Blumat auto watering

[Ez Rider]

Longtime lurker who regiistered just to thank SD and everyone else who contributed to this thread. I've been running trouble free for about four weeks now (crosses fingers), and I really enjoy spending more quality time with the plants instead of lugging gallons of water back and forth.

It was interested to buy Blumats after reading this thread. The instructions recommended going with two bulkhead fitting on the rez, and also included a small syringe to push out air bubbles when filling the sensor. Now where did they get that idea...hm.....

I really wanted a filter on the 5 gal rez, and the more I thought about it, it just didn't seem likely that the 8mm supply line would become clogged. And I didn't want to buy a 2nd filter...so... the second fitting just has an on-off valve and some tubing. That way I can tilt the rez towards that fitting to drained that last bit to help keep the filter clearner.

The top of the rez sits 4.5 feet above the sensors with about 30 feet of supply line. Since there was no mention of water pressure and the 3mm tubing, I went with long runs of the little lines (everyone was right who said you need a LOT more of that).

Really glad I went with elbows on the supply lines. They aren't that easy to work with. For space (and to prevent lines from getting snagged on something), the black tubing hugs the walls of the tent. I made a little pvc frame to tie the tubing to, and raises the supply lines to the level of the pots, which is cleaner and less work to have to push water to the pot level.

A second 3 gal rez sits at a more manageable level for filling and ph adjustment. Water is pushed to the top rez by pump, with an overflow at the top of course. On the top rez is a little block of styrofoam with a piece of bamboo coming out of it. I use it to gauge the level of the rez by putting a piece of colored tape on the bamboo stick to show where full and near empty is.

A few questions...

I want to plan for run-offs. When they do happen, is it just the supply line leaking? Is it a sensor sticking open and a single plant getting the entire rez? Right now I have 14-inch saucer for 12-inch pots for a little run-off room, and the tent is lined with the mylar flooring about 4 inches tall. Does this sound reasonable to handle the 5-gal rez and maybe the 3-gal backup being dumped? The only thing I can think of is making a deeper, stronger tent floor out of pond liner, but avoiding unnecessary work is a good thing.

I transplanted a couple plants, and noticed when pulling them that the bottom part of the soil looked a bit dry. The soil never got bone dry, it just looked like sections of the soil were maybe uneven or the water didn't penetrate fully. What do you do in this situation. Is it OK to just turn up the sensor a bit? Do I have to top water the pot and start over adjusting that sensor?

Moving plants. I gave each plant about 3 feet of supply lines, but even still, rotating the plants to even out lighting is not as easy as a hand-watered setup. Do you rotate the plants? If so, how do you keep the line from wrapping around?

Did anyone try SD's idea of the pressurized keg? I love the idea of combing growing with brewing.

Get a grow tray that fits your tent. I use (2) 4'x4' trays(no holes) in my tent. I set the plants in saucers inside the trays. The saucers tell me which plants drippers are running away on me. I'd plan on ALL the water winding up in 1 pot at some point. I never have more than 30gal total of water available to the drippers, and either of my trays can hold twice that amount. Usually I run a 10gal res, the bigger one is for getting away for a few days.

As long as the soil hasn't gotten dry enough to pull water out of the sensor, you should be OK. Adjust the dripper GENTLY. Anything more than a 1/4 arrow or so is TOO MUCH. The adjustment knob is very sensitive.

I don't really rotate the plants, but I do pull them out for pruning/training for the first 3-4 weeks of flower. I made plugs with tooth picks shoved into 3mm line. I unplug the sensors' line from the tee, the cap the tee with my "plug". I can now remove the plant. Unless you leave the sensors' line unplugged for a long time(I've gone 2 hours, no trouble), there should't be any problem.

 

[4tokin]

Update

Update



Getting close to finish.
It has been a good grow being a first time BM grow. There has been a bit of a learning curve but I think it will pay off in subsequent grows.
There are a few rough edges to this grow but I am on the right track.

