Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
If I were you, id pump into 5 gal buckets, fill em, lid em, aND carry em where you need em to be dumped. More work, but much safer.
8 months, $10,000 and a whole lotta hard work=this...
- Thread starter ruwtz
- Start date
cat of curiosity
Well-Known Member
cat of curiosity
Well-Known Member
55g blue commercial water barrel (25$ used) would be perfect.
plumb accordingly. install valves, so the work goes to the table until it's time to change the res, then flip the valve off on the table, and open to your rain barrel. no toting, no bs, just modern living adjusted to gardening use...
cat of curiosity
Well-Known Member
big fan of letting 100$ do 10$ an hour jobs for several years. hell, even mcdonald's is automating...
ruwtz
Well-Known Member
Great tip off! CL flooded with them, found brand new at $25 a pair. I could run two and just swap them out as needed.
Edit: Many of them are completely sealed so I would need to cut a larger opening to drop in the pump. Easy.
cat of curiosity
Well-Known Member
or, as i mentioned, you could plumb it. you'll only need a cold water line in, easy with pex, and they make adapters to switch from pvc and copper. a pump to flood (200gph would probably be perfect) and pex running from a t. valve on both sides, one is open, the other closed. when the table is open and pump is on a timer, table floods and drains. when it's time to change the res, close table main valve, open flush main valve, and pump old res water directly to plants, or to outdoor container, or to sewer/septic; your choice.
the biggest and most expensive tool you'll need will be a pex crimper. i know, they're pricey, but it's 50 dollars well spent, imo
cat of curiosity
Well-Known Member
easier to drill a hole, plumb and seal, and let the pump do the work for you. i mean, it's gonna be there anyway, why not make it work for you?
55g barrels full of fluid are a motherfucker to move, and you still have to open the door. plumb it, and you'll never worry about it again.
trust me, i did the manual thing for three years before i plumbed my basement. i'll never go back to filling/waiting and then toting buckets. fuck that nonsense...
ruwtz
Well-Known Member
I picked up a 55gal drum for $15 used; just needs a proper clean out. I will be running the e&f system into the table today.
Still undecided on draining the drum. I agree the best case scenario is to plumb a pump line out to the rain barrel, but since this sits several feet higher than the bottom of the new drum I'm not sure what size pump I will be needing: seems like a demanding job on a regular 400gph pump, or even a 620gph which I can get pretty cheap. I'm wondering if I should drop on a 1/2hp sump pump instead?
I asked my hydro guy if there was any way of putting in a second plumbed line on the existing res pump so that I can switch over for pumping out to waste, and he said no. Anyone know any better?
Of all the things i've learned through building this op, I never got into plumbing and water pressure, so i'm feeling out of my watery depth here.
Still undecided on draining the drum. I agree the best case scenario is to plumb a pump line out to the rain barrel, but since this sits several feet higher than the bottom of the new drum I'm not sure what size pump I will be needing: seems like a demanding job on a regular 400gph pump, or even a 620gph which I can get pretty cheap. I'm wondering if I should drop on a 1/2hp sump pump instead?
I asked my hydro guy if there was any way of putting in a second plumbed line on the existing res pump so that I can switch over for pumping out to waste, and he said no. Anyone know any better?
Of all the things i've learned through building this op, I never got into plumbing and water pressure, so i'm feeling out of my watery depth here.
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ruwtz
Well-Known Member
PS Larry OG Cali Connection seeds popped 48hrs ago and we have 3 from 12 a solid 1/2" above ground already and cotyledons open. These Root Riot plugs are proving awesome already, and i'm much less worried about their ability to retain the proper moisture content. Very happy with these plugs already.
Not very scientific but I popped some other bagseed at exactly the same time and put them in rock wool in the same propagator. Not a peep from those guys whatsoever, and again i'm concerned that the rock wool isn't watered correctly. Bagseed could be duds though.
