M
milehighmedical
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Blumat auto watering
- Thread starter sunnydog
- Start date
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- Tags
- blumat drippers irrigation watering
I'm pretty sure those were two per pot.
AFIK, maxis were not yet available.
SD
BorkBorkBork
Member
My ish is tiiiiiiight
My ish is tiiiiiiight
Bah, site ate my post. Will try again.
My ish is tiiiiiiight
Bah, site ate my post. Will try again.
BorkBorkBork
Member
My ish is tiiight
My ish is tiiight
(try number two, managed to bork my last post)
I've got my system pretty pimped, time to show off.
Res is a 10 gal sterilite tub, definately not pimpin, and will be upgraded soon to a "real" hard-plastic res.
On/off valve with disconnect. For ease in removing and cleaning res.
This feed T's off, one side goes to flower, one goes to veg.
Found some cable management doo-hickeys that work great for taming the 8mm feeder hose.
And this is the flower side. Couple more quick-disconnects and "place-holder" feed branches. I close them off by doing what was suggested earlier, use the stub pieces that ship with the 12 piece kit, tie knots in them, and they are ready to go!
Hopefully this will give folks some ideas of what can be done.
Oh yeah, the whole system is set up as a loop, with an on/off valve in the middle for draining (thanks for the idea, Sunnydog!)
Some more shots
My ish is tiiight
(try number two, managed to bork my last post)
I've got my system pretty pimped, time to show off.
Res is a 10 gal sterilite tub, definately not pimpin, and will be upgraded soon to a "real" hard-plastic res.
On/off valve with disconnect. For ease in removing and cleaning res.
This feed T's off, one side goes to flower, one goes to veg.
Found some cable management doo-hickeys that work great for taming the 8mm feeder hose.
And this is the flower side. Couple more quick-disconnects and "place-holder" feed branches. I close them off by doing what was suggested earlier, use the stub pieces that ship with the 12 piece kit, tie knots in them, and they are ready to go!
Hopefully this will give folks some ideas of what can be done.
Oh yeah, the whole system is set up as a loop, with an on/off valve in the middle for draining (thanks for the idea, Sunnydog!)
Some more shots
laughingmoon
Active member
Can you explain that tie-off? I don't remember reading about that in the thread
BorkBorkBork
Member
Que?
The on/off drain in the middle? The cable management doo-hickey? The quick-disconnects?
Not sure which component you mean, but I'll be glad to explain anything.
laughingmoon
Active member
"I close them off by doing what was suggested earlier, use the stub pieces that ship with the 12 piece kit, tie knots in them, and they are ready to go!"
I'm interested in being able to disconnect certain blumats as I find and cull males.
I'm interested in being able to disconnect certain blumats as I find and cull males.
onthaherb
Member
Bork I really like your system but am confused -- in a multi blumat setup instead of relying on the vacuum effect (such as used by the blumat singles) but instead use gravity by placing the res higher than the feeds therefore 'loading' the lines and having the blumat drink when it feels the soil is dry?
What does the patio set include that the singles do not? Could you rig a multi setup using a few single (they are called blumat jrs?)
What does the patio set include that the singles do not? Could you rig a multi setup using a few single (they are called blumat jrs?)
BorkBorkBork
Member
Aaaah, that one's easy!
Just tie a knot (I tie two knots for good measure) in the little pieces of brown tubing that come with the patio set. Then connect that to an empty blumat feeder T. Turn on the water, and now that spot is a placeholder. When you are ready to add a plant with a blumat, just shut off the water, remove the placeholder, connect the blumat, and turn the water back on.
i figured out what to do with the crappy little pieces of 3mm tubing they give you in the patio set.
placeholders! (perfect for perpetual systems)
BorkBorkBork
Member
Blumat Jr != Blumat.
Here is the Jr: http://www.sustainablevillage.com/products/blumat-junior-houseplants-single
Here is the Blumat (what this thread is about): http://www.sustainablevillage.com/products/tropf-blumat-outdoor-sensor
And here is the patio kit: http://www.sustainablevillage.com/products/blumat-deck-and-planter-box-kit
The Jr feeds through the ceramic cone. The regular blumats (what we use) feeds through a dripper, the cone simply senses the moisture level and activates the dripper, so it's completely different technology.
