Author Topic: So I built this thing.  (Read 11078 times)

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Online cramx3

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #105 on: February 21, 2017, 08:59:46 AM »
The price of trying to have a job while working on another...  Did you ask the freight company if they could hold back the shipment?  I'm guessing they may not be able to, but worth a shot to ask.

Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #106 on: February 21, 2017, 09:06:58 AM »
The price of trying to have a job while working on another...  Did you ask the freight company if they could hold back the shipment?  I'm guessing they may not be able to, but worth a shot to ask.

Thes best they could do was hold delivery until Thursday. It's cool though. My boss knows what I'm up to, so he's going to run my meeting for me and I'll be working from home.

Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #107 on: February 22, 2017, 07:40:22 PM »
Got a 900lb present today!



And like I said, I wasn't planning on getting this for a few more weeks. The area of the basement I'll be setting this up in isn't finished yet. I'll be quarantining off a rather large section and throwing up some ceiling to create a barrier from the insulation. The big white thing to the left is the 115 gallon reservoir. All that metal on top of the table saw is the stuff for the main rack.


Online cramx3

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #108 on: February 23, 2017, 04:07:58 AM »
Time to get to work

Offline bosk1

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #109 on: February 23, 2017, 09:12:57 AM »
The area of the basement I'll be setting this up in isn't finished yet. I'll be quarantining off a rather large section and throwing up some ceiling to create a barrier from the insulation. The big white thing to the left is the 115 gallon reservoir. All that metal on top of the table saw is the stuff for the main rack.
Yes, but more importantly, we all want to know how the ironing board and the Christmas tree in a box fit in.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Online cramx3

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #110 on: February 23, 2017, 09:24:58 AM »
The area of the basement I'll be setting this up in isn't finished yet. I'll be quarantining off a rather large section and throwing up some ceiling to create a barrier from the insulation. The big white thing to the left is the 115 gallon reservoir. All that metal on top of the table saw is the stuff for the main rack.
Yes, but more importantly, we all want to know how the ironing board and the Christmas tree in a box fit in.

It also seems like Chino is practicing his graffiti skills.  :lol

Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #111 on: March 20, 2017, 10:23:47 AM »
I certified myself as an electrician this weekend.


Offline bosk1

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #112 on: March 20, 2017, 10:44:35 AM »
So cool.  I'm glad you are keeping us updated so we can feel like we are in some way connected with this whole project.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline gmillerdrake

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #113 on: March 20, 2017, 10:46:19 AM »
I certified myself as an electrician this weekend.

  :tup    220...230.....whatever it takes....
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Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #114 on: March 20, 2017, 10:47:06 AM »
So cool.  I'm glad you are keeping us updated so we can feel like we are in some way connected with this whole project.

 :tup Just wait until I need legal advice!  ;)

Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #115 on: April 27, 2017, 10:26:45 AM »
Having the flu set me back a bit, but I'm almost done with this thing. I still have to illuminate the top-most level. That lighting will be mounted directly to the ceiling rather than the rack, but first, I need to screw in some sheets of plywood to act as a barrier between the system and the insulation.

My father pondering what life will be like when he retires in 4 months.


Did some hole sawing over the weekend. Room for 260 heads. 3/5 of my overall growing capacity once you factor in the germination and seedling stations.

Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #116 on: April 27, 2017, 10:29:59 AM »
I've seen Zydar's seeding station, and it looks nothing like that..... there's a lot more fur.
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Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #117 on: May 01, 2017, 07:51:52 AM »
Got all the lighting installed as well as all the feed lines and valves. All I have left on this setup is the plumbing for the pumps, timing system, and monitoring system.




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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #118 on: May 01, 2017, 08:02:54 AM »
Looks good  :tup

Online lonestar

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #119 on: May 01, 2017, 03:30:33 PM »
I certified myself as an electrician this weekend.

  :tup    220...230.....whatever it takes....

Thank God some people still reference one of the funniest unknown movies ever made.



Chino, have we come up with a name for your greens company?

Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #120 on: May 02, 2017, 07:45:41 AM »
Not yet. Still a toss up between CT Hydro and Chino's Totally Awesome Not Pot Farm

Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #121 on: August 16, 2017, 06:07:16 PM »
Officially underway. Main rig is more than half full, and I have 240 plants growing (3/5 overall capacity) in total so far.


