Mist system advice? - Orchid Board

PlumCrazy · #1 08-01-2020, 12:29 PM

Hello Everyone,

I am planning on purchasing a misting system for my setup and would like some advice on exactly what I should purchase. I’m thinking a Mist King Starter or Ultimate.

About my tank:

Size: 40” W x 21” D x 40” H. Has plexiglass top.
Light: LEDs provide bright light at the top of the tank, and low light at the bottom
Ventilation: Two small computer fans kick on 3x a day for 30 mins. Small air holes drilled in sides throughout the tank.
Temp: Room temperature (around 72 in the day, 68 at night, cooler in winter, and we avoid A/C an heat when it is comfortable to do so. I may add a heat source to the tank in winter).
Tray: The bottom of the tank is filled with LECA. Currently, water doesn’t sit in the bottom because I haven’t need to have that much in there to keep the humidity where I want it, but the spray from the mister will have somewhere to go. It’s about 2” deep and I’m not opposed to drilling an overfill hole line into the side if too much water becomes an issue.
Humidity needs: I’ve been using a regular spray bottle daily or every other day, which keeps the humidity mainly between 70-80%, which is what my current orchids like, and of course I can add water to the LECA if it starts getting low. My orchids are all mounted, except for one in semi-hydro on the bottom.

Does it sound like a Mist King is the best option and which one (it’s already near the top of my budget)? If I go with a Mist King, what items do I need to make the system fully automated? I do go out of town for 1-2 weeks at a time at least several times per year. How many nozzles do I need? Should I purchase the hygrostat or will the basic timer suit my needs?

A couple other concerns I have are that my water has a lot of minerals in it and I am worried about the nozzles clogging. Also, our power goes maybe every two weeks or usually at least once a month. This happened when I was out of town for a few days a couple of weeks ago, and who knows how long my plants were without light since they didn’t come back on by themselves (they are automated), and my fans blew at odd hours since the timer is a basic $2 one that needs power to work, so if the power is off for 2 hours, it sets the timer back 2 hours. That being said, I do have someone that checks on my house at least every couple of days while I’m away.

Any information or suggestions would be much appreciated!

SaraJean · #2 08-01-2020, 06:46 PM

That’s beautiful! I love seeing people use old cabinets

I’ll tell you what everyone told me: spend the money on a MistKing starter kit. Every single person I talked to recommended this system as some of the other popular brands tend to burn out after a short amount of time. You’ll save money by not having to replace it after a year or two (or sooner!). I just use the digital seconds timer that it came with and it works well. The timer also has a built in rechargeable battery to keep your settings, so any power failures shouldn’t be an issue.

You can make the reservoir any size you want to get though those few weeks of vacation. Some people use a 5 gallon paint bucket, I use an old cat litter container, whatever you want. The kit comes with the bulkhead to set this up.

Definitely use reverse osmosis or distilled water for whichever system you go with. The hard water can corrode or gunk up the pump and nozzles and cause them to fail. I would personally start with two of the single nozzles set up about 10” apart, but it’s pretty easy to change them to a double nozzle or add more nozzles later on if you need to

estación seca · #3 08-01-2020, 11:08 PM

I agree not to use hard water in a misting system. I collect rain.

I have a Mist King system that included a bung to put into the bottom of a plastic trash barrel.

I set up so I could put the mounts in the shower/bathtub when I went on vacation. I collect a lot of rain for my orchids. I took a 32 gallon plastic trash barrel with lid and drilled a hole. I drilled a hole in the barrel with a Dreml tool and a conical grinding bit. I installed the bung, and connected the MistKing pump to the barrel. I set the barrel in my bathroom and carried buckets of rain to fill it. It lasts more than 2 weeks in my conditions.

It was not hard to do.

WaterWitchin · #4 08-02-2020, 10:45 AM

I've used a MistKing system for many years. One of the nice things about it is you don't lose the settings on the timer when the power goes out. And as ES says, you can choose any size vessel for the water tank. I originally did the "starter kit" and bought extra misters and hose because I use it in a much larger area. Same unit has been going strong for around ten? years.

Make sure you use pure water (RO, rain, distilled).

rbarata · #5 08-02-2020, 12:25 PM

One question...is the cabinet made of wood?
If so, how do you prevent humidity to damage it?

WaterWitchin · #6 08-02-2020, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbarata

One question...is the cabinet made of wood?
If so, how do you prevent humidity to damage it?

Good question rbarata... I was thinking the same, but got lost in the misting question...

PlumCrazy · #7 08-02-2020, 02:48 PM

I appreciate all of the replies! Clearly I was already leaning towards the Mist King, and will be purchasing one next week. It sounds like I will be fine with the Starter level. The less I spend on the mister, the more I can spend on orchids

Any advice on number of nozzles?

About construction of the case, the bottom has about a 2" pan we created by nailing a piece of wood across the front with a piece of metal over the top for extra protection. We stapled, then siliconed (with orchid safe stuff, of course) a shower pan liner in the bottom so it holds water. We siliconed in the plexiglass panels so they are water tight. The top has a thicker plexiglass panel so it can hold equipment up. Also I removed the back panel and replaced it with plywood that I stained. I figured in the future, if it got destroyed, I could replace it. All of the interior surfaces are coated with polyurethane for outdoor use, and also I coated the back side of the plywood to prevent warping. Just another small project I roped my husband into helping me with

It's been up for about 3 1/2 months, and so far, so good - water beads off the surfaces.