For All Cap Ebb and Grow Users

[Ferredoxin]

Hows it going guys, new ebb and grow user, just got things setup, 24 site in a 8x4 room, just curious should I be stressing about the third float valve as a safety measure? Also how long should I veg with a semi crowded area with this system?

It depends on the strain. I veg sour diesels for 2 weeks, but I top them to 4-5 nodes a few days before I flip them and they end up 5ft+ and evenly spaced. I would veg a shorter indica 4-5 weeks and train it a bit to fill the space. I veg my 24 in a separate space under a 400w MH on a 3x3 ebb&flow table, them move them for 12/12.

As for the top float....pray it doesnt fail! I wouldnt be using this system in an upstairs bedroom...lol.

 

[hellraizer30]

It depends on the strain. I veg sour diesels for 2 weeks, but I top them to 4-5 nodes a few days before I flip them and they end up 5ft+ and evenly spaced. I would veg a shorter indica 4-5 weeks and train it a bit to fill the space. I veg my 24 in a separate space under a 400w MH on a 3x3 ebb&flow table, them move them for 12/12.

As for the top float....pray it doesnt fail! I wouldnt be using this system in an upstairs bedroom...lol.

ive got a buddy that did and 55gal of water ended up in his lower bedroom lol I have mine on a shop floor next to a drain lol

 

[jdmcwestevo]

ive got a buddy that did and 55gal of water ended up in his lower bedroom lol I have mine on a shop floor next to a drain lol

ya i overflowed shit before dumped 55 gal down to the place below lol no BUENO

 

[WaxxyNuggets]

Thanks for the responses there is no preventative measure i can take to ensure a float failure isn't gonna dump all over the floor? Praying is my best bet...? fuck

 

[hellraizer30]

yep no way to 100%prevent it sorry

 

[tommyo3000]

hmmm... do the original cap controllers have redundant float switches?
my aquahub kits have two on the bottom and three on the top, i believe..

 

[hammer21]

Just make sure they use quality floats and they have a high water float chances of 2 floats going bad at the exact same time very very rare. I would stay clear of aquahub they use 110 volts to there floats think about putting your hand in a bucket of water with 110 volts outcome not good. make sure they use a safe low DC voltage and are not putting a load on the floats they are not made for it....................... When you see a company using multi floats for the same thing tells me that they don`t trust there floats or controller why should you.

 

[tommyo3000]

Just make sure they use quality floats and they have a high water float chances of 2 floats going bad at the exact same time very very rare. I would stay clear of aquahub they use 110 volts to there floats think about putting your hand in a bucket of water with 110 volts outcome not good. make sure they use a safe low DC voltage and are not putting a load on the floats they are not made for it....................... When you see a company using multi floats for the same thing tells me that they don`t trust there floats or controller why should you.

As with anyone who builds a system with redundancy would tell you, Aquahub puts extra floats in there in case of catastrophic failure. Planning for catastrophic failure does not mean that they don't trust their floats; it means that they are smart enough to know that the floats are mission-critical and so they provide redundancy.

 

[med4u]

tommo,my original cap came with redundant but not installed,i guess in case the top switch fails,i have no plans to install,i like livin' on the edge, and i have the same aqua set up you have,by the way thanx for the hook up on that, sweet deal,i jus got gifted another 55gal res and 24 more buckets,and im fixin to blow all dez beaachez' out!

 

[hammer21]

catastrophic failure the floats will not save you. 30 years as a Industrial electrical engineer i think i know something.

 

[tommyo3000]

catastrophic failure the floats will not save you. 30 years as a Industrial electrical engineer i think i know something.

I meant catastrophic failure of a float switch. . .

So what is wrong with these specs?

Specifications
Temperature: -10 ~ +80°C
Contact rating: 50W
Max Switching Voltage: 100VDC
Min Breakdown Voltage: 150VDC
Max Switching Current: 0.5A
Max Contact Resistance: 100mΩ

would you like this better?

Specifications:*
Temperature: -10 ~ +125°C
Contact rating: 50W
Max Switching Voltage: <=220VAC
Min Breakdown Voltage: 300VDC
Max Switching Current: 1.5A
Max Contact Resistance: 100m&#8486;

 

[tommyo3000]

catastrophic failure the floats will not save you. 30 years as a Industrial electrical engineer i think i know something.

How about the FDCv1 Mission Critical Fill & Drain Controller

ontroller is mounted on a wall away from the water in the controller bucket
with a 9.5&#8217; Cable that can be extended to 75&#8217; As most controller buckets end
up not being easily accessed, so you may easily change your fill times.

Built in Surge Protection Circuit, Visually Indicating Active Surge Protection.

Indicators Indicate Current Cycle (Fill or Drain) & Actual Pump Status Within
Each Cycle So you can see what cycle your in aswell as see if the Pump Should
|be active if you are experiencing a problem. Other controllers don&#8217;t do this.