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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #122 on: August 16, 2017, 07:04:56 PM »
What are you growing?


Offline Big Hath

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #123 on: August 16, 2017, 10:43:08 PM »
he's growing these

Winger would be better!

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Online cramx3

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #124 on: August 17, 2017, 07:45:03 AM »
Looking good  :yarr

Offline JayOctavarium

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #125 on: August 18, 2017, 12:35:11 PM »
I just caught up on this thread and all I can say is: Dayum Chino! You go gurl! (lol). Like others have said, I feel like we are a part of this operation.

I just don't understand what they were trying to achieve with any part of the song, either individually or as a whole. You know what? It's the Platypus of Dream Theater songs. That bill doesn't go with that tail, or that strange little furry body, or those webbed feet, and oh god why does it have venomous spurs!? And then you find out it lays eggs too. The difference is that the Platypus is somehow functional despite being a crazy mishmash or leftover animal pieces

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Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #126 on: October 20, 2017, 07:52:18 PM »
Few updated pictures below.

The last 2-3 months have been troubleshooting and light experimentation. As of last week I've officially gotten everything working perfectly and this thing is ready to fire on all cylinders (80 heads a week). I've neglected my test setup (the first rig I built) since I started focusing on tie new one. I've been cleaning that up all week and with that back up and running I will be able to harvest 100 heads a week.

Last night I got 40 heads and 5 basil plants into the hands of a few restaurant owners. They were really impressed and first impressions seemed positive. Hopefully that leads to some business.

Couple rows of Romaine





Basil



Some of the samples I gave out to the restaurant owners




Me for scale. Keep in mind, I'm 5'11 and weigh about 280. The head's almost as wide as me.


Online El Barto

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #127 on: October 22, 2017, 11:20:19 AM »
Congrats, man.
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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #128 on: October 22, 2017, 12:09:33 PM »
Wow, that's awesome!!!

How long does it take to grow a head?
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
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Offline gmillerdrake

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #129 on: October 22, 2017, 02:16:22 PM »
That is so cool Brian! Good luck on landing a customer. I'm smelling a Shark Tank pitch?
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Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #130 on: October 23, 2017, 10:37:13 AM »
Thanks fellas

Wow, that's awesome!!!

How long does it take to grow a head?

34-36 days from seed to harvest.

Offline bosk1

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #131 on: October 23, 2017, 10:43:06 AM »
:clap:
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #132 on: October 24, 2017, 10:01:26 AM »
Both restaurant owners loved my product. One is currently redoing their menu to include 8 new salad options (wheels were already in motion), so the timing couldn't be better. I'll hopefully hear more in the next week or so.

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #133 on: October 24, 2017, 10:39:07 AM »
That's great  :metal

Online El Barto

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #134 on: October 24, 2017, 11:25:22 AM »
So what kind of rotation are you running? How often do you have to flush each of those trays?
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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #135 on: October 24, 2017, 01:30:15 PM »
So what kind of rotation are you running? How often do you have to flush each of those trays?

Scheduling would be 100% dependent on the customer's needs. My planting and harvesting schedule would revolve around how much they wanted and how often. That's the beauty of hydro. I can set up the system to have a fresh harvest every morning if I wanted to rather than having to do a monster batch dictated by the seasons outdoors.

Flushing (cleaning?) out the trays is easy. The water is constantly cycling through them, so they stay pretty clean. You may have noticed in some of my images that there are cardboard squares covering a bunch of the holes. Those are there to prevent light leak. If the insides of the channels are exposed to light while water is flowing, you will have algae buildup. As long as you prevent that from happening, you can go weeks between cleanings. When they do require cleaning, it's simple after harvesting all the lettuce in a given channel. Just shut off the valves to that channel, wipe it down with a paper towel, spray it down with some alcohol to sanitize it, wipe it down again, and wait for the residual alcohol to evaporate. You can have the channel up and running again in less than 10 minutes.

The water reservoir is a different story. First off, there are the pumps. The original design had a single pump controlling the flow of the entire system. I did away with that and designed my own pump system that utilizes two 1000gph pumps working together. When it's time to clean out a pump (once every 6 weeks or so), I can remove one while the other keeps all the water flowing. It allows me to have near 100% uptime rather than having to shut the system down just to clean the pump.

