Blumats

@THESQUAREGROUPER Washing the carrots isnt a problem I dont wash them just a quick rinse is about it. The clogging of the drippers is a problem though but simple enough to not use drippers or use rings like op
 
I'm talking about at scale, washing a couple dozen maybe not so bad compared to a commercial facility with hundreds or more and you're paying that guy who is washing them hourly
 
I didn't really consider having to wash them until my buddy told me he was dropping them over wash time and runaways, but these days all that stuff I learned a long time ago about using brand new materials for cuttings every time is making a lot more sense

Keep diseases isolated and contained
 
@THESQUAREGROUPER I see what your saying you want to sanitize them I would just soak them in bleach after a rinse. def more work then like a normal dripper system and most expensive. All these little propriety parts are at least buck each it adds up real fast. Its also not going to work well if you want to fee anything organic like a tea or even a beneficial bacteria additive just water or water + low ppm nutrients. for example a little regalia clogged my lines.
 
THESQUAREGROUPER said:
I didn't really consider having to wash them until my buddy told me he was dropping them over wash time and runaways, but these days all that stuff I learned a long time ago about using brand new materials for cuttings every time is making a lot more sense

Keep diseases isolated and contained
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They shine in a one-person grow who is doing small plant counts (like 4), and also anticipate that they are going to go away for a short while, and don't trust anyone else in their garden.

Even moving 4 plants around in a 5x5 requires disconnecting the supply lines, and to expect that any employee is going to take the care with "everything Blumat related" would be expecting a lot... an employee that diligent isn't going to be working for someone else IMHO.

The set-up is time consuming, and at the end of every grow, you have one more thing to look after... a watering can is maintenance free, relatively cheap (except for the high end ones), and it actually trains the grower/worker how to water properly.
 
frankslan said:
@capdistdank If your organic look into sips if you running nutes you already know theres tons of other ways to automate. But hard to beat sips in organic for easy of use.
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Yeah, I built a diy one out of a 27 gallon tote for an outdoor plant this year. I'm running 5 plants indoors in 3 gallon fabric pots, and thought maybe they would benefit from the Blumats. Thanks dude!
 
WrinkledNugSack said:
It "appears" that your rings can be opened up to clean them out (should you ever get a blockage)... or have they been glued or bonded into one solid peice?
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I think I can take them apart yes. I’ll give it a shot. Not sure how I’m gonna clean those after the run or just put some runclean from CropSalt through it or soak em. I just cleaned my Blumat carrots with a soft tooth brush wasn’t too much of a pain.
 
capdistdank said:
Yeah, I built a diy one out of a 27 gallon tote for an outdoor plant this year. I'm running 5 plants indoors in 3 gallon fabric pots, and thought maybe they would benefit from the Blumats. Thanks dude!
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Ya everything gets lite salts 1.5 EC or less and then I top dress dry amendements depending how heavy a feeder the plant is.
 
George Jetson said:
Beds and the soaker tape would be great for a small to medium size operation. 100 lights or so worth of 4x8 beds. Couple carrots in each bed
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You triggered me into remembering one last tip for the "home grower" who is looking at the Tropf Blumats... DO NOT buy the soaker tape unless you are working off of a regulated pump or some kind of (regulated) pressure system... it does take more than the head pressure coming out of a reservoir to push the water out of the tape.

*I guess I'll throw a caveat in here... "unless your reservoir is high enough to produce enough head pressure. (I don't know how high that would have to be, but from what I recall it would likely be over 2 meters for sure.)

And, I doubt that you'd ever be able to feed through the tape for very long before it would be totally and hopelessly clogged!.. but that's just a guess.

Ever notice that you can give good advice once you've failed massively? ha ha...
 
Great tips in here team green 💚

Look at blumat as a tool. Is it the right tool for "your" job? The main reason why I use it, I have to travel for work and leave the space in auto mode sometimes one work week at a time. This thing if setup correctly gives me hella confidence my plants will be ok.

Have I had run outs? yes 2 in 2 years. Happened near end of a run when I had not done a full reset for 4 months. I run big beds and a reservoir that holds about 8 to 10 gal. Recommend either pulling and cleaning carrots every 3 months or if you have spares just swap out. Also keep a valve on the end of the feed line near last carrot so you can burp any air at anytime.

My latest setup is one carrot per bed feeding driptape that covers the entire bed. I also use a soil tension meter from blumat near the carrot to confirm its current reading and check its current mode(water on or off). I leave my system on the drier side when around so I can hand water goodeys if needed.

I thought Jeremy at bas did a great job breaking down the science behind these on one of his episodes. The one where he gets out the white board and graphs the ideal water moisture for living soil, then the mbar adjustments per arrow.

Cheers
 
WrinkledNugSack said:
You triggered me into remembering one last tip for the "home grower" who is looking at the Tropf Blumats... DO NOT buy the soaker tape unless you are working off of a regulated pump or some kind of (regulated) pressure system... it does take more than the head pressure coming out of a reservoir to push the water out of the tape.

*I guess I'll throw a caveat in here... "unless your reservoir is high enough to produce enough head pressure. (I don't know how high that would have to be, but from what I recall it would likely be over 2 meters for sure.)

And, I doubt that you'd ever be able to feed through the tape for very long before it would be totally and hopelessly clogged!.. but that's just a guess.

Ever notice that you can give good advice once you've failed massively? ha ha...
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Just for the data point I run the drip tape in beds, 4x4' and 3' round. I have my resv about 4.5ft off the ground and have not had issues pushing water through the tape. BUT my resv holds about 20 gallons and I keep it half full at a minimum, so 10gals of head pressure on the line. Might not work with a smaller resv, I would agree with that.
 
Rae said:
Just for the data point I run the drip tape in beds, 4x4' and 3' round. I have my resv about 4.5ft off the ground and have not had issues pushing water through the tape. BUT my resv holds about 20 gallons and I keep it half full at a minimum, so 10gals of head pressure on the line. Might not work with a smaller resv, I would agree with that.
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Well there you go, I stand corrected.

I also got into the habit of swapping out the carrot for a different one at least once per cycle, but I found the tensiometer needed re-filling at least twice per round. If you are inclined to buy one, DO NOT forget to cover the top of the tensiometer with something because they are NOT water proof... not even water resistant. I always used a clear plastic "shortie" solo cup to cover it... I think you can buy covers for them now that are made specifically for this purpose. I also found a thin walled pipe a little smaller in diameter than the carrot, so I pre-punch a hole for the carrot through the root zone, so that I'm not applying too much pressure on the carrot or tensiometer when re-installing.
 
Pretty sure I read online or saw in a YouTube video you want to use the tape at below 10psi for a pressure system or the tape might burst. Flow meter/sensor that goes to your phone would be ideal to catch any irregularities on a larger system (aka a carrot being on perlite and constantly drawing water)

I put a flood sensor on my tent floor that alerts my phone via wifi. My pump is on wifi plug so I can turn off the system if water touches the floor out of my drip trays
 
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