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Blumat auto watering
- Thread starter sunnydog
- Start date
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- blumat drippers irrigation watering
Yep. The difference between too dry & too wet is a very tiny adjustment. Any carrots that have been too dry for too long will have an air bubble so they need to be refilled, watered in & readjusted. When in doubt, I pull it from the soil, hold it sideways & tip it back & forth. If there's an air bubble I can see it in the plastic between the cap & the ceramic root. I always water them in going back.
The whole process can be kinda fiddly at first until they're working just so but once done blumats save a lot of effort.
Nomad28743
Member
Can the rez be just a foot over the soil height if the run is only like a 5 foot circle?
Gramse
Active member
My instruction sheet has a pic showing the min distance from the bottom of the res to the soil should be .5m, ~20". That's a goofy way to measure because the water level is obviously what matters.
What I'm sure of is that my float valve reservoir works fine. The water level is always at least 28" above the surface of the soil, even with young plants in 1 gal pots on a 30" table.
Pics in my albums if they'll help...
Nomad28743
Member
What a great thread!! I am on page 185 so far and intend to read it all as I wait on my already ordered parts from Kent and Sustainable Village. Both were really pleasant and efficient to work with.
So Rives and SD have me wanting to go constant pressure however my community well water is consistently between 6.7 and 6.9 with 35-50 ppm on the 500 scale. Want to do water only for 2 gal Geopots (black cloth) with some in soil and some in loose coco to see which one I can tame/manage better being new to dialing the BM's in.
So my question is can I get by with my pH being in that range?
Back to my reading now and thanks for any responses.
So Rives and SD have me wanting to go constant pressure however my community well water is consistently between 6.7 and 6.9 with 35-50 ppm on the 500 scale. Want to do water only for 2 gal Geopots (black cloth) with some in soil and some in loose coco to see which one I can tame/manage better being new to dialing the BM's in.
So my question is can I get by with my pH being in that range?
Back to my reading now and thanks for any responses.
Nomad28743
Member
Ok so they showed up yesterday and I set it up today. Carefully following the written directions and all the great tips on here from Sunny, JHHN, Rives, Lazyman and many others I am forgetting. Thanks all.
I have a supply line and was thinking about putting on a tee then a valve and run a long 3/8" copper supply to my raised 7 gal bucket with a brass float valve. In the bucket I have a PVC stand pipe with a bobber in it and I have marked 3, 4 and 5 gal on a thin wire poking up from the bobber that I can easily see. So every 1 or 2 days I will turn on the valve and it will top off the bucket and stop. When I hear it stop running I turn the valve off. The float valve and copper line will not be attached to the bucket but instead will be hard plumbed in place allowing the bucket to be removed for cleaning.
I have a supply line and was thinking about putting on a tee then a valve and run a long 3/8" copper supply to my raised 7 gal bucket with a brass float valve. In the bucket I have a PVC stand pipe with a bobber in it and I have marked 3, 4 and 5 gal on a thin wire poking up from the bobber that I can easily see. So every 1 or 2 days I will turn on the valve and it will top off the bucket and stop. When I hear it stop running I turn the valve off. The float valve and copper line will not be attached to the bucket but instead will be hard plumbed in place allowing the bucket to be removed for cleaning.
It might be better to just let leave the supply valve open and let the brass float valve keep your upper reservoir topped off at 7 gallons. Keeping the water in your upper reservoir at the same height all the time means that the pressure at your carrots is always the same.
Keeping the water pressure at your carrots consistent will keep the watering rate even. If the water level, and thus water pressure, varies, when the water pressure is higher, it could lead to over watering and potentially over runs and when the water pressure is lower, it could lead to under watering the plants.
One of the best features of blumats that seems to help plant thrive is the consistent and constant ideal moisture level in the media throughout the entire grow. Another great feature of the blumats is that if you have it set up right, you don't have to fuck with it every couple of days. You can travel for up to a week without worrying about your plants.
Nomad28743
Member
SF.
I realize the best way these work is with constant pressure. However having the cut off valve allows me to sleep better. My dream is that by topping off every day or two the water height in the bucket will be very close to the same or a fluctuation of only 2-4 inches. I cannot predict how much water my plants may need so in the end I may have to leave it on 24/7 that just makes me nervous that the valve may fail and I flood the room and the hardwood flooring in the adjacent room. Connecting an overflow to a drain is just not an option in my location.
Time will tell...my first hurdle is dialing them it.
BTW how the heck do you post pix, I tried and it asked for the pic URL. They are in a folder on my desk top.
