Automating a Grow Room / Rooms
PissingNutes
Active Member
Hot-glue is perfect for this. So useful if you can mange the strings it leaves and burning fingertips when spreading it lol. I love it
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
I've only got 1 sensor, for ph. And an ec probe isn't necessarily required, if you use a good nute lineup. But it def helps. For sensors tho, yea there pretty costly. But theyre meters that you shouldn't have to replace for at least 4, 5 years.
nunyabidness420
Well-Known Member
Your setup is so much neater than mine!
You might find this interesting.
You might find this interesting.
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
That whole setup is badass. One day I'll get mine to something like that. One day. Lol
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
The system looks way more advanced than what I've managed to cobble up. I like the layout of the home assistant, makes setting everything super simple. But yes, the plants dont look too good. I wonder why. If the system is always running and dosing multiple times a day, maybe that'd do it? Idk, my plants dont look to unhealthy, for only feeding twice a week. I know I said I'd add pictures but got carried away with other chores and stuff. Maybe today if I can get to it. My flower room is on week 5, of 8/9. Veg room is pushing week 2, and the tent is starting week 1 of flower.
HydroLynx
Well-Known Member
I thinks its because the he's more focused on managing the control system than the plants. Well that's my issue at least so I rate he's got the same. Also plants still need a human eye, even the automation needs a human eye. Otherwise you in the realm of AI and that's still prob no where as great as a human, tho in some aspects AI is infinately better. Who knows. I still try tho, its fun haha and I learn A LOT about shit i normally wouldnt.
HydroLynx
Well-Known Member
if you can stir it up first it might work.
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
As for the doser, it's been a labor of love. A few minor glitches in my code. Was my error, not the machines, resulted in a flooded basement on a occasion or two. Nonetheless, it has been debugged for over a month now, no issues. Doses my tweaked feed regimen twice a week (Mon & Fri), with a half ass flush on Wed. I say half-ass cuz it's not much, just 1 gallon of 6.5 ph water in each 5 gal pot. Whereas the feed days are 2-2.5 gal of feed. And the plants are so much healthier and happier. They definitely show more potential versus before. I would barely get 1 feed and 1 water per week by hand. Now it's all done for me. Yes, I keep an eye on it from time to time. But it's been correct in nutrient ratios, pH, what time to irrigate, what room to feed and what room to water. Keeps track of my weeks, increments the week count on its own. And here in about a week, it will agitate the nute bottles with the same setup as the guy in the video up above. Fans, magnets, and magnetic mixers. Shit is awesome now. Incredible results not even just from the doser. But going from 2 feed/water events per week, to 3 has helped tremendously. The plants are extremely happier being that they're actually getting to thrive instead of being of the verge of death.
JonCreighton
Well-Known Member
heyyy im just getting into this.... i got about 20 of paul mchorters arduino tutorials on youtube under the belt... i figured i had to just go from scratch... you say theres a dromatic lol spec online or something.... id love to see that if u got a link or anything that really helped u when starting
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
Yea just a quick Google search for diy nutrient doser, he has it on github too.
https://github.com/drolsen/DRO-Matic
Automatic Hydroponic Doser DIY
(part one - step by step video) DRO-Matic - DIY compact automatic 10 channel hydroponic doser (DWC and Ebenflow compatible)! Automatic doses nutes to reservoir from configured regimens amounts/weeks Automatic fixes pH drift of plant water during plants feeding Automatic fills (feeds), tops off...
www.rollitup.org
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
Be forewarned, I spent many a nights trying to debug that sketch. Plus alot of the libraries are outdated. Someone like me with no formal training in coding languages, has absolutely no idea where to begin to fix it. I found it easier to just start from scratch that way I could learn as I built. But that's just me.
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
Almost harvest time for the tent. Stuffs gna be coming down starting today. I picked up a trimmer to help speed up harvests going forward as well. Bit the bullet and spent the money on a Centurion Tabletop. It does a fairly decent job, not as good as hand trim but for my purposes, it does jus fine. Considering the time it usually takes to take down a whole crop by hand, anywhere from 5-9 full days hand trimming. And it's just me and the wife that trims. So it definitely helps in the sense that it cuts that time down to a single day job. Giving us more time to enjoy other things in life aside from garden chores. And no sore hands or back or strained eyes from staring and focusing on snippin the buds for hours on end. Jus all around making strides with the grow op. She's really come along ways since I first started. Anyways, I'll throw some pictures up after we start taking things down, some before and after pics of the trim job, and maybe a video link to youtube of it running my stuff through. If I can figure out how to do that of course.
JonCreighton
Well-Known Member
ya thats the way i generally do it... cant be afraid of the learning process even tho overwheling at time...at the moment im just getting down the coding process and thinking about how to translate that to hardware makes my head spin.... i just keep chipping away.. gaining more reference frames little by little as i work the problems... takes me a long time but i think its worth it... i have a few other projects in mind after the doser... we both seem keen on reducing the time commitments in the grow room... id be curious about a video or a review of the centurion tabletop...
