Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie Yutts
Perfectly.
:abduct:
'Zard
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie Yutts
Perfectly.
:abduct:
'Zard
I put one fog unit in my 29 gal, 16" tall container that I intend to use for my budding res. As I feared, the fog would not rise to the top. It would only rise about an inch or 2 above the surface of the water, even after 90 minutes. Dad gummit. So I put in another fogger. Same thing, with perhaps the level 1/2 inch higher and a slightly denser fog, but barely any noticeable difference. I thought that maybe if they run a long time they will eventually fill up a big container. No such luck. I turned off the foggers to see how long it takes for the fog do dissipate, or disappear, and it was much faster than I expected. In this tub the fog was gone in about 15 seconds. That's why the container will never fill to the top.
The fog made it to the top of an 8 gallon container but it wasn't very dense at the top. Seeing the very small amount of change from doubling the output, I'm certain that the fog won't rise to the top, even with a 3 head unit, and maybe not even with a 6 or 10 head unit.
So I walked a couple feet and noticed how violently the fog swirled around in the container from the slight change in air flow, and good size wisps made it to the top. It was then it struck me that a fan is going to be the key if I don't want to buy a 20-head unit. I put a short hose over the top and gently blew through the other end, and wallah - the tub filled with fog. I also tested if the action from an air stone would circulate the fog enough, but there was barely any change.
So now I'm either going to make a separate pumping machine like the Nutramist ones, or cut a hole in the middle of the lid and have a small computer fan blow straight down. The pumping machine would solve the heat issue, but I'm not real worried about that after testing in a bigger reservoir. The water temp did not fluctuate from 84.5 degrees, even when using 2 units.
So, the light. Should I just put a bit of black silicon tape over the red LED, or not worry about it affecting the roots? Another issue solved with a pumping machine.
The 2nd photo is after 1/2 hr, and the 3rd is using 2 foggers, after the few seconds it took for my camera to turn on after blowing through the tube. The fog was actually a little thicker near the top when I blew.
Yeah, those floats from mainlandmart are about $10 plus shipping. I know I'm going to order more fogging stuff so I may consider it, but shhhh, my wife told me not to spend any more money for awhile. And you know, that styrofoam is free.Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmac
And for the disks, I'm using these from nutramist. I know the ones at fogponics are cheaper (price going up soon), but the nutramist ones are the only ones I can find that say something like: Our aeroponic foggers offer the exclusive benefit of having teflon coated ultrasonic transducers, specifically designed for use with dissolved nutrient solutions, so they help prevent salt buildup which causes premature failure. Do you know if the fogponics disks are essentially the same thing as the nutramist ones? Both are teflon coated.
So true. I've noticed most designs have the root res fairly shallow and spread out, but that won't work for what I'm trying.Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmac
I hope you just happened to get a lemon. I've never heard of the sensor failing on any brand before. That's unfortunate they wouldn't replace it. Mine have been working great so far. I've pulled them out a few times to see if they shut off properly. So far so good. And they don't get much cheaper than $24.95 that I can find, even on Ebay.Quote:
Originally Posted by MadSativa
That's good info about the guys finger. Ouch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie Yutts
Have you tried setting a 3"netpot upside down over the emitter to protect the roots?
Cheap n easy
WZ
I thought about that, but roots grow through net pots. I'm thinking something like tupperware or yogurt container upside down over the fogger. It would have to be just barely above the water, but then seems like roots would still get to it. Hmmm, maybe if it was real wide the roots would have to grow a long ways to get around it, or I know, I'll make a pumping machine like the Nutramist ones.
Aloha, OYQuote:
Originally Posted by Opie Yutts
I've seen the "fog fountain" units for living room displays.
Looks like the fog spills over the edge for the same reason it won't fill a tall tub,
gravity.
Perhaps you can avoid root troubles by generating the mist in a smaller container, and "spill" it into the root tub.
Then, as it condenses, pump it back up.
Food for thought?
Best
Zard
hmmm, maybe.
Iā??m leaning toward having 2 separate pumping units. I built one to test a few things. This is not my dream pumper by any means, and the rules of the subproject stated that I must use materials and tools that I already had laying around. This is only for testing purposes, and my real ones will be smaller, have no air leaks, and be more ā??professional-lookingā?.
Unlike the Frappa and Nutramist, there is not a separate reservoir. My real ones will have separate reservoirs, and at least one of them will probably have quick connect fittings and an extra smaller reservoir for foliar feeding. The flexible hose makes it easy to direct the flow of fog wherever you want it, like into the foliage. Fog makes the best foliar feed because unlike misting, it penetrates all areas of the canopy. One nice thing about being self contained is you can easily move this around. It has a handle, and you can carry it from room to room. Take off the hose and set it in the middle of a grow for foliar feeding.
I thought Iā??d see how it ran without sealing the fittings, and was planning on having to do that later. However I can see no fog escaping from the leaks around the hose or pipe, or from under the lid, which I just sat loosely on the bucket. Iā??m guessing the fog decided to take the path of least resistance, which was through the biggest hole (the one in the hose).
Iā??ve ordered several of each of these:
Jenson variable AC adapter ā?? 5.99
Voltage from 3 to 12 volts to vary the fan speed. 300 mAh will drive 2 fans. The replacement fan controller from Nutramist is $20.
Antec 80mm case fan ā?? 6.99
The Nutramist replacement fans are 22 cfm and $20, This is 34 cfm, and the only small one I can find that has a 3 year warrantee.
Mini float valve ā?? 10.08
This will keep the proper level in the fog pumper using gravity feed. Nutramist doesnā??t offer a replacement float valve because they donā??t want you building your own fog pumper.
This quickie fogger works great, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it filled up my 29 gal container in about 15 seconds. Notice the fine drops it deposited on my arm hairs after 15 seconds. Imagine this on root hairs. Itā??s weird that the dry fog makes moisture collect on my hairs but not my hand. Iā??m still trying to decide if I should use 2 foggers like in this test, or if I should get the 3-head unit for my flowering res. I guess I need more testing on actual roots to see how long it takes to moisten them, and how long they stay moist after the fog pump is turned off.
For this test fogger Iā??m using a 120V computer fan from Radio Shack, which I think was about $15. I have no speed/voltage controller, but the flow seems fine and I see no need to reduce it. The Styrofoam for the float and the laundry detergent bucket are free, and the ABS pipe and 1ā? tubing are less than $5. So for $70 Iā??ve got something that works about as well as the $370 Nutramist pumper. For $25 more I could add a 3rd fog head and have the same or better output. Iā??ll be happy to answer any questions on construction, but for now Iā??ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.