uc vs aeroponics

[tokinupon1]

And Jk in earlier posts u were saying with Hp system hardest part is the root growth being so fast and so much what are you and anyone else who wants to add..using as root chambers? Seen the 5 gal pals seem to fill rite up. Anyone doing any crazy PVC customs? Just wondering what's good what's not. I'm thinking a PVC would be nice but thinking it has to be big, thanks guys the more I know less I can f-up or at least not as bad

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Its best to buy a footpump and a digital pressure gauge so you can check and adjust the precharge from time to time.
Apart from the hassle of unhooking the tank and carting it off to the garage once a week just to check the precharge, i wouldn`t trust a garage gauge to be anywhere near accurate, hence the need for a digital.

That and a air compressor at a gas station the air is full of crap,oil,and who knows what bacteria. JK

I would plan on running your system a few days before loading with plants.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

And Jk in earlier posts u were saying with Hp system hardest part is the root growth being so fast and so much what are you and anyone else who wants to add..using as root chambers? Seen the 5 gal pals seem to fill rite up. Anyone doing any crazy PVC customs? Just wondering what's good what's not. I'm thinking a PVC would be nice but thinking it has to be big, thanks guys the more I know less I can f-up or at least not as bad

I like my lp 36 gal containers, They in 5 years will pump out much more weight then HP systems.

I am using a 60 gal tank to play with a hi pressure sys that I had made earlier as a rez. I love the fact I can see and treat my roots and check my nozzles. JK

 

[nuttso]

i like my lp 36 gal containers, they in 5 years will pump out much more weight then hp systems.

why?

 

[Jalisco Kid]

why?

My sys is like a Morgan,while the HP is like a racehorse. Mine is low maintenance,misters rarely clog, I can get to and treat my root system. 36 gal is a med size tank but huge for hp allowing me more root space. JK

Edit:That and I only know 2 who have stayed with HP that long.

 

[nuttso]

thx JK,

maybe i need to think again about what i'm gonna build here.

 

[Bobby Smith]

Update

Still here JG, just been busting my ass for the last week trying to get my room ready and put together this fucking beast of a system..............basically trying to emulate the box from the thread linked earlier (post #355, "Mr. Mister") - his craft skills are 100x better than mine, but I'm doing my best.

Also can't for the life of me source a box to hold this timer in.........it's 4.5" deep, and it seems they don't make boxes that big - looked all over the Grainger website for the one that Cavadge used, can't find it..............if anyone can find that box, I'd be much obliged.

Pressure switch/pump combo is wired, timer is wired, just need to run a wire to a junction box which will feed all four solenoids.

Bottom "row" (15 misters) is done; will finish the top row as soon as UPS gets here with my John Guest fittings (broke one of them while installing, I'm that much of a beast :) ).

As you can see, put a screen over each mister to prevent roots from covering it; that's a "sun screen" (not an insect screen), so I'd highly doubt any roots can get through that sucker (insect screen they could go right through).

Got a Black and Decker air compressor for $60 with a digital gauge that can go up to 120PSI.

Also am building my box (almost, save for tubing and some electrical holes) completely sealed (not sealed, but no designed openings for heat to escape) - don't think the pump will run for that long anyways, and I HIGHLY doubt heat would be a problem - there's gaps anyway from my shoddy craftsmanship :)

Was pretty surprised at how quiet the pump was when I tested to see if my wiring job on the pressure switch was right (it was) - granted, it was sitting on my carpet with no water, but it was MUCH quieter than I'd expected.

Ummmmmm, I guess that's about it for now...........realistically, early next week I hope to have plants in the system - will have it setup by tomorrow (Sunday at the latest) and running for a couple of days before I put anything living in there.

Any comments/questions, please do ask/tell - lemme know if you see anything that's gonna cause instant death - thanks :)

 

[john guest]

Hi Bob
Looking good. I`d be careful of the screens as they may mess up the mist and cause drips. You certainly like your electrical gadgets, i use a very basic footpump for the precharge :)
http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=13772

 

[Bobby Smith]

JG, the one I bought is the cheapest one that Home Depot had - they didn't have any footpumps capable of reaching the pressure I need :)

And those screens are above the bottom mister (two misters in each column, one at the very top and one halfway down) - they're to serve as an "awning" over the bottom mister so roots from the upper plants can't suffocate it.

In front of and below the mister there's no screen, so hopefully the spray won't be impeded too much until very, very late in flowering when it won't be that big of a deal anyways.

 

[Bobby Smith]

John, another question - is that 98PSI pressure the "ending" pressure that we want to shoot for, or is that the pressure to disconnect the air hose at?

I realize that when I undo the air hose I lose anywhere from 3-5PSI in the process, so should I precharge to 101-103PSI to account for that or am I really shooting for the 93-95PSI ending pressure?

Thanks bro.

 

[tree farmer]

Still here JG, just been busting my ass for the last week trying to get my room ready and put together this fucking beast of a system..............basically trying to emulate the box from the thread linked earlier (post #355, "Mr. Mister") - his craft skills are 100x better than mine, but I'm doing my best.

Also can't for the life of me source a box to hold this timer in.........it's 4.5" deep, and it seems they don't make boxes that big - looked all over the Grainger website for the one that Cavadge used, can't find it..............if anyone can find that box, I'd be much obliged.

Pressure switch/pump combo is wired, timer is wired, just need to run a wire to a junction box which will feed all four solenoids.

Bottom "row" (15 misters) is done; will finish the top row as soon as UPS gets here with my John Guest fittings (broke one of them while installing, I'm that much of a beast :) ).

