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fertilizer EZ-Flo fertilizer injector questions

PepperJam

PepperJam

I'm thinking about buying the 3/4 gallon ez-flo fertilizer injector. Some questions for those who use it. My setup looks like this:

P1030021.jpg


The 5 and 7 gallons containers have 1 GPH drip emmiter, the 10 gallon containers have 2 of the 1 GPH drip emmiters. I have a total of probably 120 emmitters being used, so thats about 120 GPH. Can i use the ez-flo with my setup?

1. What kind of fertilizer do you guys use in the system? Botanicare nutes? Granular water-soluble fertilizer mixed into water to make a super concentrate? And how much concentration do you use?

2. Is there a way to bypass the fertigation system (besides disconnecting it) so it mixes when i want?

3. I take it we should stay away from using worm castings tea since the bacteria can become anaerobic and get stuck in the emmitters and piping which would cause more problems?

4. Can i use fish fertilizer with this system?

Any other tips/tricks would be appreciated! Thanks a bunch!
 
If you use molassus in the tea the sugar can also clog them up, I've read. I think just running water thru when not fertigating is what is supposed to happen. Whenever I get around to using my injector I plan on using fish emulsion, (well stirred up). The only reason not to use it might be size capacity. Seems like the worst that could happen is the fert empties before all emitters are reached.

Great set up PJ!
 
there was another thread recently where someone was asking about these, cant remember the name tho...

whats the minimum flow reccomended? i think i remember it being like 2.5gpm? anyway whatever it is remember that GPH/60=GPM or GPM(60)=GPH.
like i said in the other thread, id l double the reccomended flow just to be sure. if you follow that reccomendation, you would simply be getting a larger dripper and cuttiing down on the time the solenoid is open, so make sure you are getting a timer capable of smallish cycles.

i you want to bypass the system you need to place another valve before the solenoid that controlls the line into your injector. a simple ball valve with the appropriate fittings will work. do not bypass the pressure regulator if you want to run the drippers without the injector. Home depot sells sch. 40 pcv .5" fittings that mate with hose threads, you may want to use them.

i would definatly not use any solids/semi solid fish or squid or worm stuff. i admit to knowing nothing about this stuff, but i do know alot about cloging drippers.

you need to use fully water soluble chemical fertilizer imo. more over you cannot mix the fertilizer with anything that will cause precipitates. so keep your sulfates and phosphates away from your calcium etc etc.

you may want to calculate your LSI, langelier saturation index using your proposed fertilizer concentration. use the highest possible concentration that will not cause scaling imo.
i can say from experiance that everytime i let my water get above like 6.6 at 2000mg/L i get precipitated calcium in the form of calcium sulfate( i think).

edit: clarification
 
PepperJam said:
I'm thinking about buying the 3/4 gallon ez-flo fertilizer injector ... you may regret not getting the 3 gallon

The 5 and 7 gallons containers have 1 GPH drip emmiter, the 10 gallon containers have 2 of the 1 GPH drip emmiters. I have a total of probably 120 emmitters being used, so thats about 120 GPH. Can i use the ez-flo with my setup

yes you can...however in the research I did when I set my system up, I remember it saying a 50' run or 40 1 gph emitters per section is the most you should run...

1. What kind of fertilizer do you guys use in the system? Botanicare nutes? Granular water-soluble fertilizer mixed into water to make a super concentrate? And how much concentration do you use?

I use MG tomato food (one full box in the tank and let it fill with water)...one container will make 300 gallons of fertilize at 1 Tbsp per gallon when you have your injector set on "fast"...you can use botanicare products but it will get awfully expensive before the season is over...

2. Is there a way to bypass the fertigation system (besides disconnecting it) so it mixes when i want?

see pictures below

3. I take it we should stay away from using worm castings tea since the bacteria can become anaerobic and get stuck in the emmitters and piping which would cause more problems?

I have never heard that but it makes sense....

4. Can i use fish fertilizer with this system?

IMO you can use any water soluable product that won't clog up your emitters...

Any other tips/tricks would be appreciated! Thanks a bunch!
Click to expand...

I was going to update my glog with these but will post them here for your benefit...I have gone through the growing pains (pun intended) of building a fertigation system...I did not use drip line and light plastic 1/2" supply lines...I used PVC and bought threaded 1 GPH emitters...was a lot of work drilling and tapping all the holes for the system but I figured if an emitter got clogged, screw it out and screw another one in...

Here is a picture of my system...I use standard 5/8" water hose to supply my PVC transmission systems..

