pick the system up, but I'd rather not spend the money now. Aside from rigging out the attic grow I'm still finishing up the downstairs which went over budget. What can you do?

I don't know if I'll really need the Intelliclimate since my climate will be automated already. The multi splits A/C I have can be automated and I'll have a dehumdifier. The lights plug into a Sun Supply plug and play 30 amp panel with timer. CO2 is controlled by a the Green Air Setpoint.

The rez management with the Intellidose is definitely what i'm going to be looking into first. That has mass production written all over it.

 

[Lazyman]

Fully automated system right here.

They also have an automated Nutrient Controller.

Everything can be found here.

Thanks for posting this, added to my shopping list. Want to be able to control the room from my BB.

 

[Lazyman]

Farmtek sells some cool fertilizer injectors, very easy to use, under $100 and adjustable.

See my sig for a watering/res automation thread.

Only thing I do manually in my garden these days is adding nutes and ph down to the res, and rotating plants on occasion.

I also like the Tropf Blumats, drip auto-watering at its finest I think. No pumps or timers!

Sentinel CHHC-1, very smart and flexible room controller, runs dehuey with day/night settings, night device, co2 (incl. fuzzy logic for tank systems) and day/night temp control.

timers and relays can do most of the basic stuff. Dealing with temp emergencies is easy to automate too:

Split the lights onto two relays or timers
Each one is connected to a high temp shutdown
Stagger the lights and temp settings on shutdown boxes
Put in a large exhaust fan on a separate temp controller
Plug important timers (and the emergency exhaust fan) into a large battery backup unit

Will post more later...

 

[hashit]

Here is something I was thinking about the other day, but it would take some work to make, BUT it would efficiently allow you to grow twice the amount of plants during flowering:

Have two rooms: One with an HPS running 24/7, one dark 24/7. A conveyor type system that will move the plants to the dark room every 12 hours, then move the ones in the dark room to the flowering room. I would assume there would have to be some type of door/opening that opens to allow the transferring of the plant between each room.

I want to try to build something like this for shits and giggles, but I am a software engineer, not a hardware guy, so I would probably use something pre-made that exposes some type of API so that I could write custom software for it.

I was also thinking of developing something that would allow you to monitor your room remotely via a web browser, where you could easily change/edit settings remotely as well...good if you are on vacation. Of course, I would need controller hardware that would expose the different interfaces so I could write something like that...anyone know of something like this?

 

[medi-useA]

Have two rooms: One with an HPS running 24/7, one dark 24/7. A conveyor type system that will move the plants to the dark room every 12 hours, then move the ones in the dark room to the flowering room. I would assume there would have to be some type of door/opening that opens to allow the transferring of the plant between each room. ...anyone know of something like this?

I posted this before...

EDIT: medi-useA said
"a followup thought [smoking some LR#2 just harvested&dried]...you have access to an old drycleaners shop....the railing and automation equipment...set the railing to move the hanging baskets past the light source at regular intervals...you could even have different light sources set up one after the other...trolley A is exposed to HPS for a set time...the railing moves A on to an area with MH and B takes it's place under the HPS...at set time A is then moved to UV light, B moves into MH and C is under HPS...each 'trolley' could have several hanging pots...a kind of automated track running the hanging plants, moving them past different light sources with good ventilation...a PotTrain if you will."

muA

from here [http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=136994&page=3

You could put a U or S bend going into/out of dark area...or just use a sh!tload of AF's!

So...working with this type of concept in mind...What would you need in terms of space, mechanical equipment-infrastructure, lighting equipment and Automation equipment?

Divide a room in half with a sliding door @either end of the room divider that withdraws into the dividing wall-away from the outside walls of the room....have a rail attached to the ceiling going around the entire room in a continuous loop. Use Hanging Pots and Clones ready to flower. Each hanging pot attached to a 'trolley' that runs on the rail. Each trolley is chained to the one behind it...Lights in one half of room on 24/7...this is the daylight side...no lights in other half room...this is the nightside...


It might go like this

Timer trips->sliding doors withdraw into the dividing wall->switch is tripped and motor moves the hanging plants by dragging the chain linked trolleys along the rail->plants switch rooms->sliding doors Automatically close->nightside room is now sealed.

Keep AF's on the floor in tubs to use all extra light! Supplement your crop variety using clones for the hanging crop and assorted AF's for the stationary, connoisseurs crop...


muA

 

[overbudjet]

i use this system since 2007 xxx.growtronix.com

you can control everything pump cooling device,temp ,rhu,co2,high power with relay ,fan

 

[Hephaestus]

Ok... Time for you guys to chime in... I'm going to start layout & testing of a shield setup specifically designed for this type of use... Trying to figure out if I'm missing anything - or not realizing if there's other things people need...

