Advice on a dripper system

[Scubi]

Hey guys as the title says looking for some tips on dripper system's currently hand watering coco and it's hard to keep up with when you're mid/late flower.
I was looking at a medusa dripper kit for like 160£ is that good value? or is there ways to do it D.I.Y? 

Also I was wondering if this would be a good idea basically with the waste i was gonna collect it with a tray and just vacuum it out daily any potential downsides to this? - Seems like a cheap way around having a fully automated system.
So yeah just wanna take some of the worry out of watering with coco any advice would be appreciated 

[NezA]

Have a look at blumats mate I'm using them in soil but they can be used in Coco as well.

 

They're a great system and only ~£50 for a 12 plant setup.

[Caly]

Go open line, look at my diary from the start there is some info on it there...Let me know if you need more info. 

[Ceiling Cat]

Not a coco grower but regarding the Blumat idea, One Maxi carrot per large-ish pot `with two or three Blumat distribution drippers will even give you a little bit of run-off if you need it.  Cheap to set up too.  All you'll need is the Blumat tank connector and a water tank.

[Scubi]

1 hour ago, NezA said:

Have a look at blumats mate I'm using them in soil but they can be used in Coco as well.

 

They're a great system and only ~£50 for a 12 plant setup.

Yeah I've had a look at blumats before just worried about the run off situation if i have to manually water to give run off daily kinda defeats the point for me

 

1 hour ago, Caly said:

Go open line, look at my diary from the start there is some info on it there...Let me know if you need more info. 

Yeah looks good man was looking at something similar I only need it for 3 plants how much did it end up setting you back for the dripper system?

 

52 minutes ago, Ceiling Cat said:

Not a coco grower but regarding the Blumat idea, One Maxi carrot per large-ish pot `with two or three Blumat distribution drippers will even give you a little bit of run-off if you need it.  Cheap to set up too.  All you'll need is the Blumat tank connector and a water tank.

 

What's are maxi carrot if you don't mind me asking XD and that's what i'm in need of really the run off so if i could achieve that reliably with blumats i'd definitely give them another look.

[Ceiling Cat]

19 minutes ago, Scubi said:

What's are maxi carrot if you don't mind me asking

It's a longer carrot.  It allows you to water deeper into the pot.  The carrots will trigger the valve to shut off once the osmotic pressure has equalled the pressure (moisture level) you set the carrot to.  So if you're using a 5 inch carrot then you'll be wetting around 8-10 inches of medium from the surface.  The longer carrots will give you about 12-14 inches of moisture.  The distribution drippers can be placed further from the carrots and having more than one in a pot will provide even more moisture.

I just had to dial in my Blumat Maxi (with three distribution drippers) yesterday because water was starting to seep out of the bottom of the pot so I know that run-off is achievable, although less desirable in soil which is what I'm using.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Ceiling Cat

[Scubi]

2 hours ago, Caly said:

Go open line, look at my diary from the start there is some info on it there...Let me know if you need more info. 

 

Also where did you buy the pipes and fittings?

[Caly]

1 hour ago, Scubi said:

Yeah looks good man was looking at something similar I only need it for 3 plants how much did it end up setting you back for the dripper system?

For 3 plants I might not of bothered, the set up cost including the pipes, timers, draining system and res was around £300

Edited March 6, 2021 by Caly

[Scubi]

5 minutes ago, Caly said:

For 3 plants I might not of bothered, the set up cost including the pipes, timers, draining system and res was around £300

 

Yeah I'm in coco tho man in mid/late flower you need to be watering atleast 2/3 times a day with a good 7 hours between each when you've got the temp right and stuff it quickly sends the EC out if you're not on top of it in my experience.

It's not so much the watering itself as it is the timing of it automating that side of things for flower would basically solve the only head ache I currently have.

 

[Caly]

Just now, Scubi said:

Yeah I'm in coco tho man in mid/late flower you need to be watering atleast 2/3 times a day with a good 7 hours between each

I feed mine every 4 hours, so yeah maybe it's worth it for 3 plants  

[Scubi]

4 minutes ago, Caly said:

I feed mine every 4 hours, so yeah maybe it's worth it for 3 plants  

 B*stard I've obviously been neglecting mine then XD

[Caly]

@Scubi I was doing every 6 hours up until flip, my EC would rise too high if it stayed like that, so every 4 seems fine, I'm riding with 2-3 points above in flow, every 3 hours would probably be optimal but I'd be filling the res 200L every other day   

[NezA]

2 hours ago, Scubi said:

Yeah I've had a look at blumats before just worried about the run off situation if i have to manually water to give run off daily kinda defeats the point for me

 

I'm assuming you use the run off to monitor EC?

 

What I'd be tempted to do is use a pump and feed line to each pot that you just flip a switch once a day to water until run off the blumats probably come with enough tubing and fittings to run a separate loop for saturating until run off.

 

Probably get the whole setup for <£100

 

I'm not a hydro guy but I am lazy.

E2A: and cheap 

Edited March 6, 2021 by NezA