SIP thread -- (Sub-Irrigated Planter)

meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Tim Fox said:
that sounds cool,, i used an ice chest with a heating pad and 100 watt bulb hooked to the inkbird, submereged the probe into one of the yogurt jars and the inkbird would turn the heating pad and light on and off as needed and the ice chest held the heat in, i was impressed i could make like 6 mason jars of yogurt at a time with it,, we did this back when my wife was sick, it really helped to heal her leaky gut
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Thats a sweet set up for making mass batches for sure! Probably uses something like that for kombucha but minus the light because it is supposed to be kept dark.
 
raggyb

raggyb

Well-Known Member
Tim Fox said:
i would think a cheap thermostat from home depot would do a better job of regulatiing heat from a heater , by turning on and off a heater to maintain a certain temp,,
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that doesnt work if your heater requires you to push the on button after it is plugged in.

Again, if you can use a variac to slow a fan down I don't see why you can't use it to lower the output of a heater. the heater would use less power when on and could be kept at the temp you want rather than have to go temp on and off / up and down. I see people online saying they are using one with electric frying pans, giant fans they have that blow too hard,... etc. in most cases it sounded like they have variacs lying around (lol). so if anyone knows exactly when and why it can't be used then i'll be all ears.
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
raggyb said:
that doesnt work if your heater requires you to push the on button after it is plugged in.

Again, if you can use a variac to slow a fan down I don't see why you can't use it to lower the output of a heater. the heater would use less power when on and could be kept at the temp you want rather than have to go temp on and off / up and down. I see people online saying they are using one with electric frying pans, giant fans they have that blow too hard,... etc. in most cases it sounded like they have variacs lying around (lol). so if anyone knows exactly when and why it can't be used then i'll be all ears.
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I dont think mechanisms inside of these two things work the same. The motor on a fan runs faster when more current is applied. I believe a heater works in a way that it is all on or all the way off. It is turned on and off based on the temp setting. So if its below that temp it turns on, and is all the way on when it reaches the desired temp the power is cut to the heating unit. Variable speed motor on a fan. On or off switch on a heater.... but I'm not a pro electrician mind you :-)
 
raggyb

raggyb

Well-Known Member
meangreengrowinmachine said:
I dont think mechanisms inside of these two things work the same. The motor on a fan runs faster when more current is applied. I believe a heater works in a way that it is all on or all the way off. It is turned on and off based on the temp setting. So if its below that temp it turns on, and is all the way on when it reaches the desired temp the power is cut to the heating unit. Variable speed motor on a fan. On or off switch on a heater.... but I'm not a pro electrician mind you :-)
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I'll try to check on that but it seems to me the heater has a separate internal thermometer that switches it on and off. The heating element is much hotter than what it's temp reading says. it's probably like twice as hot. I don't know all electric either but know there could be significant differences that matter. AC fans often have windings and are so called inductive loads which turns out to be important regarding how much you can fuck with it electronically speaking. I believe my heaters would be inductive loads also.
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
raggyb said:
I'll try to check on that but it seems to me the heater has a separate internal thermometer that switches it on and off. The heating element is much hotter than what it's temp reading says. it's probably like twice as hot. I don't know all electric either but know there could be significant differences that matter. AC fans often have windings and are so called inductive loads which turns out to be important regarding how much you can fuck with it electronically speaking. I believe my heaters would be inductive loads also.
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I have a heater i know never works on an inkbird like you said because it has a power on switch that needs to be pushed also once the power is on. The older ones (while probably not as safe) are just on off so for me those work. Let us know your results and models you use and such. I'm in a cold basement in the winter so could be very useful info!
 
raggyb

raggyb

Well-Known Member
meangreengrowinmachine said:
I have a heater i know never works on an inkbird like you said because it has a power on switch that needs to be pushed also once the power is on. The older ones (while probably not as safe) are just on off so for me those work. Let us know your results and models you use and such. I'm in a cold basement in the winter so could be very useful info!
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me too. I don't want a tent and it's making temp and humid control a bitch. Actually I'm better off turning another light on for more heat when the lights are on!
 
raggyb

raggyb

Well-Known Member
raggyb said:
that doesnt work if your heater requires you to push the on button after it is plugged in.