Not very scientific but I popped some other bagseed at exactly the same time and put them in rock wool in the same propagator. Not a peep from those guys whatsoever, and again i'm concerned that the rock wool isn't watered correctly. Bagseed could be duds though.
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ruwtz
Well-Known Member
I bet you can answer this for me then...
Lets say I run a PVC line out the wall to the rain barrel, which sits 5-6ft above the bottom of the reservoir drum. What size pump is going to move 40-55 gallons out the wall via this vertical lift and potential total of 360 degrees of elbow turns along the way? I assume each of these factors offers resistance on pumping power ratings?
It surely can't be as simple as saying a 390gph pump moves 6.5 gallons per minute, and therefore can clear 55 gallons in 8 1/2 minutes??
I think I have 2 options: (A) double up on the existing pump by adding a second hose and shutoff valves to both lines, one flowing to the table and the other to waste via the PVC pipe; or (B) add a second dedicated pump to the res just for draining; 1/2 horse power sump or something similar.
Opinions? Ideas?
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cat of curiosity
Well-Known Member
the important part of the pump is head pressure. your pump should actually have head values on the package.
what you need is a pump that can elevate your 6ft so it can be used in duality. imo 390gph should be plenty, once the water is pumped to elevation, siphoning does the rest (and the pump does almost no work).
then, you just make a 'T'. use it for your flood/drain, and switch the valves to pump outdoors.
i'm too old to tote buckets of water, and i think you feel me on that aspect...
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Ya when I drain my res, I can turn my pump off Completely (unplug it) and the siphoning just does the rest
cat of curiosity
Well-Known Member
i am a firm believer in automation, technology, and not breaking my back when a hundred dollars or less will do it for me for years.
it'd be fucked up if it were slavery, but i don't think electricity supplied by a power company that i pay monthly constitutes...
old military adage, "work smarter, not harder"...
ruwtz
Well-Known Member
Gotcha, didn't know that rating and I had to dig into the manual to find "H max" which I assume is height or head. 6.5ft so it seems this pump will do the job, and quick enough for it to be a good fix as far as i'm concerned.
I'll throw in a T as you say with a shut-off valve on each line. Simple.
Thanks for throwing down.
cat of curiosity
Well-Known Member
you betcha, and you'll be doing a jig the first res change. the hmax is maximum head value, so you're golden. just think of those hundreds of pounds of water you won't have to tote manually!
ruwtz
Well-Known Member
If anyone is interested I was able to return the blurple Mars Hydro lights, with not too much fuss from the manufacturer in China, and got a full refund. This money + some was dropped on a pair of Timber Grow's 200w cob kits with frames, which are being delivered today.
I have a line of eager seedlings waiting to graduate so keen to get these lights up ASAP. It has taken 3 weeks of tweaking but I think my seedling nursery is finally getting to be where I want it: the last two batches of seeds were popped in Root Riots, all of them surfacing in 2 days and multiple furry root formations dominating the plug within 5-7 days. Domes have come off to harden to ambient temps/humidity/circulation before vegging as soon as I can get these cobs up. Even the first batch of seeds that suffered poorly in RW with overwatering are bouncing back. Very happy at this point. Thanks to all who contributed to these improvements with good ideas.
I have a line of eager seedlings waiting to graduate so keen to get these lights up ASAP. It has taken 3 weeks of tweaking but I think my seedling nursery is finally getting to be where I want it: the last two batches of seeds were popped in Root Riots, all of them surfacing in 2 days and multiple furry root formations dominating the plug within 5-7 days. Domes have come off to harden to ambient temps/humidity/circulation before vegging as soon as I can get these cobs up. Even the first batch of seeds that suffered poorly in RW with overwatering are bouncing back. Very happy at this point. Thanks to all who contributed to these improvements with good ideas.
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Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Ya mine are all thriving now that roots are large on all.
Big smo
Well-Known Member
Great news and the best possible decision. Luckily you didn't buy from kind