DIY HD 'Auto Mister' for under $100

[summoner12]

Recently a couple of people have asked about making home misting systems. I had seen a similar design on another forum a couple of years ago. I decided to build a hand pump auto mister.

Items Purchased/needed:

• 1-Hand pump garden mister.
• 1-Garden sprinkler controller.
• 1-Garden sprinkler solenoid valve (3/4").
• 2-3/4" MIP to 1/2"FIP pipe bushing.
• 2-1/2" MIP to 1/4" FIP pipe bushing.
• 1-1/4" bard to 1/4" MIP hose barb adapter.
• 1-1/4"OD to 1/4" MIP push to connect adapter.
• 1-Hose clamp.
• 1-25' 1/4"poly tubing.
• 1-9v battery.
• 1-5 pack of 'fogger mister' nozzles.
• 1-Teflon tape.

The items.

The receipt.

To begin start with the pipe fittings. Open the packages and arrange them in the order to be used. Keep the flow of the valve in mind. The valve will have arrows on each end indicating direction of flow. Use a couple of wraps of Teflon tape on the mail threads. I had sealing issues with the 3/4" adapters sealing to the valve, a few extra wraps will be needed.

Assembled. This was before I knew I had a sealing issue. You can see the brass fitting is threaded in all the way into the valve. If you have enough Teflon on the threads you shouldn't be able to thread the fitting in all the way, as you see here. I had about a 1/8" gap between the hex of the fitting to the plastic. Also you'll notice in this photo the valve is backwards to the photos above. This is because the two photos above I had the valve orientated incorrectly, again watch the arrows on the valve.

Next I tested my controller. You will need a small screw driver with a flat blade or philips head. Install the battery. Then connect the power supply. The power supply is 24VAC and does not need to be connected in any particular way. The valve is also using AC power and does not require the wires to be connected in any order. The manual will tell you to use the 'com' slot as a common wire and then use the other wire from the valve on the S1 terminal.

Next I connected the tank to the valve. I used a 2 gallon hand pump pressure sprayer.

Remove the screw cap that holds the hose to the spray handle. You will need to give a little tug to separate the hose from the barb on the handle.

Then cut the flared end off and remove the screw cap.

Next slide the hose over the barb on the valve and install the hose clamp nice and tight.

 

[summoner12]

Here are some pics of the system hooked up to my Melleri's free range.

Bad lighting... can't really tell its misting.

This is a vid of the system in action. You can see the mist a little better here.

 

[Robert Johnson]

cant see this making the "mist king" very

 

[Chameleonboy]

wow that is totally incredible. I really like your idea.

Thumbs Up

 

[ciafardo 4]

You can eliminate the round up canister andhook it right to the water spikett with a timer valve this is programable it will be the city water pressure witch is at least 60 psi that will provide the mist and it never needs pumping

 

[SoCaliSon]

You can eliminate the round up canister andhook it right to the water spikett with a timer valve this is programable it will be the city water pressure witch is at least 60 psi that will provide the mist and it never needs pumping

Only problem with this is what if your timer Valve fails... You end up with the cities water supply flowing freely onto your cham room floor. I thought doing the same thing until someone pointed that out to me.

 

[ciafardo 4]

Yes i thought of that to so i have a sub pump in the floor that prevents basement floods and if that fails those chams better learn to swim

 

[Tygerr]

Nice job.

I had a setup almost exactly like this for two cages. I even used the same Orbit solenoid valves you did (but used a slightly more expensive Orbit sprinkler timer only because I couldn't find anything cheaper - there isn't a need for anything too fancy). Used it for over 18 months. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to do misting on a budget. I find it much better than hand misting because it's less intrusive and doesn't seem to disturb the chams as much (that said, plenty of experienced keepers have gotten by just fine with manual misting).

Of course, eventually I got tired of the constant manual pumping and ended up buying a ShurFlo pump off eBay. Continued using the same misting nozzles and other piping, but don't need the solenoid valves or water timer anymore. Just had to hook up a reservoir for the pump. (I plan to use the leftover bits from the old setup for some outdoor cages I'm building - will be connected directly to mains water: no worries of water mess outside if anything fails ).

