Round 3 - Capn Style - Automated

[Skybound]

I added a little functionality to my grow by adding a History Graph widget to my Blynk app. This displays the temp and RH readings from both bloom rooms (though room B is still vacant) onto a timeline that can focus in to hourly trends, 6 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or 3 month increments which adds a bit more information for me to consider. I also, believe I may have stumbled onto the source of all my code lockup issues. I made the adjustment over 2 days ago and it's been behaving very well ever since. I did have to cut the connection just a few minutes ago so that I could add the History Graph widget, but after rearranging all my widgets and setting the pins, I clicked the play button, and right back into my grow my phone took me. I come to find out, my exhaust fan was accidentally unplugged and RH (in bloom A) skyrocketed. A quick text message, and we're back on track. I wish I knew what my ppm and PH was right now? I really can't wait to go down that road!

 

[Latitude17]

I wish I knew what my ppm and PH was right now? I really can't wait to go down that road!

Atlas Scientific has been a good source for me.

EZO pH Circuit | Atlas Scientific

..

 

[Skybound]

Atlas Scientific has been a good source for me.

EZO pH Circuit | Atlas Scientific

..

Those stamps and probes, and Whitebox Labs Tentacle Shield have been on my wish list for a long time. I will definitely be getting into all that this summer!

 

[Weaselcracker]

I think that deficiency you have there is P. I've been tuning into it a bit more lately. I usually get it when I underfeed heavy feeder strains in flowering, because I tend to be a light feeder. Kind of doing it right now with my current pure(ish) indica strains as I've been overly cautious about the feed. Also I get it sometimes when I screw up the nute mix - typically in the transition time in the first few weeks of flower.

 

[Skybound]

I made a bit more headway in my code to include the ability to adjust dosing pump calibration numbers from my phone. This is good not only to accurately dial in exactly how many milliseconds a motor needs to spin to pump out a single ml, but also, if over time the motors and/or circuit components start to age, the calibration would also then need further adjustment. All in all however, I will finally be putting that baby to bed and res changing and topping up will be MUUUUCH easier. I should have all that done by next update in a few days. I also will be starting Bloom B, hopefully by the end of this weekend. My largest Bubblelicious clone (thanks again AG) has been potted up to a finishing pot which took every remaining cube I had left in the Grodan bag plus some recycled cubes from previous attempts in bloom. I also hope to gain the confidence in my electronics enough to entrust feed pump control to when I begin Bloom B. Right now, I have just a single power strip, and the 2 mechanical timers take up most of the space, so adding another 2 is not an option, and adding a second power strip is counter production and can become very disorganized quickly. Not to mention my pet peeve about unsynchronized mechanical timers.

Good things just around the corner!

 

[Skybound]

Well, I didn't get my goal of opening bloom B up today, but I did get a shit load of stuff done. I lost the hanger bracket for my wall fan so I had to Jimmy one out of a piece of metal I had laying around. I also cleaned hung the HID, ran the ducting and fan and rearranged my devices and hoses in a more organized manner. I anticipate roughly Tuesday, depending how much work I have.

Here's the next candidate for bloom B getting potted up from a 1gal to a No.7. God I love those white roots. Anyways, things are starting to mesh now.

 

[Skybound]

Video update.

The project is coming along nicely now and has been behaving for the past 6 days which tells me I resolved all the problems I've been having with my code. Thankfully, I didn't have work today and was able to get Bloom B finished and got a veg plant in there. Also made some improvements to the tubing for the dosing pumps, but also in the code. I added a bit more functionality to the Blynk side which allows me to change the calibration value for each of the pumps. When I locate the exact number of milliseconds needed for every pump to produce 1ml accurately, I can readjust the code so that each pump is coded properly.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Ah shit. This explains why you stopped posting- hot hit by the old 'accidental unsubscribe' thing. I do it all the time when I'm scrolling through subscriptions. A message pops up for one second saying 'you've successfully unsubscribed from this thread'.
Which f'ing thread, I ask... That's if I even notice the message.
Anyway- re-subbed.
Nice roots.

 

[Skybound]

Bahahaha!?!?!, sorry WC, I've never done that one before. I understand though working grueling hours at a new job trying to replace some of the savings that were spent during the job transition. On top of that, the million or so things that need to get done in our grows, all while being severely medicated, everything always adds up to way more time than ya have. At least you're back in though, thanks for resubbing, it was gettin lonely in here talking to the crickets.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Ha ha ha. You completely nailed it.
The job I recently quit involved a lot of caretaking and waiting around so I had way more 420 time.
Nice to be freelancing again though, and the money is better.
I really don't get why it's mostly just us and the crickets here. Kind of peaceful though...

