Al B. FAQt

[Al B. Fuct]

Chem Ap Licenses are easy to obtain.

Check with your State Dept of Ag.

[...]

It may be worth getting your license anyway--you will find the pest section of the course invaluable.

Is this licence available in all US states?

 

[fitzyno1]

Yes Al, went up and tested it, and this little bugger works everything both oscillating fan or 100mm extraction fan:
Dimmer Socket Switch Light Table Lamp Mains Plug in on eBay, also, Electrical Fittings, DIY Materials, Home Garden (end time 26-Oct-08 08:53:36 GMT)
They are only £7 in.P+P. I only bought it cause it was the cheapest dimmer switch on Ebay.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Yes Al, went up and tested it, and this little bugger works everything both oscillating fan or 100mm extraction fan:

Lucky you; most dimmers will not run a motor.

 

[Old in the Way]

As far as i know there are some states that do not regulate the hort and landscape businesses so no license needed to purchase horticultural grade products but if it is a listed substance for explosive compounds you may need an applicators license from the dept of ag specifically for entamological purposes (which all states have) in order to purchase something like high-test h2o2. My knowledge in regards to the license is limited to its uses in hort here in the SE of the USofA. Cali is its own country so whooo knows out there (buy it up where they got it) Thats what i did with Hydroguard before you learned me good about the h2o2.

BTW......I know you deal with 400 posts a week so I don't expect you to remember my highly ambicious but well researched op that I posted about in early september, but....

i am happy to report that my ABF style op is kicking along. Cut my first batch of clones from my first 37 parent plants.The Clone Cabinet I set-up is 1200mmx1500x1500high. Temp is a balmy 30, RH is running 75% (thay need a patting your own back smiley) Have 80 clones in my aero-cloner (with water at 30 degrees) and 65 in rapid rooters on a heat mat (also at 30). All but 2 are doing quite well (again insert patting your own back smiley-both that are struggling are on the heat mat) since cutting 48 hrs ago. My second batch of parents are in week 3 and will be ready to provide an abundance of cuttings in a couple weeks. The flower room is all dialed in and ready for the first batch (hopefully in 10-12 days).
Will keep you posted...thanks again for all your help a few weeks back.

-OitW

ps-i added another 1kw in the flower room after reading up on your opinion of light movers-so now the movers just go a couple feet, back and forth.
96sq.ft./4000watts=40watts per--should be solid (the room and the buds, lol)

Thanks again al-maybe we can burn one at the cup this year. If not in Amsterdam then perhaps when i holiday down yonder (or is that under)

O'bama-Vote Irish
-sry bout the political plug I just love my new bumper sticker

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Thanks for the follow up, hope things keep going well.

 

[BigBudBalls]

super simple dimmer

AC motor speed controller

They're broadly similar as you can see from the schematics.

This doc goes into some detail about applying a light dimmer control IC as a MSC by limiting the firing angle of the triac. This could be the difference between the dimmer you have and those I have played with in the past.

The use of the neon bulb to trigger the triac is kinda cool (in the hack sorta way. A little strange too.)

The source of the last link/PDF, I used to live *right* there. Kinda cool to see the old 'hood posted.

I've always dug zero-cross switching. Simple effective design.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Here's a bit of fun. ABC's Gardening Australia video on hydroponics for common veggies.

Ep 32 contains a segment on home outdoor hydroponics for veggies;

Episode 32 - 27/09/2008 WMV MP4

There's an extra clip only viewable online available here: Gardening Australia - Video - Hydroponics for deep rooted vegetables

Leo uses small (100mm or so) NFT channels filled with perlite for small leafy vegetables. He uses modified, inexpensive buckets for deeper rooted veg like broccoli & caulifliower. Looks like he drip feeds the buckets and again uses perlite media. Either method would suit cannabis, but the NFT channels would best suit the small plants in SoG. The bucket system would suit larger plants or vegging mums.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

The use of the neon bulb to trigger the triac is kinda cool (in the hack sorta way. A little strange too.)

One of those cheap & dirty tricks.

The source of the last link/PDF, I used to live *right* there. Kinda cool to see the old 'hood posted.

Actually I'm stalking you.

What I'm trying to work out is why there is such a significant cost difference between MSCs and dimmers for resistive loads. I pay about $11-12 for a 300W incand dimmer while a MSC sets me back $32. There's no real real common way of doing the job, making justification of the cost difference a bit difficult, but I would expect that the 'matic with the lowest parts count wins.

I'm trying to resist the temptation to tear apart a copy of each I have around here to cost out the SCR or di/triac used etc. If the difference between an MSC & a dimmer which in std form won't run a brushless AC motor at continuously variable speed without stalling is just a couple of component values, I'm gonna be seriously miffed.

 

[BigBudBalls]

Actually I'm stalking you.

A few years behind and quite a few miles/km off.
Marco!

What I'm trying to work out is why there is such a significant cost difference between MSCs and dimmers for resistive loads. I pay about $11-12 for a 300W incand dimmer while a MSC sets me back $32. There's no real real common way of doing the job, making justification of the cost difference a bit difficult, but I would expect that the 'matic with the lowest parts count wins.

I'm trying to resist the temptation to tear apart a copy of each I have around here to cost out the SCR or di/triac used etc. If the difference between an MSC & a dimmer which in std form won't run a brushless AC motor at continuously variable speed without stalling is just a couple of component values, I'm gonna be seriously miffed.

