Anybody use GROWTRONIX

socasquirt said:

my growtronix continually and for no apparent reason, looses communications with the sensors and devices and must be restarted. I can not trust it to control only monitor.

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That sort of defeats the purpose. Have you tried tech support? I have heard raves about this system but one thing concerned me I did read is that their connections aren't sealed and are prone to corrosion thus failure. If they could build their systems to greenhouse controller standards, they would be a great choice but would probably be more costly.

i have been eyeing a growtronix system for several years... i knew it would cost about $1600 from them to automate my grow room to the level i wanted... as far as i know you cant get any of the parts from anywhere but growtronix.com, which bothered me because i heard it sometimes took forever to get because they are built to order or something.

i am very jealous of the interface to the computer they have though - they screen shots look awesome, but looks dont matter if they dont work well...

so i automated my grow room - but not with growtronix, i found the alternative - PLC's

i got it done more reliably with under $500 worth of industrial automation equipment - check the plc thread here: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/137251-anyone-here-controlling-your-grow.html

BloodShot420 said:

i have been eyeing a growtronix system for several years... i knew it would cost about $1600 from them to automate my grow room to the level i wanted... as far as i know you cant get any of the parts from anywhere but growtronix.com, which bothered me because i heard it sometimes took forever to get because they are built to order or something.

i am very jealous of the interface to the computer they have though - they screen shots look awesome, but looks dont matter if they dont work well...

so i automated my grow room - but not with growtronix, i found the alternative - PLC's

i got it done more reliably with under $500 worth of industrial automation equipment - check the plc thread here: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/137251-anyone-here-controlling-your-grow.html

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Nice idea but a question, how do you interface pH, CO2, TDS and such to PLCs (I know thermistors are relatively easy, so temp shouldn't be a problem)? That's where I was under the impression that Growtronix would be able to supply you with those modules.

any of those things (Ph, co2, tds) are Analog inputs... (the controller i use has 2 analog inputs, and 2 ouputs). I happened to have an add-on for my controller that will add 4 thermocouples, so i have 2 of those hooked up... i haven't really looked into using thermistors, but i think those are also analog.

analog inputs to the plc work 2 ways, they measure voltage, or current... 0-10 volts or 4-20 milliamps...

so this co2 sensor i'm looking at, detects co2 from 0ppm - 2000ppm and gives a signal in 0-10v to the plc... so if you wanted to get to 1500ppm, you would use the plc to open the solenoid on the co2 tank, until the voltage for the co2 input got to 7.5v (0v = 0ppm, 10v = 2000ppm).

PH and TDS would work just like this, but i havent messed with automating any part of my res (fill, add nutes, check ph)...

i'm adding co2 for the next grow

PLCs are just so much more customizable than timers... (and a little more expensive) but its the small things that add so much...

the whole room shutdown if a high limit temp is reached...
turning the UV off when the door is open...
turning green night lights on when the HIDs are off and the door is open (when i want to check on them at "night")
turning on an air pump in the res 5 mins before every flood for oxygen rich water
flooding on the hour, every hour during lights on (usually too much for a single timer to do)
the exhaust fan (for the lights only) doesnt turn off when the lights do, it turns off after the lights are off, and the exhaust temp of the lights is less than 90F.

I am interested in anybody who has had issue with Growtronix, the proprietor DJ or any of his equipment. I have had issues and want to give him a fair shake before I rattle things... good comments are welcome too...

Please contact me at [email protected] if you have a story to tell...

OK. Where to start? As an actual user I would not recomend growtronix to people. Very unrealiable and unstable. I will admit customer service from DJ the owner is beyond expected. But a product that doesnt need customer service every day would be even better. DJ does indeed beleive in his system and I respect that. You need a computor specificly dedicated to this system. Also you must ensure your computor never restarts it wil throw the system offline. Also NO DIGITAL BALLAST! More of a windows server type system would be much better and thats High dollars. Its not compatible with mac although you can run a virtual windows machine on a mac and it will work. I feel bad not recomending the system because DJ is a nice buy but I don't want to see people run into the same problems I did. I coulndt sleep at night wondering if my digital ballast was tweaking the shit out of the sytem. Or if my computor decided to update and do a restart and the lights are off. Or if the exaust fan was running all day because the humidity sensor was fouled. Or confirming serial numbers on each individual modual to ensure the system doesnt corrupt out. With my expereince I would try a different route. I could see where this system could be handy in some situations but in small grows and for someone who doesnt compltey understand prgramming and technicle computor stuff NO WAY. Not to say he won't make his system better in the future but in the mean while. Glad my system is packed away in a box. He does say on his website "if you are not completly familiar with computers this sytem is not for you". He did not lie when he said that. It not a huge company that you have operators standing by ready to help. Its a two man show roughly. He will get back with you relativly quick but if something comes up not sure what would happen. Hope this is helpful to people.

