I am interested in buying a used Under Current system/ hydro equipment, what are your guys thoughts?

[kamdavs]

I found a used under current for sale in my area and I figured that if its still in good shape there shouldn't be a problem.

How do you guys feel about buying a used system off of CL?

Does anyone have any advice or experience with a used UC 13XL system?

Is there something that I should look for?

Thanks

 

[deacon1503]

Look for cracked buckets. ull want to replace the lines, uni-seals, and air stones anyway. Buckets. Pvc. Air pump with manifold. Water pump. Complete epicenter. Lids.

 

[ttystikk]

I looked carefully at the UC and at several other designs- and then built my own. Things I liked about the UC- and incorporated; continuous recirculation of water, 'epi-center' concept, large water capacity, relatively small parts count, both in terms of total parts needed and number of different parts required; this simplifies keeping an inventory of spares. I did not like the lack of a 'tail' bucket, where water from several rows combines before being sent back to the epi-center; I find this to be the best place to add nutes and the like as it has a chance to mix and dilute both here and in the head bucket before it ever sees any roots. Also, a tail bucket tends to accumulate the crud or debris in the system, making it easy to spot and remove. Lastly, this is where I place my pump, with the filter still in place, with a line from it to the epi-center.

Rather than post the design here, I started a thread in DIY farms for those interested in the build.

 

[kamdavs]

This is the system I am looking at, what do you guys think?

 

[sky high]

Look for cracked buckets. ull want to replace the lines, uni-seals, and air stones anyway. Buckets. Pvc. Air pump with manifold. Water pump. Complete epicenter. Lids.

It looks like a decent amount of equipment for the coin he is asking. As deacon1503 suggests...You may very well need to replace the pvc or other parts....so be prepared for that possibility. Even so....the buckets and pumps represent the lion's share of the cost of the build. I would also be prepared to buy a bottle of Physan 20 and have a few days to clean set aside as well.

My build is on this site (or was..haven't checked since the switchover in servers) and I can tell you you will spend a lot more than 1K on this list of parts/etc.

good luck whatever you decide to do

s h

 

[farmseeker]

It isn't a real UC system.... I talked with this guy because I was in the market for another.... His buckets are white and will need to be wrapped.. So look at a real UC system and see what differs on his... These are his DYI sytems.... I passed on it.....

 

[kamdavs]

ok guys, just got off the phone with the guy and im going to go check them out tonight. He says he has 4 of them, imma check em out and keep you guys posted.

 

[dirk d]

imo dont ever buy anything used that is a "foundation" piece of equipment. good luck.

 

[ttystikk]

imo dont ever buy anything used that is a "foundation" piece of equipment. good luck.

Hmmm...
Hoods? Used.
Ballasts? used.
RDWC? DIY... with recycled parts!
Chiller? used.
Fans? used.
Pumps? used.
Environmental controller? used.
Dehumidifier? used.
Swamp coolers? used.
Hydroton? used.
gauges and instruments? used...

the only things I bought new were nutrients, bulbs, airstones and netpots, the last only because I couldn't find any for sale used.

I saved a ton of money, I've had only one failure, and I don't think it was the fan's fault.

 

[ZombieSlave]

ok so I called that dude from a diff add. they are WHITE buckets. he recomends to use the bags over them that CC sell..... what are the farms thoughts on this? he says the original CC's where white... I said we learn from our mistakes..

 

[woodsmaneh]

I see nothing wrong with used equipment if you do your homework. You will NOT need to replace the PVC, still shaking my head about that. The air pimp can be rebuilt for very little same as the water pump. The Uni-seals last forever so the only issues to look for is cracked buckets around the holes. Clean the whole thing with H2O2 and soak some of the small parts in a bucket of it also. Seals ect. Hope it works out for you.

 

[kamdavs]

I met up with the guy last night and he was pretty chill and I bought one of his 4 remaining 24 site systems.

I went to the local hydro store yesterday and I checked out the UC display model to see what I should expect. I agree with Woodsmaneh, the main thing that I had to worry about were the buckets and whether they were cracked. I checked them and they were all in good shape. He even gave me 2 extra buckets and 4 extra uniseals. The Uniseals were also in great shape and the airstones are the upgraded micropore ceramics that put out a ton of bubbles. The PVC is in good condition, so I don't need to replace that either.

I'm waiting for a friend to come over today so I can put the system together. So far I've plugged in the air pump and water pump and they both work great. So, I pretty much just need to assemble it, clean it out, and should be good to go.

The buckets are white, but im going to wrap the buckets anyways so its all good. If I wasn't going to wrap them, I was just going to throw a black trash bag over the buckets and I wouldn't have to worry about algae etc.

I'm pretty stoked right now and can not wait to get this bad boy up and running.

 

[sky high]

You will NOT need to replace the PVC, still shaking my head about that.

If someone is happy with the 28" centers...no...no replacement necessary.

