AeroJunkie's High Pressure Air-Assisted Hydro-Atomized Aeroponic System (HPAAHAAS)

Originally Posted by aerojunkie

Considering the atomix system ran around 4k, your starting figures have potential considering the much larger footprint.

I imagine we could get them under 4K per system pretty easy if we designed a single use system. Hell, for $5K, we can probably build a stackable system (64 s/f growing in a 32 s/f foot print) We would just need to add a reservoir since our systems are being designed to run off a plant wide system manifold.

The individual buyer really isn't our target market, but money is money..

I'm sure you guys have had your share of trolls.. but just know I've already put close to $35K cold hard cash into this with having to purchase the domain (we had to deal with a domain squatter), trademarks, test facility, tooling.. so this is a real venture, not just hot air.

Originally Posted by indrhrvest

I'm looking at another nozzle, which according to the manufacturer would only require one single nozzle for our application. The nozzle would use about 5-6 SCFM. The rep told me he figured the one nozzle could fill the chamber in 20-30 seconds. So at let's say 3 SCFM per cycle, that would be 864 cfm per day. That's only 8,640 CFM per day for 100 units. That's really not much for a large commercial compressor.

100 nozzles (6 CFM) on a 30 sec/ 5 min cycle would use 300 cubic feet per cycle.
You`d have approx 266 cycles in 24hrs so 300 cubic feet x 266 cycles = 79,800 cubic feet per day.
Cubic Feet and CFM are very different units.

Originally Posted by Atomizer

100 nozzles (6 CFM) on a 30 sec/ 5 min cycle would use 300 cubic feet per cycle.
You`d have approx 266 cycles in 24hrs so 300 cubic feet x 266 cycles = 79,800 cubic feet per day.
Cubic Feet and CFM are very different units.

SCFM and CFM are different.. much like SAE and STD on a Dyno sheet. My math would be 86,400 per day, higher than yours (100 units). Compressed air works out to about $0.0002 per CFM @ $.06 kWhr fyi.. ($0.02 per 100 CFM).. yes compressed air is very costly.

Here is the tank tooling in progress for our larger tank design for use with the rotary atomizer. The system was designed for commercial SCROG's and has a frame built for that purpose. Using the rotary design will allow growers a broad range of nutrients due to the clogless nature of the system. It would be a recirculating system. I suppose folks could use the tank for a DIY aero application as well.. but our 12" deep tank would probably be a better solution.

image2.jpg

Originally Posted by indrhrvest

SCFM and CFM are different.. much like SAE and STD on a Dyno sheet. My math would be 86,400 per day, higher than yours (100 units). Compressed air works out to about $0.0002 per CFM @ $.06 kWhr fyi.. ($0.02 per 100 CFM).. yes compressed air is very costly.

Here is the tank tooling in progress for our larger tank design for use with the rotary atomizer. The system was designed for commercial SCROG's and has a frame built for that purpose. Using the rotary design will allow growers a broad range of nutrients due to the clogless nature of the system. It would be a recirculating system. I suppose folks could use the tank for a DIY aero application as well.. but our 12" deep tank would probably be a better solution.

image2.jpg

Something I've always pondered with rotary atomizers is how to deliver the mist without worrying about root entanglement with the atomizer, or at the very least root obstruction of the mist pattern. Do you see this an a possible issue? I wonder if perhaps multiple smaller rotary atomizers instead of one large one might be a better design from a coverage point of view.

Originally Posted by Trichy Bastard

Something I've always pondered with rotary atomizers is how to deliver the mist without worrying about root entanglement with the atomizer, or at the very least root obstruction of the mist pattern. Do you see this an a possible issue? I wonder if perhaps multiple smaller rotary atomizers instead of one large one might be a better design from a coverage point of view.

Same way we looked at dealing with nozzle spatter.. a simple baffle. You had mentioned needing to insulate the tanks. I wanted to point out that with a manifold system, our nutrient would be run through a chiller. So spraying 60-65 degree nutrient through an atomizer head would be more than enough to keep temps down in a CEA setup. After all, fog/mist nozzles are primarily used for cooling.

Edit: Ingersoll Rand has been nice enough to take my info and provide me with some duty/cost information.. just waiting on the figures. Over the phone, cost to run 100 units per year was about $15K.

Originally Posted by indrhrvest

Edit: Ingersoll Rand has been nice enough to take my info and provide me with some duty/cost information.. just waiting on the figures.

UP6 -15c-125 Ingersoll Rand Compressor (15hp)
Run 24hrs/7days a week all year (365days) = 8760 total hours. Running 100% full load at 100% of the time
Motor efficiency – 90.2
(15hp)(0.746kW/hp)(8760 hr/yr)($0.14kWh*)(1.0 time)(1.0 full-load hp) = $15,214.43
0.902

Raw Formula

Cost per year =
(hp)(0.746 kW/hp)(hr/yr)($/kWh)(% time)(% full-load hp)/motor efficiency

Originally Posted by indrhrvest

Same way we looked at dealing with nozzle spatter.. a simple baffle. You had mentioned needing to insulate the tanks. I wanted to point out that with a manifold system, our nutrient would be run through a chiller. So spraying 60-65 degree nutrient through an atomizer head would be more than enough to keep temps down in a CEA setup. After all, fog/mist nozzles are primarily used for cooling.

Edit: Ingersoll Rand has been nice enough to take my info and provide me with some duty/cost information.. just waiting on the figures. Over the phone, cost to run 100 units per year was about $15K.

That's what I thought too, but the nozzles won't cool without evaporation, and there isn't much evaporation once the chamber reaches 100% relative humidity saturation. You could bring in fresh air, but then have other issues, so it goes back to insulation... Since there is such a low volume of mist entering the chamber, it doesn't have as much pulldown effect as you might need even when chilled, although chilling the nutes as well as the air are good practice and running both lines through a simple cool water bath does the job.

edit: I suppose the aa nozzles do bring in a certain amount of fresh air, but if you use low cfm nozzles you are also hindering additional air with evaporation potential.

Hey, I just thought as a courtesy to Aerojunkie that we should move this conversation to it's own thread. If it's not too much trouble indrhrvest, I am sure if you start one we will all join in, but not clutter up the thread here. Sorry AJ, you've been quite a good sport...