BubbaG
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Errr, I actually ran (2) 1-1/4" returns instead of the one shown in the sketch
On problems with Blumats....Do you have a good floor drain? Lol
j/k (not really) bro but they are finicky. I've been growing with them a couple of years now and have my tech mostly figured out. I believe they would be more consistent if you use them with the tap water pressure reducer and just run straight water and hand feed nutes, but I use a double reservoir system to keep the head pressure stable and I slam the nutes to the gals through the Blumats - kind of like an IV drip.
On research material, I can provide tons. The link to ICMag is a massive thread with tons of great info (sorry moderators if this gets me in hot water, but it's excellent research). IMO the guy that provided the best info and stuck the thread through was a guy named Rives - I would focus on his posts because the total thread is ~3500 posts.... happy reading bro
#1 piece of advice. Don't chase a blumat that the plant won't latch onto after a few days.... just pull that fucker and plug a new one in a different hole. Most runouts I've had have been from Blumats that wouldn't latch up and had to be fucked with throughout the grow.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=111046&page=237
A sketch of the all important (IMO) plumbing design is attached. Again, this is Rives' design, I just sketched it out.View attachment 433952View attachment 433953
Excellent info man. If you're only going to post once, that's the way to do it. I agree on most all of that and I too have returned to the kiss method - similar results on carrots getting sucked dry and what to do after a drought.. good stuff.Blumats in coco work great once dialled in. Couple of points from me, Mr 1 post! I have read the other thread more than a few times, it all got rather complicated so I went back to basics.
Hopefully start writing up my plan for forced and regular maintenance feeds in coco soon :0)
- I run a base low nutrient solution through the 8mm pipe on a bulkhead around 13mm from the base to avoid picking up junk and 3?mm T's to each Blumat with a tap to purge.
- I can water manually with teas or heavies or whatever. The Blumats just switch off really and wait to be called on again as it dries. Which is why I'm playing with regular heavy pumped feeds and Blumats taking the strain as a daily low nutrient and moisture keeper as coco hates been dry :(
- I find filling the carrots with water 24-48 hrs in advance and leaving them to sit submerged pointy end up in a jug of water up to the very top cleans the caps and carrot a bit and also ensures they are fully saturated. If the carrot internal water level isn't enough (air bubble too big) or the level drops too much they can't create the vacuum needed to reopen the valve and the plant dries up without intervention no-run death the opposite of a runaway.
- After a drought or a forgetful spell (many of us have them!) make sure to pull the carrots and check for water level inside as the medium pulls the water out as it dries and they don't work again until refilled and saturated.
- I hand water for the first day until run off with the Blumat dialled right down 5-6 arrows past a clinging drop after watering fully so they are off, little hose pointing upwards the lot.
- Before watering again (dryish pot) I dial the blumat to a 2 second drip and note the full arrows moved to get to this point.
- Hand water until runoff and dial back to a clinging drop again counting the arrows moved.
- The difference between dry and wet (last two points) + 0.5 each way is the range for your container from bone dry to run off wet I mark this on the blumat.
- I now have the Blumat set to be off when I am at run off so adding +1-1.5 arrows clockwise, is I have found the sweet spot for me in most pot sizes.
- If a working Blumat starts behaving oddly either the level is low in the carrot, the medium isn't contacting all of the carrot, the pipeline has a blockage, stretch it out and roll it including through the valve to clear. or the cap has something blocking it's operation.
- I ran several deck and patio systems on bedding and fruits, herbs etc and really figured these things out. They are simple and work well once dialled in first 24 hours are not stable so leave them to settle.
- My golden rule is mid range of the difference at run off -1.5 arrows and adjust .5 at a time.
Nothing good happens quickly in this game.
Sorry to hear that man... the pressure reducer thingy is the way to go - been using that vs a res for the past 6 months - no comparison and no chance for mold IMOI'm finally giving up on my Blumat system because I can't control white mold in the reservoir and lines.
Going to try two gallon plastic hempy buckets, hydroton on the bottom, a hole drilled two inches up, then 100% Canna coco. Hand watered with the same nute solutions I was using with Blumats.