Lets see. NASA spent many millions of dollars on research into air atomized and high pressure aeroponics. The reserchers determined clearly that water droplet sizing of 50 microns is most efficient.
Atomix sold an air atomized system that could be adjusted by changing the nozzle tip to allow the majority of water droplets in the 30 to 80 micron size (805%) with no droplets smaller than 5 micron. Atomix never sold a atomix chamber system nozzle that was set up to deliver the majority of its water droplets in the 6 to 11 micron size as claimed by Northerlights#5Haze. Atomix sold out to an American Company. They did not go out of business due to high prices etc. The U.S. Patent Application Publication clearly states the droplet micron size for the atomix atomizer as being designed to produce droplets between 30 and 80 microns.
Well I guess we will see if i spent way to much money for nothing but so for so good The reason that foggers do not work well is aslso spelled out in the atomix patent and in NASA reports. Here is a few lines from the 2009 recent U.S. patent application publication for the aeromix type system.
"Aeroponic systems suffer from the disadvantage of producing the right size of droplets and in the right air to water ratio that is required to maintain a constant state of effective aeroponic growth while also meeting the liquid requirements of horticulture. Aeroponic systems that produce water droplets below 30 microns fail to achieve continuous aeroponic growth due to the need to supply droplets in such a high concentration that liquid saturation occurs whilst meeting the liquid requirement of horticulture. Very small droplets, such as 5-20 microns, need to be supplied in extremely high densities otherwise they cannot provide enough water to grow a plant. However, such a high concentration of very small virtually prevents air from getting to the roots and thus they may die unless the system is turned off periodically in order to allow the roots to dry and gain access to air. Thus, aeroponic systems with droplets below 30 micron tend to be operated with a clear on and off period due to this saturation. Aeroponic systems that produce droplets above 100 microns are also capable of continuous aeroponic growth due to a rapid saturation that is caused by droplets of this size."
"Ultrasonic systems are capable of producing very fine liquid particles of a sized smaller than 30 micron but they are also ineffective at continuous aeroponic growth. The ultra sonic components are both expensive and unreliable due to their short life spans."
The patent application repeatedly states the atomizers were designed for water droplets sizes between 30 and 80 microns.
Atomix did not sell atomizers for their atomix chamber systems that were set up to operate in a range below 30 to 80 microns. Yes a very small percentage of the water droplets were below 30 micron and/or over 80 micron. This was mainly due to their systems nozzles being siphon fed rather than pump or gravity fed.
Simply said 6-11 micron is not OK unless you are cycling the fog on and off. I have not heard of a ultrasonic or centrifugal force type atomizer/fogger being used in a cyclic manner. Even if you were using the fogger systems they just don't work as well as a system providing the 50 micro droplets. With a 50 (30 to 80) droplet size system you can actually run continously if using small enough nozzles. That is not possible with smaller or larger droplets sizes. With the 50 micron droplets the roots are exposed to air plus they recieve water and that can happen over a broad application range. Yes you can over saturate with 50 micron droplets by over sizing the nozzles are using to many nozzles. There are simple calculations to prevent that though. With small or large droplets you o\ver satuare then supply nothing, then you over saturate again then supply nothing. That is TAG. Or you simply constantly over saturate by fogging constantly.
This is NOT a TAG thread.
