I'll get back to you on this, bed right nowOh, and yeah Tom, to answer your question, as for the Nutramist systems, that's where I actually got the idea of making a hybrid system like the one I have (most of) the parts for now. In my other thread on oxygen enhancement in the root chamber (https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/182929-injecting-0xygen-aeroponics-root-chamber.html) the pic I posted was actually from their site. It would be really nice to have one of their systems, since all the bugs have already been tested out of their earlier prototypes (unlike mine will be, though I hope I don't run into any serious ones, and don't think I will), but I priced one at a dealer in Montreal Quebec (I live in Canada), which was the closest one I could find, and it was like $999 + tax and shipping or something really close to that. And I suspect the shipping cost for something that big crossing the roughly like 730km (450miles) would drop your jaw, you know what I mean?
But, if you have any mechanical ability, and some ingenuity, I think prebuilt systems are kind of a waste of money. I got the fogger unit I have - a six-head with adjustable output (I think), 6 replacement discs and a float for like $125. I paid like $15 for a big reservoir for flood and drain, and maybe $8 for the smaller one for the fogger. The 2" hose cost me less than $10, the 12v muffin fan to push air from the fog reservoir into the root chamber was like 12$ and the 2-12v adaptor for it was $20. The table was $100, the cover (precut for 5" pots) was $50. The pump for flood and drain was like $150, and the mushroom valve and tubing came to maybe another $12. I'll have to spend a few bucks on 2x4 to build a stand for my table, say $8, since I don't have one designed to fit on top of the reservoir like the Nutramist one, and of course there's the time to assemble it all. BUT...if you add that all up, it comes to $510. With tax and shipping on the unit from Nutramist added on, I'd be looking at probably 12-1,300 bucks for essentially the same system. And I'd still have to buy net pots, neoprene discs for covers, a light & ballast, bulb, hood, ducting, a ventilation fan and one for airflow in the room, a carbon filter, probably a dehumidifier and an air conditioner, poly & mylar, an aero cloner (or the parts to build one), timers for the pump, light, and fogger, and probably 10 more things I'm not thinking of right off the top of my head. That extra $7-800 I would have spent on the Nutramist system would cover a fair amount of that stuff, you know what I mean? The convenience of it would be nice, and if I was selling pot wide open and making a fair amount of money, I'd probably go that route, but I'm not selling pot wide open, and I certainly wouldn't use the phrase 'hand over fist' to describe how much money I make. It all comes down to economics I think, really. If you can afford it, go for it. If money is more of an issue, doing it yourself makes more sense.
Thanks