Right now; shield is going to contain:
Real time clock (DS1307 - I2C connected) - Gives us accurate date/time keeping.
Port Expander (PCF8575 - I2C connected) - To provide ports for LCD & Keypad
I2C Connected LCD controller - so you can plug a HD44780 LCD straight in
Ports for the Keypad (Just plug it in)
pH OP Amp circuit - with BNC connector (just plug in your probe)

Should leave us 12 Digital I/O pins; and 5 Analog I/O. Which I'm thinking get setup with something along the lines of headphone jacks for ease of connection (though GM Weatherpack connectors are tempting)

Think this is adequate or should I add another 16 channel i2c port expander. Running off a few ballparks I've seen - and parts costing based on retail - we're only talking ~75$ so far assembled, tested and shipped (based on an order of 30 units).

 

[Hephaestus]

Whoops... Did I loose you guys?

Lets explain further... If I followed my plan - 8 of those digital would be used for driving a 110v power center (ie you'd have the ability to control 8 110v devices directly).

That leaves 4 - for temp sensors (you can put 16 on 1 pin) and other digital inputs/outputs. Ie driving cooling fans via relay/ssr (rather than using one of the 110v).

Then you have the 5 analog inputs - for light detection and any other non digital inputs (ie float switches)

 

[medi-useA]

ooh!

My brain hurts!




gonna try to wrap my mind around it this w/e coming.

Thanks for posting the info Hephaestus.

muA

 

[disfunktional]

ooh!

My brain hurts!




gonna try to wrap my mind around it this w/e coming.

Thanks for posting the info Hephaestus.

muA

lol ya iv had the same problem since the beginning of both of your threads. im in way over my head with this stuff, so im just going to sit back and watch and learn(and copy) what you guys got going on.

 

[SpasticGramps]

Ok... Time for you guys to chime in... I'm going to start layout & testing of a shield setup specifically designed for this type of use... Trying to figure out if I'm missing anything - or not realizing if there's other things people need...

Right now; shield is going to contain:
Real time clock (DS1307 - I2C connected) - Gives us accurate date/time keeping.
Port Expander (PCF8575 - I2C connected) - To provide ports for LCD & Keypad
I2C Connected LCD controller - so you can plug a HD44780 LCD straight in
Ports for the Keypad (Just plug it in)
pH OP Amp circuit - with BNC connector (just plug in your probe)

Should leave us 12 Digital I/O pins; and 5 Analog I/O. Which I'm thinking get setup with something along the lines of headphone jacks for ease of connection (though GM Weatherpack connectors are tempting)

Think this is adequate or should I add another 16 channel i2c port expander. Running off a few ballparks I've seen - and parts costing based on retail - we're only talking ~75$ so far assembled, tested and shipped (based on an order of 30 units).

I can build my own desktops which really isn't all that hard since you're just plugging cards into a motherboard. Setting up my RAID 0 took me a bit though. I understand your terminology (kind of), but am lost in woods when it comes to what you should do. When it gets down the nitty gritty electronics I'm better at writing checks than using the solder iron. Do you plan on writing your own software algorithm to run your homemade automation? I'd love to see where you go with this.

 

[Hephaestus]

There I go again... I need a ! Can you tell I spend most of my day dealing with engineeers?

Don't worry about that... Here's the important part:

8 individually switched 110v plugs - adequate? This is the number of devices you can control via the system; lights, pumps, 110v fans, etc.

4 Digital input/outputs - You'd tie in your temp sensors here (for the DS18B20's - you can have 16 on one input) - or possibly stepper motors (dosing pumps); or float switches that have 3 wires.

5 analog inputs/outputs - places to tie in non digital devices (ie light sensors (watch for light penetration at night & in theory maybe monitor bulb output during the day)) - 2 wire float switches; Things that you want to read non 1/0 voltage/etc from - or possibly feed 0-5v to.



Software is the part I have trouble with - I'll probably steal someone elses and modify to suit my general needs... Then let some people who actually know what they're doing further develop it

 

[duzt]

Depending on what scale you are and how much you want to spend, you may want to check out cropking, they have great products for commercial scale.

http://www.cropking.com/HydroponicS...d=1220&zenid=ba82120d77eea0fa7795526e2f084454

http://www.cropking.com/HydroponicS...id=353&zenid=ba82120d77eea0fa7795526e2f084454

http://www.cropking.com/HydroponicS...d=1156&zenid=ba82120d77eea0fa7795526e2f084454

 

[disfunktional]

is it possible to use more then one lcd screen at one time? what iv got in mind is useing one per temp sensor so that all temps can be displayed at the same time for comparison.

 

[Dhude]

Simple automation:

Temp-based fan speed controller with idle setting, and blumat drippers. One timer to trip a powerstrip than in turn fires my power relay and the light-fans.

Doesn't get much simpler. Exhaust runs 24/7 with "idle" at 20% providing continuous carbon filtration when temps are below setpoint. Coco pots in flood table as a catch tray, GH lucas formula feeding through the blumats. Fill the res as needed, done. (Of course this assumes a favorable ambient environment. I have cool temps and low humidity, so my job is much easier..no dehueys, ACs, etc.

These blumat things are pretty sweet. Thinking of trying them in a bed, instead of individual pots next time.