Blumat -vs- Autopot questions

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
I want to "automate" a 24 plant system and those are what I am looking at. I love the idea of under feeding with the auto-pot, but I also like being able to just take my pot/bag and just throwing it out at the end of the grow which makes blumats attractive.

Blumat concerns and questions.
1) It says that if you knock into your pot and the spike moves it can create an air-gap and you're screwed. Bumping into shit in the garden? Who me? Blumat users, is this an actual concern or has it never happened to you?
2) Is one emitter per pot enough?
3) Can I use any medium including my beloved pro-mix?

Auto-pot concerns and questions.
1) Do you really need that air-stone addition to the pots?
2) Pics of them always show them off-set in rows, can you just cut the line and have them balanced as well? I'm assuming you can.

And questions to both types, how many times has something failed and you've got a flood?

Thank you.
 

ComputerSaysNo

Well-Known Member
I'm sceptical about the Blumats and looking forward to answers here from people who are actually using them.

I have used an AutoPot before.

I want to "automate" a 24 plant system and those are what I am looking at.
In such a large setup the AutoPot can become expensive. Maybe look into making some "Hooch Buckets" (go to YouTube); you'll have to 3D-Print them, however. That's a great alternative in my opinion, and really worth it for somebody running a large setup like yourself.

I love the idea of under feeding with the auto-pot, but I also like being able to just take my pot/bag and just throwing it out at the end of the grow
Why would you throw out a perfectly good pot or bag? AutoPots are practically regular pots made to fit their tray. They also do not cost more than comparable high quality plant pots.

I still would not want to throw them away after each grow. Why would one do that? Pots are cleaned in 5 minutes.

What I like about the AutoPot is that there is nothing special about the pots (except their shape) and you can move them from the tray and back anytime you want, without any hassle at all. They are really high quality pots that should last a long time.

Do you really need that air-stone addition to the pots?
If you're talking about the AirDome that goes inside the pot, it is optional. Apparently it can increase yield by a third-or-so. I am not using one, but it is really inexpensive so it would not hurt to try and run a controlled experiment.

Pics of them always show them off-set in rows, can you just cut the line and have them balanced as well? I'm assuming you can.
You can arrange them in any way you want. It is probably good if the water pressure on the individual pots is equal. To achieve that, the total length from tank to each pot needs to be equal, so it would have to be a star-shaped distribution system.

If the tank is large and sits a good bit higher than the pots, there should always be enough pressure on the lines, so probably no special distribution scheme is needed.

The only requirement is that the tank sits maybe 20cm higher than the pots (trays), more is better.
 

JustBlazin

Well-Known Member
I've ran blumats for a little over a year and I love them. I can try to answer any questions you have. I've read alot about them when I first started using them as I wanted to avoid any major runaways.

1. Yes it's true it can happen, anytime I bump a pot I push the carrot in to make sure it didn't come loose. Has it happened to me? Possibly as I've had a few times I had water on the floor but don't know why it happened. So now I try and push them in if I think I knocked it to hard. Most water I have had on the floor was a few litres, most times it was just a small puddle. But I check on mine at least once a day.

2. I've only used 1 per pot. I've used them in 1-5 gallon pots. If you are using bigger than that you might want a second or you could use 1 with more drip emitters.

3. Hell ya, I use promix amended with Gaia green dry amendments so I just have to feed straight tap water with some top dressing in flower. I've heard they work really well with coco as well.

If you use blumats I'd suggest a pond liner or flood tray that can hold the amount of water your res holds just to be on the safe side. I bought a good pond liner from home depot for piece of mind. Luckily I've only had a few litre on the floor. I'd say I've had water on the floor maybe 5-6 times but usually it's just a little bit and just turn down the blumat a bit and all's good.
You generally got the little floods at the beginning when you are dialing them in after initial set up, usually after around 2 weeks they should be pretty much set and forget. But I like to check on mine everyday just to be safe. As the lines can get clogged or air bubbles can block the line.

My plants are about 5 weeks in and I just went in my tent 2 nights ago and there was a puddle on the ground not big definitely alot less than a litre, I just soaked it up with a bunch of paper towels and rang them out into a bucket. But the plant in question had already stopped dripping so I just turned it down a little and am keeping my eye on it and it's been fine since. Still not sure why it happened but I do move that one around a fair bit so that could have been the culprit but it seems good now.
 
