Switching from E&F to drip?

[yamaha_1fan]

I am having issues with my new tables and remote reses. For more info look at the other thread.

One possible solution is to switch to a recirculating drip style system.

I already have 3/4" PVC running in pairs to each table. So I already have the feed and drain lines. Question is how hard is it going to be to go from the 3/4 inch PVC to drip lines?

Sorry I didnt do a search. I have been swamped managing the old grow and trying to get this new one up and running. So any help would be great

 

[yamaha_1fan]

BTW the tables are 4x8, SOG (for now) so 132 per table

 

[smalltymer]

hey yamaha. i saw you other thread bout your res being to tall but with drip wouldnt you have the same problem? you would need gravity to drain your table. also since youre using 4x8 tables wouldnt 100gal res under the table work?

 

[Cannabean]

hey whats up yam, I love your grow, definitely tight shit.
I use drip lines on my sog(micro compared to yours ) and 28pots/28drip lines per 2x4 table.
here are a few thinks to keep in mind:
- those rubber grommets are fvcking expensive, cheapest I've found is at horticulture source.com, price varies by current market but mine cost $0.68c each

- those rubber grommets are a major pain in the ass to install into PVC...at least for me. I made sure to use soap and keep the holes clean of debris but damn, took about 30 minutes and major elbow grease to put all of the drip lines into the manifold/grommet setup :wallbash

- not sure if you plan to go to SOG pots or stay in beds of hydroton but I think either is possible, beds might even be easier since you can run T's on each drip line between two plants and use half the # of drip lines.

-you can increase the number of feedings(soquick did 30min off, 30sec on for his 2gal SOG girls though he said he was going to experiment with 1h off before his thread died. I do 25sec on, 1h45m off, during the day)

I can't wait to see what you do with it!!!

 

[yamaha_1fan]

hey yamaha. i saw you other thread bout your res being to tall but with drip wouldnt you have the same problem? you would need gravity to drain your table. also since youre using 4x8 tables wouldnt 100gal res under the table work?

The problem with reses under the tables is we cant maintain them during lights off easily. Having all the reses outside makes it easy to maintain.

And the problem is with E&F not the height itself. If you know how E&F works, you know the pump, pumps up, then everything drains back through it. You have to have a way to drain that when the res is higher

Drip would be easy by putting a small res with a float activated pump that would catch all the drainage and pump back to the res

Cannabean, I did an aero system once where I ran PVC between the tubes. I had to drill, tap, then insert a barb into the pipe for every sprayer. What a pain in the ass. I was wondering if you could come off the PVC with 3/4 inch hose, and just poke barbed inserts into the hose and put on drippers.

 

[been]

Here's an easy way to connect poly/vinyl tubing to PVC.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=230920-18701-L-810&lpage=none

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=230922-18701-L-815&lpage=none

... and a threaded barb.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=33298-104-A591/PB225GN&lpage=none

.... that way, you can use barbed fittings and get it done quick.

 

[knifehitz]

Consider that if you are running a recirc, you will probably want a res chiller.

I would split your 3/4 into two 1/2 inch poly tubes, one for each side of the table, punch holes in the sides and run drip lines, you can stick the dripline straight in the punched-hole. Put a 1/2 inch cap on the end of each poly tube. This will ensure even dripping.

 

[Just a nice guy]

I was thinking about doing the same thing Yam, cant wqit to hear how this works out for you! Im doing about the same setup! Do you use coco or hydroton?

 

[PonicalChillin]

i think its the wrong call yamaha...your only making your setup more complex by going drip..132 plant sites per table!..thats a crazy amount of drip sites to setup, maintain, etc..sounds like a pain in the ass in my book...

I dont think having the capability to manage the res from outside the room outweighs the hassle your going to experience running drip vs. flood.

you simply cannot beat the simplicity of flood and drain for table sog runs.

not knockin what your doing - its beautiful...but really think you'll be changing back to ebb and flow after having to set a dripper at ever plant site..and keep and eye on it, cleaning, and just all around stuff.

 

[Just a nice guy]

and thats why im shook to do it, and i only have 72 sites per table.....

 

[MarquisBlack]

i think its the wrong call yamaha...your only making your setup more complex by going drip..132 plant sites per table!..thats a crazy amount of drip sites to setup, maintain, etc..sounds like a pain in the ass in my book...

I dont think having the capability to manage the res from outside the room outweighs the hassle your going to experience running drip vs. flood.

you simply cannot beat the simplicity of flood and drain for table sog runs.

not knockin what your doing - its beautiful...but really think you'll be changing back to ebb and flow after having to set a dripper at ever plant site..and keep and eye on it, cleaning, and just all around stuff.

I have to agree here. Running a 20 plant drip setup on a 2x4 is a pain in the ass, let alone what you're doing. I'd stick with the ebb and flow if at all possible. Though I understand your situation with the reses outside the room and all...

It just seems like you might be making your setup extremely complicated in the pursuit of making it less so.

Whatever you do, I'm sure it will work out in the long run.

 

[moses224]

Yamaha Are you set on drip..just curious what else you considered? Iv been following your grow threads grow lol...anyways im switching from soil to hydro and am considering a 48 site bucket in lieu of three 4 x8 tables....just concentrate on 48 beauties every 60 in lieu of 360 small.....as long as your pulling 2 elbow a light or g per watt im for the lesser of the two...just curious if youv ever considered them and if so why not.....good vibes my man

 

[Macster2]

Wow Yam why so many sites. Yield is what we're all after.I put 21 plants on a 4x8 table under 2 1000 watt hid and pull 2 1/2 pounds(1-3 days vegtime), if your getting about the same maybe you should lower your # unless your blowing my #'s out of water and I should increase mine.
If your pulling the same #'s then you can lower your #'s and not have the issue with so many drip nozzles

 

[Hydro-Soil]

soquick did 30min off, 30sec on for his 2gal SOG girls though he said he was going to experiment with 1h off before his thread died. I do 25sec on, 1h45m off, during the day

And that's with open ended lines.
You'll need to make sure you have a pump that can put out the pressure you'll need for the number of lines you'll have. Need an even pressure to keep your growth/canopy even.

It may be a lot of work pushing those grommets but I'd say the results are definitely worth it. By using pots with hydroton you get the So-Quick setup with the ease of draining to a full table, instead of individual drain lines back to the res. Nice

 

[knifehitz]

The results are great, but multiple tables w/ 132 sites each really negates any yield advantage. imo.

 

[rr14]

yamaha, here's the answer to remoting your reses. Use a ebb and grow controller with larger pumps than supplied from the factory. If the ebb and grow controller is setup to flood to too high of a level, just relocate the two floats that shut off the fill pump.

Boom... Done.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

yamaha, here's the answer to remoting your reses. Use a ebb and grow controller with larger pumps than supplied from the factory. If the ebb and grow controller is setup to flood to too high of a level, just relocate the two floats that shut off the fill pump.

Boom... Done.

Why didn't I think of this before?

Set up the main pump to just dump into the table, faster than it can drain. Set a float valve on the table that triggers the main pump to shut off. As long as the timer keeps the pump running, the float valve will keep the table from overflowing.

Once the pump shuts off, the nutes just finish draining through the table to the bottom sump and pumped back to the main res.

Genius!