Growtronix have you used them?

[Woj]

So, the manufacturer has resolved my issue!! I am super excited! It turns out they have some kind of new hardware serial numbering that wasnt supported in the older version of the software(i have to run beta for now). The ph is def accurate and seems to hold stable (the BBB complaint was due to drift), i will comment more when i have more information available. Now to play with my new toy!!

 

[shoestring]

Hey woj. I got an idea to help control your stretch. Try it i think you will dig it. Use a solid base nute on your uc. And nothing else. COMPLETELY lay off the fulvic and humic acids. Just.try it one run and get back with us on your stretch problems in uc but not soilless. I can almost promise you friend.

 

[Woj]

Yea, i have to try something else next run because what im doing clearly isnt working.. Well the plants look great, just about 2x as tall as i would like them. There are literally tops 5" from my light and i cant go up anymore without hooking the light hook to the ceiling hook without the ratchets. I will def try running a diff base nute & am going to cut all humic and fulvic from here out. Does the lack of fulvic late in flower lead to less stinky buds?

I am looking at this product right now for a trial run ( i have 7 weeks till i refresh the UC system, i run a 10 weeker (blueberry blast) right now)




Excited about this ph meter though, it seems to be rock solid and stable. Heres a graph from last night, the two large bumps are calibration, the rest is it just hanging out in my res.

 

[Woj]

Some peri pumps in country (you can have them for half price if you are willing to wait for them to ship from hong kong)

You can use these to dose nutrients / ph stuff pretty cheap. If you use voltage correcting circuits you can make one spin at half the rate of the other etc. Also, if anyone is looking to do this use an auto off DC circuit so that the pumps cant just run forever if the GT messes up.



Use a potentiometer in place of either R1 or R2 to get adjustable time limiting.

 

[Woj]

Gowtronix sells their own peri pumps but they cost $150 each (they have that auto off circuit in them)

 

[Woj]

Some peri pumps in country (you can have them for half price if you are willing to wait for them to ship from hong kong)

You can use these to dose nutrients / ph stuff pretty cheap. If you use voltage correcting circuits you can make one spin at half the rate of the other etc. Also, if anyone is looking to do this use an auto off DC circuit so that the pumps cant just run forever if the GT messes up.



Use a potentiometer in place of either R1 or R2 to get adjustable time limiting.

I forgot its not the resistors but hte capacitors that you need to vary. My Bad for hte Misinfo

 

[Delerium]

Running AmHydro Intellidose and Intelliclimates. Interface isn't as flashy but solid performer, has a cpl of plusses and minuses

 

[woodsmaneh]

Thought I would bump this. Woj have you had any RF issues are you running Digi ballasts? How hard is it to learn the software for the average person. Can you run another room with the same software?

 

[craftymofo]

Thought I would bump this. Woj have you had any RF issues are you running Digi ballasts? How hard is it to learn the software for the average person. Can you run another room with the same software?

I have used a couple digital ballast with my Growtronix system. Lumatek was horrible. I got a Quantum that was much better. When I first got it the first 4 or 5 minutes after firing up the ballast would mess with the system then be rock solid. After a year or 2 of use it seemed to start interfering more and more. I messaged Quantum but by then they were bought by R&M Supply and said to send it in. Having dealt with them for service before I just sold it and went back to magnetic ballasts.

As for getting to know the software it is pretty straight forward. All your controls are set up as if and then. When conditions are met it will carry out the actions you want. That could be as simple as if the time is between 9:00pm and 9:00am(condition) Then turn lights on(action). What I really like and have not seen any other controller do is introduce the "or" option. I especially like this for my CO2. My temps raise pretty slow when the lights come on so it could be hours before the plants really need the CO2. With the or I have i set up so if the lights are on and the temp is below 77.5 and CO2 is less than 400 then turn on the regulator or if the lights are on and temp is above 77.5 and CO2 is below 1200 then turn on the regulator.

If you are considering the system I would highly suggest it. If you get a system hit me up. I am thinking about getting a community going for policies (That what the controls are called). There is now an inport/eport option for them so they are easy to share.

*edit.
Yeah you can run as many room as you like. All you have to do is add the room, then as you are adding hardware you just assign it a room.

 

[jitters]

I've had Growtronix since 2010 & its in constant Beta stage with a very small crew of employees that are rarely available for help.

The Rf interference has always been an issue & still is. Although the ballasts are in another room entirety, I've tried ferrites on the cables, copper mesh around the ballasts & every other stupid thing you can think of (aluminum foil for example- Haha!). Regardless of what you do- the sensors reading numerical data will not populate when ballasts are on.

The staff is not available for assistance even though I purchased $50 in "tech-help". The concept is nice, but this company is way off from creating a reliable system. I've spent almost $5,000 on various equipment (some wont work, ie, the Float Sensors).

