I have not checked the water level in the tension meters but need to add to my general maintenance, thank you for this! Agree on swapping carrots every 2 or 3 months or or at least pull it, soak, clean, soak, reinstall
Blumats
- Thread starter George Jetson
- Start date
WrinkledNugSack
Well-known member
WrinkledNugSack
Well-known member
WHAT?... what did I say?....
WrinkledNugSack
Well-known member
For those who don’t know how the Tropf Blumats work, here is the basic idea.
The first thing I do is loosen the metering screw on the top of the cap. Then, pull the tube through the assembly to make the hose longer on the short end. Roll the portion that was in the screw area between your fingers. The inside of the tube may stick to itself if it was stored with the adjustment screw turned down tightly on the tube… this just saves you time and ensures that the tube is going to allow water through it during set-up. ( If it was stuck to itself, you will feel a little “pop” as you squeeze the silicone tube) You can now pull the tube back into position, I typically leave about 5 cm of tube free from the cap… the first (and it may be your only dripper) should be somewhat close to the carrot itself.
The “carrot” *can/should/may have to be/doesn’t have to be pre-soaked before use. (The ceramic portion, but dunk the entire thing)
*(I say all that because people report a wide range of answers to this question; personally, I pre-soak mine for 10 minutes)
After the soaking, the carrot itself is filled with water and the top screwed onto it. (Avoid any air in the carrot what-so-ever… I screw the top on, while holding the entire unit under water in a pail.) Be sure to hold the cap under the water to force any air bubbles out of the small holes in the underside of the cap… this is very important. (Swish it around, inverting it at times, or use a pipette to purge the air from the tiny holes.)
Once the carrot is assembled under the water, you are ready to place it in the soil/medium. I use the 20-ish cm carrots and place it about 1/2 way between the base of the seedling and the outside of a 7 gallon fabric pot. This placement can vary widely.
I typically place the carrot (Tropf Blumat) in soil that is “almost” at the moisture level that I desire for a fully watered pot/plant.
This means I am transplanting and installing the Blumats at the same time. I have the soil in a tub (I used a cement mixing pan that holds about 80 litres of soil) and I add water to my liking… I have the plant ready for the transplant… and I have my carrot prepared. (Possibly a tensiometer)
So I place my plant in the desired fabric pot and back-fill with soil. I place the prepared carrot in the soil as well. (Ensure that soil/medium is in full contact with the ceramic portion of the carrot.) At this time, I install the dripper(s)… I personally use 4, spaced somewhat evenly around the plant. Either the first one, the last one, or both (first and last) should be about 5 cm away from the carrot.
Place the pot and all in the grow area.
I use gravity feed, but you can use a pressurized system regulated below (15 PSI if my memory is correct).
Once the plant is in the grow area, and having left the adjustment screw on the carrot somewhat loose, I hook up the line and hold the line in a position where “all” of the feeder line is above the top of the carrot… this ensures that you purge the line of any air bubbles. In a few seconds you should see water coming out of the dripper(s).
Because I have moistened the soil “almost” to my preferred moisture level, I can tighten the adjustment screw down until the water feed stops. The “almost to the desired moisture level" allows me room for a bit of a water application without over-watering the plant/pot straight away.
The Blumat literature explains “how many turns… yada yada, I never used that method. I feel having the soil/medium at “almost” the desired moisture level right from the start, shortens the adjustment process… BUT, there are always adjustments to be made… this is why you can’t expect to set them up on Monday and go away for 2 weeks on Wednesday afternoon…
(IF you intend on using a Blumat tensiometer to measure the moisture level in the soil for record keeping, you would have installed it at the same time as the carrot. Remember, they are NOT even water resistant, so you MUST NOT get them wet! I used a “shorty” clear plastic Dixie cup over the top of mine all the time, but I hear that they make a cover for them now.) (In order to get a consistent moisture reading from the tensiometer, it should be placed the same distance from a dripper as the carrots are; and, if you change you medium, your past recordings are not going to be the same as the new media type/mix/blend.)
So now that your Tropf Blumat is in place, this is how they work:
As the moisture level in the soil depletes, the carrot allows the moisture/water to wick out of it through the ceramic cone. As the water in the carrot goes out, a vacuum is created within the carrot. This vacuum, allows a pin (that is under the adjustment screw) to move downward and allows the water to flow through the line, out the dripper(s), and migrate throughout the soil. As the moisture/water is replenished in the soil, the vacuum in the carrot draws water back through the ceramic cone and into the carrot. Replacing the water in the carrot in this manner relieves the vacuum within the carrot and allows the pin to press agains the silicone tubing once again, and thus shuts off the water flow from the reservoir/supply. This cycle repeats until the grow ends, or there is a problem that develops.
Most problems are caused by bumping the carrot, which allows the ceramic cone to effectively loose contact with the soil (generally resulting in a run-away/overwatering/flooding)… letting the reservoir to run dry (draws all of the water out of the carrot, thus the carrot looses vacuum, or creating an air lock in the feed/supply line)… unknowingly pinching the line at some point… etc, etc. (Most of these failures have been covered in the previous posts.)
