MY True HP Aero Plug&Play Pods

Hi Fatman
I think the solenoids take the most abuse but they seem to handle it quite well. I have these nice pushfit solenoids so if one packs up it won`t take long to replace it

Hi TF

i have tried 1 sec and because of the tubing from the manifold to the pods there isnt enough time to get mist to the pods. what im going to do to get around that is im going to install the .04 oz per sec nozzels so that i will get half the flow but still get the mist.

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Switching to 0.04oz nozzles is a move in the right direction to half the water. If you could add adv`s just behind the nozzles you`ll have the 1 second option as well I`m wondering if theres a way to convert my adv`s to fit your nozzles either directly or by making up some sort of adapter. I guess your nozzles are a screw in type..what thread do they use?

Hi Travish
The first thing you`ll notice about the pump is the noise..it doesn`t make any When you set everything up make sure you have a small 1/16" hex/allen key to hand as you might need to adjust the outlet pressure, the factory setting is normally 80psi.
Sounds like everyone is getting new toys ahead of christmas

I was how one would properly filter nutrient solution using atomizers. If the nozzle uses a siphon, I can't see how the solution could have enough pressure to be pushed through a fine mesh.

Filter it through a 1 micron bag before putting it in the res with a tight fitting lid. Use drain to waste so nothing comes back to contaminate the res or direct the runoff into a seperate container ready for filtering the next day.

fatman7574 said:

...It is a militray surplus Air Techiques M5 Denatl compressor so the price was right.

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Are those old M5 compressors quiet? I'd assume they would be, being designed for use in a dentist office, but not sure if these older models are the "silent" type.

I have a M5-A and a M5-B model. They air techniques are quiet however they have a drier feature tha you would probably wish to remove. they are set up to pressurize to 60 psi, then blow oof the air above 40 psi through a silca dryer and the cylinder heads. That is a lot of waste especially as you do not need dry air as you are not power air driven dental equipment or a tattoo gun. It only requires two pipe caps to by pass the feature. The tank is glass lined so that is not a problem. There are only very minor diffrences in the A and B model A plastic piece around the coolind coil and thraededvhose emns betwwem the tank and driver instead od compression fittings. Don't buy one of the $100 plus rebuild kits. I did and every thing there but the circuit breaker can be bought singly retail if you need it. The circuit breaker is not that specila but it was designed for the military. Instead of being a standard 20 amp it is a 19 amp. Both MY modela M5-A and the M5-B, bought off of ebay look brand new. In their cases both modles weigh 158 pounds each. They were extremely over built for the military. The military used them for field use, however having been a medic in the militray for 6 years I am quite aware that the d miltary dentists doid no care in the field. They would do an examination and if you needed tratment you were sent back to a denrtal clinic or hospital. Proabably. The ao ir compressors were just inventi ory that was therefor field use for wars. however even in wars now they just send troops back to regular clinics and hospitals or just send them back to work. The U.S. military still maintains equipment as if they p\opertaed during the Korean and Viet Nam wars. Therefore they maintains huge amounts of equipment they MAY NEED and just replace it on a rotating basis with new equipment.

Nice, thanks for the info. I'm thinking I should invest in something no louder than around 40db. Live in an apartment with thin walls, so quiet is key. Wish I could find the db rating of those Air Techniques, I see them on ebay all the time.

akaru said:

Nice, thanks for the info. I'm thinking I should invest in something no louder than around 40db. Live in an apartment with thin walls, so quiet is key. Wish I could find the db rating of those Air Techniques, I see them on ebay all the time.

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I gave the wrong pressures. The unit compresses to 80 psi and shuts off, it discharges through drier to 60 psi. the unit allows air usage until 40 psi when the compressor turns back on and compresses to 80 psi etc, etc. The manual does not state the db level but it is quieter than most of the water pumps o my reef aquariums. It is definitely quieter than my kitchen or bath room exhaust fans and they are typically rated between 45 and 50 db. The loudest it gets is when the valve lets of a bit of excess pressure each time it reaches 80 psdi and shuts down. If the unit is in the case it is very quiet though, and it is made to be in its case when in use. The drying cycle is not very notice able. I would compare it's noise and annoiance level to a refrigerator. I have the manual on a pdf file if you have an email address for me to send it to just send me a PM.

I wish a 1 cfm could output enough to power a couple of nozzles, just due to their much smaller size and weight. But I guess at that it would be cycling constantly. The Atomix used one nozzle per 5 or 6 plants, so maybe one atomizer per three foot cubes is overkill?

I think the only way will be to test it. If we could find the actual spec for the nozzles used in the atomix it would be a lot easier to figure these things out.

well i got the above ground res installed . the pump works so much nicer now. the gauge just moves rapidly now up to 97psi where the pressure switch is set for. no more worrying if it will lose its prime inbetween long off cycles now.

somewhat undeceided as to what to go with for a drain to waste setting of EC. Should it be less than recirculating system or more? any opinions?

i have noticed as ive been able to coax more of the finer roots to develop with less misting that it seems like the current setting of EC is actually a little too rich. im thinking this is because as the root system becomes more effecient it doesnt need as strong a level of EC. dont know this for sure just speculating.

tree farmer said:

well i got the above ground res installed . the pump works so much nicer now. the gauge just moves rapidly now up to 97psi where the pressure switch is set for. no more worrying if it will lose its prime inbetween long off cycles now.

somewhat undeceided as to what to go with for a drain to waste setting of EC. Should it be less than recirculating system or more? any opinions?

i have noticed as ive been able to coax more of the finer roots to develop with less misting that it seems like the current setting of EC is actually a little too rich. im thinking this is because as the root system becomes more effecient it doesnt need as strong a level of EC. dont know this for sure just speculating.

