aerojunkie
Well-Known Member
In designing mechanical systems, delivery, maintenance and infrastructure efficiency are the primary concerns. When you are building for example computer chip etching delivery systems, I'm quite confident the level of delivery is far more advanced than Aeroponics.
I try to keep the basics real simple. For Aeroponics to work you need a few things. 1.) Very small water particles, 10-40 microns seems to be where it is at, and 2.) Environmental controls.
Designing a system to delivery 10-40 microns is the easy part. Designing a system to maintain a specific environment is also easy. The hard part is figuring out the right balance. In order to find the right balance, you need a system that has controls. Controls are the main ingredient in any mechanical system. Every plant is also different, so what works for Basil, might not work for Cilantro etc..
That's what we are doing. We are developing a commercial system that is modular, scalable, heavy duty and has controls.
P.S. an accumulator serves a mechanical purpose.. it relieves stress on the pump, thus increasing pump life. If your lines are "snapping" and the systems vibrates heavily, the system is poorly designed. For smaller systems you can simply use high pressure water arrestors. Guys spending $200+ on an accumulator for a small Aerosystem are wasting money. A simple $30 Arrestor from Watts or Precision Plumbing would accomplish the same thing for the most part. Unless you are using larger pumps with a lot of flow, an accumulator tank is not always needed.
Well at this point it seems like you have it all figured out and we we really don't have anything to offer? Are there any specific questions you have for us?