Just ordered a Raspberry Pi<span style="position: absolute;"></span> 2 model B, arduino mega R3, water proof temperature sensors, to begin turning an ordinary cabinet into a fully automated grow box that I can fine tune settings with a smart phone First Im going to write the code for temperature monitoring and control with an AC unit/fans Anyone done something similar to this before?
seems like alot of work for nothing...goto home depot buy a digital thermostat and hook everything up to it.
I really like this idea and looked in to it before. There is already some good information about this subject: http://www.raspiviv.com/ https://hackaday.io/project/1476-smart-grow-room http://yieldbuddy.com/ I think the best idea before starting to code is thinking about the features you want. Hydro or soil? Temp control? Fan control? Which devices you want to connect and how?
thats like a true way to pimp a grow box out .I always thought of making a custom grow box or cab .And building it like someone would a house use 2 x 4 s and insulation drywall the whole deal to hold that temp stable for a automatic hand control system .I guess that's what he would call it .Some grow box on the internet for sale have those features protron i think some like that i had one
Maybe some people like to use their brain and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes along with a well designed custom made system, learning something new and having something 10 million others don't. Home Depot thermostat.....well sure if you are lazy and have no skills I guess.
if your going to take it to that level make it ninja stealth .Not a lot of ppl have that kind of money though that might be why he said that i see where he coming from .When you got bread it's easy shoot i would love to know how to make a stealth ninja cab. to sell in my hood.
I'm right with you bud. I'm waiting for the funds to clear up to purchase most of this stuff, but it's all planned out. My latest concept includes the use of "Sensor Nodes". When you have multiple grow areas, it get's a bit costly to build one of these for each room/area. Sensor nodes allow you to invest less to collect sensor data, powered by a watch battery, that interfaces with your microcontroller via low power bluetooth.
A few years ago I used an arduino uno for a similar function. Not plant growing, but mineralized crystal growing. It was a fun project. I used thermocouples as the thermometers which were precise and very compatible with arduino products. I definitely agree with Weedle's above comment that you need to consider what functions you want your arduino to have control over. Temperatures, humidity, fans, light levels, etc. I thought about tricking out my grow box with a micro controller at one point, but didn't end up having the time. Efficiency was also a big worry for me. I do have coding from my old projects if you are still in that step. I can also be of assistance in editing/troubleshooting.
hell i might be interested in doing that with you! Like an all-in-one grow management system. It can have PPM, pH, humidity, CO2, and temp control. *Use an atmega as your uC *a thermocoupler as you said for fan control/temp control using pulse width modulation. *TDS and pH sensor that will measure the reservoir, and command the ATmega to dispense nutrients, ph+/-, or more water, with a shutoff once desired #'s are reached. Im envisioning a water cooler-type contraption you fill up with water and all the nutrients you plan on using, and you control the parameters via computer that can be relayed via WiFi to the unit, and can respond back in real time.
Love this idea, man! I've got an extra R-Pi laying around and might be putting her to use thanks to you! The wife is going out of town for the weekend, so I'll have plenty of time on my hands the next few days. Bong rips and Python, here I come! P.S. - If you're planning to put this on github/bitbucket/etc, I'd love to take a peek. Link it up! I'll do the same!
any good coders wanna collab on this? lol no joke. I have no experience with Rasp Pi, but I've worked with Arduino
I'd be interested in collaborating, STilladelph. I can set up a github repo, but I'd like to see what the OP has already written so I'm not spending time writing code that's been written already. I know there's a few pre-existing projects which are pretty similar (if not identical), but that's not to say we couldn't have some fun creating our own version. I'll do some searching either way, just to make sure we're not trying to reinvent the wheel and all that.
looks like there's a few already on the market, which im not surprised. http://www.climatecontrol.com/index.php/fertigation-manager They all look like they're for large scale operations, and well over $1k. Although i have seen systems in hydro shops but usually each function is sold as a separate unit, which adds up. Also looks like many have really ugly and not so user friendly graphical user interfaces. Would be much easier to do it via an app. We could probably make one big enough for a 6-8 plant hydro setup, that would be reasonably small amd affordable to people on here.
Component wise you'd need *Controller *power supply (PC will do) *air pump *humidity sensor *temperature sensor *water level sensor *ph sensor *tds sensor *wifi chip *some kind of injectors *some kind of hydraulic pump *hydraulic pressure sensor *air pressure sensor *food grade tubing *plastic tanks for the liquids *lots of waterproofing material
Setup a private VPN cloud or something of the sort that will update every minute, the app will upload the input data, and the wifi chip can be programmed to read data from that cloud every minute, giving the user almost real time updates.
I find that this is a great idea for the guy who wants to save a pile of money and is tech / DIY savvy. Myself, i am both as well as educated in programming and instrumentation. That said, I am currently working on a raspberry pi based grow room controller. Once its working and user friendly i plan on making it open source. Meaning anyone can buy the stuff, follow a tutorial and make it work. Functions currently working(all functions configurable and monitor-able via web interface): light timer relay heating relay cooling relay humidify relay dehumidify relay CO2 relay (still lacking sensor but the logic is there) light sensor (day/night) anyone interested in this project please PM me or reply Thanks Haroo
You know I have spent some time thinking about doing this myself. I have spent the morning putting together a list of all of the sensors I want to use. I have decided to use a Raspberry Pi 3 as it already has the Wifi built in and has 40 GPIO terminals. Are you still working on this?