The one benefit of this manual pressure pumping method is that it is much quieter in operation than a motorised misting pump...

 

[SoCaliSon]

Forgot to say Nice Work Kevin. Awesome little DIY thread! Dangit... "You must spread some Rep around before..."

 

[ciafardo 4]

yea really nice work and a very informative thread thanks for sharing it

 

[Silverdusk]

Nice work! I made one just like it for my first setup that Jagfan is now using on one of her cages. W/ .04 nozzles you can use two nozzles.

For a variation of this project check this link out. It's very similar.

 

[summoner12]

Nice work! I made one just like it for my first setup that Jagfan is now using on one of her cages. W/ .04 nozzles you can use two nozzles.

For a variation of this project check this link out. It's very similar.

I wish I could remember who I got the idea from. I saw it on Reptile Rooms way back when I got my first cham.

Thanks for the compliments guys! I had been reading so many 'how do I make a...' type of threads, I felt like making one. I have explained it to people but never done it myself.... SO I said 'what the hell' and gave it a go this weekend. It only took about 20 minutes to assemble it.

I hope it helps some people out. If you have any questions feel free to PM me or post your question here for the group to read.

 

[summoner12]

Spread the rep......

Forgot to say Nice Work Kevin. Awesome little DIY thread! Dangit... "You must spread some Rep around before..."

Just hand some out... then try again

 

[summoner12]

An Idea.

I was talking to my coworker today about this mister and I thought of some things to share.

The timer has the ability to control four separate valves. The timer can only do three on/off times per valve. BUT, if you splice in a jumper wire from the valve terminals and tie it into the control wire of the valve you then have 12 on/off times.



The white/red wire is the 'common'.
The Black wire is the valve's control wire.
The Red wires are Jumpers.

So say you want 1-6 on/off times, connect a jumper between S1 and S2.

If you want 1-9 on/off times, add another jumper from S2 to S3.

To have 1-12 on/off times, add another jumper from S3 to S4.

(I didn't make a picture for this... but ya get the idea, just add another jumper)

If you want to get technical, it might be a good idea to add in diodes here.... but this should be fine.

 

[summoner12]

For Sale!

Just so you guys know....

For Sale.

I have no real use for this mister. I just made it to make this write up of HOW to make the mister. If you would like this perfectly working mister, let me know!

 

[luevelvet]

I juust made this mister yesterday and I can't think of an easier DIY project in any of my hobbies. It's simple and it works. Thank you very much for illustrating this out.

Great job!

Luis

 

[ScottChoc]

Just wondering... how often do you need to pump? Basically, how many mistings will it go through before you have to pump it again?

 

[summoner12]

Just wondering... how often do you need to pump? Basically, how many mistings will it go through before you have to pump it again?

I use mine right now on my Melleri, Pat. He gets 3 mists a day at 3 minutes each (plus warm hand mist in the morning). I pump it every couple of days. I am using a HerpMist nozzle so I need the pressure to be high. The nozzle is a low flow nozzle so it doesn't use a ton of water. I've been using it for two-three weeks and have not had to refill it yet, maybe this weekend.

Just so ya know if your getting a leak where the brass bushing meets the plastic valve, LOAD on the teflon tape... I have a small leak on the output side when the valve is misting, but nothing major.

 

[ScottChoc]

I am using a HerpMist nozzle so I need the pressure to be high. The nozzle is a low flow nozzle so it doesn't use a ton of water. I've been using it for two-three weeks and have not had to refill it yet, maybe this weekend.

Thanks, and I forgot to give thanks earlier for such a great thread.

 

[veiledchamguy]

I use mine right now on my Melleri, Pat. He gets 3 mists a day at 3 minutes each (plus warm hand mist in the morning). I pump it every couple of days. I am using a HerpMist nozzle so I need the pressure to be high. The nozzle is a low flow nozzle so it doesn't use a ton of water. I've been using it for two-three weeks and have not had to refill it yet, maybe this weekend.

Just so ya know if your getting a leak where the brass bushing meets the plastic valve, LOAD on the teflon tape... I have a small leak on the output side when the valve is misting, but nothing major.

How often do you fill the big spray bottle?