DIY Rain Domes

[Wykd]

I figured I would put up my rain dome's.

I made 3 for under 20.00

Parts:

• Drill with 1/4 bit or whatever you use to make small hole (heat up a phillips head screw tip and press thru even)
• some extra 1/4 tubing (if you bought a mister setup you should have some still, if not goto lowes
• Hot Glue Gun - If you don't already own one of these shame on you!
• 1/4 T section from lowes
• 3 1/4 misting nozzles from e-bay
• Ocean Spray Juice Bottle

1. Warm up the glue gun!
2. Cut the bottle in half or where ever you want to make the dome base at.
3. Drill a hole in the side 1/4 for the tubing to go thru.
4. Once glue gun is hot, unscrew out the brass tip, then glue into the end of one of those 3 pack nozzle and seal up that end with glue. Removing the tip will make sure you don't get glue onto the tip and seal it off.
5. Once the glue is dried make sure you can blow thru one end and it only comes out the small hole for the tip. Then screw the tip back on.
6. Push your tube thru the hole in the bottle
7. Push the tube into the open end of the nozzle. You will need to wiggle it into the nozzle. These nozzles are different than the quick release.
8. At your misting nozzle where it goes into the enclosure bulkhead replace the elbow or unhook the tube and put the T section so it comes from the water supply and down into the bulkhead. The open end will be where the rain dome attaches.
9. Position the nozzle up or down or to the side and hook the line into the T section and place where you want the dome.
10. Turn on the mister and test placement of the done and angle of nozzle, and once satisfied with the angle turn off the water.

***Optional***Now unhook the tube fro m the t section and glue the tube to the bottle where it goes thru the hole, this will keep you nozzle in the position you want it.


NOTE: The tubing simply pushes/wiggles into the nozzles. Since there is no push release, you have to wiggle the tube/fitting alot to remove the nozzle if you want to. Its hard to do and takes alot of wiggling and some time but it will come off after some effort. These are designed this way so they dont come off by accident and are usually installed and left alone.

 

[Psychobunny]

Wow, so cool! I have never seen those 1/4 misting tee's before!
What kind of mist do you get from those? I mean, how wide is the mist?

I can think of all sorts of cool misting projects using these with some tubing and a pump

BTW, you completly lost me after step 3 :\

 

[Wykd]

These misters put out a mist cone that is narrower than the mist king nozzles and under 1/2 gph so not alot of water flow and perfect for directional misting and the rain dome.

Step 4 & 5. I am advising to unscrew that brass nozzle so you don't get glue on the tip. These nozzles are open on both end so you need to plug one end. Once the glue has set then screw the tip back into the nozzle and move to next step.

Yes alot of cool projects be done with these nozzles. Take 3 nozzles some tubing and a t section and then make a misting loop with 3 nozzles in the loop and angle them in different directions to spray certain areas. These nozzles adjust by simply turning them on the tubing.

 

[Psychobunny]

I would like to buy a bunch of those tee's, but not for 5$$ each
That seems like a lot
I lots of 1/4 tubing

 

[Wykd]

as for the cost yeah not sure if there are better deals out there that flow as low as these do. The fact these had a narrow mist pattern is why i went with them, it allows me to try various things such as directional misting and such. I know I a m not going to flood an enclosure with these little guys.

 

[Bunke]

Looking good could you post a video of it when up and running?

 

[Wykd]

video is up, btw i spoke incorrectly in the video the 1st 2 enclosures are both using aquazamp nozzles, only the last enclosure is using a mistking nozzle and the 3rd one is running the diy rain dome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo2MyMHv6F4

 

[Psychobunny]

Ok, I still dont get it!!
You mean you are spraying the mist inside that plactic cut out bottle and letting it drip through the screen???

 

[Wykd]

Ok, I still dont get it!!
You mean you are spraying the mist inside that plactic cut out bottle and letting it drip through the screen???

Yes will take a picture of the dome more closely and post it 1 sec

 

[Wykd]

U see the nozzle in dome?

 

[Psychobunny]

U see the nozzle in dome?

No, I see a tube connection to the plastic bottle on the left.