05-22-12b001.jpg


yup...you should really build you a manifold and a bypass to take the pressure off your tank when not in use...

here is a picture of my bypass circuit...I will probably rework this next year and make it out of PVC...

05-22-12b002-1.jpg


here is a closer shot of my manifold and timers...by the way...adding timers to your system will greatly decrease your workload and you don't have to worry about leaving for a few days...until I got these timers, once I planted seeds in late December, I could NOT leave the house until late November...now I can leave as long as I want and not worry about my plants...don't forget to put shutoff valves in your manifold...

05-22-12b003.jpg
 
Thanks Mike, Tim, and AJ. This really helps! And AJ, wow, you are the jack of all trades. Look at all that custom piping and setup. Cooool.
 
I use a similar setup to AJ. The one thing that I recommend that I don't see in AJ's setup is a canister filter. I use it just as a backup to make sure no solids make it through to my drip tape emitters. So far I have run fish fertilizer and manure teas through my system with no problems. I am not convinced the EZ-Flo always mixes at the advertised rates, it seems to empty faster than it should given my calculations. I also always flush my lines after fertigating just to prevent clogged emitters and it should prevent the bacteria buildup.
 
I don't need no stinkin' filter ( :rofl: ) .... my stuffs clean... ;) ...

truthfully, the reason I don't use a filter is I haven't needed one yet...like I said in my earlier post...that's the main reason for the screw in drip emitters in the PVC...clogs happen and are easy to deal with...
 
I wouldn't doubt your methods AJ. I do not trust my water supply any further than I could throw it (and throwing water is notoriously difficult without the use of balloons) therefore I run everything through a filter.
 
AlabamaJack said:
I don't need no stinkin' filter ( :rofl: ) .... my stuffs clean... ;) ...

truthfully, the reason I don't use a filter is I haven't needed one yet...like I said in my earlier post...that's the main reason for the screw in drip emitters in the PVC...clogs happen and are easy to deal with...
Click to expand...

hahaha yes!!! :rofl:
 
Thanks everyone. I bought the 3/4 gallon model from Johnny's Selected Seed for $49 with free shipping using coupon code: 12-1071 in case anyone else wants in on this great offer. Cheapest i could find.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8514-ez-flo-fertilizer-injector-75-gal-.aspx

Since you cannot have this model under constant pressure, i'll probably build something similar to what AJ made as a bypass. I'll also need to buy a backflow preventer to prevent fertilizer going back into the main line, they have those at homedepot.

Thanks again!
 
I cancelled my order. I did some more research and it doesn't look to work to well very long lines like mine and it doesn't seem to do too well mixing:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/contain/msg061905308532.html

I am looking into the "Add-It" product which is a consistent 200:1 mixture ratio and seem pretty reliable in the agricultural industry.

http://fertilizerdispensers.com/services/add-it.htm
 
Nice setups, but with my plants I picked up a nice pump action pesticide sprayer and foliar feed them that way. The sprayer was only $99 and I can still do worm tea and other ferts like fish emulsion if needed. The only draw back is It takes me 5 minutes a week to walk around the plants and give them a nice spraying.
 
have you considered just useing an injection pump? theres a ton of ways you could go about this, but the easiest would just be to tie the pump into the circuit powering the solenoid.

i have 2 of these from this seller. this guy is selling brand new pumps that are like 100+ each.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110V-Gorman-Rupp-Dual-Bellows-Metering-Pump-with-Connectorized-Wire-Leads-/320893308138?pt=BI_Pumps&hash=item4ab6bb4cea

when the solenoid opens to flow water the pump pushes fertilizers into the stream of flow. might be a good idea to have a mixing chamber in there somewhere. this is how water plants treat water with liquid chlorine, different pump technolagy tho.

IDK, just another option.
 
PepperJam said:
I cancelled my order. I did some more research and it doesn't look to work to well very long lines like mine and it doesn't seem to do too well mixing:

http://forums2.garde...1905308532.html

I am looking into the "Add-It" product which is a consistent 200:1 mixture ratio and seem pretty reliable in the agricultural industry.

http://fertilizerdis...ices/add-it.htm
Click to expand...

I read the forum reviews of the EZ-Flo too, and I agree with some of the things that have been said about it. I do not think the ratios mix correctly but I have had no trouble with it pushing through long drip lines. I seem to get the same amount of ferts at the first emitter as I do the last, but the ratios are a bit of guesswork. Let us know how the "Add-It" product works, because I am sure those of us that have EZ-Flo's will have to replace them after 2-3 years, they don't seem built all that well.
 
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