Hey all. I thought I would make a threat about Autopot growing to help anyone facing the issues I've faced when using them.
Autopots are a automatic watering system that floods the bottom of the pot once the water level reaches a critically low point. It comes in a few parts, the pot itself, the dish or tray for the pot, an aquavalve, then some external parts like hosing and a water reservoir. All combine to make a pretty darn good watering system (once you fix the engineering issues).
I love autopots, I can fill the tank and ignore plants growing for days at a time. It's great for someone who doesn't want to mix nutrients all day, or who simply wants a grow that very hands off (after you set it up correctly. I've grown some high quality plants from autopots, and once running they perform very well.
that being said, Autopots have their issues, and I will try to provide some guidance around these issues to improve the quality of everyones grow. I have spoken to a lot of people about autopots, and the consensus is that you either love them or hate them. I think they have a pretty big engineering flaw, and it's this flaw that causes all sorts of plant issues. Unless diagnosed and fixed, the flaw usually results in sick and unhealthy plants.
The flaw
The flaw lies with their flood automatic fulfilling system. I believe the tolerances for it to work correctly are too tight. It will function in perfect conditions, but conditions are often not perfect, the ground might not be level, the silicon stoppers might be slightly of shape, there might be small amounts of debris around the Aquavalve to name a few. In a perfect world the Aquavalve will function with these issues, but it often doesn't.
Aquavalves routinely fail to function correctly, and will not go through their Full>empty>full cycle, they will just remain full at all times.I believe the Aquavalve failure rate for this issue is VERY high. I would guess it can be as high as 40% for some peoples setups. in my first run with them, my failure rate was about 25% across 16 initial pots (4 pots/Aquavales failing to function). I was able to fix 2 of them, but two would remain completely inoperable, they say full at all times. The plants from these pots grew, but were always very unhealthy. I got 3 XL Autpots, and 2/3 valves had this problematic flaw.
I have spent hours and hours looking at these things to try and make them work better. I will try to explain what I believe the fault is below. If you have no understand on how the mechanism functions, don't worry too much, the fix will still work.
The Correct Function
The Aquavalve goes through a cycle.
1. It starts empty, and water runs into it through the water valve (number 3, bottom picture)
2. Water keep running until it lifts the top float high enough to open the top valve (number 2 bottom picture)
3. Air escapes the top valve, allowing the water level to rise around the inside chamber
4. The inner float rises as the inner chamber water level rises,causing the water valve to seal (number 3, bottom picture)
5. No more water enters the Autopot once water valve has sealed.
6. Plants drink water, and water level drops
7. Top float seals, prevent air ingress, keeping water level in the inner chamber high
8. Plants drink water till it's below the base of the Aquavalve, at which point the water falls out of the inner chamber and into the pot (kinda like pulling a cup out of water upside down, once the brim is above the water line all the water falls out)
9. Inner flat drops, water valve opens, and pot starts filling.
10. back to step 1.
The Problem
The main problem comes from the top float, it doesn't do it's job correctly. I will list the steps to an incorrectly functioning float valve below
1. It starts empty, and water runs into it through the water valve (number 3, bottom picture)
2. Water keep running until it lifts the top float high enough to open the top valve (number 2 bottom picture)
3. Air escapes the top valve, allowing the water level to rise around the inside chamber
4. The inner float rises as the inner chamber water level rises, causing the water valve to seal (number 3, bottom picture)
5. No more water enters the Autopot once water valve has sealed.
6. Plants drink water, and water level drops below the water valve threshold BEFORE it drops below the top float valve threshold.
7. Top float seal LEAKS AIR allowing air to ingress, letting the inner chamber water level to drop and water valve to open.
8. Small amount of water flows into the inner chamber, topping it up and sealing water valve.
9. Plants drink water
10. Top float seal LEAKS AIR allowing air to ingress, letting the inner chamber water level to drop and water valve to open.
11. Small amount of water flows into the inner chamber, topping it up and sealing water valve.
12. Plants drink water
13. Top float seal LEAKS AIR allowing air to ingress, letting the inner chamber water level to drop and water valve to open.
