New Style Growing Bucket! Opinions Wanted!!

I patented this agricultural bucket some time ago and now currently having more 3D printed for testing. It mixes an aeroponic style with deep water culture. It has an upper "halo" that normal 5 gallon buckets do not possess. The halo has aeroponic misters on the inside and the tubing is on the exterior for easy access and possible clog cleaning. The object is to go directly from a clone to full grown adult all in one system. Please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Looks very interesting, I'd definitely give it a try. Looks like you could attach it to a separate reservoir, combine several units, elevate the buckets above the reservoir, add a drain, and have individual aeroponic buckets. Aeroponic is supposed to be the most efficient way to grow with maximum oxygen and constant supply of nutrients.

neat idea but you can grow from cutting in any dwc setup, also you can start seed in dwc, you may have solved a problem based on a misconception. If that bucket retails for 5$ or less I might try it purely for novelty, however without high pressure at less than a second intervals its not really aeroponic, it's a spray not an aerosolized mist. I fear you have created a much more complicated way to replicate a drip ring from the hydrofarm set ups. Have you done side by side tests with cuttings? People will want to see tests before switching, will they be made in China? If so knock offs will haunt you

thick sticky sock said:

neat idea but you can grow from cutting in any dwc setup, also you can start seed in dwc, you may have solved a problem based on a misconception. If that bucket retails for 5$ or less I might try it purely for novelty, however without high pressure at less than a second intervals its not really aeroponic, it's a spray not an aerosolized mist. I fear you have created a much more complicated way to replicate a drip ring from the hydrofarm set ups. Have you done side by side tests with cuttings? People will want to see tests before switching, will they be made in China? If so knock offs will haunt you

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I have received one quote for a plastic manufacturing mold out of China. What makes you say that there will be knock offs if I outsource? I have this design patented already so that would make it tough.

My bucket will out preform the drip ring and many other dwc styles. Testing will hopefully prove that soon.

Looks like a good product. But, I like my soil organics too much to convert.

I can't say I get the science behind it, but I would be interested in seeing it in action, same as any other new item in the marketplace. Perhaps you could do a grow journal with a common strain under a common light using a common nute program. It's kind of the only way to know where you stand.
Just my .02. Take it or not.

FWIW: I truly hope you've invented the item I need to make every one of my plants a 1lb plant.

But I need to see it, same as all the others.

Jon E. Doe said:

I can't say I get the science behind it, but I would be interested in seeing it in action, same as any other new item in the marketplace. Perhaps you could do a grow journal with a common strain under a common light using a common nute program. It's kind of the only way to know where you stand.
Just my .02. Take it or not.

FWIW: I truly hope you've invented the item I need to make every one of my plants a 1lb plant.

But I need to see it, same as all the others.

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Shouldn't be more than a week and I'll have all my buckets in. I'm starting two separate grows shortly after. One 2-bucket system and another 4-bucket system. I'll do full grow journals with time lapses on both. Fingers crossed I can pull a pound per plant. Although I had no problem pulling a half pound per plant of dry weight in a standard 8 bucket dwc.

Interesting approach. I'm subbed for the show.

TuffyTuesday said:

I have received one quote for a plastic manufacturing mold out of China. What makes you say that there will be knock offs if I outsource? I have this design patented already so that would make it tough.

My bucket will out preform the drip ring and many other dwc styles. Testing will hopefully prove that soon.

Click to expand...

Its what the Chinese do. If you send over a design for a factory to make them then they will make them and once they see they are selling they will knock them off. They don't care about patents. It doesn't mean anything to them, they can shut a factory down in half a day and have the company dissolve and the factory reopen in hours under another name. Unless you are Nike or some huge company you cant do much about it.
Chinese factories have the company name on a board outside and on the desk, those boards are swapped around for other company names so that when non Chinese investors come to check out the factory who are going to make their product they can swap the names out and the next guy comes along and they swap the names out again. Its just the way the Chinese work.
That said, as long as you aware of those issues you can still move forward. Just don't be surprised if you see your product on ebay and amazon. Those places are full of knock of gear that you would assume are genuine products, in a lot of cases they are the exact same quality, but in some cases they are reduced quality and sold as cheap as possible. Who's going to send a product back to china when the product cost $10 and the postage costs 10x the product value.