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xtsho

Well-Known Member
I love Blumats. I have only done a small 4-5 plant grow using them so I can't comment on a larger scale operation. Overall they work work great and simplify irrigation. I think they are at their best when using 100% coco and salt based fertilizers. Since there is no runoff you reduce the nutrients significantly.

I've been interested in exploring a Capillary Mat System for some time using fabric pots with 100% coco. They have a sensor for that. Skip the individual carrots and just use capillary matting.
 

JustBlazin

Well-Known Member
Oh and I have done 20-25 at one time with great results. Right now I have 23 going you can look at my journal if you like.
I usually do 10-15, but once a year I do a bunch of seeds to find more keepers that are good enough to hang with my six keepers
 

XtraGood

Well-Known Member
With your Blumats do you breakdown the plumbing and clean everything, clean the lines in place, run a sterilizer with the ferts, or do nothing but clear clogs? (how often?)
 
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JustBlazin

Well-Known Member
With your Blumats do you breakdown the plumbing and clean everything, or clean the lines in place? (each run?)
No I've only cleaned out the res and lines once but I bought the filter to filter what comes out the res to try not to let much junk in the lines but I still get some sludge build up at the drippers once in awhile, I just wipe the end off when it gets the snot at the end. I do clean the filters once in awhile. It would be good to clean them at least once a year I'd say more if you get lots of shit in your lines. The real problem is the 3mm line, the 8 mm is usually pretty good.
 

ComputerSaysNo

Well-Known Member
From what I read the Tropf-Blumat is very good to supply a large number of plants. If I used it, I would treat it as a drain-to-waste system. That means, putting it in a flood tray and catching any runoff. It would have the significant advantage of being simpler to dial-in compared to a pump driven system. The individual plants would get their optimal amount of water/fertigation.

I would probably use the XL version of the carrots and bury them as advised. That should make knocking them loose by accident less of an issue and probably lead to more precise watering.

The AutoPot is probably better for a small number of plants, say 1-6 medium-sized plants. This is mainly because the Blumat scales better cost-wise. The tank for the AutoPot is easier to set up, as it does not have to sit as high as the Blumat tank (20cm above the floor compared to 1m above the drip line). I do not see how flooding would occur at all with an AutoPot unless you really neglect the valves.

If you put the Blumat pots in a flood tray, that further raises the drip line, so the tank will probably have to sit as high as 150cm above ground. That is not very convenient for refilling.

AutoPots are easier to move around, and there is no carrot to knock loose. When removed from their tray, you can treat them as regular plant pots. It's possible to move them to, say, a bath tub for flushing, then simply re-insert them into their trays. They also are certified for organic ferts if you use the latest incarnation of the valves.
 

JustBlazin

Well-Known Member
From what I read the Tropf-Blumat is very good to supply a large number of plants. If I used it, I would treat it as a drain-to-waste system. That means, putting it in a flood tray and catching any runoff. It would have the significant advantage of being simpler to dial-in compared to a pump driven system. The individual plants would get their optimal amount of water/fertigation.

I would probably use the XL version of the carrots and bury them as advised. That should make knocking them loose by accident less of an issue and probably lead to more precise watering.

The AutoPot is probably better for a small number of plants, say 1-6 medium-sized plants. This is mainly because the Blumat scales better cost-wise. The tank for the AutoPot is easier to set up, as it does not have to sit as high as the Blumat tank (20cm above the floor compared to 1m above the drip line). I do not see how flooding would occur at all with an AutoPot unless you really neglect the valves.

If you put the Blumat pots in a flood tray, that further raises the drip line, so the tank will probably have to sit as high as 150cm above ground. That is not very convenient for refilling.

AutoPots are easier to move around, and there is no carrot to knock loose. When removed from their tray, you can treat them as regular plant pots. It's possible to move them to, say, a bath tub for flushing, then simply re-insert them into their trays. They also are certified for organic ferts if you use the latest incarnation of the valves.
To refill I bought a pump, so I just pour a home depot bucket into another bucket with the pump to fill the res that's 4 1/2 feet off the ground. Makes filling it up pretty easy
 

ComputerSaysNo

Well-Known Member
To refill I bought a pump, so I just pour a home depot bucket into another bucket with the pump to fill the res that's 4 1/2 feet off the ground. Makes filling it up pretty easy
Yes, that's how I would do it, or just straight from a hose connected to the kitchen or bathroom outlet (or RO system).

