Hydroponics Online Home Home Store Blog Forums FAQs Lesson Plans Pictures

Go Back   Hydroponics Forums Discussions > Hydroponics Discussion Forums > Hydroponics

some ideas


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-11-2010, 12:33 AM
corkmedusa corkmedusa is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Temple TX
Posts: 3
Default some ideas

Hi! well I have constructed a drip nft system useing coco.I used 4 inch sewer pipe to make my smaller plant beds herbs ect, and 6 inch thin walled sewer pipe for the larger plants. to solve my problem for end caps on the 6 inch pipes I used plexi glass since the system has no pressure it works great and the kids can see the roots growing I just cover them with a piece of drapery backing from walmart that is white on one side and black on the other. my 4 inch pipe I used sour creme containers to cape them they actualy poped right on and on the bell end of one the lid fit pretty well so that saved me a little. Another thing I wanted to bring up is places to buy tools cheap cause if you dont have have them they can get pricey. I have been useing harbor freight tools they sell sump pumps for about half the price of the hardware store. Heck I purchased a 13 piece hole saw set that goes up to 5 1/2" or so for around 10 dollars and they worked great. I also purchased my drip emitters it had 10 in line 10 free standing in the set 100ft. of tubeing and alll the t's and hookups for 7 dollars a set! Another tip I learned is that when I went to lowes there 6 inch pipe was 30 bucks for a 10 foot section and was thick walled. I was like wholey crap! so calling around I found a pipe supply company that had thin walled 6 inch sewer pipe for 12 dollars and there end caps were about half the price of the home stores. so looking in the phone book payed off and almost every town has one (I live in temple tx a small town and we have 3). I used solo cups for my net pots just stacked them up and drilled them. I wanted to try coco but that proved to suck cause the shipping was more than the coco as I was told after giveing my credit card! I purchased my pump at tractor supply company they were on clearance for 50% off so I built the whole thing for under 100 bucks. My girlfriend is most awesome and let me set it up in the house and I decided to just drop my seeds in the system turn it on and let her rip! so far I am impressed it took my lettuce about 2.5 days to sprout when the pack said 8-10 days silly dirt farmers! oh well I just wanted to pass on some ways to save money while constructing your system they may not make it look all NASA and stuff but it works. Have fun and happy gardening!

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-11-2010, 01:07 AM
eduardomachado eduardomachado is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 58
Default

sounds cool... pics?
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-11-2010, 01:33 AM
corkmedusa corkmedusa is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Temple TX
Posts: 3
Default

nawh no camera handy guess I could have used the one on my phone but it takes crappy photos
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 03-11-2010, 06:42 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
Posts: 1,855
Default

Quote:
when I went to lowes there 6 inch pipe was 30 bucks for a 10 foot section and was thick walled. I was like wholey crap! so calling around I found a pipe supply company that had thin walled 6 inch sewer pipe for 12 dollars and there end caps were about half the price of the home stores.
I couldn't find 10 foot pieces of the 6 inch PVC tubing. I did find a 4 foot piece they used as drain connections, but they were way to expensive at $15 for a piece 4 foot long. But like you I found 6 inch PVC tubing at a local pluming supply house's. One sold it in minimum 20 foot sections, the other sold it by the foot and cut it for me. It was $1.78 a foot for the 6 inch tubing (thin wall). Although I had no luck with the end caps, they were still $12 ea (schedule 40 was all they had), that was the problem. Though your idea of the plexi glass may be a answer if it glues well, with a solid bond (for the system I have in mind). If I remember the plexi glass sheets at ace hardware was about $24 a 4 foot, by 4 foot sheet. Although everything at ace hardware is about twice the price.

