Blumat auto watering

[greenmatter]

here it is CC. http://www.kentsystems.com/

the site is a great place to find what you are looking for but IME ordering from kent online is a complete waste of your time (unless you like to spend a few days wondering where your stuff is). if you pick up the phone and call them things actually get done pretty quickly

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Thanks GM!

 

[OGShush]

After reading this entire thread I managed to install my blumats without any problems. I'm not sure who exactly it was that said it, but in 200 pages there are a lot of people asking questions and expressing concerns but very few people stopping by to say "shit works great."

That being said, there are a few things that I think could be repeated more in the thread. First and foremost, if the adjustment knob doesn't turn easily you've got it cross threaded. Try starting it by turning it in the opposite direction until you feel the it "drop" when the threads line up. I had one cross threaded right out of the box.

I'm not sure who first suggested smart pots, but I'm almost positive it was Lazyman that suggested adding a saucer under each plant. I did both and I really like it. The one runaway I had came during the first few days. It filled the 12" saucer right up to the rim and stopped. I vacuumed it out and readjusted, but I think it would have sorted itself out if I left it alone. As long as the sensor is functioning that much water should soak the coco and activate the pressure switch to stop the dripping.

I've seen some people complaining about the DIY element, especially when it comes to elevating a reservoir. Has anyone considered those plastic shelves from Plano Molding? They sell them at Wal Mart for $20 and they are rated for 100-some odd pounds. Top shelf is 4-5 feet tall which is plenty of fall for a small grow.

I think by the time it was all said and done I spent about $300 blumatting my tent. This includes a patio kit, 30m of extra drip tubing, kent systems parts, 1/2" mainline, ebb and flow fittings, pump, reservoirs and shelving. It's worth noting I have enough extra parts to do the whole thing over again, so consider $300 a high ballpark figure.

 

[skyview]

I'm quite sure Sustainable is reselling some Kent Systems fittings.
View Image

Yes, that's true. For example the 3 mm to 3 mm Kent transfer barb at the same price as direct from Kent - without the high shipping, inconvenience, and delays. See
http://www.sustainablevillage.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=97

 

[sunnydog]

Just sayin'

Just sayin'

Just pulled 7.25 #(Rez DSD & DG LUI-13) with 2x 1800w flip, organic soil, + blumats.............I think a new best effort for me!
DSD is awesome, nugs hard enough to break a window, and tasty,too!
LUI-13, so-so, last run for it.......

 

[wiesser]

Nice Sunnydog!

I'm looking at the best crop of my life right now, almost 4 weeks in. First run with the blumats. They are amazing. I will never go back to hand-watering my plants in flower, veg I think is fine. Running 4KW with a light mover and co2. All LUI-13 and one Chernobyl. Have you noticed that the LUI-13 flowers slow? Puts on a lot of weight the last two weeks, but doesn't look real impressive before that.

 

[wiesser]

OGShush-

"Shit works better than great, it's perfect watering"

I'm starting to understand more about how plants interact with the soil. I'm starting to think more about hydraulics and hydraulic pressure. Wet soil and dry soil have different hydraulic pressures, the blumats change state based on the pressure they feel in the soil. Maintaining that perfect hydraulic pressure is more critical than I think most people realize. It's not talked about much, if at all. Dial-in your blumats and you'll see what I mean.

My 12 plant set-up probably cost $60-$70. I've got three lines coming out of a 55 gal. drum, quick disconnect valves, feeding four plants each. Length of each line is between 10' - 15'. I just set my 55 gal. drum on top of some cinder blocks to elevate it. They are 8" tall and I've got two stacks of three under the drum for 24" off the ground. It's the greatest thing in the world, no more guessing when to water, each plant is individually perfectly watered.

My advice would be to grow all organic and just use plain water through the blumats. I've already had one valve get clogged and the nutrient line I use is pretty clean, organic based but nothing really gunky. It might have been a little piece of perilite or something, luckily I caught it quick but I can tell it will have a small effect on the final product. No more mixing nutrient solutions for me after this crop. That has been the only issue I've had with them. I also have saucers under my pots in case of an overflow. I've got one huge Chernobyl plant that sucks water like crazy. I've seen the blumat come on full blast many times, for 10 - 15 min.!!! It goes long enough for water to come out of the bottom of the pot.

 

[OGShush]

Wiesser I'm kind of at a loss as to how you set up 12 for only $60 or $70? The patio kit alone was $75 and I couldn't imagine setting them up without extra drip hose ($40 I believe). You got some kind of secret hook up you're not tellin' us about or did you set them up with what came in the patio kit?

I agree with you though it works better than great. I've always had happy healthy looking plants but I've never seen such vigorous growth. This is my first run since I switched from Pro-Mix to coco, so that might have something to do with it as well.

Here's a few pictures of my blumats doing their job. Model is SSSDH from REZ (S1) #1 of three. I don't know why but any time I plant seeds #1 is always the biggest most vigorous plant.

 

[sunnydog]

Nice Sunnydog!

