Hi guys!
I’m completely brand spanking new to the world of marijuana growth, but a job has been thrust apon me and I want to do it right.
I have been given the task of creating automatic llighting, temperature and humidity control for a grow room. It will all be controlled from an application running on a laptop.
The application is close to completion. What I need now is a set of default values for each stage of the grow process. These “AutoSets” will be create-able, editable and save-able. The default AutoSets are just suggested values for the user.
So the values/parameters in an AutoSet are as follows;
Lights Cycle(hrs/hrs)
Lights On-
Max Temperature
Min Temperature
Max Humidity
Min Humidity
Lights Off-
Max Temperature
Min Temperature
Max Humidity
Min Humidity
If you haven’t already worked it out, these values are thresholds which dictate when certain equipment like fans and radiators will switch on and off.
From what I’ve learnt so far, there are three basic stages where these values would be used;
Seedling Stage
Vegetation Stage
Flowering Stage
The values do not have to stay the same for each stage; you could have for instance;
Vegetation Stage - Week 1
Vegetation Stage - Week 2
…
Late Flowering
etc…
These AutoSets can then be sceduled to start at a specific time on a specific date.
I hope you get the picture here. What I need are the default, standard values for different stages.
Thanks.
Well I can’t help with your parameters as I have only grown autos outside but am intrigued by the concept of what you are doing. I will tag a few people and see if they can help.
Welcome to the ILGM forum and good luck with your project.
Your optimum temp is 78 degrees f
So I would say max temp and min temp 10 degrees either way
As far as light that’s another issue
12/12 and 18/6 are the normal light time most guides will use for light schedules
There are a growing number of us that n the forum using 14/10 on/off for veg and 12/12 for flower so to closer match natural light
For auto you may want to run 18/6 during sprout and seedlings stages then 14/10 veg
I’ll also will tag a few folks who have more auto experience @Hogmaster@BIGE@bob31@Niala@Majiktoker @garrigan62
Good luck your program sound interesting @virus213 CB
So does the ideal temperature change significantly for the different types of plants?
Also, does Humidity even change in the night then? Because atm, I have separate humidty values for light on/off. I could remove them if they wouldn’t be used.
@latewood
The application would be pretty usesless without the hardware interface anyway, but if everything works as it should and it’s practically useable, I don’t currently see any problem in sharing it for private use. It’ll be a while until it’s finished though, a few weeks probably because it’s a side-project.
Humidity changes with the need of plant i.e. Flower stage veg stage and seedling/ sprout stages @virus213
Ive done some building Automation over the years and a simple open close type relays Rib style come to mind you can probably figure out how to integrate your control system to switch them pretty easily maybe a 24 control circuit ? Just and idea
Yes. As mentioned; You need all the parameters you have at minimum.
As long as you are going to share open source; We do not mind helping you with some information. However; If this is going to be a commercial $$$ making endeavor; We will help you; For a fee.
Everybody wants to invest in the Cannabis Industry now that 1000’s of the rest of us have worked to get where we are for decades.
For our members: It is one thing to help all of you to learn how to grow your own “meds”, and we are here in love with the idea. It is what we do
_On the other hand. Consider that all the “Big pharma”, and other “Big Bucks” are wanting in…BIGTIME!!! _
I truly believe we are going to be under siege for information from “THEM”, and we need to recognize these types when they post to us on our friendly little forum.
@Countryboyjvd1971
I’m going to be using 5v relays. I’m not an electrician, but I know a little bit. Same for coding applications for that matter.
@latewood
The idea of me as some greed money-making oportunist fatcat is comical. If you met me, you’d know…
As I said before, the application is useless without the hardware and the hardware coding. @dbrn32
WTF is plc? WTF is hmi?
@All!!
ATM, I’m just a guy with a project to complete!
P.S. I could reference your names and the website/forum for the help with the presets, If you’d like. Each preset has a comment string, so I could cite the website and any participants in there too.
Oh right! then yes, I’m using an Arduino-style controller atm. It is all controlled and timed from the Windows application though, that is the main ‘hub’ of logic execution. There is no direct interface with the controller presently. It interfaces through a COM connection(USB) to the application. TBH, I’m just tryna get the thing functional atm. I think I added too many ‘features’ for a first-time project! But I’m sure it will be a great system when I’ve finished.
Industry has been doing this type of stuff with plc’s for decades. I’m not an electronic geek or anything like that, but my take on the arduino type stuff was for more single input/output household tinkering type of stuff. I suppose I should get more up to speed before saying so, but I think a plc would be a better option for automating an entire grow room.
My opinion could be entirely based on my experience, but the industrial applications are limitless. Turning a light on and off and starting a fan shouldn’t be very difficult. But I think it will require a lot more than that to successfully automate an entire grow room.
Nah, the arduino stuff… well, let’s remember that this isn’t a single device design; there are lots of different types , plus, Arduino is an open-source design manufacturer. There are endless boards with endless features and functions. the one I have for example is pretty standard, has something like 16 inputs and 16 outputs. Some of the ins & outs can be used to read/write analog signals too. So you could for instance, control the speed of a fan. or sample audio or whatever. My main profession is sound designer by the way.
So like you say, these controllers and the whole concept of controlling electronic devices remotely are becomming more popular of late because of the simple fact that the vast majority of us now has quite a powerful little computer with us all the time, which can send information quite easily to your home router, or a dedicated IP. But what I’m creating isn’t a simple ‘turn fans on’ / ‘turn radiator off’ type of thing. The feature and most useful part is the ability to scedule periods of temperature control. The automation of it is the feature, plus the ability to monitor. For now, my system only controls the temperature and, humidity, but as this thing develops, I could quite easily add other functionality to the system. So eventually, controling an entire growroom could be possible. But let’s see how it copes with the present functionality first. It’s best to keep things simple for now.
CB