Please note: I have written this after a long shift at work… if anyone has anything to add or sees that I have made an error in the explanation, feel free to voice your opinion/correction.
The first thing I do is loosen the metering screw on the top of the cap. Then, pull the tube through the assembly to make the hose longer on the short end. Roll the portion that was in the screw area between your fingers. The inside of the tube may stick to itself if it was stored with the adjustment screw turned down tightly on the tube… this just saves you time and ensures that the tube is going to allow water through it during set-up. ( If it was stuck to itself, you will feel a little “pop” as you squeeze the silicone tube) You can now pull the tube back into position, I typically leave about 5 cm of tube free from the cap… the first (and it may be your only dripper) should be somewhat close to the carrot itself.
The “carrot” *can/should/may have to be/doesn’t have to be pre-soaked before use. (The ceramic portion, but dunk the entire thing)
*(I say all that because people report a wide range of answers to this question; personally, I pre-soak mine for 10 minutes)
After the soaking, the carrot itself is filled with water and the top screwed onto it. (Avoid any air in the carrot what-so-ever… I screw the top on, while holding the entire unit under water in a pail.) Be sure to hold the cap under the water to force any air bubbles out of the small holes in the underside of the cap… this is very important. (Swish it around, inverting it at times, or use a pipette to purge the air from the tiny holes.)
Once the carrot is assembled under the water, you are ready to place it in the soil/medium. I use the 20-ish cm carrots and place it about 1/2 way between the base of the seedling and the outside of a 7 gallon fabric pot. This placement can vary widely.
I typically place the carrot (Tropf Blumat) in soil that is “almost” at the moisture level that I desire for a fully watered pot/plant.
This means I am transplanting and installing the Blumats at the same time. I have the soil in a tub (I used a cement mixing pan that holds about 80 litres of soil) and I add water to my liking… I have the plant ready for the transplant… and I have my carrot prepared. (Possibly a tensiometer)
So I place my plant in the desired fabric pot and back-fill with soil. I place the prepared carrot in the soil as well. (Ensure that soil/medium is in full contact with the ceramic portion of the carrot.) At this time, I install the dripper(s)… I personally use 4, spaced somewhat evenly around the plant. Either the first one, the last one, or both (first and last) should be about 5 cm away from the carrot.
Place the pot and all in the grow area.
I use gravity feed, but you can use a pressurized system regulated below (15 PSI if my memory is correct).
Once the plant is in the grow area, and having left the adjustment screw on the carrot somewhat loose, I hook up the line and hold the line in a position where “all” of the feeder line is above the top of the carrot… this ensures that you purge the line of any air bubbles. In a few seconds you should see water coming out of the dripper(s).
Because I have moistened the soil “almost” to my preferred moisture level, I can tighten the adjustment screw down until the water feed stops. The “almost to the desired moisture level" allows me room for a bit of a water application without over-watering the plant/pot straight away.
The Blumat literature explains “how many turns… yada yada, I never used that method. I feel having the soil/medium at “almost” the desired moisture level right from the start, shortens the adjustment process… BUT, there are always adjustments to be made… this is why you can’t expect to set them up on Monday and go away for 2 weeks on Wednesday afternoon…
(IF you intend on using a Blumat tensiometer to measure the moisture level in the soil for record keeping, you would have installed it at the same time as the carrot. Remember, they are NOT even water resistant, so you MUST NOT get them wet! I used a “shorty” clear plastic Dixie cup over the top of mine all the time, but I hear that they make a cover for them now.) (In order to get a consistent moisture reading from the tensiometer, it should be placed the same distance from a dripper as the carrots are; and, if you change you medium, your past recordings are not going to be the same as the new media type/mix/blend.)
So now that your Tropf Blumat is in place, this is how they work:
As the moisture level in the soil depletes, the carrot allows the moisture/water to wick out of it through the ceramic cone. As the water in the carrot goes out, a vacuum is created within the carrot. This vacuum, allows a pin (that is under the adjustment screw) to move downward and allows the water to flow through the line, out the dripper(s), and migrate throughout the soil. As the moisture/water is replenished in the soil, the vacuum in the carrot draws water back through the ceramic cone and into the carrot. Replacing the water in the carrot in this manner relieves the vacuum within the carrot and allows the pin to press agains the silicone tubing once again, and thus shuts off the water flow from the reservoir/supply. This cycle repeats until the grow ends, or there is a problem that develops.
Most problems are caused by bumping the carrot, which allows the ceramic cone to effectively loose contact with the soil (generally resulting in a run-away/overwatering/flooding)… letting the reservoir to run dry (draws all of the water out of the carrot, thus the carrot looses vacuum, or creating an air lock in the feed/supply line)… unknowingly pinching the line at some point… etc, etc. (Most of these failures have been covered in the previous posts.)
Please note: I have written this after a long shift at work… if anyone has anything to add or sees that I have made an error in the explanation, feel free to voice your opinion/correction.
George Jetson
Active member
Awesome summary there!! Really great for individuals who may be interested in using them. I’m a big fan of them personally. 
