Load cell irrigation

[Terppalooza]

When I had the same issue in RW, I put the plants that use more water into larger blocks. Cheap and effective.

well i guess thats where my other issue comes in having two tents on one pump, they both use different amounts of water. for example tent one might be week 1 of flower and tent 2 might be week 5. tent 2 might need more water then tent 5 at this very moment, but these water needs change all the time. and simply making on block larger then the others might not necessarily help in this particular situation either. that being said I enjoy my system a lot one pump one irrigation tube is easy to keep clean. hence the need to control flow of water to individual plants, and then if i can supply each plant individually with water, the next thought was how do i setup the timer for 8 individual plants, i need to figure out when each plant needs water. So put them on a scale weigh them when they loose to much weight then water the plant. thats my idea how i can solve this.... but yeh this is all experimental. i was reading up on tomato greenhouses in the netherlands and how many sensors they use, and i read that many high-tech greenhouses have the plants on load cells to help determine water usage and when to irrigate

 

[Ca++]

Watch the 4 way water valve. That style tends to need a bar to stay shut. This can be a siphon problem, and if you raise it, they can let water come back. While you have it in hand, blow through it both ways.

There is a lower pressure version. Usually a single, not 4. It's used in water coolers, that have a bottle. You might find one with 1/4" push fit.
I have had high pressure one's work, and others that didn't. You might be lucky, but closing force comes from the supply, so if you had ideas about pumping on demand, that might also change your plumbing arrangements.

It's a shame the high pressure costs me about £3 and the low is hard to find, and cost me about a tenner.




A lot of kitchen scales can do 10kg or more now. Often using a gauge at each foot, and summing them. Again a tenner, and generally waterproof.

I have done a lot with weight, and it's barely the same two days on the trot. The plants weight keeps changing, and how they lean on plant supports. Having tracked one full grow to the end, I decided it's not suitable.

Without wasting a lot of kit, you could switch from strain gauges to capacative sensors. Then plant size and lean are not an issue, it's all about block density. Block, water and root mass. You could find a lot more support with a water sensing project, but commercial viability seems a way off. A few as a hobby though.. could do.

 

[Ca++]

Low pressure 12v 24v 240v https://www.ali express.com/item/32953210343.html
The spigots are about 10mm. I slip an inch of suitable 10mm over them, to flatten them up. Then I put my 13mm hose over the 10mm. A hose clamp is wise, but I have been over 20psi without one.
If you warm the 10mm it will take the shape of the barb more clearly. Then warm the 13mm, and you will still see the barbs shape through that also. If you dry fit them cold, it's just not so snug. Taking perhaps weeks to deform to the same degree.
Lots of the DC EC pumps (3 phase thread) are 10mm anyway, and over sized for this job at that.

These will still back syphon, if your tank is a floor below. A non return will fix that.
I had one apart this week, as debris from a failing filter propped it open. Causing a siphon, as it couldn't switch off. You don't want that. I have been looking at this:

ABBV1 auto-bypass valve – TFC Group – Tower

www.tfc-group.co.uk

It will only let water pass, when there is enough head. Adjustable between 1 and 6 meters. Lose the compression fittings, and that tread is standard garden stuff. However, it was for compression, so won't have a large face for a washer.
In practice, we may have a meters head from tank to emitters, so we would set it to perhaps 2 meters. A whole extra meters head needed, to get a siphon going. This extra meter, is something the pump must overcome though. So a 5 meter head pump, is now a 4 meter. Worse still, as the tanks actual head drops, the pump must pick up the slack, so may need to overcome the full 2 meters itself. These are big numbers for AC powered fountain pumps, but the little EC pumps are typically 5-8 meters at least. I use 10m ones for high pressure drip, and have a little 17m on hand.
I think I'm adding one, and perhaps in this 4 valve project, they could share one. Hopefully it will never do anything. These individual valves have no inlet strainer though.

 

[Terppalooza]

Low pressure 12v 24v 240v https://www.ali express.com/item/32953210343.html
The spigots are about 10mm. I slip an inch of suitable 10mm over them, to flatten them up. Then I put my 13mm hose over the 10mm. A hose clamp is wise, but I have been over 20psi without one.
If you warm the 10mm it will take the shape of the barb more clearly. Then warm the 13mm, and you will still see the barbs shape through that also. If you dry fit them cold, it's just not so snug. Taking perhaps weeks to deform to the same degree.
Lots of the DC EC pumps (3 phase thread) are 10mm anyway, and over sized for this job at that.

These will still back syphon, if your tank is a floor below. A non return will fix that.
I had one apart this week, as debris from a failing filter propped it open. Causing a siphon, as it couldn't switch off. You don't want that. I have been looking at this:

ABBV1 auto-bypass valve – TFC Group – Tower

www.tfc-group.co.uk

It will only let water pass, when there is enough head. Adjustable between 1 and 6 meters. Lose the compression fittings, and that tread is standard garden stuff. However, it was for compression, so won't have a large face for a washer.
In practice, we may have a meters head from tank to emitters, so we would set it to perhaps 2 meters. A whole extra meters head needed, to get a siphon going. This extra meter, is something the pump must overcome though. So a 5 meter head pump, is now a 4 meter. Worse still, as the tanks actual head drops, the pump must pick up the slack, so may need to overcome the full 2 meters itself. These are big numbers for AC powered fountain pumps, but the little EC pumps are typically 5-8 meters at least. I use 10m ones for high pressure drip, and have a little 17m on hand.
I think I'm adding one, and perhaps in this 4 valve project, they could share one. Hopefully it will never do anything. These individual valves have no inlet strainer though.

i actually have a variety of vales here. i decided i want to first try the 4 way valve because it would be more practical to have only one inlet. and not have 4 valves with 4 inlets. the particular 4 way valve. is normally closed so blowing in it does nothing. its blocked until power is applied. that being said i have not tested this 4way valve with a pump, if it reduces pressure or not. also i have an anti-siphon valve. so when the pump is off the water doesnt keep flowing. and i have a pretty strong pump pushing the water into my tents. i hope pressure wont be an issue, but i will test it out soon and say more after! also im definitely planning on using hose clamps. gotta keep everything tight! i

 

[Terppalooza]

got the single brass one too but its already in use elsewhere

 

[Ca++]

the particular 4 way valve. is normally closed so blowing in it does nothing

I have a n/c one here in hand, that I can blow through in either direction. It stops mains pressure in one direction though, as the mains pressure is what closes it. I just can't blow that hard.
It's more typical for them to weep slightly. To test this, it's actually better to suck than blow. Draw a vacuum on the outlet, that should hold your tongue there. If all 4 hold, you have beaten the odds.


Edit: Most appliances that use these valves, also have a pump out system. The washing machine, dish washer, water dispenser, my hydro. They all pump out, and that pump running when it shouldn't, is a good sign the valves passing. You were talking about runoff monitoring. Perhaps it should have level control. I do this, so as to save a bit for testing. I keep just the last liter that came out, basically. So I can see what the plants were left sitting in.