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
Bud on the left is dry trimmed indoor grown
On the right is wet trimmed indoor grown
Two dif strains but both ran through the trimmer for roughly around 60-120 seconds. Along with about 35-50 more buds in there with it all trimming up together. I'll dry and snag a couple close-ups of the heads, I'd say it's really no worse than a hand trim that I'd pay someone 10/hr to do as far as trich disruption. But wayyyy faster. And the cuts not bad as you can see. That is not touched up with scissors, how it fell out the machine is how I took the pic. When the machine is set properly, it does indoor, high quality, dense buds way faster than hand trimming. I ran two plants that were falling over sideways today. They were getting so heavy without any net support, I decided to strip em both down and run it through and see how long it took. I stoppped the machine at 2 hrs and 6 mins. That's bucking as I ran it through the machine. Slow, and not letting the buds tumble long if I ran out in my hopper. You have to push product in to get product to fall out and you don't want it to be tumbling around unnecessarily if you can help it. So I'd the hopper ran out, I stopped and stripped plants down to buds and filled the hopper back up. But a full hopper on this machine only takes about 35 mins for one person to fill-up. And to run it through only takes maybe 25 mins. I have 14 more plants to do and I'm already starting to run out of room in my dryrack tho. May have to run to the local growshop and pick up some more. Kinda one thing I dropped the ball on when buying the machine,was thinking bout how I'm going to dry all the cutup buds cuz I'm used to hanging em upside down on the stem. Its weird drying on a rack with all nice trimmed bud. I used to only use it for the scragglers that either lost their stems or like for the trim to dry out before freezing it. I'll take some videos of the thing running tomorrow, of the tent plants being cropped, and the machine running the buds. So you guys can watch it and see before and afters. I just got afters today.
On the right is wet trimmed indoor grown
Two dif strains but both ran through the trimmer for roughly around 60-120 seconds. Along with about 35-50 more buds in there with it all trimming up together. I'll dry and snag a couple close-ups of the heads, I'd say it's really no worse than a hand trim that I'd pay someone 10/hr to do as far as trich disruption. But wayyyy faster. And the cuts not bad as you can see. That is not touched up with scissors, how it fell out the machine is how I took the pic. When the machine is set properly, it does indoor, high quality, dense buds way faster than hand trimming. I ran two plants that were falling over sideways today. They were getting so heavy without any net support, I decided to strip em both down and run it through and see how long it took. I stoppped the machine at 2 hrs and 6 mins. That's bucking as I ran it through the machine. Slow, and not letting the buds tumble long if I ran out in my hopper. You have to push product in to get product to fall out and you don't want it to be tumbling around unnecessarily if you can help it. So I'd the hopper ran out, I stopped and stripped plants down to buds and filled the hopper back up. But a full hopper on this machine only takes about 35 mins for one person to fill-up. And to run it through only takes maybe 25 mins. I have 14 more plants to do and I'm already starting to run out of room in my dryrack tho. May have to run to the local growshop and pick up some more. Kinda one thing I dropped the ball on when buying the machine,was thinking bout how I'm going to dry all the cutup buds cuz I'm used to hanging em upside down on the stem. Its weird drying on a rack with all nice trimmed bud. I used to only use it for the scragglers that either lost their stems or like for the trim to dry out before freezing it. I'll take some videos of the thing running tomorrow, of the tent plants being cropped, and the machine running the buds. So you guys can watch it and see before and afters. I just got afters today.
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berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
I fucking love the machine. As for it cutting my product in a timely sense and not doing a terrible job. That being said, a larfy leafy airy strain isn't gna run that well through something like this. The buds require mass in order to properly tumble. So it won't make gold from shit is my point. If the buds going in are shit, your gna get, you guessed it! SHIT on the other end. But IMO, again allow me to reiterate, IN MY OPINION, it is well worth every penny now that my or the wife don't have chore it up for days or pay friends or family to come in and trim. I will also say it does not replace a hand trim, but it does offer a practical alternative for my own purposes. So for a personal and professional opinion, I'd say its a damn fine machine for what it does. Worth every penny when the machine is set properly. Meaning don't adjust it from the factory settings. Lol. They know what they're doing. N don't let your friends adjust your shit thinking they're helping you out cuz believe me, they aren't. And it can get costly to fix something so silly as a bed bar out of place. Especially if it damages the reel. Bed bar replacement alone is 200 I think. And a new toro reel is something like 600. So don't adjust it or let your friends adjust shit from the factory.
As for customer service with CenturionPro Solutions, it's been top notch. Had my doubts cuz like any wise investor, they do a little digging on the business or product their investing in. As did I, and I was worried customer service would fall short if I ever possibly needed it. Well the day the shipments all arrived, I opened everything up and the diffuser for the blower, was smashed in. Looked like a damn egg when it was supposed to be circular. So I called em up, took pictures, sent em to em, and they overnighted me a replacement. Just like that. Another instance, I was having issues after I let a buddy use it, he adjusted my bed bar blade out of whack and dulled it way down. Luckily I got it back in to align without it causing damage to my reel, but I got lucky. Could've been alot worse but customer service guided me through getting it back in tune and back to factory condition. The youtube videos and ones on their site are ok and cover alot, but customer service sent me some like behind the scenes videos of the shop mechanic I think, setting the blades and testing it and for some reason I just like clicked and understood that video alot easier than the ones on the website so got it back in line and cut the bud pictured above today. Did other stuff with it being out of whack but I am going to rerun it through as dry trim after all the wet trimming is done later today. P.s., I'm not affiliated with Centurion. Could've went with twister, but hopper size got me, but more importantly what sealed the deal was the trade up program. If I never need to up size my trimmer to match my scale, I can trade in my old smaller equipment and get a discount on other larger models. Not sure if twister does something similar to this but for the cost, plus the warranty and trade up program, I felt Centurion hit all marks for me.
berten-ernie420
Well-Known Member
Does this work?