When it comes time to clean the reservoir, that's when things can get tricky. I modified the original design to allow me to trap whatever water is currently in the channels. When the time comes, I can shut down the pumps and prevent whatever water is in the system from exiting. This gives me a window to empty the reservoir and clean it without depriving the crop of water. I kept the original pump that came with the system that was left over and I built a machine that can empty the 115 gallon reservoir in less than 5 minutes. Once it's empty I just wipe everything down and clean it just like the channels. If I'm really hustling, I can get the reservoir emptied, cleaned, and refilled in about a half hour.

Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #136 on: December 07, 2017, 12:56:41 PM »
So I'm officially ready to market to a slightly larger audience. I've compiled a potential client list of 19 local, higher end restaurants and the contact information of their owners. I'm in the process of putting together a digital pamphlet to send them explaining what I'm doing and will be offering them all samples.

Some of you have already seen this on FB, but for those who haven't, I'm thinking of including this photo in the mailer.



Online cramx3

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #137 on: December 07, 2017, 01:06:49 PM »
I don't see a photo, but that's cool you got a strategy.  My coworker just finished building an app and finally got it into the app store.  I asked whats your marketing strategy, like how do you expect people to find your app..... and I got a blank look.  Seems like you have a plan to reach your audience, that's cool, hopefully they buy in.

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #138 on: December 07, 2017, 01:19:46 PM »
So what kind of rotation are you running? How often do you have to flush each of those trays?

Scheduling would be 100% dependent on the customer's needs. My planting and harvesting schedule would revolve around how much they wanted and how often. That's the beauty of hydro. I can set up the system to have a fresh harvest every morning if I wanted to rather than having to do a monster batch dictated by the seasons outdoors.

Flushing (cleaning?) out the trays is easy. The water is constantly cycling through them, so they stay pretty clean. You may have noticed in some of my images that there are cardboard squares covering a bunch of the holes. Those are there to prevent light leak. If the insides of the channels are exposed to light while water is flowing, you will have algae buildup. As long as you prevent that from happening, you can go weeks between cleanings. When they do require cleaning, it's simple after harvesting all the lettuce in a given channel. Just shut off the valves to that channel, wipe it down with a paper towel, spray it down with some alcohol to sanitize it, wipe it down again, and wait for the residual alcohol to evaporate. You can have the channel up and running again in less than 10 minutes.

The water reservoir is a different story. First off, there are the pumps. The original design had a single pump controlling the flow of the entire system. I did away with that and designed my own pump system that utilizes two 1000gph pumps working together. When it's time to clean out a pump (once every 6 weeks or so), I can remove one while the other keeps all the water flowing. It allows me to have near 100% uptime rather than having to shut the system down just to clean the pump.

When it comes time to clean the reservoir, that's when things can get tricky. I modified the original design to allow me to trap whatever water is currently in the channels. When the time comes, I can shut down the pumps and prevent whatever water is in the system from exiting. This gives me a window to empty the reservoir and clean it without depriving the crop of water. I kept the original pump that came with the system that was left over and I built a machine that can empty the 115 gallon reservoir in less than 5 minutes. Once it's empty I just wipe everything down and clean it just like the channels. If I'm really hustling, I can get the reservoir emptied, cleaned, and refilled in about a half hour.
So you're not putting any nutrients in the water then? I was thinking in terms of having to flush them once the PH got all mucked up and the nutrient balance was no longer sustainable. That can be a real juggling act. If you're only having to deal with algae blooms then it's going to be a whole lot simpler.
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Online Chino

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Re: So I built this thing.
« Reply #139 on: December 07, 2017, 01:21:51 PM »
I don't see a photo, but that's cool you got a strategy.  My coworker just finished building an app and finally got it into the app store.  I asked whats your marketing strategy, like how do you expect people to find your app..... and I got a blank look.  Seems like you have a plan to reach your audience, that's cool, hopefully they buy in.

I don't see the pic either on my PC (work's network is finicky). I see it on my mobile though. I hope I get something out of this batch of names though. It's going to be a lot harder to get the ball rolling if I don't.