When I ran my system I did approx 48" centers and was still completely overgrown. Can't even imagine 28" centers on 13 gal buckets...

best of luck kamdavs. Glad you found what you were searching for.

s h

 

[woodsmaneh]

Use blue windex window cleaner to put it together, the regular stuff works the best, even better than KY and is cheap. To keep the cans from cracking make sure you have the pvc inserted straight into the sides, NOT at ANGLES. It's easy to have them at odd angles due to the flex in the cans. Get the silver bubble wrap from any big lumber store and wrap the pipes too.

 

[dirk d]

Hmmm...
Hoods? Used.
Ballasts? used.
RDWC? DIY... with recycled parts!
Chiller? used.
Fans? used.
Pumps? used.
Environmental controller? used.
Dehumidifier? used.
Swamp coolers? used.
Hydroton? used.
gauges and instruments? used...

the only things I bought new were nutrients, bulbs, airstones and netpots, the last only because I couldn't find any for sale used.

I saved a ton of money, I've had only one failure, and I don't think it was the fan's fault.

To each their own ttystikk. I started out getting all used equipment. ballast, hoods anything i could to save some $$$. However I strictly prefer having brand new items. personal preference. to me its not worth the savings to sacrifice optimul performance and risk a failure that can cost a harvest. call me cautious lol. trust me, you go through a couple lost harvests due to failures and you rethink things. at least i did.

 

[ttystikk]

To each their own ttystikk. I started out getting all used equipment. ballast, hoods anything i could to save some $$$. However I strictly prefer having brand new items. personal preference. to me its not worth the savings to sacrifice optimul performance and risk a failure that can cost a harvest. call me cautious lol. trust me, you go through a couple lost harvests due to failures and you rethink things. at least i did.

Interesting how each individual's experience colors their preferences. I've spent far too much time under the hood of new cars to believe I'm getting anything special for my money- and for what they want retail for a lot of this stuff, I can buy a lot of repairs and spares! Besides, tell me how a reflector wears out?

You're absolutely right about not wanting to sacrifice performance. That's why I specifically mentioned that I don't buy used nutes or bulbs.

The way to prevent failures- or at least not be seriously affected by them- is not merely to buy new, but rather to have a good plan in place for when, not if, things go wrong. Hence, have spares handy and a plan in place to replace any component in your system or do without long enough for it to get fixed. This, along with vigilance- that is, carefully checking everything, gear, plants, environment, etc on at least a daily basis, is the path to guaranteed good harvests. It doesn't require a bad part to ruin a harvest. Inattention will do just fine.

 

[dirk d]

well i think experience gives you wisdom which in turn, hopefully, makes you not repeat your failures lol. the grower is the most important part of any grow op for sure. however most noobs start off getting used equipment and they really dont have the experience to really understand whats going on. they jump right in thinking they are going to grow an insane amount of weed and then get crap harvests.

again i like brand new vs used. cars...sure i'll buy 2-3 yr old vs new for sure. but we arent talking about a 60k vehicle. we are talking about $200 ballasts, $100 here $400 there. ive dumped a lot of $$$ into my op and i prefer new with warranty in case it goes down. i also have backups of everything..new backups, not used. guess im learning lol, got some wisdom!

again i sleep better knowing that if anything breaks down, my girls wont die and that i can normally go to my hydro shop and have the item replaced there on the spot no questions asked. i just like that "insurance policy."

 

[ttystikk]

Two ways to skin the same cat, brother Dirk. I was no beginner so I leveraged my mechanical skills and horticultural experience to save money on kit.

Oh yeah, and one of the hydro stores I bought stuff from closed... so much for their 'warranty', lol

From another thread, ( https://www.thcfarmer.com/community...s-quantum-vs-phantom.45059/page-3#post-817374 ) I made the point that simpler is generally better; in that case it was ballasts; a magnetic ballast has standardized parts in it that you can get repaired nearly anywhere on the cheap- and usually fast. Last time my capacitor popped, my store (another one, lol) had it fixed in 2 hours, and parts n labor cost me less than $50. If I ran digi ballasts, I would have had to have a 'warranty' replacement, and depended on the integrity of the store to make me whole.

Another way to make things more robust is by centralization; instead of a minisplit AC for each room, and a little chiller for every RDWC system, I run one big 2 Ton ChillKing chiller, and do all of those tasks with just one unit. Less expensive to buy and far less expensive to operate and maintain. If it quits, it goes to the AC repair shop so no tech has to visit here, and meanwhile I can run cold water drain to waste until it gets back, with no interruptions. Try that with a minisplit, lol.

 

[dirk d]

lol, you definitely know your shizt ttystick thats for sure! im going to have to pay attention to what you say a little closer lol. maybe i'll learn a thing...or ten lol

right now ive been planning mini splits for each flower room and 1/4 hp chillers for each of my 3 monsters lol! i have been fortunate my hydro shop is pretty big and takes excellent care of me.

oh ya i run (4) digital 1000w select a watt galaxy ballasts and (4) 600w galaxy ballasts. lol. you crack me up lol

 

[seebobsled]

I see used bulbs but used nutrients hmmm. Should post on C.list and see if there's a need?