My Cheap Automated Grow Room

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rwhit7

New Member
Here are some photos I took of my homemade controller. The main piece is a CAI Webcontrol board that hooks to an internet cable. Once hooked to the router, the controller is accessed on any computer attached to the same router by typing 192.168.1.15 in the Internet Explorer (or other browser) address bar. This displays the status of the inputs and outputs that are controlling solid state relays I got off eBay. I used an old surge protector box (after gutting it) to house two SSR's on heat sinks with fans. Just guessing, I probably have less than $100 in this and can program it to control everything as well as a high dollar controller. Hoping to start some conversation. What do you think?

CAI Board.jpgSSR Box.jpgWebcontrol.jpg
 
Mt Doo

Mt Doo

Active Member
Looks interesting. I was thinking about buying a automated controller but I love diy so much more. Do you have any plans, have you tested it to make sure it functions properly?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Rollitup mobile app
 
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rwhit7

New Member
I've been using it for over a year without issue. The solid state relays are the real trick. With a 5 volt signal from the board they will switch 25 amps (in my configuration). I didn't really use plans to build as I am an incurable tinkerer myself. Happy to share anything I can as I would like to see more people going this route to expand and share information. I'm even considering becoming an authorized reseller for the boards if there is enough interest. Thanks for looking.
 
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budleydoright

Well-Known Member
IMG_0681.jpg

Friggin awesome. My controller was built off of this board. It was a prototype these guys were working on. I paid for it but eventually got a refund due to numerous issues, they let me keep it. Thing actually works great and has been runing for 3 + years. Mine included an 8 channel relay board that drives 30 amp relays with 120v coils. It was really a very complete system just could never get the temp and humidity calibrated.
 
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rwhit7

New Member
The humidity sensor is a Honeywell HIH 4000 on mine. I have found that it works best when it is attached to the board instead of to a long run of wiring. The temperature sensors are a little tricky to set up at times as they each have their own address, but once set up they seem to work consistently. I have two installed (inside and outside the room) but the board has the capability to have up to eight. I have not tried to control CO2, but found some inexpensive sensors and valves that should make that doable.
I was unaware someone had tried to do this commercially. Interesting...
 
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rwhit7

New Member
I am controlling lights, fan, and my drip system pump currently. As I posted earlier, I don't think CO2 would be a problem, but I have not actually done it. Dosing ph could easily be done on a periodic basis, but to do it with a closed loop feedback system would require a ph sensor circuit of some sort. I looked into building one but abandoned it due to the cost of the sensors. I'm sure it could be done, it just may not be cheap (like me).
 
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rwhit7

New Member
Fletch,
It does have additional digital and analog inputs, so any commercial ph sensor should work fine. I found some motion sensors cheap on eBay and they work great, so it is just a question of how the sensor outputs.
 
FilthyFletch

FilthyFletch

Mr I Can Do That For Half
Yeah I have been looking at these things for a bit but Im not the greatest in the software area. I want to build a basic remote system that will basically allow me to log in from anywhere online and activate some kind of watering setup. I dont do much soil but my mother plants are soil and can be a pain if I need to be gone for more then like 4 days. Kind of like what you got here just very simple like some kind of switch that I can open close to control water amounts. I think ideally i would have a web camera setup to view what is going on and then a basic controllable valve setup maybe that activates a water pump in a water source like 55 gallon barrel which then has the lines out to the plants just so I could do a basic control watering while not at home.
 
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budleydoright

Well-Known Member
rwhit7 said:
The humidity sensor is a Honeywell HIH 4000 on mine. I have found that it works best when it is attached to the board instead of to a long run of wiring. The temperature sensors are a little tricky to set up at times as they each have their own address, but once set up they seem to work consistently. I have two installed (inside and outside the room) but the board has the capability to have up to eight. I have not tried to control CO2, but found some inexpensive sensors and valves that should make that doable.
I was unaware someone had tried to do this commercially. Interesting...
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I think the idea was an electrical distribution system with control. Most of the hardware is relays and 2 breaker panels. The Co2 is interfaced with one of the analog inputs and the telaire sensor I'm using outputs 0-10v. I use the telaire controller to switch my burner. The controller just reports to levels. One thing that is awsome is you can set a high temp cut off on your light outputs quite easily.
 
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rwhit7

New Member
FilthyFletch said:
Yeah I have been looking at these things for a bit but Im not the greatest in the software area. I want to build a basic remote system that will basically allow me to log in from anywhere online and activate some kind of watering setup. I dont do much soil but my mother plants are soil and can be a pain if I need to be gone for more then like 4 days. Kind of like what you got here just very simple like some kind of switch that I can open close to control water amounts. I think ideally i would have a web camera setup to view what is going on and then a basic controllable valve setup maybe that activates a water pump in a water source like 55 gallon barrel which then has the lines out to the plants just so I could do a basic control watering while not at home.
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I had to learn a bit of PLC programming using the CAI manual, and was able to make it work. Glad to share the program if anyone wants it.
 