14. Small amount of water flows into the inner chamber, topping it up and sealing water valve.
15. on and on and one.......
So the main problems that's affected over 25% of my pots is this. The engineering behind the valve is too precise, and the seals aren't doing their job.
I got two new XL Autopots last week, and one of them had this issue straight out of the box. It simply wouldn't work correctly, and it was brand new.
The Fix
The fix is easy. You simply need to ensure the water valve threshold engages AFTER the float valve threshold.
I have found the easiest way of doing this is to place a small washer on top of the float valve. The increases the height the water needs to hit before releasing the top float valve, which means the inner chamber fills to a slightly higher mark, which means that there is slightly more force holding the water flow valve in place. Because the water level is higher, and the top float is heavier, the top float valve engages earlier, and seals the top valve sooner.
This means the water valve threshold is AFTER the top float threshold, fixing the issue. This also causes an increase in total water volume each cycle, so the Autopot will fill up slightly more.
My Autopots were a temperamental mess before this, and now they are a dream.
Below is an image of a fixed valve. This is on an XL pot which is outdoors, and I am trying to grow an avocado tree in it. The wind blows the pot around a bit, which has cause a lot of coco to wash into the bottom of the pot under the valve. It's situations like this when you need a valve which functions very well. Most of my pots are run indoors, and still exhibited the valve leaking issue. Running two washers on the float valve increases the water height level even more, which I believe might be beneficial for the XL pots.
Cycle testing you autopots
The best way to test your autopots is to cycle test them.
1. Ensure everything is setup with pots in place.
2. Turn valve on at reservoir, allowing pots to fill.
3. Once each pot has filled, use a syringe with a long nose on it (80ml syringe works well) and start sucking the water from the pot. DO NOT BUMP THE TOP FLOAT
4. Drain the pot about 70%, but don't let it cycle.
5. Wait 10-15 minutes. If the pot refills, it's a problematic Aquavalve, check all silicon stoppers, check for debris.
6. Drain pot again about 70%, and wait 15 minutes.
7. If problem persist, use Autopot fix to help Aquavalve function correctly.
Resetting all Autopots
If you have growing plants, the Aquavalve can be hard to access. You can conduct a full Aquavalve reset by simply turning the water off at the res for 24 hours, all the autopots should be sucked dry, allowing the valves to reset.
Critical Failures
Never ever pull an Aquavalve out and re-seat it with water in the bottom of the pot. There is a huge risk of too much water getting into the inner float, which will cause the water valve open level to raise, bringing the water valve threshold closer to the float valve threshold, increasing the chance of a problematic valve.
Other Autopot tips
1. I run Canna nutrients, about 1.2ec in veg. Coco+perlite as a substrate.
2. Keeping ph on the lower side during veg seemed to help the plants. about 5.7-5.8 during veg. Higher in flower.
3. DO NOT USE CANNA CAL-MAG. This stuff spikes the ph levels hard for about 2 days. I use Floramax cal-mag-fe. My water is VERY soft, I pump my own water up from a very deep well.
4. Canna Rhyzotonic and Cannazyme gunked up my res somewhat. I would probably avoid.
5. Get a sheet of floor padding, like the stuff people use in a gym. Cut it into squares and place it under your pots. I think this is very important especially if you are on concrete that gets cold. I think cold roots are an often overlooked issue for a lot of people.
6. Valves on each pot can help, but are not needed.
7. Get an aquarium pump to circulate water in your res. Don't use an air stone.
8. Watch DLI/PPFD levels, too much light is a killer.
9. The hose connectors on the larger reservoirs are a bit terrible and prone to leaking or failure.
Conclusion
I love Autopots, and will use them forever. I think there is a slight engineering issue with the design, which can easily be fixed with small weights applied to the top float. This also enables you to control the water level of the pot itself. I would recommend Autopots to anyone who doesn't mind a little complexity, and wants a very hands off operation. If you have Autopots and experience this issue, I hope this write up helps.
