Rdwc Questions...

[Junk]

So I have 5 DWC buckets that look exactly like this



Got a res & pump...& there are no instructions as to how to plumb it.

I tried the obvious, & got the result I expected. I went Res>pump in res to one side of the first T-fitting. The other side of that T goes to the next bucket, & on until the last hose (3/4") goes back to the res.

The res & the buckets are on the floor.

With this plumbed like it is, the pump is constantly filling the buckets, as I suspected, you can't use the same inlet as you are an outlet, hence the overflow. (no leaks, it's filling the pots up too much, although I guess you would call that a leak).

So what I was thinking of doing (& want to make sure before I do it) is just drill/grommet/fit the drain line where I want my water level to be. The T's on the bottom will be replaced with straight fittings.

So the pump would push water through the bottom fitting, till it reached the drain fitting, at which point, it would go down that fitting, which is plumbed to the bottom of the next bucket. The process repeats 5 x.

Is this the best way to daisy chain 5 buckets?

 

[Junk]

If someone is an idea, (& I'm kind of just talking this out,)I'm kind of in a spot. Ordinarily I wouldn't change things during a run. But I did not anticipate the combination of hydro & monster crops to create such big plants. I had to scrog it to keep them standing, thus move to a res.

Not sure if I should add a bucket & do manifolds, or just do like I thought before. where each bucket intakes from the bottom, & distributes through the top, & just run them in a chain back to the res. I don't see why the latter wouldn't work, I just wonder, even with 3/4" stuff is not going to get mixed evenly. Would reversing the intake/outtake help/matter?

I don't understand the concept of the control bucket at all. From what I've seen it's just a manifold. (I'm obviously not understanding it's function correctly).

Hmmm, or do I just do them all at the bottom, & use the pump to somehow control the levels? I would think, the first buckets in line would always be fuller.

 

[Junk]

It is blowing my mind that I can't figure this out lol.

 

[ken dog]

It might be better if you ran it like a current culture system... Have the water gravity fed to your pump, and have your pump, pump up into the reservoir.

 

[Junk]

They have much bigger plumbing than I have. I have 3/4"


But I think I determined how a control bucket might work. It will be on the same plan as the others. It will have three outputs, on the same plane as the others, one to each side of the daisy chain, the third goes back the res. The pump in in the res, top feeding the control bucket. I then put a drain stem at the height I want all the water, dumping back to the res.

& hopefully, gravity will do the rest?

The current culture also has two ports per bucket. & In & out. I only have one pre-drilled. I can make it an in/out design but not sure if I should

 

[Junk]

Have the water gravity fed to your pump, and have your pump, pump up into the reservoir.

Can you explain what you mean by this a little more in depth?

 

[Junk]

Nm, the darn pump was broken. Swapped it out & everything works beautiful.

My head hurts, & I'm pissed I didn't think to look at mechanical failure sooner :(

 

[Junk]

Here is a cut/paste I sent to @Lurkin4yrs who was trying to help me with the problem. I'm quite embarrassed about the whole thing...you'll see why. I'm putting this up here so that anyone who searches might find it & figure out their problem sooner than I did.


"Thanks for the kindness, but it was a terrible job. I got my head so wound up in the fact that I was doing it wrong. I put myself in this little box of possibilities, & repeatedly flooded my space because I didn't think outside that box. Lesson learned I guess. What I'm so pissed about is that I already "know" that lesson. I guess, I'll take comfort in the fact that I learned that lesson outside of this field, & I'll use that as an excuse as to why it didn't occur to me.

So what was happening is that because 3 of the propeller blades were missing...it would still pump in rapid bursts (thus the buckets filling too quickly) But it wouldn't siphon. To syphon that much water, the pump needs to have all it's faculties. To siphon, pressure needs to remain constant. I know that. I've learned it with many years of outside activity (dirt bikes, quads, off roading, track racing, drag racing) in which we would need gas, so we would siphon from something else. Once you get the siphon going, it will keep going, so long as you don't interrupt it. The pump side does not need that constant pressure in order to work. Siphon needs to remain constant pressure.

I knew the problem was that it was not siphoning back to the res...it would just fill to overflow the buckets. I tried the res at 3 different heights. I started the siphon myself so many times I had stomach problems from all the GH nutes (the lucas recipe tastes awful) The siphon would not remain constant.

& I never thought to look at the pump. I didn't know it had a siphon connection, but I understand the water dynamics. In order to pump water, it has to pull water. But with the pump broke, the pull was never constant. See why I'm ticked off at myself? Now that it's done...it's rather obvious.

So, if you run into this situation, check your pump. It may sound like it's working, but if something is not right with the blades, it will not pull the water back out the other side of your chain... leading to bucket overflow.

 

[Lurkin4yrs]

Glad you got it fixed brother!

-lurkin