The Jr's are not scaleable, the regular Blumats are.
The Blumats do use gravity feed. My res is ~5 feet off the floor on a shelf.
Hope this helps.
G
Guywithoutajeep
Just got back from a 3 day vacation. Blumats performed flawlessly as well as the distributors. Salts have yet to clog her up and they're at about 1100 ppms. So good.
Orygun
Member
Just in case anyone else has had trouble finding 3mm drip line
Just in case anyone else has had trouble finding 3mm drip line
This post is a heads up for anyone who has been unable to find a USA dealer for the blumat 3mm soft silicone drip line. I know I had a helluva time finding it.
It is available through the sustainable village, but I didn't seem to see it listed on their website. I called them and they did end up having it though. The part number on my packing slip is IG13829. The cost was 40 dollars plus shipping for 30 meters. They also sell the blumat sensors.
Their number is 303-998-1323.
Just in case anyone else has had trouble finding 3mm drip line
This post is a heads up for anyone who has been unable to find a USA dealer for the blumat 3mm soft silicone drip line. I know I had a helluva time finding it.
It is available through the sustainable village, but I didn't seem to see it listed on their website. I called them and they did end up having it though. The part number on my packing slip is IG13829. The cost was 40 dollars plus shipping for 30 meters. They also sell the blumat sensors.
Their number is 303-998-1323.
RomulusUSA
Member
Great thread, I think I'll be trying these. I was curious, will I be able to run (1) Tropf for (2) small mothers in (2) pots? If I position the Tropf in the one pot correctly, won't it keep both equally wet? Or will that not work because the hose length will be different?
Any better source than Sustainable Village? I'm not paying $60+ in shipping for <1,000mi of shipping, ground none the less!
Any better source than Sustainable Village? I'm not paying $60+ in shipping for <1,000mi of shipping, ground none the less!
Not sure what happened. Bluemats work fantastic in my Canna Coco. Absolutely wonderful.
I agree. Blumats and coco have been an awesome combination for me. I have used some coco that was coarser and chunkier that was harder to keep wet with blumats and I was constantly adjusting in that coco. Now I just make sure to look for the finer coir and not the chips and it works much better, even cut with some perlite.
Dialing in blumats in coco is a little different than what the manual says. If you hand water to runoff before setting up the blumat (which you should) you will have a very wet and heavy pot. If you put your blumat in the coco at that point and tighten 2.5 arrows from the stop of dripping, your coco will completely dry out before the blumat triggers. I assume this has something to do with coco's wicking ability that keeps the moisture evenly distributed in the pot but I haven't given it that much thought. I just know that I always end up loosening and tweaking the blumats a lot more if the coco dries out completely.
What works for me is letting the saturated coco go for a day before I try to dial in the blumats to let some of the excess moisture get out of the pot. And then at most I only tighten one arrow from the stop of the drip. I use Smart Pots and I am typically only installing blumats in pots with freshly transplanted and/or young plants - the same scenario might not work out with mature plants or hard pots. My goal is for the blumats to maintain the moisture level about halfway between completely saturated and dried out. If it dries out completely it is almost eaiser to hand water to runoff again and start the process over again, only not tightening so much the next time around.
I know nobody asked for advice on the subject, but I don't recall ever seeing anything in this thread about the nuances of dialing in blumats in coco so I hope this helps anyone thinking about making the switch.
I gave their Denver store a call and they stock some of the Blumats and accessories in their store, including the supply line. It's not exactly next door to me but it's close enough so one of these days I might have to make a road trip there to see what they have. For those of you that live in Denver, Fort Collins, or Boulder it looks like you might have a retail outlet to get these now.
If anybody does go to one of their stores please report back what you find there. Thanks.
N
NachoConQueso
Way to Grow sells the brown water line in a pack with distributors. I think the length is about 3 meters. I didn't really see any other accessories in the Fort Collins store.
