Blumat Alternatives

[MindSoup]

Ah ok, still looks handy mind you. 

[Slippy One]

@MindSoupI looked into battery controlled valves for gravity reservoirs before reading some of the reviews.. Now I stick to hand watering or if I go away, pumps run via apps. 

 

 

[MindSoup]

Yeah boy things are getting properly space age, I'll have a look through the thread mate nice one. 

[cypo74]

Did anyone find a good alternative in the end?

read through the thread above and it seems it didn’t cut it in the end

 

was thinking about auto pots but don’t really like bottom feeding, especially with a heat mat set at 26 to keep my roots toasty 

Edited December 29, 2023 by cypo74

[MindSoup]

Still rocking the Blumats, still getting the odd runaway . Can't say if any of the other ideas work better because I never got round to trying them. 

 

 

[cypo74]

Damnit  

 

I gotta work something out but don’t really wanna have to deal with floods 

 

wonder if the digital blumats are any better or just an expensive version of the ones everyone’s using 

[MindSoup]

Digital Blumats? You're not thinking of the soil moisture probe? 

 

I'm probably going to move to a sub irrigated planter for my no till bed, but those raspberry pi/Arduino kits do look good. There's a few UK companies selling them now as well so you don't have to wait weeks for stuff from china. 

[cypo74]

I could swear I’d seen the digital blumats hooked up to a dripper but I could be wrong 

 

if not, why not

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by cypo74

[MindSoup]

Yeah they don't do anything like that unfortunately, but those Arduino kits are more or less that sort of idea. 

[notunum]

You could stick with the carrots, and use a flood alarm and solenoid, to stop them if it's too wet.

I have not stripped a carrot, but imagine there is a valve of sorts, that won't tolerate any dirt.

 

Moisture sensors are not a mature solution yet. The problems are not worth listing. Water presence though, that's a lot easier. Marine stainless (316L) sensors, and an Ali board. A solenoid from a water dispenser, and it's cheap insurance.

[Slippy One]

Best option with blumats is to plumb in a gravity drain. I still get runoff as the carrots aren’t perfect, but with a Danish or Medusa tray, it’s no big issue, especially if you check them daily. 

[MindSoup]

It is if you grow in soil.