American Agritech Botanicare 42 Site Cloning Machine - A Review

*grass_hopper* · 02-15-2005, 03:42 PM

Well, my AmAg Botanicare machine arrived today, and before I get it all loaded with clones (from plants that aren't even germed yet!) I thought I'd write a review for all to see.

First, I purchased the unit from one of a variety of unknown online vendors that turned up on a Google search - I picked the one who had the lowest price. It took approximately 3 weeks to arrive, because of "backorder" status and "shipping problems." Personally, I think this was bunk - I'll wager the unit wasn't even on hand and had to be bought through a wholesaler after I placed my order. I noticed that the vendor wasted no time charging my credit card, though. At what point to you continue to grouse, though? In relative terms I got a good deal, about $25 less than MSRP, and free shipping.

Components of the unit include:

Plastic reservoir (about 5-6 gallons)
Plastic net cup tray/lid on legs
250 gallon fish pond pump with pre-filter
PVC manifold and 9 Raindrip sprayers (manifold is pre-drilled)
42 black plastic net cups
42 black neoprene cup inserts
4 oz bottle of anti-fungal solution
4 oz bottle of cloning solution (0.2-0.3-0.2) Same materials as cloning gel but in liquid form

The main part of the unit is the reservoir, a white molded plastic tub with feet to keep it up off the floor. The pump (Pondmaster Mag Drive 250 gph pump @ 7' head) is fairly substantial and is easily the most expensive part of the setup. The pump's magnetic drive eliminates the need for oil seals and prevents contamination, even in salt water.

A "manifold" screws onto the pump via a threaded tee. This manifold is two lengths of 3/4" PVC pipe connected by a tee, with 9 holes drilled in it and two PVC caps glued to each end. Little green Raindrip micro-irrigation sprayers screw into the holes to provide the mist. These sprayers will do a good job coating the inside of the bucket with a fine mist.

The net cups are held up by a plastic tray that is supported by 4 legs. The tray has a couple of PVC endcaps glued to it to make little handles to make it easier to pick up the tray when fully loaded. The tray is sheet of white plastic with holes drilled in it and these legs/knobs glued to it. It's nicely fitted so that it slides into the reservoir and makes a tight fit. The net-cups are a stock size, which fit into the holes snugly, and the neoprene "rootguards" are pre-punched neoprene rings that will keep the spray from coming out and also block light.

I'd prefer if the entire unit was either painted black, or had a black lining inside to prevent algae growth. Even a black lid/tray would have been a start. Another big criticism is that there is no humidity dome available for the 42 site cloner. A dome is an option ($15 extra) on the larger units, but isn't available on the smaller units. If I want a humidity dome, I'm going to have to make one myself.

So I'd be lying if I said wasn't disappointed as soon as I opened up the box. I expected this to be a fairly sophisticated unit, but in reality it's nothing but a kit of various off-the-shelf parts that someone has put together and put a label on it and sold for 2-3x their cost. I feel like I could have built this myself for about half the money (or less) from parts readily available at Home Depot/Walmart. The pump is a commonly available pond pump, the sprayers are easily had at any good garden shop (and now Walmart, although under a generic brand), and the manifold itself is just a hunk of pipe and a tee. Anyone with a drill press and a belt sander could make the plastic tray, and the net cups and neoprene rings are completely off the shelf. The fanciest part of the unit is the molded plastic reservoir, which in reality could be from any plastic patio planter set from K-Mart.

I guess the main advantage to the Botanicare unit is that someone has already done the testing and fussing for me - the hardest part of the task. I wasn't able to root any of the cuttings from my last crop in jiffy plugs, mainly because they were much harder to clone than other strains I've grown and I wasn't aware of cloning and anti-fungal solutions. My attempts at aeroponic cloning machines also haven't been very successful for a variety of reasons, but primarily because I wasn't fully aware of the myriad of parts available.

All in all, the Botanicare is a well engineered and professional looking unit, and I'm sure it will be successful at increasing my cloning rate. I'm a little irked at being charged $150 for about $60 worth of parts (and I got a deal! MSRP on these units is usually $179). I'm tempted to publish a detailed schematic and parts list of what I received so even a mildly ambitious do-it-yourselfer would be able to duplicate it. Maybe if there is an interest I'll do so. It won't hurt Botanicare, since the 42 is being retired and replaced by a newly designed, 45 site cloning machine with a bulit-in humidi-dome, a larger resevoir, and a molded plastic design that looks like it was designed for this purpose. This unit also comes with an air pump and aerator stone (probably to keep algae in check), although I imagine if they just made the thing out of black plastic there wouldn't be an algae problem in the first place.

*grass_hopper* · 03-12-2005, 01:41 PM

Here's an action pic of the cloner all set up. I got some fresh herbs at the supermarket and I'm trying to root the better looking pieces for the herb garden out back on the deck just on the other side of the window. I've got basil, thyme, oregano, and mint.

