Hey all, I was wondering what you may think about using the Tropf Blumat automatic watering system with the Maxi "probes". If you're unfamiliar, the Maxi's are for deeper containers (mine are 10 gallon). You have to bore into the soil (1-2" diameter holes) to get them in there, which is where my concern lies. Obviously the soil would still be superb but is this sort of disturbance to the soil ecosystem going to significantly reducing the advantages of the no-till method? Probably worrying too much (as usual), but thought it'd be nice to get some advice from the community. Thanks! GM
While I have no personal experience with the Blumats, I do know that Lumperdawgz uses them, and if he says they work, then that's more than good enuff for me. I'd like to try them myself sometime - I keep saying that... How much did you or will you be spending, and what will this cover for you? J
Hey Jerry, Sorry it took so long. Parts came to 36.55 EUR but after shipping/conversion it ended up being about $86. That's not including a couple meters of 8mm line I'm going to pickup here. What's listed in my attached is more than enough (I wanted some flexibility) for 2 10-gallon pots. I got a couple tank connectors so I could do two tanks (5gal buckets), one for each plant. I'll let you know how it goes! It'll be nice to have effortless and EVEN watering for the most part. Since I still want to apply teas, I'll probably stop the flow to the blumats 2-3 days before I want to water with teas. I'll be keeping my journal updated as I install/progress with them. -GM
G_M....Just got the patio kit myself. If your in USA Sustainable Village is the best and fastest their is.... I would use the maxi with your 10 gallon pots.... When you top feed, or give teas just leave them alone as they will auto shut off when you hand water and start again when they sense more water is needed.... ICMAG has a real good thread on blumats....https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=111046&highlight=blumats
Thanks cola, I ended up going direc from the factory...prices were comparable, shipping may suffer. Got 4 maxis, 2 for each. As for giving teas, I was going to shut off the flow to give the medium a chance to dry a bit so it can absorb more of the tea, otherwise I would imagine ill get run off immediately. Would you recommend otherwise?
That will work....My plan is to get them dialed in and LITFA,,, I only feed my plants 4-6 cups of act. Not that much will be runoff. We will have to keep notes and see what works best....
Most definitely! I haven't quite figured out how I am going to get water to my buckets above my tent yet. Since they'll be on a shelf on the back of my closet, it's going to be a bit awkward to fill. I was thinking about getting a submersible pump (like this one) and using a 5gal bucket on the ground to fill after dechlorinating. Do you think that would be powerful enough to push water straight up for 9 feet?
A 396gph pump has a head of 6'-2"...Your either going to need a larger pump that can lift water 9'-0" or, raise/lower one of the other containers...
I just hooked up 8 of the regular tropf blumats in my veg tent last night. Hopefully it works! No leaks or overflow so far. Will just have to wait till my soil starts to dry to see them in action! Gonna be going away for 17 days next month and have no one to take care of my plants, so I'm counting on this product to keep my shit alive! If I can not hand water in the tent until I leave then it should work well enough.
I believe they have adapters to connect right to the faucet so you can run off a continuous source of water. I think LD runs 3 regular cones in each #7 smart pot, as a general reference point. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzRnS-81YHHwTnYyX0xpY2huWEk/edit?pli=1
I' I'm using them indoor for 8 plants in 3 gallon pots right now. I dont have a faucet nearby I can use for continuous water, so i'm just setting up a 5 gallon bucket outside my tent and I can just have someone check it once while I'm away to see if the bucket needs to be refilled. Much easier to get someone to fill a bucket once or twice, then to water every other day. I have about 15 clones I need to add to the setup, if the current 8 work out ok.