-Redgo
Autopots are a automatic watering system that floods the bottom of the pot once the water level reaches a critically low point. It comes in a few parts, the pot itself, the dish or tray for the pot, an aquavalve, then some external parts like hosing and a water reservoir. All combine to make a pretty darn good watering system (once you fix the engineering issues).
I love autopots, I can fill the tank and ignore plants growing for days at a time. It's great for someone who doesn't want to mix nutrients all day, or who simply wants a grow that very hands off (after you set it up correctly. I've grown some high quality plants from autopots, and once running they perform very well.
that being said, Autopots have their issues, and I will try to provide some guidance around these issues to improve the quality of everyones grow. I have spoken to a lot of people about autopots, and the consensus is that you either love them or hate them. I think they have a pretty big engineering flaw, and it's this flaw that causes all sorts of plant issues. Unless diagnosed and fixed, the flaw usually results in sick and unhealthy plants.
The flaw
The flaw lies with their flood automatic fulfilling system. I believe the tolerances for it to work correctly are too tight. It will function in perfect conditions, but conditions are often not perfect, the ground might not be level, the silicon stoppers might be slightly of shape, there might be small amounts of debris around the Aquavalve to name a few. In a perfect world the Aquavalve will function with these issues, but it often doesn't.
Aquavalves routinely fail to function correctly, and will not go through their Full>empty>full cycle, they will just remain full at all times.I believe the Aquavalve failure rate for this issue is VERY high. I would guess it can be as high as 40% for some peoples setups. in my first run with them, my failure rate was about 25% across 16 initial pots (4 pots/Aquavales failing to function). I was able to fix 2 of them, but two would remain completely inoperable, they say full at all times. The plants from these pots grew, but were always very unhealthy. I got 3 XL Autpots, and 2/3 valves had this problematic flaw.
I have spent hours and hours looking at these things to try and make them work better. I will try to explain what I believe the fault is below. If you have no understand on how the mechanism functions, don't worry too much, the fix will still work.
The Correct Function
The Aquavalve goes through a cycle.
1. It starts empty, and water runs into it through the water valve (number 3, bottom picture)
2. Water keep running until it lifts the top float high enough to open the top valve (number 2 bottom picture)
3. Air escapes the top valve, allowing the water level to rise around the inside chamber
4. The inner float rises as the inner chamber water level rises,causing the water valve to seal (number 3, bottom picture)
5. No more water enters the Autopot once water valve has sealed.
6. Plants drink water, and water level drops
7. Top float seals, prevent air ingress, keeping water level in the inner chamber high
8. Plants drink water till it's below the base of the Aquavalve, at which point the water falls out of the inner chamber and into the pot (kinda like pulling a cup out of water upside down, once the brim is above the water line all the water falls out)
9. Inner flat drops, water valve opens, and pot starts filling.
10. back to step 1.
The Problem
The main problem comes from the top float, it doesn't do it's job correctly. I will list the steps to an incorrectly functioning float valve below
1. It starts empty, and water runs into it through the water valve (number 3, bottom picture)
2. Water keep running until it lifts the top float high enough to open the top valve (number 2 bottom picture)
3. Air escapes the top valve, allowing the water level to rise around the inside chamber
4. The inner float rises as the inner chamber water level rises, causing the water valve to seal (number 3, bottom picture)
5. No more water enters the Autopot once water valve has sealed.
6. Plants drink water, and water level drops below the water valve threshold BEFORE it drops below the top float valve threshold.
7. Top float seal LEAKS AIR allowing air to ingress, letting the inner chamber water level to drop and water valve to open.
8. Small amount of water flows into the inner chamber, topping it up and sealing water valve.
9. Plants drink water
10. Top float seal LEAKS AIR allowing air to ingress, letting the inner chamber water level to drop and water valve to open.
11. Small amount of water flows into the inner chamber, topping it up and sealing water valve.
12. Plants drink water
13. Top float seal LEAKS AIR allowing air to ingress, letting the inner chamber water level to drop and water valve to open.