It was a little bit of a pain in the a$s to set up - the neoprene rings are great but take a little wiggling to get into the net cups. The unit makes a nice little hum and trickle noise which is surpisingly pleasant, not unlike those little ornamental waterfalls. It might drive me nuts and have to go into the closet where the Mazar and Blueberries are, but for now its loving it's south facing sliding glass door location

Oh, I added the anti-fungal and rooting hormone solutions to the recommended dosages, so we'll see how they do...

afterburner · 03-12-2005, 02:07 PM

Cool! Botanicare

I like them. Aero is fun... I like the looks of that cloner!

I'll be interested to see how they root for ya... I have a small version of one of these aero machines sittin around somewhere that a friend gave to me because she wasn't using it... but I've kinda forgotten about it because the sprayer heads were busted, there are no net pots, and I've no anti-fungal sprayes etc. etc. That and i've never remembered at the hydro store when I need them sprayer heads

If you see exellent success with this unit I might just have to go dust it off and find me some sprayers...

to be honest I've never gotten beyond a composted tree bark medium and a clear plastic bin for a makeshift dome in my cloning expertese ...

Best o luck
afterburner

*grass_hopper* · 03-12-2005, 02:18 PM

Hey afterburner - thanks for dropping in. The unit is pretty well thought out, but like I mentioned in the review it left me feeling a little had. I wish that they showed you the insides of this before you bought it.

BTW - the sprayer heads for my unit are a la Raindrip, which are available at wal-mart and many better garden centers. And the anti-fungal is completely optional. I wouldn't let the trip to the hydro shop be the limiting factor. I'm an advocate because I lost about 50+ clones of blueberry and northern lights to a cloning disaster. I'll be MORE of an advocate if it actually works

Jr. Greenthumb · 03-13-2005, 05:32 PM

A couple questions.....

The net cups it uses. Are those 2" cups" And are the bottoms on them or is it just the upper ring for the neoprene collor to fit in open on the bottom for the mist to hit the plant? I have been looking into building a smaller unit but unable to figure out how to mount the collors. I just had a mental breakthru though

If you could, would you take some pics of the innards of that neat little machine.

How big is the resivoir? Gallons I mean.

*grass_hopper* · 03-13-2005, 06:20 PM

Happy to oblige

Quote:

The net cups it uses. Are those 2" cups"

Yes. The Botanicare actually shipped with a couple of extra. But they are standard 2" cups from the hydro shop.

Quote:

And are the bottoms on them or is it just the upper ring for the neoprene collor to fit in open on the bottom for the mist to hit the plant?

They are standard net cups with bottoms on them. The sprayers don't seem to have much difficulty getting even the cuttings on the outside perimeter good and wet. If you take one of the cups out while the thing is running it sprays out like a fountain. An on-off switch would be a great addition to this unit for that very reason.

The neoprene collars are also standard from the hydroshop. See pic

Mine differ from the picture in that they also have a little hole punched out of the middle, although I think most of them do. The neoprene is stiff and thick enough so that it holds its shape. The neoprene collars are just big enough to need a little persuasion to slide inside the cup mouth. But once they're in they won't move and hold the plant very well.

Quote:

I have been looking into building a smaller unit but unable to figure out how to mount the collors. I just had a mental breakthru though

I think it would be pretty easy to duplicate this machine with readily available materials. I found a source for the same mag-pump as the one that's in here. PM me if you want the link. The cups are supported in the lid because the hole in the lid is just a hair smaller than the cups (which are conical in shape). The neoprene is just pressed into each net cup - no adhesive or mechanical fasteners required.

Quote:

How big is the resivoir? Gallons I mean.

I'm going to guess 6-7 gallons. But if you put more than 2-3 gallons of water in it, the sprayers will be under water

The one design flaw in this system is that the legs need to fit into the slots in the bottom perfectly or else the lid doesn't fit back into the unit. This can be a little hard to negotiate with a tray full of cuttings.

Here's the reservoir and sprayers all set up.

Here's the lid and net cups.

*grass_hopper* · 03-13-2005, 06:21 PM

PS - the water looks a little like pee because of the anti-fungal and rooting hormone solutions. They are both a yellowish color.

*grass_hopper* · 03-19-2005, 07:39 AM

Well - the mint is the early girl

All mint cuttings started to show roots this morning. Here's a pic of the most developed one. I think the thyme is going to be more difficult, since it's a woody plant instead of an herby one. I'm sure the basil will be next, since that's also an easy rooter. so far only 4 cuttings have died (2 thyme, 2 oregano).

Total time from cutting to roots in the mint - 7 days.

iwishicould · 03-19-2005, 09:00 AM

Sorry I'm kinda green on the hydro edge of things and was wondering if one could you make another top for this unit with only four net pots and use it for veg and flower as well ? I'm asking because it looks simple and easy to make maintain and use. I really like the collar idea as well and I'm wondering why I haven't seen it before with all the reading I do what the heck? lol

Also, how often do you need to change your solution while using it for clone application?

IWIC

*grass_hopper* · 03-19-2005, 11:43 AM

Actually, IWIC - if you go to Botanicare's site you can see they use the same units for different things. For instance:

This is their 42 site clone machine (the one I have)

This is their 6 site Aero Machine:

See a resemblance?

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