Same here! Offline --- reading for temperature and humidity sensors every 3 or so days. RIdiculous YES I was not alone. He wants to help us get up and running but WTF? He wanted me to perform multiple tests that I did'nt have time for. Not cool.

I'm working on a greenhouse designed specifically for the mmj industry in CA. The design is robust, more stealthy than a B1 Bomber, and very very productive. I've been looking into automation which is similar to that of a grow room. I've been corresponding with an older company in New Zealand that makes a very dependable system which offers absolute control of everything. Its similar to having a small crew of horticulturists tending your crop around the clock; and its not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Imagine sensors and outputs to suit virtually any type of hydroponic and irrigation system that you could think of. The software infrastructure has been designed for relative ease of customisation including language translation, with sensors and output modules that connect to a specially designed industrial Linux computer. If you wanna grow fine connoisseur quality buds, or maybe earn $500k a year, and do this without worrying about failures or calling some asshole in the middle of the night because the turd he sold you is stinking the joint up, then you need the best system money can buy. These dudes spent the past 20 years developing algorithms and refining them, and about 4 man years to implement the new platform (nearly finished). Its easy to hack something together, but if you want reliability with failsafes at every step, then you need quite a bit more. I read an article about a guy in northern Cali that spends $40k annually just on electricity. Multiply that times four, and he could have a stealthy stand alone solar powered, and mobile greenhouse that'll return his investment with a fat profit in one year. And while other growers are adjusting their lights, pH, worrying about LEO, or looking out for the meter reader, the dude that owns the greenhouse is chilling at the Oasis, drinking Rum from a Coconut, and watching his flowers bloom on a ipad.

Well the humidity sensor on my Cap Extreme controller stopped working the other day so I took the plung and ordered the growtronix base system.
I am a computer guy but Im hoping these issue with the sensors dont come and bite me in the arse.
Will post updates once its in and I get it going.

OK here we go.............

Order the basic system (no c02) and an extra plug controller.

Since none of my computers have serial ports I had to get a usb to serial adapter, paid $40 for the damn thing at staples just cause I didn't feel like waiting another week to get one online for 10$...should have waited.

So I hooked everything up but every time the software would start would get errors saying the adapter could not be found
At this point I think 75% of normal user would have been f'ed in the A... Sent an email with the issue....
Lucky me I'm very computer savvy so I looked into the hardware settings and noticed that the usb adapter was set to use Comm port 16....
With Serial Com ports Ive had issues in the past with software not being able to use stuff with higher port numbers so I noticed COM port 2 was available on the system so I switched the adapter to use that instead..... BING! Everything start working, I pat myself on the back and send another email to growtronix stating my solution....
Everything looks great running correctly in the living room.
Sooooooooo.
I take everything down to the install location, run my cables and screw the senors into their final living spots.....
I notice the console logging "Can't find Humidity sensor [name] on the network". It logs this like 20 times a min and the humidity display is not showing values.
Frustrated I give up for the day and email growtronix the situation.

Now let me say they really really do try to be helpful and are pretty quick to respond.
In short they start on the "are you using digital ballasts" angle which indeed I am.
So they tell me its most likely the RF interference generated by the digital ballasts messing with the senor signal on the cables.
At first I'm not convinced but I ran some test where I unplugged ALL the gear, at that point the sensor comes back on and reads values again.
So I plug in everything one at a time (ballasts last) and its only when I turn the relay for the two ballasts in the same room as the sensor that the humidity sensor goes AWOL again proving it is indeed RF interference.

So Ive got a bunch of shielded cables coming in, hopefully that fixes the issue for good but if not my backup is to build Faraday cages around the ballasts to block the RF signals.