Again, if you can use a variac to slow a fan down I don't see why you can't use it to lower the output of a heater. the heater would use less power when on and could be kept at the temp you want rather than have to go temp on and off / up and down. I see people online saying they are using one with electric frying pans, giant fans they have that blow too hard,... etc. in most cases it sounded like they have variacs lying around (lol). so if anyone knows exactly when and why it can't be used then i'll be all ears.
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now that i think more if the heater has a digital screen that circuitry likely gets fucked by putting a variac on there.
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
raggyb said:
that doesnt work if your heater requires you to push the on button after it is plugged in.

Again, if you can use a variac to slow a fan down I don't see why you can't use it to lower the output of a heater. the heater would use less power when on and could be kept at the temp you want rather than have to go temp on and off / up and down. I see people online saying they are using one with electric frying pans, giant fans they have that blow too hard,... etc. in most cases it sounded like they have variacs lying around (lol). so if anyone knows exactly when and why it can't be used then i'll be all ears.
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awesome discussion on the heater , if you do decide to try it on a heater, the variacs are rated in watts,, mine is 300 watts, which is double what my fan pulls on high, and dialed down its pulling 30 watts, so if a heater is rated at 1500 watts, then a variac of that size would be required,, i am not sure what a large variac would cost, but my 300 watt was 68 dollars on amazon
 
X

Xsan

Well-Known Member
Wow, this thread was quite the read...all 139 pages of it lol. We actually signed the agreement to list our house tonight so I am in the planning stages of my new grow setup. Legally allowed 5 over 5 inches. Plan is to perpetual with either two 4x8 or 5x9 tents or have also considered running 5 individual 5x5 or 4x4 tents. Planning on 1000 watts of lm301 strips per flowering plant. Theoretically veg 3 plants 15 weeks and flower 2 for 10, rotating a plant every 5. Give or take depending on strain of course. Goal is to come close to the typical noob goal of 1lb per plant. Thoughts are to go probiotic with the em1 in the res and kashi on top. I like the vermiculite floor with 4inch drain pipe style sip from a easy assembly standpoint.

Leaves me with 2 questions...

What size container am I going to need? Was guessing around 40 gallons?

I will be using ro water so I am assuming I'll need to add calmag

Bas shopping cart currently has a yard of 3.0 soil, 2cf of bus compost, 5 gallon of em1, and 2 bags of grokashi. What else do I need to add?

Their craft blend nutrient pack or will the 3.0 get me through with em1 and kashi?

Thank you all for your contributions to this thread! Your trials and errors allow me to have silly daydreams like this and bring joy to my world
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
So I have been thinking about trying mainlining with these twelve little ones I have going, they are just on their fifth node and I know that is the time to start. Looking to try to get just 8 long kolas on each 5 gallon bucket supported by tomatoes cages. I THINK then I might be able to fit 10 - 12 in my room.

Anyone done this? Is it a good idea? Tips? Any input is appreciated!
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
meangreengrowinmachine said:
So I have been thinking about trying mainlining with these twelve little ones I have going, they are just on their fifth node and I know that is the time to start. Looking to try to get just 8 long kolas on each 5 gallon bucket supported by tomatoes cages. I THINK then I might be able to fit 10 - 12 in my room.

Anyone done this? Is it a good idea? Tips? Any input is appreciated!
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Yup I mainlined once it's fun and yes chop them and bend them over , it's a very satisfying way to grow
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
I'm just paranoid about and hate cutting up my plants especially as much as it takes for mainlining, but I feel like I am at a place where I have a handle on my vegging. Think I am going to transplant and top to the 3rd node this weekend.
 
X

Xsan

Well-Known Member
if you have topped before you can mainline bud, no need to be paranoid. If I can do it anyone can. follow nugbuckets guide and youll be good. Just remember to not top right at the node so you dont get a split but even if you do, it will bounce back. if your veg is on point, these plants will take a TON of abuse. it amazes me sometimes
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Xsan said:
if you have topped before you can mainline bud, no need to be paranoid. If I can do it anyone can. follow nugbuckets guide and youll be good. Just remember to not top right at the node so you dont get a split but even if you do, it will bounce back. if your veg is on point, these plants will take a TON of abuse. it amazes me sometimes
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Cool I have topped plants multiple times. Its just the extreme defoliation that always gets me lol. But I think I have my soil and environment dialed in enough now to try this out.
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Xsan said:
if you have topped before you can mainline bud, no need to be paranoid. If I can do it anyone can. follow nugbuckets guide and youll be good. Just remember to not top right at the node so you dont get a split but even if you do, it will bounce back. if your veg is on point, these plants will take a TON of abuse. it amazes me sometimes
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Thanks for the reassurance man!
 
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