Please keep arguing! I think both of you have knowledge that is useful to those of us who don't know the in's & out's of fluid dynamics. Very interesting stuff!
I think the that both of us are just looking at this from two different perspectives in terms of material construction. I have plenty of experience in maintaing mechanical systems in commercial applications so I know the reliability of certain products having used them.
Hey Mike, its not an argument, just a discussion on the merits of a $1300 stainless manifold
Again, you keep focusing on one cost, our system is still cheaper per square foot than the next HPA commercial system. That is all that matters. Having a stainless manifold gives us a selling point over the competition.
I`ve never had a JG fitting leak, you must have got a dodgy batch or used some cheap foreign copies
You are also not operating in a commercial setting with careless employees.
I can change all the nozzles out in my 16ft x 2ft (56cuft) chamber inside a minute, they push into the mounts so there`s no threads to strip. I reckon unscrewing/replacing 60 nozzles could take a good 15-30 minutes and you`d still have the manifold to put back in.
In commercial setting you'd have trays stacked 3-4 high, with only maybe 15 inches of space between racks depending on the product being grown. Imagine being hunkered over with only 15 inches of overhead trying to maintainece 20 trays in a 200 tray operation unscrewing one nozzle at a time. In our system you undue 4 bolts accessible from the outside and the whole manifold lifts out..
Given that you could build an insulated 8x4 chamber, complete with two AA nozzles, solenoids, 422 timer and a brand spanking new bambi compressor for slightly less than the cost of the manifold...it will need to deliver a monumental boost in performance
A compressor? We already know compressed air would kill margins. We ruled out compressed air in the first months of our R&D. (I have 2HP oil-less medical grade compressor with driers for sale if anyone wants it) AAA is not even in the equation for us, it makes no sense from a COG's point of view. The energy required would be enourmous for an AAA operation. Our system is designed for building intergrated agriculture, why would you need insulation in a climate controlled room? I assure you, the cheap homemade chambers DIY'er build would not stand up to the rigors of commercial use. You could drop our trays of a two story building and nothing would happen, they are almost 3/8 thick seamless HPDE. Unless you are gluing HDPE sheets together, whatever material you are using would create a scum build up nightmare. You also must use HDPE for food grade applications. The stuff you get at Home Depot to build a aerochamber would never pass FDA approval for use in a food production facility.
I don't think there is an argument here ^^
Atomizer needs no introduction to his expertise and experience in HP applications and Indrhrvest is obviously very passionate about HP and creating a professional product that he has spent alot of R&D time on to achieve.
We are building a commercial system.. not a hobby system. I think applying what works for a hobbyist to commercial operations isn't taking into account the lifespan of the equipment or the regulatory issues on food production facilities such as FDA approved materials, NEMA housings for electrical etc... Just because a hobbyist can build a bckyard system cheaper, doesn't mean a commercial developer about to drop $1M in to a vertical farm is going to want to use a homemade design. Having our systems use better quality components allows us to offer warranty's. Atomizer, try installing your design into a commercial operation and watch as you fail regulatory inspection. There is a reason commercial hydro systems are made from HDPE and not ABS.. and certainly not foam board from Home Depot.
Math is Math, but the proof is always in the pudding
I've seen the results posted by HPA hobbyists in the many forums.. I'm not at all worried about the quality of our pudding. With no prior experience in horticulture, growing lettuce to 150 grams in 28 days from seed our first time out beats Cornell's 35 days.. We are more than satisfied..