 

[Ez Rider]

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=56289&pictureid=1335268&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

Getting close to finish.
It has been a good grow being a first time BM grow. There has been a bit of a learning curve but I think it will pay off in subsequent grows.
There are a few rough edges to this grow but I am on the right track.

Less than 2 weeks to go...looking good despite some early problems. Thanks to all, especially rives

 

[sunnydog]

For 50 plants, you'd be best served using a pressurized system

Sunnydog has come out of retirement to make a Public Service Announcement! LOL!

I was originally skeptical about the pressure reducer. I always liked the idea of, in case of any type of fuck-up, there was a finite amount of water in the res.
However, after a friend and I ran 6 grows with about 50-60 plants each, and experienced NO MALFUNCTIONS, I am personally convinced the B/M pressure reducer is the way to go!
And, the water can be "piped in" from a great distance, making for incredible convenience. Any garden hose threaded tap will work!
Adapters are available to convert ANY faucet to garden hose fittings! (DON'T use the plastic ones; they are CRAP!)

My garden was extremely difficult to access, and I had gone 4-5weeks on occasion without a visit . (I don't recommend this)
Also, when I shut down, the pots sat idle with just the rootballs and drippers for about 3 MONTHS, and had 0% problems!

I am firmly convinced the P/R is the way to go for just about any size garden, but, remember,
Always try to use "best practices";i.e, check as often as possible, turn off lights when working on ANY of the B/M lines, as water can spray out and explode a bulb(with the P/R, the water can spray FAR!) Use pond liner on your floors, bring it up the walls a couple of inches, if possible. Use containment for your pots; using Rubbermaid type tubs is probably best.
Etc., Etc., Etc.

Obviously, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

 

[Eighths-n-Aces]

I am personally convinced the B/M pressure reducer is the way to go!

the set up using the pressure reducer is cheaper and easier too!

i can't say i have had no problems with the pressure reducer though. the first sign that i had a problem was that a 3mm line blew off the supply line and flooded the hell out of one plant. i THOUGHT that i had gotten ahold of some bad 3mm line and changed it out. then i had to start adjusting blumats because they started running to wet even though some had been running for over a month with no issues. then a couple 3 mm lines blew off when i brushed up against them and i knew i had a problem. i replaced the pressure reducer and everything started running perfect again.

here is i pic of the old PR ....... i am not sure what went wrong, but i don't think there is any way to fix it other than replacing it. before i threw it away i was gonna run some CLR cleaner through it to see if the scale from the water was the issue but i haven't gotten around to it.

FWIW the thing ran great for almost 2 years before things went south ....... and having pond liner and a drain system set up before the problems started saved my ass

 

[Vivianna]

Does anyone have experience using Blumats in big Grodan Rockwool cubes?

 

[skyview]

Does anyone have experience using Blumats in big Grodan Rockwool cubes?

Yes. If you just push the Blumats directly in though, they don't work very well. If you put wet peat moss or cocoa between the ceramic part of the Blumat and RW though, they work just about the same as in soil or cocoa/peat mixes.

 

[Ez Rider]

Sunnydog has come out of retirement to make a Public Service Announcement! LOL!

I was originally skeptical about the pressure reducer. I always liked the idea of, in case of any type of fuck-up, there was a finite amount of water in the res.
However, after a friend and I ran 6 grows with about 50-60 plants each, and experienced NO MALFUNCTIONS, I am personally convinced the B/M pressure reducer is the way to go!
And, the water can be "piped in" from a great distance, making for incredible convenience. Any garden hose threaded tap will work!
Adapters are available to convert ANY faucet to garden hose fittings! (DON'T use the plastic ones; they are CRAP!)

My garden was extremely difficult to access, and I had gone 4-5weeks on occasion without a visit . (I don't recommend this)
Also, when I shut down, the pots sat idle with just the rootballs and drippers for about 3 MONTHS, and had 0% problems!