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter how high the tank sits, as long as you can still reach it. It's not possible to move a 47l or 100l tank at all, when filled with water.

But it's easier to set a tank 30cm above ground compared to 120cm+.
 

JustBlazin

Well-Known Member
Yes, that's how I would do it, or just straight from a hose connected to the kitchen or bathroom outlet (or RO system).

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter how high the tank sits, as long as you can still reach it. It's not possible to move a 47l or 100l tank at all, when filled with water.

But it's easier to set a tank 30cm above ground compared to 120cm+.
If you have access there's the pressure reducer for your hose that you can just run you blumats off instead of a res. I hear they work way better with the pressure reducer as in no more runaways
 

ComputerSaysNo

Well-Known Member
If you have access there's the pressure reducer for your hose that you can just run you blumats off instead of a res. I hear they work way better with the pressure reducer as in no more runaways
I think this is mostly only suitable for outdoor or greenhouse setups. Indoor for most people it will probably be a non-starter to run a pressurized hose to the grow-room (certainly not in my case). Refilling a tank from time to time sounds a lot easier to me. If you want to run nutes you need a tank anyway.
 

JustBlazin

Well-Known Member
I think this is mostly only suitable for outdoor or greenhouse setups. Indoor for most people it will probably be a non-starter to run a pressurized hose to the grow-room (certainly not in my case). Refilling a tank from time to time sounds a lot easier to me. If you want to run nutes you need a tank anyway.
Ya unless you can put in one of those nute injectors you need a res.
The original blumat user sunnydog over at icmag ended up using the pressure reducer in his indoor and said he eventually would only check on his garden every few weeks after initially not wanting to try it due to possible runaways. Ended up saying the constant max pressure would push any air bubbles or what not out the drip line that would have possibly caused a runaway in a res system.
I don't think he had a runaway after installing the pressure reducer
You want to learn about blumats this is where the knowledge you seek is.
 

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the answers guys.

So why throw away a bag or pot? At $3 a piece for 24 pots that's $72 bucks. 2 minutes a piece to just clean them is 48 minutes, but lets round it to an hour. An hour of my time on the weekend when I have time to do that kind of thing is worth more than $72. That's why. Plus you get the added knowledge that they are "sterile".

Yeah the auto-pots are expensive, but I'm willing to spend a few thousand, only want to pick the best system suited for my needs.

Height is a big issue as this is a basement grow. But if I got a big ass reservoir, like a rain bucket or one of those flex reservoirs, I'm pretty sure if I just kept it topped off it's going to have the majority above 30cm.

What I may end up doing is just buying both and testing them out. I can just buy their "starter" kits and do like 4 plants per.

End of grow how much time are you guys spending on resetting your systems?
 

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
Ya unless you can put in one of those nute injectors you need a res.
The original blumat user sunnydog over at icmag ended up using the pressure reducer in his indoor and said he eventually would only check on his garden every few weeks after initially not wanting to try it due to possible runaways. Ended up saying the constant max pressure would push any air bubbles or what not out the drip line that would have possibly caused a runaway in a res system.
I don't think he had a runaway after installing the pressure reducer
You want to learn about blumats this is where the knowledge you seek is.
I should have said earlier, I'm doing salts and will use a big ass reservoir. Thought I would just add a small water pump to mix up the solution, maybe on a timer. Could make a PCV manifold and split it, one directed at the bottom of the tank to mix shit up, and one going out if the tank a few inches and back down for a water-fall. Figured I would do that regardless of the system I choose.
 

JustBlazin

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the answers guys.

So why throw away a bag or pot? At $3 a piece for 24 pots that's $72 bucks. 2 minutes a piece to just clean them is 48 minutes, but lets round it to an hour. An hour of my time on the weekend when I have time to do that kind of thing is worth more than $72. That's why. Plus you get the added knowledge that they are "sterile".

Yeah the auto-pots are expensive, but I'm willing to spend a few thousand, only want to pick the best system suited for my needs.

Height is a big issue as this is a basement grow. But if I got a big ass reservoir, like a rain bucket or one of those flex reservoirs, I'm pretty sure if I just kept it topped off it's going to have the majority above 30cm.