Analog Circuit Design, When Lights, Pumps, AC Etc cycle on/off they create surges
that can fault digital circuits. Although Digital Circuits can be more accurate
they are more susceptible to voltage fluctuations.

Full Circuit Protection
3 Breakers, Ensure fault is stopped as close to the source to not damage controller,
That are Spec&#8217;ed to provide Protection to controller a yet also not be under-sized.
2 Replaceable fuses (Timer, Transformer), Allows to be Field Serviceable. *(These should never Blow)
8 Self-Resetting Fuses (Indicators and Switches) allows minor faults to not full fault unit.
All Components surpass all Codes and engineering guidelines. PCB is Coated with a
*Explosive-Proof, Thermally Conductive Epoxy (MG 832TC), Thus ensuring Longer
Life from the Components.

Full Five Year Warranty on FDCV1&#8482; Controller & Cables.


Optional Warranty Upgrade Option With Next Day Delivery, If you ever have a warranty
Problem, We can overnight a new controller and then you can ship you defective unit back.

Technical Specifications:
Power Supply In:120 Vac
Pump: Not Included (2) Via Aqua 306 or DM FP-250 DMFP-190
Minimum Fill Time:1 minute
Minimum Drain Time:1 minute
Max Amperage: 3 Amp, 250 Watt ea Pump, *5,000GPH
Warranty: Full Five Year Warranty on FDCV1&#8482; Controller , 1 Year for Pumps.

Package Contents:
1, FDCV1-A Controller
1, 9, Cable With Float Switches.
5, Year Warranty.

Invented & Fully Designed By Thomas Ordon Of TLO FDC IP HOLDINGS, LLC
(Personally Bringing 25 Years of Analog Circuit Design and 15+ years in Digital,
Thus Knowing when and how to use each technology without comprising Life or Reliability)
http://www.fdcv1.com/

 

[hammer21]

Thats alot nicer controller and the second float is best choice. The first float is not even rated for 110-120 VAC standard relay pulls 65 to 90ma not rated for even the relays they use asking for trouble. Just keep in mind the controller is the heart of the system. You can get by without large lights for a day or two without a controller the party is over in a matter of hours.

 

[tommyo3000]

Thats alot nicer controller and the second float is best choice. The first float is not even rated for 110-120 VAC standard relay pulls 65 to 90ma not rated for even the relays they use asking for trouble. Just keep in mind the controller is the heart of the system. You can get by without large lights for a day or two without a controller the party is over in a matter of hours.

So do you use a controller? Which one?

I like this mission critical controller, but the guy is not making any more right now due to some shortage of parts or whatever. It has a lot of great features, however...

I am about to build another aquahub kit and will order some of these stainless switches to use instead of the plastic ones....
Then the aquahub kit should be pretty good.. Unless the mechanical time clock thing breaks, but it is pretty beefy..

 

[hammer21]

[/So do you use a controller? Which one?
QUOTE]

like the journal......................tommy

 

[dbkick]

Ok sounds like I need the check valve since my controller only has two float switches. Plus my res is outside the room and control bucket is inside. Anyone point me in the direction of a good 3/4 inch check value to use?

Much love
Fry

A lot been happening in the thread!
Fry the CAP controllers with two float switches are the newer version , they aren't supposed to need a check valve because they have a 3 second delay on the fill outlet.
I bought a new version of the CAP monster and the pump seemed to run on so I installed a check valve, CAP sells two different models of check valve, one a 1/2 inch and the other 3/4 inch. Err perhaps I meant a 3 second delay on the drain outlet, either way I don't understand how its supposed to address this issue.

 

[tommyo3000]

[/So do you use a controller? Which one?
QUOTE]View attachment 1795683

like the journal......................tommy

OH hell yes!
My dad is an electrical engineer specilaizing in industrial controls. He built a bunch of Nuclear analog control systems that run some power plants in the midwest/east. When that three mile island shit happened, he said everything Bailey Controls made still worked.. It was all epoxied and badass..

I also use industrial controls in my grow where I can.

OK, so have you detailed how you made this controller anywhere yet?
I tried the link on the controller, but no luck...

oh yeah,. the journal.. that was like two cycles ago.. I am a slacker. it is pretty bad.

 

[jdmcwestevo]

post the greentrees floats much better

 

[hammer21]

My have worked with your dad tommy ask him if ever did work for crystal river nuclear plant or on the steena recovery vessel projects.

 

[formfactor]

Okay so I'm approaching final flush, and I'm curious how many e&g users have used molasses or sucanat in their systems. I ran a mixture of both for about 2 weeks and a slime developed, bu I would swear the plants loved it. I plan on flushing with it, but I'm thinking about adding it before the flush... Any experience here?