P. S. If It helps anyone, I did find out that they have metal (galvanized) 6 inch end caps in the heating and air conditioning department with the household ducting for $2. It fits tightly in the tube but you will want to seal it with silicone, also you might want to line the inside with silicone (or waterproof material), to ensure there wont be any problems with possible rust (even though galvanized shouldn't rust). It's to thin for what I was going to do because all the weight would rest on the end cap, I was going to turn it vertical. But laying the tube horizontal there would be no weight on it.
Quote:
I have been using harbor freight tools they sell sump pumps for about half the price of the hardware store
Thanks for the idea. I knew of them but to be honest I never bother to check there website for anything. I just bookmarked it now. I use fountain pumps myself, although I'll look into using the sump pumps. I noticed harbor freight has a solar fountain pump. I saw a video the other day YouTube - Hydroponic recirculating solar powered system that might give someone an idea. Although the solar powered fountain pump that harbor freight caries only has a max pumping height of less than 3 feet.
Quote:
I wanted to try coco but that proved to suck cause the shipping was more than the coco
Ya, that is the problem of living in a small town and not having any hydroponic supply stores near by. I need to have things like that shipped in myself. But in comparison shipping for coco is much cheaper than grow rocks (hydroton). Once soaked, you get much more volume for the same weight. Not sure how much you need but they do sell small blocks like this one Logee's Greenhouse-Coco Chip Brick. It's $5 but if you look around you can probably get it cheaper. I got 2 blocks like it last summer for $4 ea (+ shipping of coarse). A hint on the shipping, check the "contact us" page of the website and look for a physical address. Then try to order from somewhere close by, shipping is usually a little cheaper that way.

P. S. A crappy picture is better than no picture.
__________________
Website Owner
Home Hydroponic Systems

Last edited by GpsFrontier; 03-11-2010 at 06:50 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 03-11-2010, 09:38 AM
corkmedusa corkmedusa is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Temple TX
Posts: 3
Default

One thing I did leave out is that I sanded the area I was going to glue so the silicone would ahere to it better.The first one I glued the kids knocked over and off came the end cap. I purchased the plexi at lowes for about 1.29 as a 7" x 8" piece. but they will cut it to any size you want. Harbor freight sells fountain pumps also but they did not have one with the lift requirements needed. Another word of warning about them is that i have purchased a few things there and have not been happy I have a retail store here so I examine there products carefully before buying them. Some items are too good to be true and turn out they are. for example I purchased a eletric dremmel type tool for about 5 dollars I was like WoW! the stupid thing wouldnt go fast enough to cut butter but the acecesories it came with kinda made up for getting a better one. but for the most part I have had products that is extremely happy with such as the angle grinder I purchased it out preformes my mikita and came with extra brushes. there fountain pumps are extremly cheap and work ok I built the 11 plant garden a few years ago and used one of there pumps in it and it worked well I eventualy donated this to a friend that wanted to give hydroponics a try.The bigest problem with there stores is people get in there see a few really good deals go crazy just to find out if they didnt get it on sale there they are usealy paying the same price they could have purchased a low end tool from the home store or sears.Another good tool supplier is wholesale tool they have allot of hard to find tools and machinest type tools at incredable prices. There again you need to watch em though they do sell some junky stuff but it usualy works fine.I used them when I lived in houston for makeing equipment parts from scratch.Dont froget about grainger they have EVERYTHING includeing replacement HID ballasts motor controlls and allot of the stuff you see in the hydroponics stores they just buy it there and mark it up.Home depot and lowes also have Industrial sites and stores similar to grainger.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 03-13-2010, 11:38 AM
GGM GGM is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 70
Default

I find thin walled (low pressure) pipes better anyway, expecially if adding a bulkhead/Thru-Hull fittings as when tightning it the pvc "flatterns" out and seals better, no need for loads of silicon as I find I need with the more ridged pvp.