Now I can say, the system is indeed very cool. The graph and charting features are great and will come in very handy over the long haul BUT......
If your not good at troubleshooting computers...I wouldn't get it
If you have short patience this isn't for you
If you need stuff working yesterday not tomorrow its not for you....
If your willing to put up with some BS and troubleshooting then it seems like it going to be great...assuming I get it working for real anyways....

M two cents. It is a pimp system for sure, or it at least it looks pimp. I am a HUGE fan of automation because I have a job and a family and although I love growing, I'm not a huge fan of having to manage it daily or uggghh.. ask my wife to do it. To that end, there are several products on the market that do the same thing as the protronix although you can't plug them all into each other and create cool graphs and what not. If you were able to control some grow room device cheaper with the growtronix that would be slick... but alas, you can't.

Lets look at some common controls and what they do, or more specifically, how my environment is managed:

My big dehumidifier has a humidistat on it and turns off and on as needed... DONE. I never want it to shut off because its full, nor do I want to empty the bucket so I purchased a $40 condensate pump then collects the water and pumps it automatically out of the room.

My spit AC has a temperature setting on it. While it would be nice to plug a programmable thermostat to change temps at different times of the day.. you can't do that with the growtronix either (control AC unit).

My lighting is controlled by ordinary digital timers.. cheap and they work great.

My co2 as well as some other things is controlled by my CAP XGC-1. This also controls temps if the conditions overpower my AC unit.

I have a simple top off tote and float valve to add water to my rez when needed. There is quarter strength nutes in there so the ppm really doesn't fluctuate.

The last link to sleeping well out of town is automated ph control. The off the shelf units are $600 which is bonkers. I am gathering parts to easily make one myself. You have the milwaukie sms-122 which triggers an AC outlet when the ph travels above a set point. $110 on ebay. http://www.milwaukeetesters.com/SMS122.html
The outlet will trigger a small parastiallic pump that sucks up and spits out PH down at an adjustable rate (I'm thinking around 5ml/minute) to start. $50 on ebay or $90 from an aquarium shop. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/pumps-and-plumbing/dosing-pumps-and-auto-top-off-systems/brs-2-part-doser-1-1-ml-per-minute.html
So your talking $160 for automatic PH control. And how much is that function on the growtronix?

legallyflying said:

M two cents. It is a pimp system for sure, or it at least it looks pimp. I am a HUGE fan of automation because I have a job and a family and although I love growing, I'm not a huge fan of having to manage it daily or uggghh.. ask my wife to do it. To that end, there are several products on the market that do the same thing as the protronix although you can't plug them all into each other and create cool graphs and what not. If you were able to control some grow room device cheaper with the growtronix that would be slick... but alas, you can't.

Lets look at some common controls and what they do, or more specifically, how my environment is managed:

My big dehumidifier has a humidistat on it and turns off and on as needed... DONE. I never want it to shut off because its full, nor do I want to empty the bucket so I purchased a $40 condensate pump then collects the water and pumps it automatically out of the room.

My spit AC has a temperature setting on it. While it would be nice to plug a programmable thermostat to change temps at different times of the day.. you can't do that with the growtronix either (control AC unit).

My lighting is controlled by ordinary digital timers.. cheap and they work great.

My co2 as well as some other things is controlled by my CAP XGC-1. This also controls temps if the conditions overpower my AC unit.

I have a simple top off tote and float valve to add water to my rez when needed. There is quarter strength nutes in there so the ppm really doesn't fluctuate.

The last link to sleeping well out of town is automated ph control. The off the shelf units are $600 which is bonkers. I am gathering parts to easily make one myself. You have the milwaukie sms-122 which triggers an AC outlet when the ph travels above a set point. $110 on ebay. http://www.milwaukeetesters.com/SMS122.html
The outlet will trigger a small parastiallic pump that sucks up and spits out PH down at an adjustable rate (I'm thinking around 5ml/minute) to start. $50 on ebay or $90 from an aquarium shop. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/pumps-and-plumbing/dosing-pumps-and-auto-top-off-systems/brs-2-part-doser-1-1-ml-per-minute.html
So your talking $160 for automatic PH control. And how much is that function on the growtronix?