I am firmly convinced the P/R is the way to go for just about any size garden, but, remember,
Always try to use "best practices";i.e, check as often as possible, turn off lights when working on ANY of the B/M lines, as water can spray out and explode a bulb(with the P/R, the water can spray FAR!) Use pond liner on your floors, bring it up the walls a couple of inches, if possible. Use containment for your pots; using Rubbermaid type tubs is probably best.
Etc., Etc., Etc.

Obviously, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

the set up using the pressure reducer is cheaper and easier too!

i can't say i have had no problems with the pressure reducer though. the first sign that i had a problem was that a 3mm line blew off the supply line and flooded the hell out of one plant. i THOUGHT that i had gotten ahold of some bad 3mm line and changed it out. then i had to start adjusting blumats because they started running to wet even though some had been running for over a month with no issues. then a couple 3 mm lines blew off when i brushed up against them and i knew i had a problem. i replaced the pressure reducer and everything started running perfect again.

here is i pic of the old PR ....... i am not sure what went wrong, but i don't think there is any way to fix it other than replacing it. before i threw it away i was gonna run some CLR cleaner through it to see if the scale from the water was the issue but i haven't gotten around to it.

FWIW the thing ran great for almost 2 years before things went south ....... and having pond liner and a drain system set up before the problems started saved my ass


[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=48914&pictureid=1337217&]View Image[/url]

I understand why using the pressure reducer/tap would be better/easier for larger gardens, but I don't see how it's any more reliable than a gravity feed. I have abnormally high water pressure at my place, and I suspect it would overpower the reducer...especially after seeing the guts. My gravity fed system has been trouble free, except for a few runaways. The runaways are mostly from too much perlite in contact with the carrot IMO. Next run, I'll backfill the carrot hole with straight coco a few time to prevent this...thanks rives. If you're reducer fails or you get a runaway, it's got an unlimited water supply to dump out. When I get a runaway, it's easily contained, due to a limited water supply. If gravity ever fails, it may be messy, but the mess should all float away Not trying to troll here, I just honestly don't see being hooked directly to the tap as being the ideal situation for most of us. I'm not even sure how I could feed like that.

 

[rives]

It seems counter-intuitive, but the blumats do seem to function better at higher pressure levels. I have moved my reservoir up several times, starting with the minimum height recommended in the directions and finally winding up with the small reservoir about 8' high (I have 9-1/2' ceilings). Each time, they seemed to work a little better with a reduction in runaways and more consistent moisture levels. With most types of metering equipment, the best accuracy is found somewhere in the middle of their operating range and this seems to hold true here.

The pressure reducer systems would definitely lend themselves best to self-contained organics where they were running water only, and they would damn sure need a drain! One contributor on here was using a water sensor and a solenoid valve to kill the feed if he had a runaway. I've toyed with the notion of using one of the pressure tank systems so that I could use nutrients and run higher pressure, but haven't worked up the motivation to get it rolling.

 

[Ez Rider]

It seems counter-intuitive, but the blumats do seem to function better at higher pressure levels. I have moved my reservoir up several times, starting with the minimum height recommended in the directions and finally winding up with the small reservoir about 8' high (I have 9-1/2' ceilings). Each time, they seemed to work a little better with a reduction in runaways and more consistent moisture levels. With most types of metering equipment, the best accuracy is found somewhere in the middle of their operating range and this seems to hold true here.

The pressure reducer systems would definitely lend themselves best to self-contained organics where they were running water only, and they would damn sure need a drain! One contributor on here was using a water sensor and a solenoid valve to kill the feed if he had a runaway. I've toyed with the notion of using one of the pressure tank systems so that I could use nutrients and run higher pressure, but haven't worked up the motivation to get it rolling.

