Aeroponic repeat cycle timer?

GreenLegend420

GreenLegend420

Well-Known Member
RolllingStone said:
Is there a decent cheap aeroponic repeat cycle timer or they just expensive af for repeat timers?
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Unless you want to run 15 min on then you'll need to spend $60-$80 and you can run 1 min - 5 min on times which seems to be the norm in aero.

Aero is a pretty complex system to get a great run all the way through i would recommend dwc rdwc waterfarms etc
 
RolllingStone

RolllingStone

Well-Known Member
GreenLegend420 said:
Unless you want to run 15 min on then you'll need to spend $60-$80 and you can run 1 min - 5 min on times which seems to be the norm in aero.

Aero is a pretty complex system to get a great run all the way through i would recommend dwc rdwc waterfarms etc
Click to expand...
Yeah i was looking into rdwc aswell but looks like aeroponic looks simple an easy to build it just the timer that so expensive cheapest i found was 50$
 
GreenLegend420

GreenLegend420

Well-Known Member
RolllingStone said:
Yeah i was looking into rdwc aswell but looks like aeroponic looks simple an easy to build it just the timer that so expensive cheapest i found was 50$
Click to expand...
You run into problems with any grow style but aero is the most unforgiving imo. If a pump fails in aero its over real quick and root rot can be a big problem as well a chiller is a must.
 
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Atomizer

Well-Known Member
Never had a pump fail with aero and never owned or needed a chiller :) Overwatering is the most common cause of root rot taking a hold. With misted aero, there`s not much chance of that happening.
 
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Atomizer

Well-Known Member
Most shop bought timers have mechanical relays in therm that go click :) They generally use low quality relays to save a few pennies.
 
Budley Doright

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
Atomizer said:
HPA and AA
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It would be interesting to know the temperature of the mist from the HPA. You said a chiller is not needed, I wonder if the cooling effect of the misters help reduce the need, just thinking out loud. Also when most here talk about aero its LPA and not true aero in the sense it's not producing water droplets in the 50 micron range. Do you think that a chiller is not required for LP? I had shit luck with my setup until I chilled the water but only ran it for half a year before switching back to F&D. My big issue was root chamber temps were out of control I think. You are chilling the air in the AA setup correct?
 
Grandpapy

Grandpapy

Well-Known Member
You can find it cheaper but this has been trouble free for 4 years.
https://www.hydrofarm.com/p/APCTMDT

• Precise digital time clock with battery backup
• Adjustable high temperature shutdown and hot start prevention
• Recycling on/off range: 1 second to 96 hours
• 3' remote temperature probe

But the con... it has never tripped but I feel like I'm walking on egg shells here.

NOTE: This controller has a 14.5A maximum load. For higher amperage units, or combined lighting wattage above 1200W, it is recommended to use a lighting controller.
 
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Atomizer

Well-Known Member
Budley Doright said:
It would be interesting to know the temperature of the mist from the HPA. You said a chiller is not needed, I wonder if the cooling effect of the misters help reduce the need, just thinking out loud. Also when most here talk about aero its LPA and not true aero in the sense it's not producing water droplets in the 50 micron range. Do you think that a chiller is not required for LP? I had shit luck with my setup until I chilled the water but only ran it for half a year before switching back to F&D. My big issue was root chamber temps were out of control I think. You are chilling the air in the AA setup correct?
Click to expand...
Chilling the nutes helps with any system that delivers a lot of water or irrigates constantly. Taming LPA root temps is about the same as with NFT.
With HPA you can take advantage of the damp chamber walls and floor for evaporative cooling. Especially good if you run to waste. Simply make the chamber out of a permeable material and route some airflow over the outside surfaces. This is easily done by spacing some black and white poly (panda film) away from the fabric chamber walls to create vertical ducts that are open at the top and the bottom. You want the air passing over the fabric, not blowing through it. I use this method outside in full sun and those chambers dont get much above 70F even though i cant control the breeze. I had to modify the ducts on the outdoor units so i could close them as the chamber temps would plummet at night. In a g`room its much easier to control the airflow.
I use the same chamber design for AA but its not as effective because there`s less water, typically not much more than 0.5ml per misting per 100L of chamber. Chilling the compressed air is the best option as the chamber gets more air than water, a litre or two every misting. I bought the wife a new fridge so i could use the old one.. i`d have been in the doghouse buying a new one for the AA :)
I have an external STC-1000 thermostat controlling the fridge temp which keeps the AA chamber around 21C lights on and 17C lights off.
Back on the topic of timers, i use 12v cycle timers equpped with 25Amp solid state relays, the shortest On time is 0.05 seconds, adjustable in 0.05 second increments. The OFF time can be set the same way (0.05 sec) but i prefer whole seconds for the pause adjustment.
 