 

[Skybound]

When it rains it pours!

I am likely going to lose another grow, this time due to equipment failure. Don't get me wrong, my Arduino took another shit, but I caught it roughly 2 hours after it failed and began switching the devices back over to mechanical timers. Well, when doing that I had to unplug the main duct fan to reposition the various timers and when I plugged the duct fan back in, all it would do is hum loudly. I believe that the shit capacitor that the Chinese manufacturers used are only good for about 10 total starts. Thank God I didn't have it on a timer cause it would've failed day 1. I just ordered a new fan with the very last of my money in hopes I can salvage at least 1 harvest. I still have the veg running, but I had to completely shut off power to bloom because the heat climbed fast in those sealed rooms and I currently dont have any other way to get rid of it.

My very sincere apologies for those that are sensitive to foul language but I must say, it could be raining pussy and I would get hit with a dick! I'm so disgusted right now that growing pot is this difficult for me right now. I gotta smoke a bowl than take me a long nap. Rant over.

 

[Skybound]

I was able to resolve both issues, though the Arduino just needed to be reset. I bought a new extraction fan. It's a Hurricane and it was about $85 after shipping. Thank God the shipping time was only about 2 days. I think it moves slightly less air than the shitty iPower fan, but the Hurricane is waaaaay quieter and I didn't even need to mount it inside of an enclosure. I was also happy to find that the fan's flange actually fit into my carbon filter, so no pressure loss due to flex hoses. I'll be heading down there to change meter batteries, recalibrate them, then start swapping out reservoirs. Hopefully my Bubblegum didn't take too much damage as she is wall to wall to wall to wall bud and likely had to endure elevated heat and RH despite being cut back to 50% on her ballast.

 

[Skybound]

The Bubblegum in middle of week 5 (Bloom A) and a good way of getting rid of stuck on trichomes from 2 years ago. I was very happy to find that the lack of ventilation for 2+ days didn't do any noticeable damage. I'll be back later with pics of the Bubblelicious in Bloom B (1 week in), and hopefully a progress video regarding my dosing pumps. I ran them a bit earlier, but didn't have time to dial any of them in, just primed all the pumps.

 

[Weaselcracker]

In time you'll be operating that grow effortlessly. I'm always amazed how (relatively) trouble free mine is, compared to the constant confusion that it used to be. Freaks me out sometimes actually- all the shit that could go wrong. But just from habit it kind of all holds together, just because I've been running the same room for quite a few years. In the early days (and months/years) I used to smoke a joint in there and just completely lose the plot on wtf was going on with everything in there- feeling like a greenhorn jet pilot that got slipped a triple dose of bad acid. Now it's more like riding a bicycle.

 

[Skybound]

I am having some difficulty gelling with my grow, but I do notice the tragedies are starting to space out more and more which tells me I'm on the road I wanna be on. Last night, I stopped over to swap out Res B and when I dipped a cup down in to get some nutes to measure, the cup came back bone dry. Looked in, the water level was only halfway up the pump. I looked up at the plant to see if it was withered or anything? Nope, standing tall and stretching out. So anyway, I quick plugged in the RO pump and dosing pumps power, and called for 9 gallons of RO. As it was adding the 9 gallons, I was able to get all my doses lickity split, with no bottle tipping and syringe drawing. The accuracy is still off, and I want to dial each pump in before shooting another vid. This fucking thing is cool though, I can't wait to add in PH and PPM reading, then I'll never have to dip a cup in a tank again. Nor will I have to clean syringes after every kind of nutrient that is drawn. Once I know the dosing pumps are accurate, I can plumb them into the system and everything will always be contained, and hopefully awaiting instruction.

Here's a pick of the Bubblelicious that's been in Bloom B for a week.

 

[Cannoisseuras]

Subbed for your round three skybound

 

[sleepless]

Awesome skybound.

I am just wandering into the arduino world.

I have a 3x3 DTW.

I want to run an arduino to control light schedule, intake and exhaust based on temp and humidity/PH in the future.

My issue is getting started.

I don't want to order a bunch of stuff I don't need.

Any suggestions on getting started?

