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oakleaf33

nutramist foggers ?..?...?

oakleaf33
13 years ago

I'm looking for anyone who may have real working knowledge of the specs on dry foggers or the nutra mist root foggers whater your preference! Has anyone used one for extended period of time what are it limitations ? Precautions? Requirements ? Are the fittings adaptable with basic micro irrigation scenarios techniques snd apps ? I'm considering buying some off e bay and using them soon in a new setup I have drawn out and wanna make sure its full proof as I can get it befor I go sink in several hundred bucks on it

Comments (7)

  • hardclay7a
    13 years ago

    Hi Oakleaf,
    I have a 24 place ultrasonic cloner and an 8 net pot lava rock medium ultrasonic grower.
    I get my ultrasonic foggers from mainlandmart.com. I think they were about 30 Bucks each with Buoys and S&H the last time I purchased. I simply locate them in the reservoir Via a fishing line attached to a plastic Dr. Pepper bottle cap with a hole drilled in the side of it and epoxied to the bottom of the tank. The line goes up through a loop in the bottom of the buoy and then is attached to a small weight. This allows the buoy to remain at the proper level as the reservoir level changes and keeps the fogger from wandering around in the root systems. Several poker chips can be stacked between the fogger and the buoy to raise it to the proper depth setting. After over six months of use the chrome has completely flaked off leaving a copper finish on the units but they don't seem to care, they just keep making fog. I clean them in vinegar at every nutrient change and I haven't had to replace a disc yet. A dual aquarium air pump feeds 2 soaker hose loops epoxied to the bottom to provide sub-aeration. I have no experience with the Nutramist systems. I'm sure they work, but they're quite expensive and from what I understand they utilize fog exclusively, similar to a dedicated aeroponic system. I wanted a combo DWC/fog system with some redundancy should something fail. I'm happy with them.
    Good Luck,
    Ken

  • oakleaf33
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the info hardclay! I still have my doubts on the fogger for my application. Basically its gonna be 6 over head enclosed gutters for the plants.The nutrient container is gonna be a stocky rubber maid with 3 inch feeder tune running up to the gutter trays one container per 3 trays. Do you think the fog will be concentrated enough to saturate 3 gutters up a 6 foot pipe ! Keeping in mind the gutters will be around 25 feet long and subtracting the displacement volume of the net cups ? I wouldn't expect a precise answer or anything just seems like the fog in all the videos I've seen .. Seem to always stay confined to the resivoir surface. I'm thinkin maybe a small micro fan could possibly help with air flow and thorough saturation. I think that if I placed a fan on an end cap of each gutter tray that should work ! I'm officially placing this one out in the circle anyone feel free to critique and shoot holes wherever you can all info is appreciated thanx !!

  • hardclay7a
    13 years ago

    Oakleaf33,
    I would have some doubts also, let me attempt to describe the nature of fog. Its heavy. It fills an area from the bottom up, being thinner towards its upper surface with the larger mist particles constantly accumulating and falling downward. Sure, in a low humidity room it seems to be light and evaporates quite easily. But in an enclosed area it is heavy and once it has humidified that space it would just as soon condense and fall downward with gravity much like rain. Having worked with it, I just can't imagine it traveling very far up hill or traveling down long runners while remaining in suspension. As for the option of moving it with air, the air would undoubtedly thin the fog, and the fine micro mist particles would collide with each other and the insides of the runners further increasing condensation. I often hear of it Being referred to as "Dry Fog" or "Dry mist". The first time you run your hand through a cloud of it you will immediately realize that there is nothing "Dry" about it. IMHO it's one of the best methods for cutting propagation and is capable of growing awesome root structure in a hurry, but it does have its limitations. If you work within these limitations you'll do great. If you push these limits too far you'll just end up in one of those "Oh well, lets go back to the drawing board" situations.
    Good Luck,
    Ken

  • oakleaf33
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanx hardclay that was pretty much what I needed to hear. Well luckily if I flip the blackboard over tada backup systems mister setup is awaiting! I do remember you saying that the nutramisters were expensive .....what is really the difference between the two devices ? I mean I know the diff between mist and fog. I'm not that much of a moron but maybe does one have like a built in jet system possibly?

