Splitting Mistking to feed a dripper

[RiftPoint]

Has anyone ever split their Mistking to try and keep their dripper topped off? It seems to me like the basic pump you get can handle up to several mist heads before loosing effectiveness. It would be nice if I didn't have to worry about checking on my dripper as frequently (I seem to have a lot of trouble getting to drip rate right, either too fast or it stops after about 30min), and since the feed for the mister is already up on the top of the cage it seemed like it might work.

Would I need to get something to restrict the flow on the dripper feed? As I'm typing this up I realize that having an unrestricted tube on the same line as the mister could end up in not pressure reaching the mister...

 

[Carlton]

Can't answer the question about modifying the Mist King, but another thing you'll have to consider is how to catch all the additional dripper overflow from a continuous feed setup. IMHO, if you are using the Mist King you may not even need the dripper at all.

 

[Lathis]

I did this for a while. It was really easy to set up and worked well. The only problem I found was that without daily rinsing, the dripper grew algae like crazy. I made a post with a diagram here a few years ago. Let me see if I can find it.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Here's how I use my mistking to fill my drippers:

I got tired of refilling the drippers, and my pet sitter is too short to reach them without standing on a chair. So I automated it with my misting system. Now whenever the mister runs it fills up the dripper at a rate I set so I can control how full it gets and thus how long it drips without worrying about overflow. You just have to set it so there is a lot of resistance for the mist coming out or the system loses pressure and the other misters don't work as well.

Here are the accessories, each comes in a pack of many for a few dollars at Home Depot - T line connector and misting valve with adjustable flow rate:

Hook it up to your dripper (in my case chocolate milk bottles with holes poked in the bottom) and voila!

I'll probably hot glue a fake leaf to the rubber band to make it more aesthetically appealing. The rubberband is just to keep the tube shape going to the dripper so it doesn't knock it over if it straightens out over time.

I'm all for automation!

I still use them and haven't had any algae growth.

 

[RiftPoint]

Here's how I use my mistking to fill my drippers:

I still use them and haven't had any algae growth.

This is perfect! Nice to hear that other people have tried this. I have one of those "little drippers" (1/2gal?) and it doesn't seem to grow anything. My enclosure has a drainage system that I pretty much just finished so excess water shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks!

 

[Lathis]

That's exactly it, except the T-connection I found was adjustable. I did provide an overflow by punching a hole very high in the back of the dripper reservoir, but once the line flow was properly adjusted, my dripper never overflowed. I had my Little Dripper right next to the lights and our local tap water uses a very, very low level of chemical water treatment, so that may contribute to the algae growth I had. I mention it only as something to keep an eye on, not something that should discourage you.

 

[Brassaxe]

Here is what I invented and posted here a while back. It's completely closed and never gets dirty (I use RO water). It's been working now unchanged/unmodified since.. Well since that was posted a bit over a year ago.

Auto Filling Drip Tank

 

[RiftPoint]

Here is what I invented and posted here a while back. It's completely closed and never gets dirty (I use RO water). It's been working now unchanged/unmodified since.. Well since that was posted a bit over a year ago.

Auto Filling Drip Tank

That is an awesome setup. If I ever have the time I might try and duplicate it.

 

[Lathis]

Here is what I invented and posted here a while back. It's completely closed and never gets dirty (I use RO water). It's been working now unchanged/unmodified since.. Well since that was posted a bit over a year ago.

Auto Filling Drip Tank

Oooooo, I like this. Very very nice. If I ever get an RO system, this would be a worthwhile investment.

Attached is the diagram of the system I made a while back. Everything was very inexpensive and readily available at the HD. The only thing I ordered was more tubing from MistKing. I couldn't find the stiffer black tubing anywhere else, and the softer, clear tubing of the same diameter has a tendency to pop out of the collet when under pressure. (Don't you learn THAT the hard way... twice...)

 

[Brassaxe]

You can make it with anything. All you need is three tubes, two valves, and one container. Two tubes are mist tubes, one tube is a larger sized one, and the container can be a milk jug or whatever. A valve controls the input, and the input tube is set at the highest position inside the container. A drain tube is set just a bit below the height of the input tube. And the dripper tube is at the bottom. That's it.

 

[Brassaxe]

Oooooo, I like this. Very very nice. If I ever get an RO system, this would be a worthwhile investment.

The RO system and a pressure tank eliminate all pumps, all noise, all fillings... I literally do nothing but make sure my filters are replaced once a year and the mist system takes care of itself.

People don't know this but you can buy a very high quality refurbished RO/DI unit for much cheaper than new.

http://spectrapure.com/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-System?filter_name=refurbished

Just take out the DI cartridge and use a 0.2 micron sediment filter followed by a 0.5 micron carbon filter and that's all you'll need for RO water.

 

[RiftPoint]

You can make it with anything. All you need is three tubes, two valves, and one container. Two tubes are mist tubes, one tube is a larger sized one, and the container can be a milk jug or whatever. A valve controls the input, and the input tube is set at the highest position inside the container. A drain tube is set just a bit below the height of the input tube. And the dripper tube is at the bottom. That's it.

The way you have your dripper weighted against the screen, you obviously don't have issue with it dripping through the screen? When I tried that it just collected on top of the screen and unpredictably dripped through. I ended up poking a small hole in the screen to slip the drip tube into the cage...

 

[Brassaxe]

The way you have your dripper weighted against the screen, you obviously don't have issue with it dripping through the screen? When I tried that it just collected on top of the screen and unpredictably dripped through. I ended up poking a small hole in the screen to slip the drip tube into the cage...

Depending on the tightness of the weave you can either drip straight through or it'll give you issues. Easiest way I found to fix it is just to make sure that where you're dripping is the lowest point in the screen. Just use a marble or something round to put a dent down into the screen and the drip will fall off the end of the dent. If you want to move the dripper the dent can just be pushed back up.

 

[Lathis]

The RO system and a pressure tank eliminate all pumps, all noise, all fillings... I literally do nothing but make sure my filters are replaced once a year and the mist system takes care of itself.

People don't know this but you can buy a very high quality refurbished RO/DI unit for much cheaper than new.

http://spectrapure.com/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-System?filter_name=refurbished

Just take out the DI cartridge and use a 0.2 micron sediment filter followed by a 0.5 micron carbon filter and that's all you'll need for RO water.

I've never actually looked into it before. They are pretty affordable. Thanks for the link! I'll have to ponder...