14. Small amount of water flows into the inner chamber, topping it up and sealing water valve.
15. on and on and one.......
So the main problems that's affected over 25% of my pots is this. The engineering behind the valve is too precise, and the seals aren't doing their job.
I got two new XL Autopots last week, and one of them had this issue straight out of the box. It simply wouldn't work correctly, and it was brand new.
The Fix
The fix is easy. You simply need to ensure the water valve threshold engages AFTER the float valve threshold.
I have found the easiest way of doing this is to place a small washer on top of the float valve. The increases the height the water needs to hit before releasing the top float valve, which means the inner chamber fills to a slightly higher mark, which means that there is slightly more force holding the water flow valve in place. Because the water level is higher, and the top float is heavier, the top float valve engages earlier, and seals the top valve sooner.
This means the water valve threshold is AFTER the top float threshold, fixing the issue. This also causes an increase in total water volume each cycle, so the Autopot will fill up slightly more.
My Autopots were a temperamental mess before this, and now they are a dream.
Below is an image of a fixed valve. This is on an XL pot which is outdoors, and I am trying to grow an avocado tree in it. The wind blows the pot around a bit, which has cause a lot of coco to wash into the bottom of the pot under the valve. It's situations like this when you need a valve which functions very well. Most of my pots are run indoors, and still exhibited the valve leaking issue. Running two washers on the float valve increases the water height level even more, which I believe might be beneficial for the XL pots.
Cycle testing you autopots
The best way to test your autopots is to cycle test them.
1. Ensure everything is setup with pots in place.
2. Turn valve on at reservoir, allowing pots to fill.
3. Once each pot has filled, use a syringe with a long nose on it (80ml syringe works well) and start sucking the water from the pot. DO NOT BUMP THE TOP FLOAT
4. Drain the pot about 70%, but don't let it cycle.
5. Wait 10-15 minutes. If the pot refills, it's a problematic Aquavalve, check all silicon stoppers, check for debris.
6. Drain pot again about 70%, and wait 15 minutes.
7. If problem persist, use Autopot fix to help Aquavalve function correctly.
Resetting all Autopots
If you have growing plants, the Aquavalve can be hard to access. You can conduct a full Aquavalve reset by simply turning the water off at the res for 24 hours, all the autopots should be sucked dry, allowing the valves to reset.
Critical Failures
Never ever pull an Aquavalve out and re-seat it with water in the bottom of the pot. There is a huge risk of too much water getting into the inner float, which will cause the water valve open level to raise, bringing the water valve threshold closer to the float valve threshold, increasing the chance of a problematic valve.
Other Autopot tips
1. I run Canna nutrients, about 1.2ec in veg. Coco+perlite as a substrate.
2. Keeping ph on the lower side during veg seemed to help the plants. about 5.7-5.8 during veg. Higher in flower.
3. DO NOT USE CANNA CAL-MAG. This stuff spikes the ph levels hard for about 2 days. I use Floramax cal-mag-fe. My water is VERY soft, I pump my own water up from a very deep well.
4. Canna Rhyzotonic and Cannazyme gunked up my res somewhat. I would probably avoid.
5. Get a sheet of floor padding, like the stuff people use in a gym. Cut it into squares and place it under your pots. I think this is very important especially if you are on concrete that gets cold. I think cold roots are an often overlooked issue for a lot of people.
6. Valves on each pot can help, but are not needed.
7. Get an aquarium pump to circulate water in your res. Don't use an air stone.
8. Watch DLI/PPFD levels, too much light is a killer.
9. The hose connectors on the larger reservoirs are a bit terrible and prone to leaking or failure.
Conclusion
I love Autopots, and will use them forever. I think there is a slight engineering issue with the design, which can easily be fixed with small weights applied to the top float. This also enables you to control the water level of the pot itself. I would recommend Autopots to anyone who doesn't mind a little complexity, and wants a very hands off operation. If you have Autopots and experience this issue, I hope this write up helps.
-Redgo