I'm looking at the best crop of my life right now, almost 4 weeks in. First run with the blumats. They are amazing. I will never go back to hand-watering my plants in flower, veg I think is fine. Running 4KW with a light mover and co2. All LUI-13 and one Chernobyl. Have you noticed that the LUI-13 flowers slow? Puts on a lot of weight the last two weeks, but doesn't look real impressive before that.

The LUI was not my favorite. It gets BIG but the bud is "leafy"; sucks bad to trim. I picked the best two from~ 12, run 3-4 times, so I think I gave it a fair shot.

The DSD is ROCK HARD, needs almost 0 trim, and smells a lot nicer.

I'm thrilled things are going well for you! Hand watering cannot begin to compare to the STEADY, EVEN moisture provided by B/Ms.
Worse yet are the folks who will insist letting the soil dry out before watering!
This is certainly why soil gets a bad rep vs. hydro. Hydro, FWIW, provides even, continuous moisture levels.
It's a HUGE PITA, though.......Ph, res changes, etc. Growing has never been easier than with organic soil and B/Ms.
For me, at least.

 

[sunnydog]

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=43925&pictureid=1081001&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=43925&pictureid=1081002&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=43925&pictureid=1081003&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

Love the roots!

 

[sunnydog]

That being said, there are a few things that I think could be repeated more in the thread. First and foremost, if the adjustment knob doesn't turn easily you've got it cross threaded. Try starting it by turning it in the opposite direction until you feel the it "drop" when the threads line up. I had one cross threaded right out of the box.

If you find a BM constantly flooding, AND the adj. knob difficult to turn, IME, it is likely cross threaded.

Also, a note to new users, ADJUSTMENT gets EASIER with experience.
After a while, you will just "know" how to adjust. I can adj. 40+ and usually only need to tweek one or two after the first few days.


Best wishes,
SunnyD

 

[wiesser]

OGShush-

Yeah buddy, I do have a secret hook-up, not really that secret but I think I might be the only person on here that can get their blumats from a local garden store. The cones were a couple bucks a piece, maybe $20 for the fittings, $15 for the hose. All tropf blumat brand stuff. I didn't add the $30 I paid for my 55 gal drum so I guess you could say more like $100.

SunnyD-

I grew hydro for about 6 years before switching to soil, I know exactly what you are talking about. Huge PITA is putting it lightly. Amazing growth however when everything is dialed-in. I feel like the blumats give hydro results in soil. To me it's like hydro without the chemical nutes, shitty ph testers, res changes, pump failures, etc...., basically just like hydro without all the bad.

So what is the DSD?

 

[cody2white]

Double Strawberry Diesel

Mmm.

Dsd

*Mouth drool*

Also on the shelving situation i just hang a 5 gallon pale from the ceiling and the main rez sits on the concrete

P.s blumats + maxibloom FTW

 

[sunnydog]

OGShush-




So what is the DSD?

Double Strawberry Diesel

Mmm.

Dsd

*Mouth drool*

^^^^^^^^^^

 

[sunnydog]

I grew hydro for about 6 years before switching to soil, I know exactly what you are talking about. Huge PITA is putting it lightly. Amazing growth however when everything is dialed-in. I feel like the blumats give hydro results in soil. To me it's like hydro without the chemical nutes, shitty ph testers, res changes, pump failures, etc...., basically just like hydro without all the bad.

Yep........^^^^^
Been in the hobby since about 1978, or thereabouts. This is THE WAY for me!
(holy crap I'm old............)

 

[wiesser]

My Blumat Setup

My Blumat Setup

Thought I would show y'all how we do it over here.....

 

[OGShush]

Sunnydog - thanks for repeating that again. I thought that was you that said it, but I didn't want to accidentally miscredit. Thank you, that was an incredibly valuable piece of advice, were it not for that I would have dismissed it as defective and thrown it in the garbage.

wiesser - Nice hedgerow you got going there. What size pots are those? I got a buddy I'm trying to switch over to blumats and he has a similar set up but uses 20 gallon pots and fewer plants.

Here's a few pictures of what I came up with, first up my reservoir system and the plano shelves. If you look closely you can see the 1/2" feedline on the left hand side.



Next up are a few shots of the feed line snaking through the tent and the tube unions connecting the drip line to the feed line.





Finally a group shot from above to show you why I'm glad I don't have to attempt cramming my fat ass in there to water by hand.

 

[wiesser]

OGShush-

Thanks for the compliment, I'm using 5 gal pots. Can't see that first picture of yours, says it's corrupted. Where did you get that large feed line?

 

[OGShush]

The large feed line is from a hydro shop. I used 1/2" because it's flexible and easy to work with. Think you can pick up 100' of it for about $30. You use a little plastic hole punch (also available at the hydro store for $2) to make a hole in the 1/2" line and you jam a 3/32" tube union from kent systems in and connect your drip hose to that.

Here's that first picture again, if it still doesn't work you should be able to view it in the album just fine.

 

[wiesser]

I like that set-up OG, didn't know you could use that size hose as your feed line with the blumats. Would probably help eliminate problems with line clogs.