What I may end up doing is just buying both and testing them out. I can just buy their "starter" kits and do like 4 plants per.

End of grow how much time are you guys spending on resetting your systems?
All depends on how many plants you got going.
To repot and set up all my blumats for my current run took me a long time probably 3 hours, but I'm slow and you have to make sure you set them up correctly or you could get a runaway
 

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
10 to 15 plants in 3 hours? I can deal with that. I'm assuming that doesn't include the actually transplanting time, that's crazy fast for that many plants.
 

ComputerSaysNo

Well-Known Member
So why throw away a bag or pot? At $3 a piece for 24 pots that's $72 bucks. 2 minutes a piece to just clean them is 48 minutes, but lets round it to an hour. An hour of my time on the weekend when I have time to do that kind of thing is worth more than $72. That's why. Plus you get the added knowledge that they are "sterile".
I really, really despise throwing away stuff that can be re-used. Soaking a couple of pots in a chlorine solution for a few minutes is not a huge effort and you will have done the environment a favour by not throwing more plastic into the dump.

The AutoPot plastic pots are really high-value, sturdy pots. It would be a sin to dispose of them after a single use. It would never occur to me.
Same with fabric pots. Having some leftover roots in the fabric is not an issue.

Yeah the auto-pots are expensive, but I'm willing to spend a few thousand, only want to pick the best system suited for my needs.
If that is the case you should definitely give them a try. The system scales to a lot of pots. You can start small, try it out, and then decide.

Same with Blumats. Just buy some and do the comparison yourself.

Height is a big issue as this is a basement grow. But if I got a big ass reservoir, like a rain bucket or one of those flex reservoirs, I'm pretty sure if I just kept it topped off it's going to have the majority above 30cm.
Yes, the reservoir height is only an issue if you want to allow it to drain mostly empty. The pressure needed for the AutoPot to work is very small. It is not a drip system. The water only needs enough pressure for the float valve to operate at all.

I have had my reservoir drain completely empty, it was sitting about 50cm above the AutoPot.

What I may end up doing is just buying both and testing them out. I can just buy their "starter" kits and do like 4 plants per.
Absolutely. Get a "starter kit" for both systems and see how it goes. You might end up using both of them, according to your needs.

In my opinion they're both very well designed systems, each with their advantages. I am super-happy with my AutoPot, but I will probably also try the Blumat system.

End of grow how much time are you guys spending on resetting your systems?
For the AutoPot this comes down to some cleaning/sanitizing. One could probably run some FlashClean through system before harvest, that should get rid of the ferts. I will also rinse mine with citric acid to get rid of lime deposits, and then just the regular rinsing with a bleach solution. It's just a pot, a tray and a few plastic parts. Very easy to clean.
 

bk78

Well-Known Member
I really, really despise throwing away stuff that can be re-used. Soaking a couple of pots in a chlorine solution for a few minutes is not a huge effort and you will have done the environment a favour by not throwing more plastic into the dump.

The AutoPot plastic pots are really high-value, sturdy pots. It would be a sin to dispose of them after a single use. It would never occur to me.
Same with fabric pots. Having some leftover roots in the fabric is not an issue.


If that is the case you should definitely give them a try. The system scales to a lot of pots. You can start small, try it out, and then decide.

Same with Blumats. Just buy some and do the comparison yourself.


Yes, the reservoir height is only an issue if you want to allow it to drain mostly empty. The pressure needed for the AutoPot to work is very small. It is not a drip system. The water only needs enough pressure for the float valve to operate at all.

I have had my reservoir drain completely empty, it was sitting about 50cm above the AutoPot.


Absolutely. Get a "starter kit" for both systems and see how it goes. You might end up using both of them, according to your needs.

In my opinion they're both very well designed systems, each with their advantages. I am super-happy with my AutoPot, but I will probably also try the Blumat system.


For the AutoPot this comes down to some cleaning/sanitizing. One could probably run some FlashClean through system before harvest, that should get rid of the ferts. I will also rinse mine with citric acid to get rid of lime deposits, and then just the regular rinsing with a bleach solution. It's just a pot, a tray and a few plastic parts. Very easy to clean.

Any pics of your autopot grows? That’s the only thing you’ve pretty much discussed since joining here a few weeks ago. You’d almost think you worked for them or something at this point.
 
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