  • grizzman
    13 years ago

    Oakleaf;
    A true mister (vs sprinkler) requires a high pressure pump. those can be kind of expensive. a fogger, on the other hand, uses ultrasonic vibrators which are not as expensive. I suspect thats a big difference in price.
    hardclay;
    When I looked into foggers previously, it seemed what I read suggested the system had to be very sealed to prevent excessive evaporation. What is you experience with this? Also, what kind of volume are you fogging? how frequently do you run your fogger? what EC are you generally holding your solution at? (i.e. do you run the nutes stronger or weaker than a normal solution) what are you growing or do you primarily use it for just propogaing? Have you recorded the time to root development for any plants?
    Thanks.

  • hardclay7a
    13 years ago

    Oakleaf,
    Now I have never used one or even seen one in use, so I don't have all the details but from what I understand, the Nutramist fog system utilizes A multiple disc fogger, fed from a reservoir via a small hose. This seems to be a complexity in itself as the fogger must be fed at the proper rate in order to function. I have seen DIY systems utilizing a fog chamber with fogger fed by a small low pressure pump but they normally incorporate an overflow/return to regulate the feed rate. That's a fairly simple setup. But the Nutramist unit doesn't seem to incorporate a return which makes me curious as to it's inner workings. I wish I had one just to take apart. It also Incorporates a six speed fan which supposedly gently mixes in air as it moves the fog into a Grow chamber. The fog condenses in the grow chamber (and on the roots) and exits through a drain and into an accumulator. Then you can analyze the nutrients to see exactly what the plants have used (If your a scientist), or take a guess as to what the plants have used and adjust & recycle or just trash them.
    Grizman,
    Yes, I can't deny it, evaporation is an on going issue. Regardless of how good the seal is, the air being pumped in by the aquarium pump has to come out somewhere taking moisture along with it. On the cloner it's not that big of a deal. I run a vent tube up to the light reflector. It's an 8 gallon tote run at the five gallon mark and it uses about 1/2-3/4 gallon of water a week. The EC rises as the level drops so its mostly a mater of adding water. The Lava rock/net pot unit is a bit of a water guzzler as I'm sure you can Imagine. I am currently Making my own net pots with slotted lids to cut back on water usage. It's a 14.5 gallon tote run at the 8 gallon mark and is using about a gallon every 4-5 days. I run the foggers 12 hours on, 4 off, 4 on, 4 off, repeat.
    When I got my EC meter, I checked it was 1.87, I brought it down to 1.64-1.67, I don't know is that normal EC for Chile Peppers & Cherry tomatoes? They look healthy and the Toms are just starting to flower. I was just propagating mostly tomatoes for my outdoor soil garden up until about 2 months ago, using Thrive Alive B-1. Tomatoes show roots often in 3 days and rarely take longer than 5. I found out you can propagate tomato cuttings by sticking them right in the ground and watering them in but the success rate is low and they take much longer.
    Good luck,
    Ken

  • homehydro
    13 years ago

    I haven't used foggers as of yet, but I did look into it a while back. And although I don't know for sure if there is any big differences between using regular ultrasonic foggers and the expensive Nutramist foggers (that would justify the cost difference). I do understand that there's a difference in the discs that they may have. I would want to make sure they have Teflon lined discs (ultrasonic foggers), or there more likely to clog. Also if they do you should be able to clean them using white vinegar (possibly pH down also), and ultrasonic foggers come with all kinds of disc configurations. I beleve I have seen them with as many as 9 discs on one ultrasonic fogger. As for an inlet without using an overflow to keep the water level in the fog chamber, a simple float valve will do the trick. Like the kind used in swamp coolers. You can get them at Walmart (Home Depot, Lowes etc.) for about $4. They work just the same way as the float valves in your toilet tank, only smaller and more compact.

    A lot was covered in this thread in another forum.
    foggers

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