Automatic nutrient refill systems - Anyone use one, or know of a good DIY way?

Different strokes for different folks man. IMO, time spent doing the same routine task is more akin to slavery, than time well spent in a garden. The automation, and exclusion of monkey work, is what really gives growers time to learn something new in their lairs. Not only have i linked incredibly affordable solenoids in this thread, i've found even more that'll do the job for half their affordable cost, and they are all accurate, including the one i already use in my HPA setup, to .1 second open close time. Actually, their so accurate in fact, i think a bit of overkill for such a DIY project, but i can't think of anything else that would offer an even cheaper alternative to releasing the pre-measured nutes into the res. I'll get it done for under $100 and post pics in time.

EDIT:
I think the drippers i plan to use will clog in time having straight nutes run through them, but i doubt it would happen in the time one 1 gallon bottle runs through them, and that'll take a few months, so not that big of a hassle to have a freshly filled res everyday

I'm not trying to shoot down your idea, but 10 mins once a week or once every 2 weeks is far from slavery...and unless the solenoids are linked to an ec/ppm or ph monitoring device you're still going to have to monitor those numbers...do you plan on cleaning the reservoir or just topping off throughout the whole cycle? It sounds like more work/potential for trouble than your current setup....again, not trying to be a dick.

10 minutes? takes me about an hour to fill two 40+ gallon res's, AND, i know i dumb water on the floor a lot more then something i can design/build to do it, lol. I can't count the number of times i've left the water running and had to grab a mop, ha. I've seen no need to clean my res's personally. Not saying they have never been rinsed out once or twice in the last year, (a hard task since there so big, be a lot easier with a 5gal bucket res), but only because i was moving them around. GH nutes are pretty much like pre-mixed kool-aid in a bottle, they dissolve very well. As for pH/ppm measuring, as i'm designing it, any liquid, including additives and pH up/down, could technically be de-capped, turned upside down and poured into the system for measured dosing. Not that id do it with pH movers, not that i find a need to use them either, but that's a different story. I'm sure i'll measure to dial the setup in, and make sure it's repeating the same numbers with each refill, but once i see it's reliably repeating the action i'm to set it up for, i don't see why you'd measure everyday. It's not going to be hard to drip a very specific amount into the beakers, the dripper test i did shows that. From there, the nute noids will dump said specific amount into the res, at the same time the controller fires open both the nute noids, and the water line noid. It shouldn't take but a few short minutes for my water line to pump in 3 gallons. During that time the drippers would be able to drip nute juice right down into the res, but doubt it'll amount to much. When the water level reaches full, the controller should kick off all 4 noids, letting the beakers drip/fill back up to there specific preset amounts in preparation for there next dumping, about every 48 hours if i used a 5 gal bucket as a res.

In the setup i want to build this for, i run 18 misters across 6 flowering plants. I measure exactly what my misters put out fluid wise, all them put out less then 1.7 gallons a day, max. Actual use is even a little less then that though. I could use my 40 gal res's still, and get over 3 weeks out of them before i needed to refill, but who wants 3 week old res solution in there grow room ya know?

Yeah you def don't want old solution sitting around waiting to fuck you plants up. It sounds to me like you have it all planned out in your head, you just have to smoke some good Sativa to get motivated and then go at it.

When are you gonna get this done? I am very interested in your results.

I'm working on the structure to act as a res (a 5gal bucket), the components (another 5gal bucket atop the first), and the 3 bottles of nutes, atop that. The nutes are no light mount let me tell ya. Got a bit of heft to all this with just those 3 gallons atop everything.

Gonna have to make sure of the parts i want,.. then order them, and wait,.. i hope to get everything by next weekend though, and get working on it fully then.

DIYer said:

I'm working on the structure to act as a res (a 5gal bucket), the components (another 5gal bucket atop the first), and the 3 bottles of nutes, atop that. The nutes are no light mount let me tell ya. Got a bit of heft to all this with just those 3 gallons atop everything.

Gonna have to make sure of the parts i want,.. then order them, and wait,.. i hope to get everything by next weekend though, and get working on it fully then.

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Make sure you overdo it strengthening your setup to be able to support the weight of the nute bottles when they are full. It would be a shame to see it all setup and then come back the next day to find a nice mess with wasted nutes everywhere. Just my two cents but if there is any doubt about strength, add more. It really can't hurt to be a little overcautious.

I'm gonna make it strong enough to hold the 24 pounds up there for sure.

Ya know,.. how i had this planned out,.. there would be a point of no return. Right about when i flipped a gallon of nutes upside down into a cup, not to be touched for months. Yeah sure, as if everything is going to work right the first time. I think i got a better idea,.. hooking the dripper to the bottle will allow me to take a bottle out of the system without it pouring out, and i think i sold my 2LPH drippers ability to let air back in the bottle a bit short. I just realized, i can suck and blow through them. So you'd think if the bottles sides suck in, as its contents drip out, that it'll suck air back in eventually. Testing it now with a bottle of floro grow....