Quasar Jones

Quasar Jones

Member
Guys, I taught my 12 year old brother how to make a timer. You can make 8 timers for about 20 bucks, and use them to cycle time everything down to the microsecond (please don't do anything less than a second).You can even hook up sensors and have equipment respond "smartly"

I'm talking lights, pumps, solenoids, fans, AC, heaters.

They make smaller increments, 4 switches is probably enough.
If anyone wants to pursue this, I can try to walk you through it. Currently I'm running 12 switches, and a number of sensors.

Parts:
https://www.amazon.com/JBtek-Channel-Relay-Arduino-Raspberry/dp/B00KTELP3I

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11113

For dc switches:
http://yourduino.com/sunshop2/index.php?l=product_detail&p=60

Tutorial:
https://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/ArduinoPower

Timer code: (flasher is whatever you're switching)
https://learn.adafruit.com/multi-tasking-the-arduino-part-1/a-classy-solution

Also you'll need some breadboard jumper wires, 5 volt power supply, and a few different colored spools of 16 gauge stranded copper wire.

If you're switching anything with a compressor or motor, you'll want to use a random cross or instantaneous solid state relay. Multiply the amperage the equipment uses by five to avoid blowing fuses/fires. So a five amp ac means a 25 amp rated solid state relay.

A good ssr (price is for 2 of them):
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/panasonic-electric-works/AQA421VL/255-2980-ND/2364685
 
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V

VegasWinner

Well-Known Member
Quasar Jones said:
Guys, I taught my 12 year old brother how to make a timer. You can make 8 timers for about 20 bucks, and use them to cycle time everything down to the microsecond (please don't do anything less than a second).You can even hook up sensors and have equipment respond "smartly"

I'm talking lights, pumps, solenoids, fans, AC, heaters.

They make smaller increments, 4 switches is probably enough.
If anyone wants to pursue this, I can try to walk you through it. Currently I'm running 12 switches, and a number of sensors.

Parts:
https://www.amazon.com/JBtek-Channel-Relay-Arduino-Raspberry/dp/B00KTELP3I

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11113

For dc switches:
http://yourduino.com/sunshop2/index.php?l=product_detail&p=60

Tutorial:
https://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/ArduinoPower

Timer code: (flasher is whatever you're switching)
https://learn.adafruit.com/multi-tasking-the-arduino-part-1/a-classy-solution

Also you'll need some breadboard jumper wires, 5 volt power supply, and a few different colored spools of 16 gauge stranded copper wire.

If you're switching anything with a compressor or motor, you'll want to use a random cross or instantaneous solid state relay. Multiply the amperage the equipment uses by five to avoid blowing fuses/fires. So a five amp ac means a 25 amp rated solid state relay.

A good ssr (price is for 2 of them):
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/panasonic-electric-works/AQA421VL/255-2980-ND/2364685
Click to expand...
Thanks. I wrote a similar sketch but this one is even simpler. Peace
 
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Atomizer

Well-Known Member
Songle relays are really crap quality, the most reliable mechanical relay i`ve used is the HF3FF. It has a 12v dc coil and is rated at 15A for 125v.
The thing to remember with SSR`s is they only come in a single pole version, they need a heatsink if you draw more than a few amps and when they fail (which admittedly isnt very often) they typically fail closed circuit (permanently on).
 
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