RavynJax
- 31
- 18
Here is my automatic watering system configuration.
Required Materials:
55 Gallon Blue Drum With Lid (Do Not Use White) (Paid $25.00 Locally)
1 Can Black Spray Paint (To Paint Drum Lid)
VivoSun 1150GPH Submersible Pump (Amazon $44.99)
iPower GLTIMEDWEEKX2-C 7 Day Heavy Duty Digital Programmable Electric Timer (Amazon $15.99 for 2)
FreeSea Aquarium Submersible Water Pump: 550GPH 30W (Amazon $18.99)
AquaNeat Aquarium Air Pump, 100GPH (Amazon $13.49)
Pex Tubing, Fittings, Shut Off Valves, Etc (Or PVC)
Rain Bird Spot Watering Emitters: 2 GPH (Red)
Rain Bird Spot Watering Emitters: 1 GPH (Black)
Rain Bird Spot Watering Emitters: 1/2 GPH (Blue)
Instructions:
Drill Hole In Top Of Drum For Power Cords (I Drilled Mine 2" In Diameter).
Drill 1/2 Hold For Pex Supply Line Out.
Take 1/2" Pex Tubing And VivoSun Pump 1/2" Fitting, Cut Pex To Desired Length For Connection to Pump In Drum. Place Adjustable Clamp On Pex Line, Use A Heat Gun To Heat One End Of The Pex. After Heated Slide The Pex Onto The VivoSun Pump 1/2" Fitting And Clamp Tightly.
Connect A Short Piece Of Pex (1.5 Ft to 2 Ft) To FreeSea Pump Using The Same Method As Above. This Pump Is To Circulate Your Water & Fertilizers To Keep Them Mixed!
Run Airlines Into Bottom Of Drum Through The Top Hole Drill Earlier. Attack bubblers. This keeps your water aerated and prevents algae & bacteria growth.
On The Pex Water Supply Tubing Angling Out Of Your Drum, inside your drum drill a very tiny hole pointing downwards. This prevents a syphon effect when the pump cuts off. If this hole is not drilled if the water level in the drum is higher than your plants water will continue to be delivered to your plants after the pump shuts off, drowning your crop!
Now configure the IPower Timer. What you want is for the system to kick on every 3 and a half days for 15 minutes! For example: Friday ON 9am, OFF 9:15am, Monday On 9pm, OFF 9:15pm.
Plumb out the rest of your system. For mine I placed main shut off valves to shut of each room. Make sure that you put a shut off for each plant water feed so that in the event you are not using that spot you can simply turn off the valve.
On your pex line coming out to water you plant, put a 1/2" cap/plug in the end. Drill a hole slightly smaller than the drip emitter you are using for that plant. Heat the hole with a heat gun and insert emiter.
With the VivoSun 1150GPH Pump here is the amount of water supplied over 15 minutes by Rain Bird Emitter Type (Note A Different Pump Or Different Emitters Will Result In Different Water Amounts):
2 GPH Emitter @ 15 Minutes = 1 Gallon
1 GPH Emitter @ 15 Minutes = 1/2 Gallon
1/2 GPH Emitter @ 15 Minutes = 1/4 Gallon
I also took a piece of wood and made a measuring stick out of it so I know how much water is in my drum. For example, I will take a measurement and if the water level is 5 gallons and I add 20 gallons, I will then PH the water (When adding PH Up Or Down, Give the system approximately 10 minutes to circulate before testing). Now I add Fertilizers for the 20 gallon addition.
Hopefully this will be helpful for some of you. If you make one, please share your results.
HAPPY BLOOMING!
Required Materials:
55 Gallon Blue Drum With Lid (Do Not Use White) (Paid $25.00 Locally)
1 Can Black Spray Paint (To Paint Drum Lid)
VivoSun 1150GPH Submersible Pump (Amazon $44.99)
iPower GLTIMEDWEEKX2-C 7 Day Heavy Duty Digital Programmable Electric Timer (Amazon $15.99 for 2)
FreeSea Aquarium Submersible Water Pump: 550GPH 30W (Amazon $18.99)
AquaNeat Aquarium Air Pump, 100GPH (Amazon $13.49)
Pex Tubing, Fittings, Shut Off Valves, Etc (Or PVC)
Rain Bird Spot Watering Emitters: 2 GPH (Red)
Rain Bird Spot Watering Emitters: 1 GPH (Black)
Rain Bird Spot Watering Emitters: 1/2 GPH (Blue)
Instructions:
Drill Hole In Top Of Drum For Power Cords (I Drilled Mine 2" In Diameter).
Drill 1/2 Hold For Pex Supply Line Out.
Take 1/2" Pex Tubing And VivoSun Pump 1/2" Fitting, Cut Pex To Desired Length For Connection to Pump In Drum. Place Adjustable Clamp On Pex Line, Use A Heat Gun To Heat One End Of The Pex. After Heated Slide The Pex Onto The VivoSun Pump 1/2" Fitting And Clamp Tightly.
Connect A Short Piece Of Pex (1.5 Ft to 2 Ft) To FreeSea Pump Using The Same Method As Above. This Pump Is To Circulate Your Water & Fertilizers To Keep Them Mixed!
Run Airlines Into Bottom Of Drum Through The Top Hole Drill Earlier. Attack bubblers. This keeps your water aerated and prevents algae & bacteria growth.
On The Pex Water Supply Tubing Angling Out Of Your Drum, inside your drum drill a very tiny hole pointing downwards. This prevents a syphon effect when the pump cuts off. If this hole is not drilled if the water level in the drum is higher than your plants water will continue to be delivered to your plants after the pump shuts off, drowning your crop!
Now configure the IPower Timer. What you want is for the system to kick on every 3 and a half days for 15 minutes! For example: Friday ON 9am, OFF 9:15am, Monday On 9pm, OFF 9:15pm.
Plumb out the rest of your system. For mine I placed main shut off valves to shut of each room. Make sure that you put a shut off for each plant water feed so that in the event you are not using that spot you can simply turn off the valve.
On your pex line coming out to water you plant, put a 1/2" cap/plug in the end. Drill a hole slightly smaller than the drip emitter you are using for that plant. Heat the hole with a heat gun and insert emiter.
With the VivoSun 1150GPH Pump here is the amount of water supplied over 15 minutes by Rain Bird Emitter Type (Note A Different Pump Or Different Emitters Will Result In Different Water Amounts):
2 GPH Emitter @ 15 Minutes = 1 Gallon
1 GPH Emitter @ 15 Minutes = 1/2 Gallon
1/2 GPH Emitter @ 15 Minutes = 1/4 Gallon
I also took a piece of wood and made a measuring stick out of it so I know how much water is in my drum. For example, I will take a measurement and if the water level is 5 gallons and I add 20 gallons, I will then PH the water (When adding PH Up Or Down, Give the system approximately 10 minutes to circulate before testing). Now I add Fertilizers for the 20 gallon addition.
Hopefully this will be helpful for some of you. If you make one, please share your results.
HAPPY BLOOMING!