I didn't count filling the res as "time spent"...install a float valve...then it will only take you 10 mins lol

berkman858...read the title of the post dummy....Clearly asked if anyone used one or had a do it yourself one. I gave a link to one I use just as requested. If you wish to try and think you're smarter then someone and call them out at least read and have a clue what your talking about. That said looking at the one I showed in my link gives you a good foundation to base a DIY one from. Those who are long term site member unlike yourself know I have been here since week site opened and have been one of the biggest DIY contributors with DIY plans and how to threads. Keep reading and learning.

i'm kinda a freak about keeping my grow room electrical costs down, i know its only few nickels probably, but if i get this right, i'll be able to unplug the air pumps currently keeping my res solution semi fresh for 2 weeks. Mo quieter too!

I'll get a high flow enough dripper hooked to the bottles, still testing ones now, then air will get back in the bottles, AND (if ever need me) i'll be able to lift them off without losing a lot of root juice.

I've posted this pic before, but changed it so you won't need a ultrasonic level sensor.

Note: The nute pump would have to have a one way valve on it so when the pump shuts off the nutes don't flow back through the pump.
You could then run water in for how ever long you want (let it overflow for a bit) - but you might need another solenoid on the overflow drain.
1) Drain and flush 2) Fill until overflows 3) Close overflow solenoid 4) Start nute pump (nute solenoid closed) 5) let it overflow (then you know you have the required amount - doesn't have to be 25mL) 6) Stop nute pump 7) open nute solenoid and drop nutes into resevoir

So really, you could do this all with timers because the set times don't have to be perfect because of the overflow design.

FilthyFletch said:

berkman858...read the title of the post dummy....Clearly asked if anyone used one or had a do it yourself one. I gave a link to one I use just as requested. If you wish to try and think you're smarter then someone and call them out at least read and have a clue what your talking about. That said looking at the one I showed in my link gives you a good foundation to base a DIY one from. Those who are long term site member unlike yourself know I have been here since week site opened and have been one of the biggest DIY contributors with DIY plans and how to threads. Keep reading and learning.

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Hah, you got that mad over dummy?? Get some thicker skin. Damn, some people have so sense of humor....such as the Filth.... you must be no fun at all.

AdvancedNewbie said:

I've posted this pic before, but changed it so you won't need a ultrasonic level sensor.
View attachment 2146056View attachment 2146057
Note: The nute pump would have to have a one way valve on it so when the pump shuts off the nutes don't flow back through the pump.
You could then run water in for how ever long you want (let it overflow for a bit) - but you might need another solenoid on the overflow drain.
1) Drain and flush 2) Fill until overflows 3) Close overflow solenoid 4) Start nute pump (nute solenoid closed) 5) let it overflow (then you know you have the required amount - doesn't have to be 25mL) 6) Stop nute pump 7) open nute solenoid and drop nutes into resevoir

So really, you could do this all with timers because the set times don't have to be perfect because of the overflow design.

Click to expand...

Nice system.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaJLfjhVEf0&feature=player_embedded and go to 1 hour 27 minutes (1:27:00) and check out the toilet style float valve too; I just like this part of the video as it shows all the cheap little things the growers use that are simple yet effective.

Ha! My girl was watching me watch that video, and she said,... "so high times got a 'bro' to do there growing videos for them?" lol... What a toolbag. At 1:27 he says, 'it's environmentally responsible to use that float',..... well whats the alternative douchbag? You overflow your res? lol... it's funny how idiotic peopler get when a cameras on them. With 50k gal in there res you'd think they could use it's pressure to pump up that half mile hill for free, and use those solar panels to power a nice set of speakers, ha!

DIYer said:

Ha! My girl was watching me watch that video, and she said,... "so high times got a 'bro' to do there growing videos for them?" lol... What a toolbag. At 1:27 he says, 'it's environmentally responsible to use that float',..... well whats the alternative douchbag? You overflow your res? lol... it's funny how idiotic peopler get when a cameras on them. With 50k gal in there res you'd think they could use it's pressure to pump up that half mile hill for free, and use those solar panels to power a nice set of speakers, ha!

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I watched that video a month ago for a little bit but shut it off because he seemed like a douche. Glad someone else agrees.

So what happens when you hook a dripper to a gallon jug of GH, and offer no return air line?

That in a few hours...


...and this is how much more it had in the bottle.

before,........ after,...... lol

Funny thing is it's still dripping as fast as it was to start. I wasn't expecting this,.. but i think i'll take it, if all the rest makes its way out. I expect at some point the vacuum in the bottle will become greater, and suck air through the dripper line,.. but who knows. Maybe the jug will just completely implode, and recycle itself too, ha

I could put a simple shut off valve in the line coming from the bottles to keep from losing root juice, but i still like the idea of a low flow dripper so very little ever comes out. It'll have a full two days to full up, what i'm estimating to be around only 12mL, so although i could probably use a shut off valve and just the 1/4 line with no dripper, i want no chance of nutes ever pouring from the bottle, only dripping slowly.


EDIT:
I priced out 4 noids (1 for water line, 3 cheaper lower psi ones for nutes), the liquid level controller, and three 25mL graduated cylinders, total at $103. If i was willing to wait 2 weeks for the cylinders from china i could get it for under 100, but oh well. Other then that it's just 3 drippers, some 1/4 line, an old bucket, or two in my case, and some quick connect fittings from home de pot. Not too bad if it all works, lol

Looks like your drippers are working good.

I came across these bad boys,

http://reefbuilders.com/2011/06/15/johnlen-micom-liquid-feeder-dynamic-dosing-pump/

but you seem to have found a cheap solution.