I realize the best way these work is with constant pressure. However having the cut off valve allows me to sleep better. My dream is that by topping off every day or two the water height in the bucket will be very close to the same or a fluctuation of only 2-4 inches. I cannot predict how much water my plants may need so in the end I may have to leave it on 24/7 that just makes me nervous that the valve may fail and I flood the room and the hardwood flooring in the adjacent room. Connecting an overflow to a drain is just not an option in my location.
Time will tell...my first hurdle is dialing them it.
BTW how the heck do you post pix, I tried and it asked for the pic URL. They are in a folder on my desk top.
Is there a reason that you aren't using two reservoirs? With a substantial drain from the upper reservoir to the lower one, you can forget about float valves and automate the refilling process by allowing the pump timer to run longer than it takes to fill the upper reservoir, with the excess simply dropping back to where it came from. This will also allow you to correct your pH in the lower rez and fill the lower rez at your leisure while maintaining the upper rez water level.
Something to bear in mind with free-floating copper tubing is that if it is subject to movement, it will eventually work-harden and crack. A bracket of some type for your float that could be easily detached might be of help in keeping the motion and stress away from the tubing.
For pictures, you will need to upload them into an album and then post them from there. On your profile page, go to "My Albums", and there should be a button there to allow you to create one.
Nomad28743
Member
Rives,
Thanks for the pic info.
It would be possible to place that same valve on a lower rez which would allow me the option of using nutes later. However it would mean buying a $50 or so pump that has 8' head and as a belt and suspender guy you know I would have to buy 2 of them. Since I am still in the dialing in stage I have the luxury of time to ponder my options.
Being a remodeling contractor for ages I knew the copper run must be supported and hence the stationary mounting that is independent of the bucket, but thanks for keeping an eye on me. Your advice is always sound and helpful. Thanks again.
Thanks for the pic info.
It would be possible to place that same valve on a lower rez which would allow me the option of using nutes later. However it would mean buying a $50 or so pump that has 8' head and as a belt and suspender guy you know I would have to buy 2 of them. Since I am still in the dialing in stage I have the luxury of time to ponder my options.
Being a remodeling contractor for ages I knew the copper run must be supported and hence the stationary mounting that is independent of the bucket, but thanks for keeping an eye on me. Your advice is always sound and helpful. Thanks again.
Nomad28743
Member
Reservoir gauge
Reservoir gauge
Just wanted to post how I made a reservoir gauge.
Here's the tools and supplies. The green thingy is a pool tube I found on the road. Note how the PVC is cut at an angle on the bottom.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=72299&pictureid=1721592
Here it is with an empty rez.https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=72299&pictureid=1721593
Here it is with a full rez.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=72299&pictureid=1721594
You can use the white out to mark gallons on the wire if you like so you know how much you need to top off the tank.
Reservoir gauge
Just wanted to post how I made a reservoir gauge.
Here's the tools and supplies. The green thingy is a pool tube I found on the road. Note how the PVC is cut at an angle on the bottom.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=72299&pictureid=1721592
Here it is with an empty rez.https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=72299&pictureid=1721593
Here it is with a full rez.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=72299&pictureid=1721594
You can use the white out to mark gallons on the wire if you like so you know how much you need to top off the tank.
Nomad28743
Member
Yippie I saw two lines a drippin' and had to add 2 gallons of water to my 7 gal rez this morning! No runaways, no dry pots no adjusting yet of any of the 9 drippers. So I guess I am to first base and gonna keep a close eye on them for a while before I can trust enough to set up a rez filling system.
Dunno how you're set up but you really want some sort of catchment basin under the pots in case of runaways. I've had that a couple of times where a blumat just goes wonky for reasons unknown. There are a lot of ways to create a basin. I used a piece of EPDM pond liner. I'm sure it works because it's been tested...
Nomad28743
Member
Thanks again for thinking of me. I have the plants in a flood tray which will hold 16 gals and my rez above it is 7 gals, but now I realize I need to get saucers under each one to know which ones need to be reduced because I have some water in my flood tray and I don't know which one caused it.
You're learning fast.
Nomad28743
Member
Boy I am I glad the Sustainable Village included a complimentary ink pen in my shipment. With all this new free time I can finally write my memoirs I have been putting off for years.
Once dialed in they will save a lot of time & guesswork. More than that is that the plants absolutely love 'em. These are 8 weeks from seed, flipped to 12/12 at 5 weeks.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=52773&pictureid=1723153
The one on the back left is 46" tall from the top of the soil, the others just as vigorous if shorter. I have to be careful not to over veg or they end up in the lights, Phiips CDM's.
Nomad28743
Member
I have read almost all the pages of this forum and did not notice anyone adding rabbit urine in small quantities to the rez. What do the smart folks in here think? My rabbit dookie does not stink and it is filtered thru a coffee filter for solids. I was going to mix it about 1/8 test that by hand watering on the least robust looking plant first.
Any opinions?
Any opinions?