I would agree that there is an ideal consistent pressure. Blumat says 14psi. I just think being hooked up to the tap creates a few problems/dangers that are best avoided for most of us. That being said...

I'm going to actually set up a lower/upper reservoir set-up this weekend. I'm still running my elevated(slightly) single for now. Hopefully the increased head from a higher res will help reduce the minor runaways I keep experiencing. I honestly think too much perlite on the carrot is my main problem(FWIW:the sustainable village guy agrees). Getting some cocogrow this week to help with that.

I'm sticking with the PBP line, so I'm going to put the pump in a "filter-bag" to help with sediment. I also ordered some filter kits from SV. They're on sale for $15ea right now. Comes with bulkhead fitting,cleanable filter assembly, and an adapter/coupler back to 8mm...not a bad deal. I also ordered some plastic support stakes for the line(my wood skewers were rotting away every few weeks), and a carrot planting tool...we'll see how it works. I'll put the filters on the upper res, and the filter-bag on the pump in the lower. Hopefully this will eliminate the sediment in my lines. At he moment, I bleed off a pint every 3rd day to get rid of sediment from the PBP/additives. If I let it go for a week or more, it can get really thick. I highly recommend a purge valve to everyone, especially if you're using organic based nutes. I've been handwatering in my liquid karma, hopefully the extra filtration will allow me to run it in the res.

 

[rives]

The problem with trying to get the Blumat-recommended pressure level is that you would need about 32' of reservoir elevation. You'd have to have the rez on the 4th or 5th floor and the grow on the 1st!

I'll be interested to see how the filters work for you. I've debated about them for a long time, but was always concerned about the pressure drop.

 

[Ez Rider]

The problem with trying to get the Blumat-recommended pressure level is that you would need about 32' of reservoir elevation. You'd have to have the rez on the 4th or 5th floor and the grow on the 1st!

I'll be interested to see how the filters work for you. I've debated about them for a long time, but was always concerned about the pressure drop.

The filter itself is inside a 1"i.d. pipe. It has it's own bulkhead fitting on 1 end, and steps down to an 8mm coupling on the other end. This should minimize any pressure drop. Depending on how well the filter-bag for the pump works, they may not even really be needed. Also, I'll be raising the res 3'. I'll post a few close-ups of the filter assembly when it gets here. I'll do a step by step of the whole dual res/filter set-up if people are interested.

 

[Eighths-n-Aces]

I just think being hooked up to the tap creates a few problems/dangers that are best avoided for most of us.

i agree with you 100%.

another problem would be if your tap water was really shitty

but if your tap water is pretty clean and you are running water only organics the pressure reducer works great IF YOU HAVE A DRAIN.

i would never even consider using the reducer if i didn't have someplace to run things into when everything went south, but if you do have one the pressure reducer it makes the blumats work like the guys who make them intended (and they work better with the pressure reducer than they do with the elevated res systems)

FWIW because of the feeding issues i still use my original elevated systems when i run coco. they work great but there is more of a learning curve and IME they are still more prone to a runaway situation

like anything else nothing works for everyone 100% of the time but if your grow style and situation permits the pressure reducer is well worth considering

the control bucket for an ebb and grow system makes moving any overflow to a drain if it doesn't happen to be exactly where you need it really simple and they are not all that difficult or pricey to put together

 

[Ez Rider]

i agree with you 100%.

another problem would be if your tap water was really shitty

but if your tap water is pretty clean and you are running water only organics the pressure reducer works great IF YOU HAVE A DRAIN.

i would never even consider using the reducer if i didn't have someplace to run things into when everything went south, but if you do have one the pressure reducer it makes the blumats work like the guys who make them intended (and they work better with the pressure reducer than they do with the elevated res systems)

FWIW because of the feeding issues i still use my original elevated systems when i run coco. they work great but there is more of a learning curve and IME they are still more prone to a runaway situation

like anything else nothing works for everyone 100% of the time but if your grow style and situation permits the pressure reducer is well worth considering

the control bucket for an ebb and grow system makes moving any overflow to a drain if it doesn't happen to be exactly where you need it really simple and they are not all that difficult or pricey to put together

Shitty tap(500+ppm) was the first reason I passed on the PR. After experiencing a few minor runaways, lack of a floor drain was the second. None of my runaways has been worse than ~4gals in about 8hrs. My 10gal res has never completely drained on me, even in 24hrs. This is with only 2' of elevation above the drippers. My guess is that a pressurized system might have overflowed my trays in that time.

