optimus

Hey guys, after browsing some grow sites I discovered some info about aeroponics that might be interesting.

If any of you have followed InsaneK9's thread in "MyCannabis Images" you'd know that the aeroponic system he's using (with a pump and nozles) is quite a hassle and almost not worth the effort.

Well here's a fogger that can achieve a droplet size of 5 microns (apparently a system with 100psi will give you 55 micron droplets). The smaller the better.

check out the info at:
http://www.netvision.net.il/~keshet01/

I imagine that to construct one of these things you'd set up a big cooler or similiar type container, poke the holes in the top, put cups in there with holes on the bottom, and let your roots go through the bottom of the cups. Just like any other aerospring system.
And then you could just set the darn fogger right in there and put a timer on it to acheive desired results. It would be much easier to acheive extremely high humidity because the only openings to the outside would be the cups and the hole needed for the electrical cord.

There is a drawback however. Because the system is ultrasonic, your pets might not like it too much and I've heard its not good for humans to have too much of this either. Any intrepid mind can find a solution to this though. I dont think i really even need to say them. I'm not sure what effect the ultrasonic noise would have on the roots either.

The only thing is, i'm not sure how the system would handle the nutes in the water.

has anyone tried this method or know anything about it?

Optimus

MinorCrimes

I've been looking at these "Aerospring" and "Aerocloner" sytems and they way I look at it is that the smaller the droplets the better......but the link you have Looks like it would be very expensive.It is also a very large unit so it would take up alot of root space. Droplet size is important. To buy one of these Aerospring systems it cost like 110+shipping. I have looked at some coponents To build a system For 4 5inch net pots. The way i would design it it would use sprayers with 55 micron droplets. Instead of using 1 fogger unit , I'd use 20 of these atomizing nozzles with a 782GPH pump. The nozzles put out .9GPH at 100psi. SO .9 times 20 would com out close to 19 GPH.With the extra large pump the extra GPH would translate into extra PSI. Which do you think would be better the 20 nozzles or the 1 fogger??

optimus

If you have followed any threads of anyone growing using Aerospring designs, then you'll see that they are a pain to maintain due to roots clogging the pumps (& being submerged) and the nozzles themselves getting clogged.

Also, the unit might be big but you don't have to put it in the system, you could just use some ducting to connect the fog output to the aero container. so the unit could be on the exterior.

I think 1 fogger would be better than 20 sprayers because with the fogger you get like 90% smaller droplet size and almost NO maintenence. Read up on InsaneK9's thread in MyCannabis Images and look at how much maintenence his homemade system required. Also, do the systems your talking about include a pump? It is said that around 1000psi is needed to achieve 10 microns. It seems like 1000psi water shooting on your roots would destroy them because that is pretty powerful.

Again, I see no reason to use sprayers when such small micron size can be achieved with the fogger. The only problems are the supersonic noise and i'm not sure how it would handle nutes being pushed through it .

MinorCrimes

Yes, I could see the roots getting in the pump being a prob. When i build my cloner you'll see why it won't be an issue. The clogging of nozzles will come up but for 1.20 a pop screw it i'll buy 5 extra's.As for the 1000psi I am not sure if you understand how it works. There isn't a 1000 PSI coming out of the nozzle the 1000psi is feed line pressure. Go to a produce section of a grocery store those misters run on 1000psi, An i think there droplet size is 10-15 microns. The nozzles i was refering to but out .9GPH at 100psi But will operate well on 30-40. I was going to buy a pump seperatly a 782GPH. I lowered the # of nozzles to 16 to make the design of my system better.I am making mine from scratch w/ my own design.If it doesn't work it will cost me $5 and a hour of time to change into K9's version. To run 16 nozzles i need to provide 14.4GPH. The extra 750+ is to generate PSI. High pressure pumps cost $100s of dollors where as Sub. pumps cost $20. As for the sonic noise of foggers i am not sure. I am a machinist and have see things called sonic deburers. They pass sonic waves through coolant with can take an 1/8(.125) inch bur off a piece of tool steel. So who knows what it does to roots. I garrentee it isn't as bad as getting sucked in a pump though!
PEACE

MinorCrimes

Forgot to ad These nozzles put the roots in 95% humidity. Which is the next best thing to being Submerged in watter. So they will have all the Nuts and o2 they need.

MinorCrimes

optimus, If i only need like 20 GPH should i just go with a 120gph pump? It would be a hell of alot quieter. What's your opinion on this?

optimus

I'm not well versed on the subject since I have never grown aeroponically. I started this thread so I could gain some more knowledge about whether a fogger is a good idea or not (for when I do use aeroponics).

Sorry man.

Also, you were saying how its easy to fix clogged sprayers, but thats assuming your in town to catch them. One of the things that sucks about the traditional aeroponic method is that you have to be there almost all the time in case your system breaks. Cause your plants will die in 24 hours if anything major goes wrong , and with more parts to a traditional system than the ultrasonic fogger system, there is more of a chance of failure.

Optimus

MinorCrimes

That is a great point. At the moment i have a 4x1 area so i am going to buy parts after x-mass. I will use 3 3gallon pails on top of a tubberware container.Pump in the bottom plants in pails. so no roots in pump. You need to make a minium order of 20$ to order nozzles so i will have like 8 nozzles per bucket. Use a free 400watt MH and HPS i got. SO like 100watts per sq foot. I should get atleast 5 oz of killer bud!