Also on the subject of pvc pipes has anyone ever tried to mould them? I know this guy who makes model plane out of pvc pipes, he told be he just cuts it, uses a heat gun to get it roughly into shape and then irons it flat! told be it comes out perfectly flat... was thinking of tring to get the bottom flat and leave the top round.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 03-13-2010, 04:58 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
Posts: 1,855
Default

Quote:
Also on the subject of pvc pipes has anyone ever tried to mould them? I know this guy who makes model plane out of pvc pipes, he told be he just cuts it, uses a heat gun to get it roughly into shape and then irons it flat! told be it comes out perfectly flat... was thinking of tring to get the bottom flat and leave the top round.
I have used heat to make holes in it as well as cut PVC so I know it has a melting point (thus a softening point). PVC is a general term and there are many types of it. All with their own unique property's, but all have a melting point. After all that is how the pieces of PVC (tubing or otherwise) were formed in the first place, they were all heated into a liquid, then formed into a mold. Not sure the size of tubing the guy building the model planes uses, but I imagine they are not large pieces.

It would be quite possible to reform a large piece of PVC tubing, but probably not very practical unless doing a real lot of it. You wold need something to hold the PVC while it's being heated. A heat source that will heat it to the right temperature and evenly without burning/melting it completely, just soft enough to reform. Then you need a press the same shape you are reforming the PVC into, and you will need to be able to get it into the press quickly and reform it before it cools too much and becomes hard again. But it is possible.

The iron the guy uses is probably wider than the tubing, and he most likely uses the iron itself as the press also. Though if you were planing on just flattening one side (the bottom) of a long round tube, you might try placing a straight 2x4 (or 4x4) inside the PVC tubing, then securing both ends of the wood to something solid so you can put weight on it. Then by pressing down with a heated flat Iron along it, you may wind up with a flat edge. You may also want to use a hand held hair dryer set on HI, blowing inside the tube to help warm the tube up.
__________________
Website Owner
Home Hydroponic Systems
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 03-13-2010, 10:46 PM
eduardomachado eduardomachado is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 58
Default

why not just get the flat tubes made for hydroponics? I got mine locally... the manufacturer its www.hydrogood.com its in brazilian but Im sure they can answer if they have a distributor in the USA
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 03-13-2010, 11:12 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
Posts: 1,855
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by eduardomachado View Post
why not just get the flat tubes made for hydroponics? I got mine locally... the manufacturer its www.hydrogood.com its in brazilian but Im sure they can answer if they have a distributor in the USA
Link's not working for me.
__________________
Website Owner
Home Hydroponic Systems
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 03-14-2010, 02:28 AM
Luches Luches is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 177
Default

Aquí está el link al sitio brasileño. Las personas que hablan español pueden entender portugués tambien (más o menos). Y la gente inteligente puede buscar el link correcto a través Google

Hidrogood Brasil
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 03-14-2010, 02:52 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
Posts: 1,855
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luches View Post
Aquí está el link al sitio brasileño. Las personas que hablan español pueden entender portugués tambien (más o menos). Y la gente inteligente puede buscar el link correcto a través Google

Hidrogood Brasil
Translated it says:
"Here is the link to the Brazilian place. The people that speak Spanish can understand Portuguese tambien (more or less). And the intelligent people can seek the link correct to bias Google"

Free Translation and Professional Translation Services from SDL
VIDÍM vás plán na inzult lidí v různých jazycích nyní? Mohu hrát stejně jako přejete -li si.
__________________
Website Owner
Home Hydroponic Systems

Last edited by GpsFrontier; 03-15-2010 at 03:07 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 03-14-2010, 06:01 AM
GGM GGM is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 70
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by eduardomachado View Post
why not just get the flat tubes made for hydroponics? I got mine locally... the manufacturer its www.hydrogood.com its in brazilian but Im sure they can answer if they have a distributor in the USA
Unfortunately they don't sell them or any square pvc down pipes/ vinyl fence posts etc in my country, they look at you cockeyed if you even mention hydroponics and "growing plants without soil" in this country.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 03-14-2010, 07:02 PM
administrator administrator is offline
Administrator
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 13
Default

Let's keep the discussions in english please....
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 03-14-2010, 07:56 PM
eduardomachado eduardomachado is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 58
Default

GGM were are you at exactly??

Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

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

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:52 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.