As you can see, put a screen over each mister to prevent roots from covering it; that's a "sun screen" (not an insect screen), so I'd highly doubt any roots can get through that sucker (insect screen they could go right through).

Got a Black and Decker air compressor for $60 with a digital gauge that can go up to 120PSI.

Also am building my box (almost, save for tubing and some electrical holes) completely sealed (not sealed, but no designed openings for heat to escape) - don't think the pump will run for that long anyways, and I HIGHLY doubt heat would be a problem - there's gaps anyway from my shoddy craftsmanship :)

Was pretty surprised at how quiet the pump was when I tested to see if my wiring job on the pressure switch was right (it was) - granted, it was sitting on my carpet with no water, but it was MUCH quieter than I'd expected.

Ummmmmm, I guess that's about it for now...........realistically, early next week I hope to have plants in the system - will have it setup by tomorrow (Sunday at the latest) and running for a couple of days before I put anything living in there.

Any comments/questions, please do ask/tell - lemme know if you see anything that's gonna cause instant death - thanks :)

John, another question - is that 98PSI pressure the "ending" pressure that we want to shoot for, or is that the pressure to disconnect the air hose at?

I realize that when I undo the air hose I lose anywhere from 3-5PSI in the process, so should I precharge to 101-103PSI to account for that or am I really shooting for the 93-95PSI ending pressure?

Thanks bro.

you want the final pressure in the tank to be 98 so if you have to go to 103 then remove the hose thats what you have to do.

As far as what type of box to mount the timer in i use plastic electrical pull boxes to mount my timers in. the boxes come in many different sizes but the depth is just right for these 422 timers. Just cut a hole out the exact size of the timer below the faceplate and slide it into the box and the attach a couple pieces of stick on weatherstripping on the backside to hold the timer from sliding back out. the trick is getting the hole cut to close tolerances so the timer slides in tight. I use my favorite tool a Dremil. they do sell a flush mount kit for the timers for like 8 dollars that will hold the timer in place and works well instead of using weatherstripping but i never knew that until i had 6 of the timers mounted using the weatherstripping way. Hers is a pic of my TDR (basically the same as the 422)that controls my dampers mounted in a pullbox. these boxes can be bought at HD,Menards,Lowes,etc.

 

[Bobby Smith]

Thanks man - I guess I'll take another look around, but it didn't seem like any of the electrical boxes I found would be deep enough.

FYI, for anyone buying that same air compressor as me, it takes two charges to get that tank up to ~100PSI (from a 35PSI starting pressure).

Gonna be done the "box" in a few hours, just putting some finishing touches on stuff now.

Won't get that other John Guest fitting delivered until Monday (evening, most likely), so I'm gonna try to have the bottom tier (15 misters) up and running by tomorrow morning to see how well it performs (aka, where the leaks/problems are).

If all goes well, shooting to have plants in there by Monday night (as soon as the fitting gets here it should be a two second install and then it'd be ready to roll), or Tuesday at the latest.

 

[Bobby Smith]

See any red flags? Is that tubing done okay?

Just need to mount the timer and I'm pretty much done, methinks......

 

[Kaiser Puff]

I like what you're doing Bobby, the nice thing once the pump box design is ironed out it can be fit to many different grow systems. Is that grey box the pressure sensor that came with the pump? I'm trying to understand how you have it laid out...

 

[Bobby Smith]

No, the pump has a built in pressure switch (115 cut in, 150 cut out), but from what I've read those are wholly unreliable, so I bought that pressure switch from Grainger - cuts in at 100, cuts out at 125.

Lets me stay a little bit under my max for the pump, expansion tank, and solenoids.

I think it was ~$80 delivered for the switch.

And I'm just trying to copy what this dude did (post #355):

 

[john guest]

A shut off tap on the tank outlet would be useful for isolating it in case you need to service the pump or the plumbing. It will save emptying the tank.
Did you disable the pressure switch on the pump or is it running in series with the external pressure switch?
For precharge, just go 10psi higher and then let the air out manually bit by bit until you reach 98psi. Make sure the tank and lines are depressurized or it`ll throw the reading.

 

[Bobby Smith]

No, the pressure switch on the pump is set for 115-150, so I thought it'd be fine being controlled by a pressure switch set for 100-125; besides, not like I'd have a clue about how to disable it anyways :)

Not too worried about a shut off tap for the tank; I'll just deal with emptying the tank each time - pretty much over messing around with this box after the past few days :)

Tank is precharged; set it for 101PSI and took it off, so it's somewhere around 97-99PSI.

Here's the latest and greatest - took Treefarmer's advice and hacked up a PVC junction box with a Dremel.........not perfect, but good enough for me.

 

[john guest]

The external switch cut-in/ cut-out settings will override the pumps onboard switch, as long as the external switch is set for a lower cut-in pressure than the onboard switch. The 100psi and 125psi are ok.
Not sure if that makes sense but thats how it works :)

 

[tokinupon1]

Looking good Bobby should get that thread going and see this thing murder

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I would take a day off and come back fresh. I would install that valve just because in the future something might come up where you do not have the time/need to drain that tank. Also everyone thinks they will come back to adjust things or change when in reality most growers do not and learn to live with their design.
If you ever do this again I would use the JG long sweep 90* or there is another company that offers 45 degrees.
I know you are not going to use a chiller but you might still have condensation on the accumulator.
And you might consider putting a drip loop on your line feeding your timer.
Maybe next time some dense rubber under the tank and pump.
I wish you a good smoke test and it rocks your room. JK