Aeroponic System Without Nozzles?
Answer: In the particular aeroponic system you describe, which (for the other visitors) can be found here, the 1/16th inch holes in the 1/2 inch PVC line do compensate for more traditional spray nozzles in nearly every way- as long as you run the system at the proper psi. It is the pressure of the water pressing itself through the tiny 1/16th inch holes that causes it to fan out in a spray pattern, very much like traditional spray heads and spray nozzles. The only difference is that the water droplets may be slightly larger than droplets produced by spray heads with a much smaller aperture. Looking at the bigger picture, this fact makes little difference in the performance of the system when compared to the performance of other (store bought) aeroponic systems. For one thing, much of the presence of oxygen comes from the simple fact that the roots of the plants are hanging in nothing but air. This fact is the same in both my homemade system as well as store bought systems. Secondly, whenever you separate a mass of water into droplets, you vastly increase the surface area of the water exposed to oxygen. The difference in the "performance" of a 200 micron droplet of water compared to a 60 micron droplet of water is negligible, especially when you take into account the fact that the water only travels about 6 inches (in either system) from the spray nozzle till the point where it comes in contact with the roots. Once the droplets come in contact with the roots, droplet size becomes a moot point- in both systems, the oxygen benefit from that point forward is derived from the fact that you've got a thin layer of nutrient solution covering the roots and completely surrounded by oxygen. No matter what type of aeroponic system you decide to go with, the system should ALWAYS be run with a filter AND a pre-filter before the water pump. This is because small particulate matter, once clogging any part of the system, will quickly burn out your expensive high pressure water pump. A good friend of mine found this out the hard way- he made a dandy homemade system but did not clean out all of the little PVC shavings from the manufacturing process very well. Unfortunately, he also was not using a filter in-line with his pump. $200.00 mistake! As long as you are using a filter to protect your pump, any store bought aeroponic system will clog up long before your homemade system will- just look at how big the hole is in the spray emitter compared to a store bought system! I admit I have not tried the system personally, but the pictures on that particular page are from my friends house (yes, the very same one who made that $200.00 mistake). I was there for it's construction, I was there when we had to make adjustments to the system after our expensive lesson, and I was there to see the very awesome results after the completion of his first crop. If you follow the directions carefully to avoid making the same mistakes we made (and you provide correct lighting, maintain the nutrients properly, etc.), this aero system is capable of producing the very same results as any store bought aeroponic system. I hope this helps, and Happy Growing! Click here to read or post comments. |
Your Aeroponic System #1 functions without spray nozzles. I've read that aeroponics requires nozzles in order to generate the appropriate size oxygen rich mist - does a simple 1/16 inch size hole completely compensate for a spray nozzle? Also, will the hole clog?