BTW- I'm within the constraints of 35 devices, 150' of cable & 750hm (including a Power Injector):

Growtronix Co2 Base System
47mL per minute peristaltic pump
Variable Speed Peristaltic Pump 2.6- 35mL per minute
Power Injector
Float Sensor - Horizontal Mount
Float Sensor - Vertical Mount
Temperature Sensor
Humidity and VPD Sensor
Co2 Sensor
Controllable Power Outlets
pH/TDS/Temperature Sensor
Soil Moisture Sensor
30 Minutes of phone support
Controllable Power Outlets
Water / Leak Detector
Smoke Detector
Reservoir / Soil Temperature Sensor
Light Detector
Power Outage Detector

 

[BootsIsHere]

In regards to Growtronix. In 2014 jitters posted: "I am thinking about getting a community going for policies"

It would be very helpful to see and share policies. Have you set up or know someone using Growtronix that is sharing policies? As a new grower I'm learning to write policies. I live in the Seattle area which has it's own unique environmental control issues. As time grows on I will tweak the policies to reduce waste (energy), and to promote health and growth.

 

[Orko]

In regards to Growtronix. In 2014 jitters posted: "I am thinking about getting a community going for policies"

It would be very helpful to see and share policies. Have you set up or know someone using Growtronix that is sharing policies? As a new grower I'm learning to write policies. I live in the Seattle area which has it's own unique environmental control issues. As time grows on I will tweak the policies to reduce waste (energy), and to promote health and growth.

I have been using GTX for 4 years now and had a few initial issues buy these were quickly resolved...

I agree with the pumps, you can get them for a steal on eBay, also if you have a basic knowledge of electrics you can simply add in a few contactors/relays for additional hardware.. I purchased the twin output relays and control aircon, duct dampers,heaters, lights, co2, several pumps...

A community for policy's is not a bad idea, alternative would be a few screen dumps.

Overall a great system, remote access and control.

 

[Fresh Starts]

Has anyone figured out how to use growtronix to control a solenoid valve? I want to use the system to maintain my irrigation schedule and I can't figure out how to set it up. Can't find documentation on the web about this

 

[Orko]

Has anyone figured out how to use growtronix to control a solenoid valve? I want to use the system to maintain my irrigation schedule and I can't figure out how to set it up. Can't find documentation on the web about this

How have you got your solenoid valve wired up? I have 2, one for the main reservoir, the other for water cooled co2 gen. Do you have them via a relay? The main controlled outlets or another method?

 

[Fresh Starts]

Right now they are being controlled by an irrigation controller (Orbit) and they are used to turn on an irrigation zone. I'd like to scrap the Orbit controller and replace it with growtronix

 

[Orko]

Right now they are being controlled by an irrigation controller (Orbit) and they are used to turn on an irrigation zone. I'd like to scrap the Orbit controller and replace it with growtronix

I operate a 15l tank with 2 float switches, top and bottom. You can make the system as flexible as you like, when the bottom switch is reached, turn on the water solenoid until the water hits the top float switch, the. Turn on the feed pumps and the water circulation pump...

I would recommend a physical valve of some type as a fail safe though.... (Peace of mind and all that!) like the ones in a toilet cistern...

 

[Fresh Starts]

I operate a 15l tank with 2 float switches, top and bottom. You can make the system as flexible as you like, when the bottom switch is reached, turn on the water solenoid until the water hits the top float switch, the. Turn on the feed pumps and the water circulation pump...

I would recommend a physical valve of some type as a fail safe though.... (Peace of mind and all that!) like the ones in a toilet cistern...

What I need is more of a wiring diagram between device schematics. Do I use a switch module?

 

[gardenlover]

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!! i actually have a base system I ordered a while ago and also order the ph and tds prob package. So i think I had about $700 with all the little add ons and such and have never been able to actually use the system as I wanted. It is basically one one guy who is vary unreliable so don't count on any customer service to help you out with the buggy system. He is such a flake in fact i order the ph/TDS part knowing that there was about a month wait at the time for him to build that part and get it out to me. after the second month I contacted him to find out what was going on, long story short he gave me the run around for a while and said it was shipped out; never gave me a tracing number and never received the product. Further more I kept running into issues with getting the base system I had to work properly. bottom line the guy is a dick/ air head or both. I still have the base system and am so frusterated I paid so much and can't even do what I wanted I will sell who ever wants what I have for $50 bucks. But I honestly don't even feel right doing that bc its such a pice of junk. bottom line AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAUGE! much better system out there now for better prices and service.

 

[We Solidarity]

Most of the hobby-level grow controls are going to be complete crap, if you're paying less than 5k for your system you're probably going to be dealing with a one-man show who hired on some engineers to help design the controls, I would NEVER trust these systems in your house and I would never trust them with a crop, especially when they get complex.

The only computers I have in my grow (other than timers) are alarm systems that are wired to dedicated contactors, that way if something is out of it's parameters I get an alert, and if it goes too far out of line or doesn't revert back to normal then it will stop/start power depending on what's wrong. None of it is remote control except bypasses for the alarms, if I get an alarm it means I have to show up and do something, which is the way it should be.

 

[Fresh Starts]

I've had a converse experience with customer service from Growtronix. I ordered some parts from them and one of the pieces were missing so I contacted them immediately and requested the missing part. I was emailed back a tracking number with their apologies that same day. I have yet to set all my components up and run the system for a harvest so I have yet to deal with the UI but I'm fairly confident it won't give me too much trouble. I'll report back when I set it all up but so far so good on my end. It can do so much if it ends up working it'll be really worth it.