After about a year of trial and error (And spending a small fortune), it looks like its finally going to work. A High-pressure Areoponic system that won't clog in the Australian Outback climate. However, the Water pump and Solenoid valve still need their own sound-proof boxes. Something which hasn't been included in the guide yet. The Drums may also need Insulation blankets to keep them from heating up. While its not up and running yet, given the equipment, an Organic-based Reservoir for Aeroponics should be plausible, even in the West Australian (Semi-desert) climate. Please tell me your own experiences with building a High-pressure (5 - 6 bar) Aeroponics system. Has anyone else tried to grow Dwarf Trees in 200L Drums? For those of you living in the USA and abroad, you should (hopefully) be able to find the equivalents of each product in the list, given the information on each part provided. This guide doesn't account for lighting and Grow-tents. But perhaps you may like to include these things in your own version of the shopping list. It's also been attached to this post as a .pdf
6 K into a hydro or aeroponic set up ? That's just in a aeroponic system ? High pressure pumps or pump ? Why do you need anything but a low psi high flow pond pumps ? System clogging up ? You don't have a filtration system on your pumps ? Your using the wrong Nutrients if your system is sliming up with algae ..or you didn't use RO water or you didn't rinse your grow medium properly . I live in the desert of northern Nevada ,,,and I have been making my own aeroponic systems for about 6 months . With 6 k I could make a aeroponic system for 200 plants
I looked at the picture you posted ,, personally I prefer Home made systems . There is zero reasons to use a high pressure pumps . Your plants need clean fresh oxygenated water...……………… That can be done without using a high pressure pump . I bought 6 Pond Mag model 3 , 350 GPH pond pumps made by Danner company to operate 5 different aeroponic systems with one pump as a spare in case one of the pumps fail . I can give you a phone number to the company I buy my pumps from if you want the number ? If I can use low pressure pond pumps in my growing operations , why do you need to use High pressure pumps that cost more , need more maintenance , and cost more to operate and are noisy ? As you learn trial and error you will find out most these Hydroponic/aeroponic systems are not designed by Cannabis growers .. Knowing what I know now I don't think I would ever buy another factory made aeroponic system .
There are a lot of advantages to using high pressure but $6000 for a system is crazy. A capable high pressure pump is no more expensive than a decent quality submersible pump. The last one i bought cost less than $60 US, virtually silent and consumes almost no power running for 10 mins every 2 days. The shopping list is great if the plan is to spend as much cash as possible on the least suitable hardware. The cheapest pump is over $1000. It will charge the recommended 20gal (75L) pressure vessel from 70psi to 100psi in less than 20 seconds! The pump wont be needed again until the tank pressure drops back to 70psi, which will take hours or possibly days. The recommended cycle timer on the list costs $198 and yet only capable of switching 1 amp... with 12v dc thats just two solenoids. Its designed to accomodate one solenoid, typical application is automatic (timed) condensate drain for air compressor tanks.
I've been told that a "Booster Pump" for Reverse Osmosis will obtain the same water pressure for less. This is a legitimate alternative, but which would be more power efficient? What about noise? A multi-stage pump may be quieter. At the moment, it only maintains 3 drums (453 plants total). According to my calculations, each plant will use 5.7 Wh. I assume the system will be able to support a 20 drums (3,020 plants) before it'll need a separate solenoid valve to keep the water pressure from dropping. 40 min using solenoid valve = 100 Wh 2 min for water pump = 60 Wh Water chiller which would staying on for about %50 of the time (150Wh ÷ 2 = 75) x 24h = 1,800 Wh Circulation pump for water chiller (12V x 1.9A = 22.8) x 24h = 547 Wh Air pump 3.5 Wh x 24h = 84 Wh Total: 2,591 Wh per day (2,600 Wh ÷ 453 = 5.7 Wh per plant) Keep in mind that I live in a semi-desert (West Australia) and I'm using organic fertilizer (Not the concentrated minerals). This is basically looks like swamp water and its remarkable that my nozzles didn't clog immediately without a filter or Chiller to keep algae and bacteria to a minimum. A reflective insulation cover isn't enough to keep it cool in this climate.
With 151 plants in each drum you have 1.3L (0.3gal) of root space per plant. Typical spacing for a high density vertical sog is 5" apart on center and 8" vertical seperation between rows so each single cola plant has 16" of growing space before it encroaches on the site above. Is this setup actually running or is it still hypothetical?
The housing and sound-proofing box still need to be built. Then I need to grow the seedlings. But I'm very close to beginning.