diy mister question

[jck09]

i have been trying to figure out a simple misting set-up. at first i wanted to get a pro mist and just set up an auto top off fro the reservoir but i just got an idea. im not sure if it will work but it might. could i just get a hose bib timer and then a reducer from the garden hose to 1/4" quick fit and run ro tubing to the cage with a misting nozzle on the end? or is the water pressure not enough to make it mist? just trying to figure out the simplest design with the least maintainance. i will have the cage sitting on a utility tub that will have the drain plumbed down into the basement sump. what does everyone think? thanks for any input
john

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

i think that sounds like quite a system..lol

 

[Fidel]

I'm not sure about the hose bib timer you mention, but the hose pressure is enough, at my house at least, to get a good mist. I did it with misting parts from agri supply.

 

[jck09]

what would be the problem with the hose bib timer? i found one that will run three cycles a day. only thing im not sure about is the minimum time setting per cycle. i think it should work.

forever endeaver- do you not think this sounds like a good idea. im not sure just throwing around ideas.

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

yes, sounds like an great idea.. is your set-up outdoor?

 

[jck09]

no its indoor but plumbing is directly below my cage and i would just add a hose bib and the timer then reduce it to 1/4" ro tubing and run that up through the floor to my cage. i just need to find the correct timer. i found some but they are battery opperated and thats not too bad i just dont like to rely on batteries. i would rather find one that plugs in if they even make one. is 2-3 15 min misting cycles too much per day? 15 min is the lowest time cycle i can find so far.

 

[BIGGUN]

Here's something from another thread.

I use a Flojet pump for restaurant beverage dispensers. Model # 2125-506-115 seems to work well. I buy them used on E-bay. They have a thermal shut off incase there's a problem. It normally runs for a few minutes then goes off. It's plenty to soak the entire cage. I run it 4 times a day.......it also fills my dripper that never drips until I re-adjust it but that's for a different thread.

The other idea is to run a washing machine solenoid valve plumbed directly into your 1/2" copper on a timer. It opens for ????? and flows through pressure rated 1/4" hose to your nozzles. This is the same idea as the setup I use for my filtered top off reef water.

Good luck,
Kevin

 

[jck09]

what about this kit?

http://www.amazon.com/Automated-Pat...f=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1211760451&sr=8-23

 

[jck09]

nevermind scratch that kit. what about using a solenoid shut off valve plugged into a digital timer plumbed into the 1/4" ro tubing instead of the hose bib timer?

this solenoid valve. ( the second box down forst one model #2p025 1/4")
http://stcvalve.com/Process%20Valve.htm?gclid=CO2I7JH2wpMCFRYesgodGxHeDQ

this timer
http://www.herpmist.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=10

this nozzle ( pro mist microfine)
http://www.pro-products.com/promistaccessories.html

 

[jck09]

i just keep thinkin of more hurdles i have to cross for this setup to work. if i hook the mister directly into the plumbing how will i keep the water warm and not cold.

 

[BIGGUN]

That's what I was talking about doing in the quote.

I used a washing machine solenoid because my local salvage yard had some washers sitting around and let me have two valve setups for free.

Kevin

 

[jck09]

so how could i regulate the temp of the water

 

[BIGGUN]

You could plumb hot and cold through valves into a single line that feeds your solenoid. The water in the lines would be cool until the hot could flow from the tank. You also could try heat tape on the lines.

Kevin

 

[Jamescoop]

I have a very simple setup, which cost about $50 to make. I bought a roll of refridgerator tubing (the white hard line stuff), a .8GPH on barb fogger, an aquarium heater, 1 gallon of crystal geyser water (in clear jug), a digital timer, and a SHURFLO gold seriesbeverage pump, model

Everything came from lowes beside the fish tank heater, which was from an old aquarium, and the shurflo pump which i got on ebay for $25 shipped (it took a little while to find it, but they can be found for $40 normally)

The wire for the fishtank heater was cut and reattached with simple sealed crimp on connectors. That way, i can put everything through the lid in the crystal geyser bottle.

The setup is super clean and really easy to monitor water level. It uses about a gallon a week, which I refill at a water refill station outside my local grocery store for about $0.30

 

[jck09]

thanks for all your help guys. thats sounds like a pretty good/simple idea. ill probably have to go that route but what i am trying to do is not have a reservoir for the misting system under the stand. i have my dripper hooked directly into my plumbing so that all i need to do is turn a valve on in the morning and turn it off at night. i want to try and "t" off that dripper line and set up my mister that way. basically put a solenoid on a timer to tell it when to turn on and off. im very busy with work and two kids (2 yr old and 9mos old) and i occasionally forget to refil the jugs at night.

 

[Tygerr]

Jamescoop, do you think you could post some pics of your set-up please?

 

[jck09]

of the dripper set-up? or the mister that im trying to plan? the dripper is actuall very simple. i "t'd" off of the 1" copper plumbing in the basement. the "t" is 1" on each side and 3/8" quick fit on the third side. this piece was kind of hard to find. then just ran the 3/8" tubing up through the floor and then used a 3/8" to 1/4" reducer and ran 1/4" fishtank airline tubing up to the top of the cage. i put a quick fit valve in the basement to reduce the pressure some and another valve behind the cage to turn it on and off. for the dripper adjustment i used a fishtank airline valve. very simple. no filling a dripper bucket and it never runs out of water. just turn it on in the morning and off at night. i have not set up the mister yet cause im trying to figure out how to warm the water before it mists. once i figure that out ill get started.

 

[Dankmeleon]

hey guys. I have been playing with this for about a year now.

it works good but in my opinion is more hassle than it is problem solver...sure thats a bold opinionated statement, because it can be done, but every extra part you are going to add is going to bring you closer to the total of buying an insane system and finetuning it to your environment.



the easiest way to do it in my opinion is off your houses plumbing, because once you buy a pump, you might as well just buy some nice nozzles too

given you have pretty good to above average water quality of course


nozzles get clogged but thats life

those .8 barbed foggers are amazing, I was using the 360s before but found those left my environment too wet, so I went to the low flow

now I use the mist king system and am finetuning it.