I like the idea though, Despite what I'm saying about the Chinese manufacturers it wouldn't stop me using them for something like this. They have the ability to manufacture a product at a price most of the world cant touch. There are pros and cons. The pros probably outweigh the cons when trying to bring a product like this to market. If you brand it right and it works well who cares if they get sold on ebay unbranded.

coreywebster said:

I like the idea though, Despite what I'm saying about the Chinese manufacturers it wouldn't stop me using them for something like this. They have the ability to manufacture a product at a price most of the world cant touch. There are pros and cons. The pros probably outweigh the cons when trying to bring a product like this to market. If you brand it right and it works well who cares if they get sold on ebay unbranded.

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I really appreciate the input. I didn't know that about the Chinese market.

TuffyTuesday said:

I have received one quote for a plastic manufacturing mold out of China. What makes you say that there will be knock offs if I outsource? I have this design patented already so that would make it tough.

My bucket will out preform the drip ring and many other dwc styles. Testing will hopefully prove that soon.

Click to expand...

Hope you also have about 1 million saved up for trying to pursue the average 1-year long legal patent battle.

ANC said:

Hope you also have about 1 million saved up for trying to pursue the average 1-year long legal patent battle.

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I sure don't. But if I find myself in a multimillion dollar lawsuit.. then I guess at that point, I know I've made it to the big time lol

Getting a tad bit off subject here though. Trying to get some feedback on my bucket setup!

coreywebster said:

Its what the Chinese do. If you send over a design for a factory to make them then they will make them and once they see they are selling they will knock them off. They don't care about patents. It doesn't mean anything to them, they can shut a factory down in half a day and have the company dissolve and the factory reopen in hours under another name. Unless you are Nike or some huge company you cant do much about it.
Chinese factories have the company name on a board outside and on the desk, those boards are swapped around for other company names so that when non Chinese investors come to check out the factory who are going to make their product they can swap the names out and the next guy comes along and they swap the names out again. Its just the way the Chinese work.
That said, as long as you aware of those issues you can still move forward. Just don't be surprised if you see your product on ebay and amazon. Those places are full of knock of gear that you would assume are genuine products, in a lot of cases they are the exact same quality, but in some cases they are reduced quality and sold as cheap as possible. Who's going to send a product back to china when the product cost $10 and the postage costs 10x the product value.

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So true we are having cintas make us a 630 de cmh same as the growers choice only assembeled there instead of here

its not the future because soil is best/ sorry if I sounded like a downer.

TuffyTuesday said:

I have received one quote for a plastic manufacturing mold out of China. What makes you say that there will be knock offs if I outsource? I have this design patented already so that would make it tough.

My bucket will out preform the drip ring and many other dwc styles. Testing will hopefully prove that soon.

Click to expand...

don't get me wrong I think it's awesome that you have put forth the effort to create something and actually see it go from idea to reality, that's definitely commendable!

as a DWC veteran though it just doesn't get me excited, mostly because it solves a problem that's not actually a problem, by using a medium that retains water in your net cup you can just plop your cutting right in, same for seed, into any dwc system(5gal buckets are cheap and everywhere) I like a mix of chunky perlite and verm about 50/50 but I'm having good results with promix atm.

having the connection for the water pump outside the bucket means it will have to be used in an RDWC configuration, which is costly compared to a stand alone unit, for the grower who wants RDWC that's fine, but you eliminate virtually all your "one or two bucket" customers, and any like myself who don't want the hassle of tweaking and maintaining an RDWC just to get the same results. that's not to say RDWC folks wont like your design though. I would go a step further and mold in some threaded connection points at the bottom to attach pipes for the RDWC setup, that's a HUGE problem for folks getting into RDWC, solid water tight connectors built right in.

