easy watering setup
Login
User Name
Password   


Registration is FREE. Click to become a member of OrchidBoard community
(You're NOT logged in)

menu menu

Sponsor
Donate Now
and become
Forum Supporter.

easy watering setup
Many perks!
<...more...>


Sponsor
 

Google


Fauna Top Sites
Register easy watering setup Members easy watering setup easy watering setup Today's Postseasy watering setup easy watering setup easy watering setup
LOG IN/REGISTER TO CLOSE THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Go Back   Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! > >
Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02-09-2008, 08:09 PM
dennis dennis is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2007
Zone: 5a
Location: northeast ohio
Age: 63
Posts: 473
Default easy watering setup

over the winter i have built and designed a new room to keep all of my plants in till spring. with just over 100 plants now it was taking close to a hour to water everything. i am not a morning person so getting up at 2:30 was out of the question. i came up with a surflo pump complete with a 2 gallon stainless tank built on to it from ebay for 69.00, purchased four 55 gallon black plastic drums for 5 dollars each and had a drip watering kit that was purchased about 5 years ago for the wife who never used it. the drip kit will hold up to 240 drip emitters at 1 gallon per hour so this would not be a problem with 100 or so plants. next i purchased a 1000 watt hps light ballest and a conversion bulb to get my color back down to the blue level and then started seting the plants on shelves according to light needs. tnis light puts out just over 10000 lumens and gets warm enough to keep the room in the 70 degree range so aux. heating was not going to be needed. after the light was hung and the plants were set on the shelves i started to run the water lines. the main line is about 5/8 inside diameter so it is fairly easy to handle, once this was in place i ran a 1/4 inch line from the main line to each plant including the mounted ones, the ones that are in bark i did not want to water everyday so on them i installed a valve to turn them on and off the mounted phals get watered everyday so no valves on these. once the 1/4 inch lines were in place i installed a drip emitter or a variable sprayer depending on the plant and pot size. i then took a 55 gallon drum and drilled a 11/16 hole near the bottom and tapped it with a 1/2 x 11 pipe tap to install a boiler drain valve(this valve has the garden hose hook up on the end) filled the barrell wwith free rain water hooked up the lines to the pump and with in five minutes had watered all the plants with out breaking a sweat. after a few days of making sure everything was going to work ok i installed a seperate timer for the punp to run when i get up so all i had to do was stand there and watch it do the work. once winter had fully set in and the wood burner was running everyday i noticed the humidity level was dropping in the room. went back to the drip shop and purchased five misters to work on the drip lines and a couple of valves. i installed electric solenoid on the water line and a t fitting to run another line on the added line i ran along the ceiling in a circle and installed the misters, after a couple of trial runs i cut the misters down to just two running and are set to turn on 7 times a day for 1 minute each time, when i want to water all i have to do is turn the mister valve off and the water valve on and it will water everything the first thing in the morning, after it is done watering i switch the valves back to mist and leave for the day.i have since acquired some vandas now that i have the proper lighting for them and they now sit in a open pot with no media getting misted everyday, the roots are getting as green as a irish man on st patricks day. after everything was up and running with out anymore adjustments i added up my cost and figured it cost around 27 cents a month to grow each plant with the electric being used and all of my materials i purchased. now when i add a plant to the room i just punch another hole into the line and add a emitter to the pot and i am done with it till spring. all said and done i have around 400.00 dollars invested into this setup and as far as the water goes every thaw and rain we get i get another 200 gallons of fresh rain water, i keep one barrell mixed with msu fertilizer to water everynow and then by hand. we have started growing fresh vegatables in there as well and they are loving it
Attached Thumbnails
easy watering setup-img_1901-1-jpg   easy watering setup-img_1902-1-jpg   easy watering setup-img_1903-1-jpg  
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-09-2008, 08:15 PM
dennis dennis is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2007
Zone: 5a
Location: northeast ohio
Age: 63
Posts: 473
Default

here are a couple more pictures. the one picture with little red things growing on it is a tobassco pepper plant that has not stopped blooming and producing peppers
Attached Thumbnails
easy watering setup-1-jpg   easy watering setup-img_2034-1-jpg   easy watering setup-img_2035-1-jpg   easy watering setup-img_2036-1-jpg   easy watering setup-img_2037-1-jpg  

easy watering setup-img_2038-1-jpg  
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-10-2008, 12:06 AM
snow snow is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Nov 2007
Zone: 3a
Member of:none
Location: winnipeg
Posts: 2,013
Default

you are a handy dandy man dennis
that.s a great setup
congratulations. i see you weren,t bored over the winter time
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-10-2008, 05:59 AM
FinnBar FinnBar is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Age: 46
Posts: 228
Default

I just love all the creative ways people combine technology with orchid growing. Great job dennis!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 02-10-2008, 07:48 PM
Gin's Avatar
Gin Gin is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2006
Zone: 5b
Location: So. Mo.
Posts: 3,324
Default

When are you going to come to my house and set one up for me No wet feet, water running down my arm or hose kinking, cussing when I knock a plant over . Wish I was not a disaster doing things like that .Very nice set up ,,, Gin
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 02-10-2008, 09:33 PM
justatypn's Avatar
justatypn justatypn is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jun 2006
Zone: 9b
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 3,069
Default

Love the set up Dennis. All your chids look happy
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-12-2008, 06:50 PM
BUUZBEE BUUZBEE is offline
Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2008
Zone: 9b
Location: Sunny So Cal
Age: 52
Posts: 45
Default

thats really interesting how you have that set up
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-13-2008, 06:18 PM
onlyartificiallight onlyartificiallight is offline
Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Towson, MD
Age: 50
Posts: 50
Default

hi. i wonder, what material are you using to line the walls there? im looking for something cheap and mold/mildew resistant to wrap around my shelf system in the winter when its so dry. thanks!
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 02-13-2008, 08:31 PM
dennis dennis is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2007
Zone: 5a
Location: northeast ohio
Age: 63
Posts: 473
Default

it is vinyl i recieved a few rolls of this from a friend. would have no idea on where to purchase it
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 02-17-2008, 10:46 AM
Lagoon Lagoon is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Apr 2006
Zone: 5a
Location: Quebec, Canada
Age: 59
Posts: 5,406
Default

This is great! Looks like you took the time to think about this. I like the idea of this one, not just for the orchids Dennis, but for the veggies aswell - very cool!!

Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
drip, installed, line, plants, water, setup, watering, easy


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Growing Orchids is Easy Wendy Off Topic - Totally 15 05-06-2008 12:34 AM
Relying solely on lights - advice for my next setup? calvin_orchidL Growing Under Lights 27 02-07-2008 11:14 AM
Soil Hydration Monitor and Watering System GVSU Grad Student Parts & Equipment 5 04-04-2007 06:11 PM
Question on setup for watering indoor orchids Linnie Parts & Equipment 2 01-29-2007 02:02 PM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:11 PM.

© 2007 OrchidBoard.com
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Clubs vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.