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Less misting and less EC I believe. Even two of the 2.25 gallon per hour plants spraying 1 sec per every 60 seconds still adds up to about 5738 ml per. A gallon of Lucas formula diluted to an EC of 0.9266 has 0.123 ounces of fertilizer in it. How much fertilizer can they take if you get close to no waste. At the rate I will be spraying at a EC of 0.9266 that would be 0.064 garms of fertilizer per minute or about 10.36 grams of fertilizer salts per day. I would say that is way to much fertilizer and that is at an EC of 0.926. I would say that with almost no drain to waste and EC of 0.23 would be more than enough fertilizer salts. That would definitely mean using RO water for mixing. That would mean ppm's (not percentages) of N=13.9, P = 27.75, K = 33.08, M = 8.33 and Calcium = 17.9 That is one twelfth of full strength. Meaning one gallon of nute concentrate wil make 1200 gallons of dilute nutrients. Now that is cheap nutrients. Definitely should not clog misters much.

The SN nozzles definitely do get narrower as the pressure increases. The highest psi I saw listed was 40, with the -11 model having an arc of 50deg. Wonder how these will work at 70-100 psi.

Saw a very cheap -5 models on the bay.

I hope to keep pressures down at below 25 psi, actually I would love around 15bto 20 psi. Only as high as what it takes to get good water dropltet sizing.

Yeah, sounds right. Didn't realize you could run those compressors that low.

Any pressue aboe zero is fine with them. Actually they are not like a spouse. An air compressor you can just turn off and ignore, or just draw of only what you need or want whenever you want, they do not mind just being used a little but often. God should have designed spouses that way. I joke. Sorta.

akaru said:

The SN nozzles definitely do get narrower as the pressure increases. The highest psi I saw listed was 40, with the -11 model having an arc of 50deg. Wonder how these will work at 70-100 psi.

Saw a very cheap -5 models on the bay.

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G-love ran the atomix with 30-40psi, which equates to the 2- 2.8 bar specs on the sn nozzles.
Looking at the syphon spec, increasing air pressure results in increased liquid flow along with a decrease in angle. Either one will cause an increase in the droplet size, with both its likely to make a larger difference.

You have plenty of control so its just a matter of finding the ideal flow for the pressure and having sufficient nozzles to get the coverage

Delavar has a nozzle closer in design to the Atomix design that they just refer to as their economy siphon valve. The rangeof avilable sizes was pretty small. Gravity feed gains its volume thru incraesed head height. Lowering the height and/or increasing the pressure decreases droplet sizes. Another davantage of gravity over siphon. with sipohn you have to lower the flow by deceasing air or increasing the siphoning height. The more you incerase your siphon height the shorter period of you spray time that you have nutrient to spray as the siphon tube drians between sprays. This means for a part of the air burst there is no water yet siphoned up to be sprayed, this period of time would incraese with increadsed siphon height. With gravity feed it would just be the few inches at most betweenthe solenoid and the nozzle that would not have a full nutrient load. Set you nozzle slightly higher than your soleniod and even that area should contain a full load of nutrient solution.

I would opt for the gravity feed method over syphon as it seems more controllable even though you`d need a second solenoid to shut off the flow. Its no biggy to elevate a small res somewhere out of the way, it wouldnt need to be that high.
I think the interesting part will be getting and keeping everything dialled in throughout the grow. With the variety of adjustments, you`ll probably be fighting the urge to tweak something every half hour

Atomizer said:

I would opt for the gravity feed method over syphon as it seems more controllable even though you`d need a second solenoid to shut off the flow. Its no biggy to elevate a small res somewhere out of the way, it wouldnt need to be that high.
I think the interesting part will be getting and keeping everything dialled in throughout the grow. With the variety of adjustments, you`ll probably be fighting the urge to tweak something every half hour

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Being an engineer, a teacher and researcher I have tinkeritis quite often. Luckily the grow I will be experimenting on is in my home and the others will not be converted until I am thru tinkering.

Atomizer said:

I would opt for the gravity feed method over syphon as it seems more controllable even though you`d need a second solenoid to shut off the flow. Its no biggy to elevate a small res somewhere out of the way, it wouldnt need to be that high.
I think the interesting part will be getting and keeping everything dialled in throughout the grow. With the variety of adjustments, you`ll probably be fighting the urge to tweak something every half hour

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i would defineatly go with gravity feed or even better yet pressure fed. even though pressure fed adds a little more complexity i think the option of increasing or decreasing the pressure to get just the right droplet size makes up for it. of coarse you can vary the pressure by alittle by the gravity hieght you choose but the ability to be able to just dial in the pressure to a certain number would sure be nice. maybe ive just used to many accumulater tanks in my life

Ive lowered my ppm from 200 down to 140 (.5conversion) with the drain to waste. it sure is nice just setting the res and coming back and its still the same. no adjusting everyday. at current settings only going thru 3 gallons or so aday. i dont think i'would ever design another HP aero any other way as the nutes and water usage are low enough to warrent DTW. i monitor the runoff (what very little there is)and they sure seem to suck it up when its only going by once.