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aeafafwe

Member
Nice. I've have a similar setup with a Raspberry Pi and a relay board. I also have a pan/tilt webcam, 6 DS18B20 temp sensors, and a DHT22 humidity/temp sensor. It controls the fan (on/off only) and lights and logs temperature, humidity, and the light cycle, and shuts off the lights if the tent gets too hot. I'm planning on adding a fan speed control circuit. The circuit in normal fan speed controllers is a common beginner's level AC dimmer circuit, and I can easily replace a couple of parts so I can control it with the Rasperry Pi (replace the diode and pot with a zero-crossing circuit, a couple optoisolators, a triac, and an AVR). Since I'm about to convert my DWC system to a recirculating DWC system I'm going to connect the pump to the relay board and a float switch to the Raspberry Pi so it can shut off the pump before it runs dry (and send me an email). I also built a simple HTTP control panel with Bootstrap, but it doesn't look very good. It does let me see the webcam stream from anywhere I can get an internet connection, though. All I need to be fully automated is a robotic arm to keep the plants under my screen and a python/openCV script to decide when to flower the plants and detect deficiencies by looking for discolored or curled leaves. The python script actually might be possible, and a lot easier than it sounds because openCV is so powerful, but I doubt I could build a robotic arm like that.
 
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rwhit7

New Member
aeafafwe said:
Nice. I've have a similar setup with a Raspberry Pi and a relay board. I also have a pan/tilt webcam, 6 DS18B20 temp sensors, and a DHT22 humidity/temp sensor. It controls the fan (on/off only) and lights and logs temperature, humidity, and the light cycle, and shuts off the lights if the tent gets too hot. I'm planning on adding a fan speed control circuit. The circuit in normal fan speed controllers is a common beginner's level AC dimmer circuit, and I can easily replace a couple of parts so I can control it with the Rasperry Pi (replace the diode and pot with a zero-crossing circuit, a couple optoisolators, a triac, and an AVR). Since I'm about to convert my DWC system to a recirculating DWC system I'm going to connect the pump to the relay board and a float switch to the Raspberry Pi so it can shut off the pump before it runs dry (and send me an email). I also built a simple HTTP control panel with Bootstrap, but it doesn't look very good. It does let me see the webcam stream from anywhere I can get an internet connection, though. All I need to be fully automated is a robotic arm to keep the plants under my screen and a python/openCV script to decide when to flower the plants and detect deficiencies by looking for discolored or curled leaves. The python script actually might be possible, and a lot easier than it sounds because openCV is so powerful, but I doubt I could build a robotic arm like that.
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You have really put some work and thought into this. I'm impressed! I have not experimented with robotic arms, but am disassembling a toy 'robotic dog' that has four of them. You have given me some ideas. Great system!
 
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aeafafwe

Member
Yeah, I've spent months daydreaming about it. I also want to get pH and ppm sensors to put in my res permanently, but the ones I've seen would double the cost of the entire system (which is around $50). I've never done anything with robotics either, or messed with openCV, but I've see what people have done with it on blogs and it's pretty impressive. I'm thinking I could set up a cheap, weak laser with a "line generator" lense just above my screen so it would light up any leaves that are above the screen. The robotic arm could be fairly simple, basically a copy of a CNC router or 3D printer frame to reach anywhere in the tent, and a soft piece of rubber that comes down to push the leaves under the screen. If it checks often enough it should be able to get the leaf under the screen without damaging it. The hard part would be arranging the branches to evenly fill the screen. That system is actually in pieces right now, and I'm rewriting the software. Maybe I'll make a thread when I'm done putting it back together and setting up the RDWC.
 
SFguy

SFguy

Well-Known Member
man this is really cool shit guys. id like to incorporate something like this for my grow. 4 lights, 2x6"exausts, 8" fresh intake. 8kbtu portable,5k btu window fans. drip system for away periods.

i have a 19'x9' area gonna be running soil like my last few grows i handwater with a sump pump and watering wand. like to change that up so i can feed by hand and use water/drip in between or run a supersoil type mix and just drip water the whole cycle


i love to follow a thread on this or see a DIY for a sticky.
 
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rwhit7

New Member
SFguy said:
man this is really cool shit guys. id like to incorporate something like this for my grow. 4 lights, 2x6"exausts, 8" fresh intake. 8kbtu portable,5k btu window fans. drip system for away periods.

i have a 19'x9' area gonna be running soil like my last few grows i handwater with a sump pump and watering wand. like to change that up so i can feed by hand and use water/drip in between or run a supersoil type mix and just drip water the whole cycle


i love to follow a thread on this or see a DIY for a sticky.
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Glad to help you get going if you like. Google CAI Webcontrol to see if this would meet your needs. Based on what you wrote, I think it would.
 
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aeafafwe

Member
The Raspberry Pi is an option if you also want to learn about electronics and computers. It doesn't come with a web interface or sensors, but you can add that yourself. There are a lot of guides and wikis that show you how to connect almost anything to it, but you'll need to know/learn basic Linux and Python to be able to make those parts work together. That CAI thing sounds a lot easier if you're not already into this kind of stuff.
 
SFguy

SFguy

Well-Known Member
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to aeafafwe again.
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to rwhit7 again.

thanks to you both..
 
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