 

[Wykd]

Helps to load picture.... sorry

 

[Psychobunny]

Oh! LOL! yeah, now it makes perfect sense

Amazing how much infor u can get out of a pic!!

 

[Benton1576]

So am I correct in thinking that the rain dome is the bit dropping the water and not the heads that are providing mist?

Im trying to figure out how to make my own misting system ATM. Im struggling to understand the pressure needed to provide a mist rather than just a drip without causing too much pressure to blow the pipes, or too much back pressure to blow the pump. Any advise APART FROM USING A MISTKING ETC???

Can I use a standard submersable pump with say 1000L per hour of flow and a reducer to get it to run through a 5-6mm tube? Im wanting to run 6 nozzles, preferably 9 by using a T piece to seperate 3 heads for my baby cages, but that may be expecting/asking too much! lol

 

[Wykd]

So am I correct in thinking that the rain dome is the bit dropping the water and not the heads that are providing mist?

Im trying to figure out how to make my own misting system ATM. Im struggling to understand the pressure needed to provide a mist rather than just a drip without causing too much pressure to blow the pipes, or too much back pressure to blow the pump. Any advise APART FROM USING A MISTKING ETC???

Can I use a standard submersable pump with say 1000L per hour of flow and a reducer to get it to run through a 5-6mm tube? Im wanting to run 6 nozzles, preferably 9 by using a T piece to seperate 3 heads for my baby cages, but that may be expecting/asking too much! lol

You need a booster pump to push at least 50-60psi to get the force needed to push a misting nozzle. Then you need poly tubing to handle that psi. If you took a submersable pump with say a head lift of 7 ft, you could make a dripper but nothing more.

Or get an outside misting system that hooks to a garden hose, but that is not on a timer, you would then need a good garden hose/faucet timer to automate. You can change the amount of mist via different nozzle tips. In the video i have 3 different nozzle flows going from .25 to .5, to .9 gph.

 

[mrfixit01]

I would like to buy a bunch of those tee's, but not for 5$$ each
That seems like a lot
I lots of 1/4 tubing

I use the same brass nozzles but bought them at Home Depot. 5 nozzles only in a pack for about $12. That's only about $2.50 each and they last a very long time. The mist pattern is great. I have three in my chamy's home, one over each plant, and they don't spray outside the cage. My system uses about 2 gallons a week! They are really worth the money. I'd have to check on the T fitting though. What I did was use a little plastic L and then just stuck a short piece of the tubing on that and screwed the nozzle into it. A little hot glue (or a piece of electrical tape on the threads) and it doesn't leak! I added those snugger collars before I realized I didn't need them but since I'd bought them and opened them...oh well.

 

[mrfixit01]

You need a booster pump to push at least 50-60psi to get the force needed to push a misting nozzle. Then you need poly tubing to handle that psi. If you took a submersable pump with say a head lift of 7 ft, you could make a dripper but nothing more.

Or get an outside misting system that hooks to a garden hose, but that is not on a timer, you would then need a good garden hose/faucet timer to automate. You can change the amount of mist via different nozzle tips. In the video i have 3 different nozzle flows going from .25 to .5, to .9 gph.

Wykd, what sort of pump action does this one give, is it a steady run or more of cyclical? Mine is a 35psi/1gpm and it sort of pumps on and off every 2 seconds during each cycle period.

 

[SpartyTessy]

Wow once again great stuff Wykd. I am always looking forward to your new idea's.

 

[Wykd]

Wykd, what sort of pump action does this one give, is it a steady run or more of cyclical? Mine is a 35psi/1gpm and it sort of pumps on and off every 2 seconds during each cycle period.

That is a continuous diaphragm pump used to boost water pressure which is usually used in ro/di setups when the source water is lacking the pressure to push it thru the filter media.

 

[mrfixit01]

That is a continuous diaphragm pump used to boost water pressure which is usually used in ro/di setups when the source water is lacking the pressure to push it thru the filter media.

Oh, I see. Mine actually builds pressure and maintains a steady stream but it just makes a small rhythmic cycling sound as it pumps. It's actually quite quiet. I was afraid it would make a droning sound for minutes every cycle. Lol. Thanks. Neat idea.