Pressurized systems are more suited to large/commercial grows IMHO. That being said, I am looking at ways to naturally increase the pressure. This is my first blumat grow, so I expect a lot less trouble next run...stay tuned.

 

[Eighths-n-Aces]

My guess is that a pressurized system might have overflowed my trays in that time.

This is my first blumat grow, so I expect a lot less trouble next run...stay tuned.

your first guess is on the money. when the 3mm line blew off the supply line the first time i wasn't there. even though most of the water got taken care of by my drain system the overspray left about 30 gallons of water on the floor. having a PVC membrane on the floor and a shop-vac made it an easy clean up but cleaning up sucks any way you look at it. i don't even want to guess how much water went though the pump system and down the drain, i'm just glad i didn't have to clean it up


every run gets easier ..... it took me a few before i stopped waking up in the middle of the night and going to check on things

 

[bikhomes]

building a pressure system that uses reservoirs is extremely inexpensive. it's about $150 in parts and that includes the reducer. i didn't want to deal with building two elevated res systems for a relatively small grow so i put this together instead. one for veg one for bloom

the nice thing is i can add more reservoirs as needed by just adding t's before the pump.

demand delivery pump -> accumulator -> reducer -> filter -> blumats

note: this pic doesn't show everything hooked up. there are two separate systems, one that feeds out the left side and another that feeds out the right. the pumps are in the middle but only on supply line is connected in the pic. been testing the last few days, everything working great and ladies going in within a week.

 

[maestroman22]

Looking pretty bik!

 

[bikhomes]

thanks! i really think pressurized is the way to go, even if it's just water. if you have to buy materials (shelves) to put a second res up high, along with pump/timer/res itself, you're nearly at the cost of the pressurized system anyways.

and using one (a res) with water is cheap insurance if you're going to be gone long enough that a run away connected to a faucet could flood your house.

 

[Ez Rider]

I got my order from SV, so here's a few pics of the filter assembly I ordered.

The entire unit: It has a bulkhead fitting on 1 end, a strainer housing in the middle, and a 8mm shutoff/coupler on the other end.

The strainer is located in the middle housing, here's how it looks up close.

I'll be installing these on my new, elevated res, and putting a filter bag on the pump in the lower res. Hopefully I'll be able to run my liquid karma without fouling the line now.

I like the looks of the above pressurized system...very clean
That being said, I'd personally never be comfortable with it, nor do I think it would work very well with my nutes. Good luck to you though.

 

[skyview]

I understand why using the pressure reducer/tap would be better/easier for larger gardens, but I don't see how it's any more reliable than a gravity feed. I have abnormally high water pressure at my place, and I suspect it would overpower the reducer...especially after seeing the guts. My gravity fed system has been trouble free, except for a few runaways. The runaways are mostly from too much perlite in contact with the carrot IMO. Next run, I'll backfill the carrot hole with straight coco a few time to prevent this...thanks rives. If you're reducer fails or you get a runaway, it's got an unlimited water supply to dump out. When I get a runaway, it's easily contained, due to a limited water supply. If gravity ever fails, it may be messy, but the mess should all float away Not trying to troll here, I just honestly don't see being hooked directly to the tap as being the ideal situation for most of us. I'm not even sure how I could feed like that.

I checked with the factory once on the pressure reducer's maximum input pressure. They said it's fine up to at least 87 psi.