OldPork's Auto-Watering Machine!

Greetings my outdoorsy friends. I converted a 31 gallon Rubbermaid storage tub into a automatic watering unit that runs on a schedule. All for around 50 bucks per unit. Now I'll visit my spot only once per week. It's set to water for 15 minutes at 6am every other day. I figure it will water 4 large plants 3 times a week, giving each plant a little less than a gallon each 15 minutes of watering. I am making 2 of these units.

Pic1: Rubbermaid tub I chose. You can use anything, but would not go less than this if you want functionality. Keep in mind you have to fill these mamas once per week.

Pic2: Parts you'll need. That's a 1/2 brass nipple and a brass garden hose type connector that has inner threads to screw onto the nipple. You can use any rubber washer as long as they fit snug so there aren't any leaks. You can get away with only one washer on the inside if it is a good one.

Pic3: This unit come from Sear's $29. Runs on two AA batteries. Get ONLY this unit or one shaped like this. Others units need water pressure to work. (They are not shaped like this, but are cylindrical.)

Pic4: Put a hole in the tub about an inch from the bottom. Be very careful here. Use a 1/2 drill bit and then test the nipple and then ream the hole out with the bit to make it a little bigger until the brass nipple screws into the hole snugly. While reaming keep the hole round, and go a little at a time, testing the nipple to see if it will screw in. Thread the nipple through the hole, you want it SNUG. Push hard and screw at the same time till it threads right into the hole in the side of the tub.

Pic5: Put the nut as far in as it will go on the nipple and put the washer on.

Pic6: Screw it in from the INSIDE. Should look just like this.

Pic7: On the outside, put on a washer (if you have 2) and hand tighten the hose connector. No need to smash the washers with a wrench.

Pic8: The unit in action. I will show you in my next post the distribution system, I have some tubing and a brass thingy that splits it to four plants. It does not blast water and you don't want it to. The whole thing is gravity fed.

Pics 9 & 10: The plants it will be taking care of.

 

Here's Part 2.

Pic 1: I decided to put 2 of these 31 gallon monsters in service. Since the system is gravity fed I put the "tanks" higher on the hill so the water flows down to the plants. These babies are under a tree so you can't see em from the air!

Pic 2: The distribution system. I used clear plastic tubing and these little brass things that split the water flow 4 ways.

Pic 3: Found out that clothes hangers adjust the waterflow among plants. The higher the end of the tube, the lower the flow. Get hangers to balance your waterflow between plants. It's tedious work, but I have mine all set.

Oh yeah...get some electrical tape to hold things together. Bend hanger wire into U shape and use them to anchor flow tubing to the ground so the stay put right where you want em.

 

Well I can't think of a better way to do it that works. This works. And you can mix your water soluble nutes in there too! You just have to spend some time adjusting waterflow between plants by manipulating the tubes with hanger wire. Remember, to decrease flow to a plant, use a hanger to heighten the end of the tubing where it delivers the water to that plant. To increase, lower the end. Then test the system to make sure that when it turns on all the plants get a drink.

Make sure you don't get the wrong type of unit, there are some cylindrical shaped units that require water pressure like from an outdoor faucet. The wrong type of unit is pictured below. I had to take this back when I realized it needed pressure. The Sears unit works without pressure. The flow from the unit is slow, but you don't want it any faster because the lowest time increment duration is 15 minutes.

That's still all foliage on those trees. I expect to harvest in early to mid October.

PICTURED BELOW IS THE WRONG UNIT TO GET. IT NEEDS PRESSURE TO WORK.

 

For me I have to fim Sativas every week to get them to be full or else they get tall and stretchy. Indica's tend to be less stretchy. I grow both and I am gravitating toward indica dominant strains for manageability and earlier finish times. I love the AK47.

Yeah that white unit is a water scheduler. The system is gravity fed, but it drains all the way down, as long as the tanks are a little higher in elevation than the drip point. And it doesn't drip, it trickles for 15 minutes and shuts off. I have it set to do this every other day.

 

Kinda Heat? What does that mean dude? I am leaving town for a week on Saturday and there is no rain forecast. I had to come up with something...and this is it.

 

There ain't a damn thing wrong with your plants man, Very nice indeed. Here's my current grow:
http://forum.grasscity.com/general-outdoor-growing/229572-ww-ak47-outdoors.html
Feminised WW and Serious AK47 (as you said, it's a bitch that you can't get em femmed. But I discovered a technique that produces more females...store the seeds with ripening bananas for a month before popping them. Out of my non femmed seeds, I got 4/5 this year. You may say I am full of shit on this but it works.

 

Well ripening bananas give off ethylene gas which increases females. The WW I have is Greenhouse Seed Company's, I like seeds that come in the seedbank's sealed packages so I order them from the Doc and specify I want them in the breeder packs. I bought a femmed 5 pack and of the 3 seeds I popped I got 3 females so they are good so far. There is only one true AK47 and it comes from Serious Seeds. What they say about this plant is true, it's a stinker. I know now why Simon and Serious Seeds are so well regarded....this is a very special plant.

 

Put your seeds in a paper envelope and wrap your ripening banana or banana peels in a paper towel and place them both together in a sealed plastic freezer bag. Change the paper towel every other day when it gets damp and change the banana now and then. Leave the seeds in there for 2-3 weeks just prior to germing. I also heard people lay bananas around their seedlings with good success. It doesn't hurt your seeds, I had 100% germ rate, only one male out of 5 non-femmed seeds. Do some research and you will find this to increase your female ratio significantly. I found it on Wikipedia and here's an excerpt from Robert A Nelson's paper on Hemp Husbandry. See if you can google the whole paper, it's good.

"Treatment of hempseed with ethylene gas will increase the resulting number of female plants by about 50%. Ethylene is produced by certain plants (i.e., bananas, cucumbers and melons), and these can be used to treat hempseed in a simple manner. About two weeks before you plan to sprout the seeds, place them in a paper bag or envelope and put that in a plastic bag with the peels of a ripening banana or cucumber. Replace the peels after a couple of days, and change the bags to prevent mold. Hempseed can be feminized while they are forming on the plant. Fruit peels are spread around the area for two weeks before the plants enter the flowering phase. Remove the skins when the plants begin to flower. Otherwise, treatment with Etephon will accomplish the same effect."

 

An update on my watering units, I just witnessed them both turning on and delivering an evenly dispersed trickle to every one of my seven plants. (I have one tube tied off.) I made no adjustments other than when I first set it up. So this thing works great for those who need to water and can't be around to do the job.

I would appreciate feedback from anyone else who used these instructions to set one up.

 

Nice find Izzo, Next year my AK47 seeds will be basking in those bags.