make sure your test grows use the same variables and the tests have to be cuttings for the side by side or no one will value the results, my prediction is they will be nearly similar as your design doesn't add anything that would increase yield over regular DWC, mostly because the design is quite simply still DWC, roots suspended in aqueous solution. Aeroponics is roots suspended in air, the nutrient solution is aerosolized by a special high pressure pump, special misters that can handle that pressure and deliver a uniform droplet size. This combo is teamed with a special timer that allows intervals of less than one second. The timer hits the pump, a burst of mist hits the roots, the ultra tiny droplets are absorbed completely and run off is very slight if any. Intervals must be carefully timed to keep roots moist but not wet. This allows for the least possible waste and the most efficient possible grow with higher yields relative to the amount of nutes used to produce it.

marketing on bigger yields is a mistake, there are way more variables at play besides the bucket, i would steer your design toward integrating useful things like connection ports, a drain and fill with a level indicator for one or two bucket growers, think about how to take the hassle out of DWC and market your products that way.

Avoid china like it was the fuckin French Finger! Your blueprints become State property, they'll quote your price for say, 10000 units, they'll use the money to run 30000 and warehouse 20k until yours begin to sell, then they start trickling them in as "Grow Boss Halo Buckets 6 site hydro tent" or something like that. See "selfie stick"

Seems pretty cool, maybe look into multiple size units? Some people think bigger is better so why not give it them, at a higher price if course.

Also, maybe a unit that mounts on top of a standard 5 gallon bucket? Modular stuff for us DIY types.

What pump will this system require? Those aeroponic pumps are super pricey and may distract prospective buyers.

Kudos on a very nice hydro bucket design

I've been tweaking my DIY Mini Me F & D for 4 years: one tube for both F & D. Outboard rez makes it easier to do all the daily things

Newest version eliminated air pump/stones for a second small pump to create venturi effect. It's on a timer to not heat the nutes



I have tried top feed in the past, using Hydro Halo drip rings, but something clogged them. Now that I think about it, it could of been bennies... still they frequently clogged the heads. I even drilled them out, but not as much as I should have

I have also played with low pressure mist heads, but for the roots. I like the idea of using them feeding top side

Ill skip through the thread for my answer, but feel free to answer...

Why did you taper the base smaller on the bottom? Seems like a straight wall bucket would cost less

Where is the drain to rez bulkhead? It would be kick ass if has one

PetFlora said:

Kudos on a very nice hydro bucket design

I've been tweaking my DIY Mini Me F & D for 4 years: one tube for both F & D. Outboard rez makes it easier to do all the daily things

Newest version eliminated air pump/stones for a second small pump to create venturi effect. It's on a timer to not heat the nutes

View attachment 4004973

I have tried top feed in the past, using Hydro Halo drip rings, but something clogged them. Now that I think about it, it could of been bennies... still they frequently clogged the heads. I even drilled them out, but not as much as I should have

I have also played with low pressure mist heads, but for the roots. I like the idea of using them feeding top side

Ill skip through the thread for my answer, but feel free to answer...

Why did you taper the base smaller on the bottom? Seems like a straight wall bucket would cost less

Where is the drain to rez bulkhead? It would be kick ass if has one

Click to expand...

I'll have a whole system put together soon. Including drain. I've also had trouble using those drip rings. They're a waste of money imo. As for the design there's honestly no price difference in production. It's just my preference I guess lol

Ryry94 said:

Seems pretty cool, maybe look into multiple size units? Some people think bigger is better so why not give it them, at a higher price if course.

Also, maybe a unit that mounts on top of a standard 5 gallon bucket? Modular stuff for us DIY types.

What pump will this system require? Those aeroponic pumps are super pricey and may distract prospective buyers.

Click to expand...

Honestly the more feedback I get the more I can see the huge difference between HPA and LPA systems. So it would be two different pumps for two different setups