Blumat auto watering

[Cali MedPatient]

Hey Sunny thanks for this post. I'm loving my blumats. But I don't see how the kegs would work as a pressure tank, as a pressure tank is more than just an empty container. A pressure tank has a membrane in it to keep part of the tank air, and part water. As you pump water into it, the air on the other side of the membrane compresses and stores some of the pressure for you. So in order to use a keg, you would have to cut it in half, weld in a rubber or vinyl membrane, and then weld the whole thing back together. Unless I'm missing something.

 

[sunnydog]

DIY

DIY

Hey Sunny thanks for this post. I'm loving my blumats. But I don't see how the kegs would work as a pressure tank, as a pressure tank is more than just an empty container. A pressure tank has a membrane in it to keep part of the tank air, and part water. As you pump water into it, the air on the other side of the membrane compresses and stores some of the pressure for you. So in order to use a keg, you would have to cut it in half, weld in a rubber or vinyl membrane, and then weld the whole thing back together. Unless I'm missing something.

Doesn't need a membrane. Open top, pour in 10gal of liquid. Close lid, hook up a small air compressor @15 psi through GAS port. Out pours nute @15 psi. Probably best to rig a B/M P-R on the outflow, DONE!
You now have a pressurized res.

 

[budman678]

should i have a shutoff valve near the bulkhead if i am going to be raising and lowering my rez to fill it?

is it even possible to move the rez up and down like that?

should i have a bleed valve

 

[rives]

should i have a shutoff valve near the bulkhead if i am going to be raising and lowering my rez to fill it?

is it even possible to move the rez up and down like that?

should i have a bleed valve

I would find a way to leave the reservoir stationary, and valves at both of those locations would be a very good idea.

 

[heady blunts]

since I'm in such tight spaces, I use a water pump and a length of hose to fill my res from a five gallon bucket.

 

[TribalSeeds]

Hey, whats up blumaters!
I notice a lot of blumaters are getting some great yields by feeding really low, but saying that they get burns if going any higher.
It seemed my lines were getting really warm. I was showed a chart that I had never seen before at a shop, I think it was for a calibration solution. If your res warms up after some time, your TDS is no longer accurate. This includes your lines, they get really warm.
I didnt know some Pens have temperature calibration. I wish I could find the calibration chart for the pen that didnt have Automatic Temp Compensation(ATC). Conductivity increases exponentially as it gets warmer. Theres more than a 10 degree difference in my mini split controlled room and only about 25ft of tube, with no pumps or stones running.
I put some ice paks in my res and they melted like right away and only kept my res to about 70F for a bit... When I came back in after lights out the res was at 75F(room temp).
When I put more ice paks and a huge ice bottle in there I got it down to 60F. It stays around 60F for quite awhile with all that ice in there. When I tested the temp coming out of the drippers it was a perfect 72F. Im not sure how warm the output was getting before I iced it, it probably doesnt go much above your room temp. Lines in warmer rooms with co2 might be getting hot though.
Anyhow, I feed at 2.0EC with my blumats and I think they want me to slam fuck them harder with food.

Water containing measurable TDS conducts or resists current flow according to the concentration of dissolved solids and the temperature. The actual dissolved solids are in the form of various mineral ions. Movement of ions in water is controlled partially by temperature. The relationship is that as temperature increases, conduction increases. Inversely, as temperature increases, resistivity decreases. It is therefore important to measure temperature when measuring conductivity or resistivity and performing conversion to TDS.

 

[budman678]

when the number of pots changes evach time...what do i do with blumats on the feeder that wont be used?

 

[greenmatter]

when the number of pots changes evach time...what do i do with blumats on the feeder that wont be used?

clothes pins work great on the 3 mm line ....... i drop the blumats in a cup of water an wait for the next round. i've read bleach trashes the membrane in the cap FWIW, so i would not "clean" them that way

 

[sunnydog]

clothes pins work great on the 3 mm line ....... i drop the blumats in a cup of water an wait for the next round. i've read bleach trashes the membrane in the cap FWIW, so i would not "clean" them that way

 

[Cali MedPatient]

Doesn't need a membrane. Open top, pour in 10gal of liquid. Close lid, hook up a small air compressor @15 psi through GAS port. Out pours nute @15 psi. Probably best to rig a B/M P-R on the outflow, DONE!
You now have a pressurized res.

Oh, OK. Now I see what you mean. That does sound like a cool idea!!

 

[sunnydog]

I was just thinking....a beer keg or a soda keg(sold @ homebrew shops or available from beer store for a 10 dollar deposit) could be used as a pressure tank ! A bit of DIY will obviously be needed, the standard B/M P/R could be used to regulate output pressure. The the soda kegs the top could be opened to refill, beer keg is trickier but I,m sure it could be done. Probably be able to use the supplied tap. Use compressed air for pressure.

I use straight water so I don't need this, but I,m SURE this would kick ass for many people!
BTW kegs are 316 SS, so no contamination or corrosion problems!
Think about it!

This is it . Compressed air (15psi) goes in, nutes come out. No need to raise res. no more over runs, etc. This is as big a step forward as the B/M itself ! Well, Almost! Found at home-brew shops every where. Google "Cornelius Keg", You probably want a 10gal. Bigger if possible. This is so easy! Things needed are; Keg, source of compressed air-compressor, or bottled(welding supply shop), Regulator couple of keg fittings, possibly a B/M pressure reducer(just to be sure.



Advantages are; you do not need to elevate the res.
You get the benefits of pressurized operation and can use pre-mixed nutes.
No chance of truly catastrophic flooding if something "bad" happens.
Parts are easily found.

 

[redbudduckfoot]

sick. nice find. got a link? when I click on it all i get is an enlarged pic.

thanks.

 

[budman678]

with a quick meal break, it took me 3.5 hrs to water all the plants, set the rez, insert two blumats for 5gall. dial in the initial level and check in 24hrs....i have a feeling i will be checking again to make sure there are no major drips...

wrapped around my 3x3 tent...i have them up about 4 inches up in loose twist ties,

i have a T valve with a vent that runs up through the mouth, just kinda hangs there

 

[budman678]

 

[sunnydog]

sick. nice find. got a link? when I click on it all i get is an enlarged pic.

thanks.

Home-brew stores

 

[sunnydog]

View Image

View Image

View Image

View Image

View Image

I usually put the drip hoses a bit more center. Plants don't mind.

 

[budman678]

so just rotate the carrots till the drippers are closer the stalk of the plant?

 

[sunnydog]

so just rotate the carrots till the drippers are closer the stalk of the plant?

Yup. Just make sure not to unscrew the cap...
And keep 'em at ~8cm long.

 

[Blaz3]

Guys I have a quick question about blumats that Iv been thinking about lately.

Once you have the blumats dialed in,and hooked up to the rez,can I still handwater randomly?..like for example I want to apply a certain additive maybe 3 times,will that throw the blumats out of whack? how does handwatering affect them?

Say I want to give them a shot of bushmaster,etc..without having to change out the rex for a day or two?thank you.

 

[Cali MedPatient]

Hey Sunny, is there any disadvantage to making the hose sticking out of the blumat longer than 8 cm? I have some that way and they seem to be working OK.