Hands-free flushing without affecting other plants with Autopots smart

[alienpuppy]

just thought i would share my little setup for flushing before harvest, as i'm pretty happy with it, it's a simple hands-off method and cheap too, and allows for the plant to be taken 'offline' so other flowering plants can still get nutes while the flushing plant can get plain water or whatever

  

All you need is:

- the Autopot Smart Valve which is sold on its own for about AU$27

- a tray, im currently just using large alfoil trays from Woolies/Coles until I can get a better plastic one

- tubing, 20cm is probably enough

- empty 2L cola/water bottle, the PET ones being more rigid get a better seal than the softer HDPE plastic milk cartons

- a grommet for the seal

- optionally an on/off valve, makes things a bit easier and only a couple bucks

All up it's about $35. You don't need to buy any more to support more than one plant - you just need a larger tray.

 

Just drill a small hole into the bottle to attach the grommet and tubing, attach it to the smart valve and sit it in the tray and you're done.

 

Here's a photo i took earlier when the lights came on:

  

 

Just gotta make sure the smart valve is pushed down to prevent the whole unit floating, but at the same time still being able to let the front part float. In my current temporary alfoil tray setup i've found a pair of wooden skewers does the trick!  Also need to ensure you have roots poking out the bottom of your pot as it's purely a bottom-feeding system. No real need for anything like an air bubbler, just keep the water level in the bottle low and top it up a bit each day so it's always fresh

 

(the Autopot Smart Valve is a simple regulator valve that only allows about 3mm of water to flood the tray - it then won't let any more water in until it's nearly completely dried up, before topping it back up to 1cm, providing wet-dry cycles dictated by the uptake of the plant. No power required, it's a simple design - Aussie too i think - that does what it tries to do pretty well, has been around for ages and currently at the "Mk3" version)

Edited September 12, 2017 by alienpuppy

[Allotropy]

Wow. You have put alot of dedication into this A P

[alienpuppy]

thankyou!?

[Serrated edge]

Just love that photo you took earlier. .

[alienpuppy]

how does everyone else here flush?  it's one of those things i had never properly done before - just took feeding lines off and manually water-fed for a few days, but this is much easier and more efficient i think.  And for ~$35 all up, so, either way...

[Sir PsychoHashy]

Coco I elevate the pot to collect the runoff and flush the shit out of it until the EC of the runoff is about the same as going in, then give another hand water or 2 to keep them hydrated until harvest a week or so later. 

 

Recirc hydro, just PH'd water in the res and dump it a couple of times until the EC stays at baseline and run PH'd water for a week or so.  I isolate individual tubs in the system and use a separate res for them when plants mature at different times.

[Indycar]

 

 

Recirc hydro, just PH'd water in the res and dump it a couple of times until the EC stays at baseline and run PH'd water for a week or so. s.

 

The method I use as well.

 

[Bobito_Pepperoni]

If it's Indy's method then it's my method 2 Edited September 13, 2017 by Bobito_Pepperoni

[alienpuppy]

I isolate individual tubs in the system and use a separate res for them when plants mature at different times.

 

sweet! ideally i'd like an individual res for each plant too, but have to work within the confines of my friends system which is one reservoir for the whole flower chamber, but this Autopot smartvalve setup allows me to individualise the flush at least so the other flowering plant can keep going hard on the nutes

[Bobito_Pepperoni]

thankyou!?

Good 2 c u around these neck of the woods Edited September 13, 2017 by Bobito_Pepperoni