Temp Controlled Mains Water Valve

Indoor Growing
1

Hey all, I have a challenging problem I’m trying to solve. I’d like to refill my hydro system based on water temp rather than water level. I have a constantly circulating system that auto overflows to the drain, but it gets hot and I then have to go run fresh cold water into it. I’d love to automate this process, but can’t seem to find a way to accomplish this.

Has anyone tried something like this? How did you do it?

Thanks and happy growing! :smiley:

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I would get four 2 liter soft drink bottles and fill with water. Freeze them overnight and place in your reservoir each day break. Take out at night and freeze over night. Then repeat.
There are also water chillers some peps use too.

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I really want to get fresh water into the system as well though. It kind of kills two birds with one stone and leaving the system sealed up has completely eliminated all infections. Haven’t had one since I started doing it this way.

4

Have you added anything like Hydroguard?
Exclusively from Botanicare, contains an isolated form of Bacillus bacteria known as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. This scientifically isolated bacterium was selected for its superior ability to amplify root mass and vigor, especially in hydroponic gardening, when compared with the more common and well known Bacillus subtilis species. These highly specialized rhizobacteria assist in the breakdown of organic materials, and may increase nutrient availability.

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Yeah, I’m pretty sure I was introducing it by opening the lid a few times per day to put the frozen bottles in. I definitely tried everything over the years and the solution ended up being leaving the system sealed. My current setup is flawless, I’m just trying to add automation. I am not going to change anything else.

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I’m never programmed/built with it, but this seems like the kind of thing that could be automated with Raspberry Pi. It just seems like the kind of thing I’ve seen homebrewers use for recirculating mash water.

Try googling, “raspberry pi controlled valves.” I can’t vouch for the quality of any of the links and I don’t know if they’d be allowed anyway.

2 Likes
7

Chiller to cool down water

Float valve to stop water coming in

Or

Spend a few weeks coding a setup

  • water temp sensor
  • shut off valve to work with esp8266/ esp32 then link that to the pi.

The smaller micro controllers will carry the simple task of powering the sensor / valve

Then you just work with pi. Create a monitoring system and tell that when you’d like the others to start/stop functioning