searching for floor drain ideas

[growsmoke]

As the title says I'm looking for ideas on how to drain two ( soil) plants in a grow box again this is a soil setup in 2 4 gallon pots the box is still being built so I'm open to any ideas
the box is 1/4 sanded plywood.
the only idea I could come up with was probably the most obvious which was just to have thr box on feet and have a piece of PVC from the box through the floor but the problems in running into this idea is
• seal the wood or buy some sort of metal or plastic drain pan the pots could set in .?
•how to funnel the water to the drain without causing my plants to slide and lean
anwyays I've just started trying to come up with ideas and thought I would fish around for some also
(I know draining through the floor straight into the ground under the house could cause problems in the long run . But this setup will only be in place a little less than a year so I'm not to concerned the summers here are hot)

 

[growsmoke]

My other thought was make my floor the pots set on out of some sort of strong fencing with a wood frame (similar to a scrog screen but much stronger) and have a subfloor underneath with thr drain and PVC going into the floor .. With this I'm not sure what kind of screen or fencing too look for that would be stong enough to support two 4 gallon pots and not bow
And again how to bow or tunnel the water to the drain in the plywood subfloor

 

[Granger2]

I have my plywood floor lined with pond liner, and I have my plants sitting on plastic grates, 1 per plant. I made these with 1" PVC with corks in the ends of the pipe, with this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plaskolite-4-ft-x-2-ft-Suspended-Light-Ceiling-Panel-1199233A/202025149

Cut to right size for pots using wire cutters, cable tied to PVC pipe. Then I vacuum up runoff with this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-5-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-BH0100/202017218

Dump out the door so I can distribute water which dries up quickly. I considered a floor drain, but it just seemed to problematic, entry place for pests, etc. Good luck. -granger

 

[growsmoke]

Thanks granger for the reply yeah bugs are also a concern of mine I think a piece of screen should fix that problem though while looking around I found a picture of some PVC pipe fed into the actual planter drain tray and them out so I'm looking into this idea also

 

[queequeg152]

just go with standard shower stall membrane... its like 3 bucks a square foot for the 20ml polyurethane stuff.

if you need to drain to a remote area, such as a sink vent or what ever... just get a condensate pump. do not drain anything gritty what so ever to the condensate pump. you will destroy them quickly.

if you need to pump out sludge or silty water you will need a mascerating pump or a sump pump.

 

[DoubleTripleOG]

Line the floor with plastic and go up about 6" on all sides, then suck up all run-off with a shop vac? If you have a shop vac it's an easy solution.

 

[growsmoke]

Thanks for the helps guys I think I will look into a small shopvac that can also fit in the closet I was going for the floor drain idea because i really want everything ether in or on the box so far I've been able to achieve that ,I have enough clutter lol

 

[queequeg152]

sure man, do what ever you want, but i think you misunderstand how simple it is to do what you are asking about.

i sometimes forget that folks are not terribly handy, so let me be clear here.

this

plus the cheapest shower membrane you can find... usually 20ml urethane, pvc is better as its easier/ faster to weld.

fold the corners like this.

solvent weld the corners in place.

hold them in place with some stainless staples or a cap nail or something... what ever you want... im assuming this thing will be tossed shortly hereafter.

cut a hole in the membrane... and subfloor. these drains sometimes come with tubes of sealant, if not buy some.... dump that sealant between the flange and the membrane material. and screw it down.

attach to the drain a low heel 90 degree sanitary elbow with a threaded cleanout.... so you can shove a vacuum hose into the drain line..

at a length of pipe and maintain a positive grade to the condensate pump or reservoir...

depending on clearance you might need a low profile condensate pump.

this drain should dump into a reservoir presumably. that or a condensate pump like i said.

id mount all this to the unit or what ever you are building... hell put it all on 4" locking casters if you have the extra cash.

none of it is complicated what so ever, you need not be intimidated what so ever.

 

[sourpuss]

The way I was gonna do it but due to height I stopped was..... a thick melamine base. Framed with 2 by 4 under. Feet adjusted so one corner was higher and the opposing corner was lower. The 2 lower sides will need end rails screwed on and caulked to direct water to the lower corner and Into a bucket. Easy solution. Can use the high side for smaller plants.... tada....