 

[Skybound]

I use a Freetronics Ethermega which is just a hybrid between a Mega and an Ethernet shield. It's a bit pricey @ $120 USD, but it is actually a little bit more with extra I2C output, and wider range of input voltage, plus I can upgrade to PoE down the road. That aside though, if you're not interested in internet access, I think you can achieve what you stated for about $50 more or less. I already have the code to do those things, so there's no added burden. Do you already have an Arduino? For what you want, you can do it with an Arduino Uno, a relay module (I use 8 channel sainsmart for my bloom rooms) and one or more DHT22 temp/humidity sensors. Oh, and an RTC (real time clock). I use the Chronodot. The major parts and quick price check for each are as follows;

Arduino Uno - $4 - $20
Chronodot - $15
DHT22 - $15 each. My code works for multiple sensors.
8 channel relays - $10

So that's about $50 for the major components, some added things like a breadboard and jumpers, and of course the AC circuitry items will be needed as well. With just this stuff, you can program all the relays according to time and/or temp or humidity. For those that don't know, a relay is the same exact thing as a light switch on our walls. It contacts and powers whatever is plugged in after it, or it breaks the contact and the power goes off to whatever is after it. The way the Arduino works with it is that the relay module has two separate circuits for each relay. The DC side is a simple LED circuit. When the Arduino powers on the LED, a photo-resistor detects the light from the LED and activates the relay into the ON position. This is called an "opto-isolator" and is how we keep our DC sensitive circuits from crossing paths with the very noisy AC circuits.

This is how my project began, (with a Mega, DHT, and RTC). Knowing the extent I plan to take my project, I wanted to have a lot of extra IO pins for later devices to be added in, this is why I began with the Mega. I was able to find a chinese Mega with Ethernet Shield clones for $30 for the both. To date, I haven't smoked the Chinese clones, so that's gotta say something good for the Chinese. Still though, I wanted something more reliable so I scraped up for the Ethermega. There's still a hidden bug somewhere in my circuits or code, but mostly, things run reliably. I have no doubt that if I downgraded to just a programmed Arduino, RTC, DHT and relays, that it would run flawlessly and indefinitely so long as the power remained on.

Edit - Note: each relay is rated for 10 amps of current flow. However, like all standards for things that can harm people, it is always wise to never challenge the rating. It's best to never draw more than 7.5-8 amps from each relay. Still, with 8 amps on 120 volts AC, I run my 600 watt HID light (5 amp) and small duct fan (less than 1 amp).

 

[sleepless]

I use a Freetronics Ethermega which is just a hybrid between a Mega and an Ethernet shield. It's a bit pricey @ $120 USD, but it is actually a little bit more with extra I2C output, and wider range of input voltage, plus I can upgrade to PoE down the road. That aside though, if you're not interested in internet access, I think you can achieve what you stated for about $50 more or less. I already have the code to do those things, so there's no added burden. Do you already have an Arduino? For what you want, you can do it with an Arduino Uno, a relay module (I use 8 channel sainsmart for my bloom rooms) and one or more DHT22 temp/humidity sensors. Oh, and an RTC (real time clock). I use the Chronodot. The major parts and quick price check for each are as follows;

Arduino Uno - $4 - $20
Chronodot - $15
DHT22 - $15 each. My code works for multiple sensors.
8 channel relays - $10

So that's about $50 for the major components, some added things like a breadboard and jumpers, and of course the AC circuitry items will be needed as well. With just this stuff, you can program all the relays according to time and/or temp or humidity. For those that don't know, a relay is the same exact thing as a light switch on our walls. It contacts and powers whatever is plugged in after it, or it breaks the contact and the power goes off to whatever is after it. The way the Arduino works with it is that the relay module has two separate circuits for each relay. The DC side is a simple LED circuit. When the Arduino powers on the LED, a photo-resistor detects the light from the LED and activates the relay into the ON position. This is called an "opto-isolator" and is how we keep our DC sensitive circuits from crossing paths with the very noisy AC circuits.

This is how my project began, (with a Mega, DHT, and RTC). Knowing the extent I plan to take my project, I wanted to have a lot of extra IO pins for later devices to be added in, this is why I began with the Mega. I was able to find a chinese Mega with Ethernet Shield clones for $30 for the both. To date, I haven't smoked the Chinese clones, so that's gotta say something good for the Chinese. Still though, I wanted something more reliable so I scraped up for the Ethermega. There's still a hidden bug somewhere in my circuits or code, but mostly, things run reliably. I have no doubt that if I downgraded to just a programmed Arduino, RTC, DHT and relays, that it would run flawlessly and indefinitely so long as the power remained on.

Edit - Note: each relay is rated for 10 amps of current flow. However, like all standards for things that can harm people, it is always wise to never challenge the rating. It's best to never draw more than 7.5-8 amps from each relay. Still, with 8 amps on 120 volts AC, I run my 600 watt HID light (5 amp) and small duct fan (less than 1 amp).

This is fantastic.

I don't think internet is required but I may as well have it.

I'll watch some videos and check out the forum.

Once I get some parts I hope you don't mind me picking your brain.

 

[sleepless]

Well placed an order this morning.

105 Canadian along with PH sensor and a few other little gadgets.

Can't wait.