I'm no BSEE, but from the 'real world' of being a tech working on what the engineers design. (its a lot of fun to reverse engineer then try to fix for less money ) But a 'quality' speed control is usually done via freq drive (and a motor designed for freq mod)

My feeling (not even opinion) is that for speed control of an AC motor(non freq), its best to adjust the angle for the brushes (or its counterpart) Ok, FAR from a trivial task.

I have a new freq motor, drive, and PLC sitting here to play with (oh encoder too) Shit! I can make a killer vent system. Single huge motor (1/4HP, huge for a vent system) and then open/close duct dampers, change internal (house) vs external(outside) venting.

I hate you! Like I need *more* projects!
(a $6k room for 12 plants a year!)

 

[DoobyDoo]

I'm trying to resist the temptation to tear apart a copy of each I have around here to cost out the SCR or di/triac used etc. If the difference between an MSC & a dimmer which in std form won't run a brushless AC motor at continuously variable speed without stalling is just a couple of component values, I'm gonna be seriously miffed.

You have piqued my interest as well. The guy said it was the cheapest dimmer on eBay.... is it possible that rather than a resistive dimmer it is some uber-cheap Chinese-made (gotta be if it's electronics that cheap...) PWM controller? That seems to me like it would work just as well for an incandescent light or motor.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Well, there's PWM, then there's simple wave chopping. I would expect an analogue PWM controller, like the frq driven controller BBB describes, to have a variable freq oscillator and an amplifier, then a means of clipping the wave. Digital PWM sounds comparatively simpler.

What's happening in the triac based dimmers and MSCs I've looked at is they're using a full wave bridge to make pulsed DC, then are chopping off part of the waveform by altering at what part of the waveform the triac begins to conduct so to reduce the duty cycle rather than generating a signal and amplifying it to drive the load.

 

[BigBudBalls]

Well, there's PWM, then there's simple wave chopping. I would expect an analogue PWM controller, like the frq driven controller BBB describes, to have a variable freq oscillator and an amplifier, then a means of clipping the wave. Digital PWM sounds comparatively simpler.

Well a freq drive is rather different then PWM. PWM (aka: Duty Cycle) is really more for a DC motor. Turn it on and off for a percentage of the freq. Freq remains constant, but the duration of 'ON' varies. A freq drive adjusts the actual freq. Keeping power on full time at full current.

What's happening in the triac based dimmers and MSCs I've looked at is they're using a full wave bridge to make pulsed DC, then are chopping off part of the waveform by altering at what part of the waveform the triac begins to conduct so to reduce the duty cycle rather than generating a signal and amplifying it to drive the load.

Based on zero-cross as the clock for the freq.
But once its rectified its no longer a sine wave, but a square wave. (ok, a poor/noisy one with a lot of ripple) And a PWM style/system.

PWM is a fixed freq and adjusting the duty cycle.

 

[HATCH]

Hey AL B.,,Glad Someone Stepped In With Some Great Info On The AP.CH.Lic.,,Thank's For The Info!!

Hey Just Wanted To Show You A Up-Date On What The Aeroponic, & Using No Media, Just The 2" Basket's & Neoprene, Organic Nut.'s Here They Are At 41 Day's Flowering...I Fixed The "Claw", Just By Feeding Them More, I Rased The PPM To 2400PPM, The PH Is Been Around 6.2 To 6.5PH.

Well, What You Think???

 

[hydrogrower420]

30C is correct. You're not making roast clone (however tasty that may be. ) We're looking for 'warm' not 'hot'!

Yes, use the tray that came with it. That will protect the heat mat from damage and dirt.

lol...quick question i just germed my seeds and when they showed taproots i put them in some rockwool when should i turn on my lights when they have sprouted threw the rockwool?or should i turn them on now?

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Young seedlings should be getting fluoro light, 18+h/day, space the lights about 200mm off the plants until they have their second set of true leaves, then drop the fluoro to 100mm.

 

[HATCH]

They look great!

Thank You Kindly Sir!!!~~~& For Your Time!!,,You Help Alot Of People!!! We Thank You!!!

 

[flipsidesw]

Sup AL.! How's it goin man?

Have you ever tried the Lucas formula? Seems like a pretty easy formula.

U find that using synthetic nutrients doesnt affect the taste? IMO organic growers just like to taste that dirt taste. Im not sold on the organic theme. Have u ever had organic grown bananas? Not very tasty and they are puny looking.. I mean most supermarket food isnt organicly grown. Can i have ur .02 on organic vs synthetics?

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Sup AL.! How's it goin man?

Just another shitty day in paradise.

Have you ever tried the Lucas formula? Seems like a pretty easy formula.

What's the Lucas formula?

Can i have ur .02 on organic vs synthetics?

First, inorganic nutrients are not synthetic. They're essentially composed of the stuff that organics break down into. Organic nutrients must first break down into elementals before the plant can use them so there technically can be no difference.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Just to let everyone know, it's harvesting time AGAIN (bless/curse/bless/curse/bless/curse/bless/curse), so I'm gonna be scarce for several days.

 

[HATCH]

Just to let everyone know, it's harvesting time AGAIN (bless/curse/bless/curse/bless/curse/bless/curse), so I'm gonna be scarce for several days.

Well, Happy Harvesting & Smoking!!!,,You Going To Show Use Some Pic's????