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Not arguing your point cause its valid but one thing is wrong

You can totally do this one.
"My spit AC has a temperature setting on it. While it would be nice to plug a programmable thermostat to change temps at different times of the day.. you can't do that with the growtronix either (control AC unit). "
Creative rules will make this work. Can't control the Ac units output temp but you can have different trigger points for different times of the day.

I'm not sure I follow or understand what you mean by trigger points? A split AC unit is not plugged in anywhere. There is a power feed running from condenser to airflow unit, the Condenser is hard wired 220.

The only way I know it can work is to wire in a programable thermostat like in your house. Unfortunately it is fairly complicated and I would need to buy a new circuit board for my AC to control it externally.

legallyflying said:

I'm not sure I follow or understand what you mean by trigger points? A split AC unit is not plugged in anywhere. There is a power feed running from condenser to airflow unit, the Condenser is hard wired 220.

The only way I know it can work is to wire in a programable thermostat like in your house. Unfortunately it is fairly complicated and I would need to buy a new circuit board for my AC to control it externally.

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An AC like that has a trigger wire already built in going to the thermo, just highjack that wire and use it as the relay signal.
Or split the hard wire and put plug ends on them and use a 220 trigger relay...
same difference really just different routes to the same result.

Originally I was thinking you meant the rules couldnt work, sorry bout that.
Still doable with a hardwired AC unit as described above.

hmmm, maybe i will do some more research. Its an expensive unit.. I little to expensive to just hap hazardly fuck with. One thing that I always think about is that its a higly energy efficient model..the kind that modulates the power it is using based on need. So in that respect its not a simple on and off type of deal in terms of telling it...hey, turn on, or hey turn off. If its 10 degrees warmer in the room it cranks. But if it is say 2-3 degrees warmer, it jsut kind of hums. Its called an inverter.?

legallyflying said:

hmmm, maybe i will do some more research. Its an expensive unit.. I little to expensive to just hap hazardly fuck with. One thing that I always think about is that its a higly energy efficient model..the kind that modulates the power it is using based on need. So in that respect its not a simple on and off type of deal in terms of telling it...hey, turn on, or hey turn off. If its 10 degrees warmer in the room it cranks. But if it is say 2-3 degrees warmer, it jsut kind of hums. Its called an inverter.?

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Assume it has a special thermostat then as well.
Chances are it varies the trigger voltage as a signal to the unit as to how much draw to use but your right, the basic on off triggers would probably just end up being MAX and OFF.
Wish I had a split AC damnit.

They are a little expensive but they are soooo worth it. I bought mine from these guys. they were great to work with. Factor in $125 to have the lines vacuumed and charged after you run the lines...unless you want you want to ruin your new mini split by having moisture on the lines.

http://www.minisplitwarehouse.com/

If anyone is interested I did start a thread Growtronix Automation - You got problems, I probably have answers - https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/484637-growtronix-automation-you-got-problems.html


At this point I am balls deep into the system, running most of the sensors it supports and have bent over backwards getting everything up, running and stable so if anyone is having issues with the system or just question drop them in there and I'll see if I got you're answers.

I have a growtronix system. It's expensive, and though I've owned my system for about 3 months, I can't tell you how or if it works. It's still on my test bench, half built/configured, because growtronix has yet to complete my order. They've promised me shipment on two seperate occations, but have failed to deliver. Customer service is almost non existent. You can usually get a response if you email them (may take a few emails to motivate them to respond) I've never been able to get them on the phone (just 10 minutes on hold, followed by an automatic voicemail dump), and though they list an IM account, they never seem to be online. My opinion is that this company is either in financial trouble, has engineering problems with their product, or is in the process of a life cycle changeover. In any case, if you are interested in getting your greenhouse up and running quickly, don't bother with these guys. They've mishandled my business so badly, that I won't be doing business with them again. Their horrible customer service aside, I must say though, that I like the data collection capabilities, and remote monitoring that it offers, it is the reason I bought the unit in the first place, and it does meet my expectations in that regard.

Man that sucks. Bummer that a new company is faltering in such a way that they can't help the few customers that they have. Especially given the costs of their hardware. I saw someone post up that they were going to try to use zwave components to try and handle things remotely. Hell, all I really want is to record daily temperature fluctuations. I can do without co2 monitoring. I guess nutrient content would also be pretty damn nice to have.