 

[queequeg152]

well. melamine is good for infrequent exposures to water, but with frequent moisture, i think you will find that its a less than satisfactory solution.

ive heard of high quality melamine products beffore... for cabinet interiors, but from what i could tell, these were really more of a laminated melamine looking matt surface rather than actual organic melamine treatments.

ive also heard of melamine panels specifically for concrete formwork? IDK what the story is there.

there is also super thick phenolic resin laminated plywood products for building reusable concrete form work... extreemly expensive though. right up there with the grade AA veneer hardwood ply from what ive seen.

i still maintain this shower stall material is going to be the easiest... and probably the cheapest solution... pvc and urethane membranes can also be repeatedly patched should you puncture the material.... the material is basically the same as waterbed bladder... just much thinner.

 

[sourpuss]

^^might be right... sorry never actually read you shower stall material idea... really if its waterproof its perfect..

 

[hush]

Maybe I'm just a simpleton, but every time I needed to achieve what you are trying to accomplish here, I just put a tray down below the pots and then pump it all out manually with a small fountain pump sitting in there for this dedicated purpose. I do it manually, but there's no reason you couldn't automate it with a float valve. You could route the tubing to a drain, or to a collection vessel like a bucket or something, and then manually empty it whenever it gets filled.

 

[Jhhnn]

Evaporative cooler pumps are inexpensive & near indestructible. They'll pull down to 1/2" of water or so, usually come with fiberglas screen surround to keep the chunks out. They'll also run dry w/ no problems & snap apart for cleaning. Just make sure it can't tip over.

 

[sourpuss]

Some great ideas here thx guys. Little pump near indestructible sounds perfect. With a on off switch.. perfect.

 

[DoubleTripleOG]

A pool cover pump(prolly has a real name, that's what I call it) would work great. Hooks up to a line the size as on the back of a washing machine. Can run dry for a few minutes without burning out, and has a float to shut off when water levels reach near empty.

 

[queequeg152]

yea an actual sump type pump would be better for this job what with the possibility of sand and grit and perhaps a few small pieces of debris...

i however, reccomended the condensate because its an all in one unit... meaning it will collect some volume in its reservoir, and when its internal float is triggered it will begin to pump it out.

most condensate pumps these days also have emergency overflow switched built into them... meaning if the first float triggers and nothing happens... then the second float switch is there to open up the circuit between the thermostat and hvac equipment ( for example).

if you were to use a sump like those mentioned above you would have to either...

collect the water somewhere... a 5 gallon bucket would work great for this task, and place the sump therein, and pump to a responsible area... additionally you could add a second float switch to cut the power to what ever is irrigating your plants should the sump fail to operate.

or get rid of the floor drain completely and just make the shower pan into a basin for runoff. the latter sounds shitty imo, as you will have some amount of water always present increasing humidity under the hot lights and potentially causing issues.

you could also build a sump pit... but i wont bother getting into that because its more work than just doing a shower drain.

i just reread your first post... please dont cut holes in your landlords sub floor ... that's rude as fuck. drywall? ok yea, just dont leak anything and save the hole saw cut out... as you can use it to patch the hole.

 

[Jhhnn]

Some great ideas here thx guys. Little pump near indestructible sounds perfect. With a on off switch.. perfect.

Like this-

http://www.amazon.com/Dial-Pump--Ul...4382&sr=8-9&keywords=evaporative+cooler+pumps

optionally-

http://www.amazon.com/LASCO-05-1034...4598&sr=8-5&keywords=evaporative+cooler+pumps

It'll deliver 3' of head, easy, run continuously every summer for years. If it runs dry, no problemo. The bottom snaps off for cleaning. You'll need to figure out the switch on your own.

 

[queequeg152]

interesting pump. why are they so tall though? are they not meant to be immersed?

 

[Jhhnn]

interesting pump. why are they so tall though? are they not meant to be immersed?

Not submersible. They stand on the base w/ the motor above water level. There's no shaft seal. In an evap cooler, the water in the reservoir is only a few inches deep. If the float valve sticks open, water spills out before it gets deep enough to get to the motor, a very important consideration.