Just a couple of pics and dimensions of our new baby the Auto9 XL System. We developed it with the Cultivation Director of The Grove facility in Las Vegas and it’s specifically designed for cultivators using mobile racking or rolling tables.
It’s a moulded 45" x 42" tray with spacings for 9 pots (either 6.6gal plastic pots or 5gal fabric SmartPots) and an integrated lid to keep light and debris out of the tray.
A single AQUAvalve irrigates all 9 plants in the tray using gravity pressure alone. No electrical pumps or timers and zero waste water.
I’m fairly new to all this. I’m curious and would like to learn: Why 45"x42" and not 45"x45"? It seems you may have picked those specific dimensions for a reason? Also, can you elaborate a bit on the AQUAvalve irrigation or provide a link?
It’s a good question! The reason for those specific dimensions is that the facility that we designed the system with uses Montel mobile racking and the dimensions of each bay is 98"x42". Larger trays - like a standard 4’x8’ or 4’x’4’ - would over hang the racks and collide with the trays either side when the racking is moved together.
You effectively double your square footage when you use the vertical space.
The AQUAvalve is a mechanical “float” that sits in the base of the tray (either a flat tray or one of our pre-moulded modules) and is connected to a reservoir using tubing. It will fill the tray with water or nutrient solution to a depth of 3/4" then stop the supply and will not reopen until the plants have used all of the water in the tray. It basically uses a vacuum chamber to lock an internal float in place to prevent the liquid from entering the tray until it has been completely emptied.
Here is an animation that explains how it operates (it’s a little old and clunky, but it explains it pretty well) https://youtu.be/K1Dn-1V8Za4
Great guys and I love their product. It just landed over here in the UK a few months back and I finished a run a few weeks ago. Quality is fantastic and it is so EASY! Just add water. Total no brainer.
We just had a limited supply of the Auto9 land in the US. I will be in touch with you in the next few days
Gonna hit the hay, it’s late over here. Have a good one!
We also provide logistics services and have a warehouse. Our warehouse racks are designed to accommodate pallets, which are 40"x48". I think it’s interesting that these sizes are off by only a few inches.
The AQUAvalve explanation and video was informative: I really enjoy the mechanics of such things.
