Grow Mediums AutoPot leaks. 6 times in 4 months. That is with the new AquaValve 5

[Ali3nz]

Note: I have been using AutoPots since I first started growing 1.5 years ago. My first run had the older AquaValve 4. I had 0 leaks in the first 3-4 month first run of Autopots and the grow was amazing for a first timer btw. Although I had 2 male plants and used a bunch of free seeds.

Second run I did have a couple leaks, not that serious.

Third run I had a few bad leaks

4th run which is this current run I am doing now has been 6 leaks in 4 months. The plants are in the final stages and I need humidity to be low to prevent bud rot. Having leaks now is dangerous to my buds.

3 of those leaks resulted in 50+ Litres (13 Gallons) of expensive nutrients all over the floor of the tent. The rest of the leaks I caught in time and was able to resolve without the entire reservoir emptying over the ground.

I am starting to get sick of this. Its supposed to be automated watering but at this rate its costing me too much time and money. I may just switch to another automated system. I was hoping with the upgrade to AquaValve 5 this may help prevent this kind of thing. I even put a CCTV camera in my tent so I can keep a close eye on it and watch for any water spilling on the ground. But neglected to check this latest time as was unwell these past couple days.

What I have noticed is that over time, the valves can loosen on their own. So I did make it a habbit to check and tighten them once a week now. This is for each of the 8 Autopot aquavalves Apparently this didn't help with the latest leak. I also make sure to check the hoses and ensure there is no kinks.

Im almost at my wits end with this. This latest leak cost me about an ounce of premium hydroponic AK420 (Aka AK47) bud that was drying in paper bags on the tent floor. It was only there for a day because I was expecting some people over. I usually dry elsewhere.

Please tell me, how often do you have leaks with your AutoPot setup? What have you done and what do you do to help prevent this?

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

All forms of hydroponics have leaks. The thing is you must adapt to your system and be ready for any potential problem. My system is a closed system. I have a 35 gallon top off tank and a 12 gallon reservoir. I feed the top off tank with a manual valve that I have to turn on by hand. the rest of the system is automated. I have a flood tray 4x6 that is the floor of my grow space. It will hold ~100 gallons or twice my working water. It has saved my ass twice .

I think something must be wrong because I hear an occasional complaint about leaks in aquavalves but it usually is a worn or improperly installed part?

 

[Ali3nz]

Thanks for that feedback Man. Good call on the flood tray. I will look into this further. If I could at least catch the water when it floods and re-use the water without heaps of hassle then I would be happy to continue with autopots. I mean it was quite an expensive purchase for the system where I live.

I am unsure what has cause the latest leak but I will have to refill the reservoir tonight so I will find out then and report back. One thing I noticed is there is quite a lot of water pressure. The reservoir sits around 1 meter higher then all the plants and with the Aquavalve 5 being 3/4 inch thick. It allows quite a lot of pressure through to the valve.

 

[JP1]

All the leaks I ever had with my autopots had to do with the little rubber parts. Generally because they're either not seated in their holes correctly or because they were not cut correctly from the manufacturer and have little edges that stick out. I keep them in a flood tray and they'll usually have a leak somewhere when I 1st turn them on and after fixed you should be good the rest of the run. Depending on your nutes it's also possible that the rubber parts are getting gummed up causing them to not seal properly. Just pull them out and squeeze them and clean them off and make sure they don't have any rough edges

 

[Esculibierto]

All the leaks I ever had with my autopots had to do with the little rubber parts. Generally because they're either not seated in their holes correctly or because they were not cut correctly from the manufacturer and have little edges that stick out. I keep them in a flood tray and they'll usually have a leak somewhere when I 1st turn them on and after fixed you should be good the rest of the run. Depending on your nutes it's also possible that the rubber parts are getting gummed up causing them to not seal properly. Just pull them out and squeeze them and clean them off and make sure they don't have any rough edges

i think the same thing.

Could be some problem whith the little rubbers?, maybe take it out and use the other face.

And what about manteniance?? do you clean the lines each 3 weeks? that can help with this problem.

I have read good things about the product ATA Cleaner, but i have not used it.
Some nutes are better than another for this line obstructions, have you used same nutes brand?
What colour are your valves? i have seen blue, black and the new black and gray.

i think aquavalve 5 is a good improvement, but first of all is know the origin of the leak, the new diameter is awesome for line obstruction, but not resolves anything if the problem is with the little rubbers.

 

[Ali3nz]

Hey There, Thanks for the valuable advice everyone. I haven't actually been cleaning every 3 weeks. I typically clean everything after each autopot run which is typically 4 months.

The latest leak I resolved by taking apart the aquavalve completely on the one that caused the leak and cleaning it and also replacing the 3/4 inch hose that goes to the AquaValve 5. However, I got another leak today. Presumably due to another aquavalve that could use a clean. They seem like quite simple devices when I take it apart and the aquavalves look fine and I can't really see an issue. Nothing clogging up or out of place when I inspect it. But cleaning and replacing the hose going to the aquavalve I believe did sort it for the last leak.

I am almost finished this latest run (It was AK420 AutoFlowers with 1 Gorrilla Glue Auto) Before I start another run I am going to disassemble and clean each aquavalve and I will replace the hose going to each aquavalve rather then try clean it. Seems easier to me then cleaning the hose. Hose is cheap.

I do use the same nutrients every time. I find that works very well for me because I have got used to how much nutrients to give and I don't even bother with measuring PH or PPM anymore because of how much experience I have with the nutes and the water I am using. I use Goliath Nutrients. https://www.goliathnutrients.com > I can't see any issues with doing that. But let me know if any concerns I should be aware of.

btw, I have gotten fed up of wasting the spilt nutrients on the tent floor and have started just scooping it up and putting it back in the reservoir. Do you think this a horrible idea? haha. Its just I'm fed up for the moment and only have 2 plants left to harvest so don't care too much. I will get some flood trays in future so at least dont have to get it from the tent floor in future.

Hopefully things will be much better after a good clean of everything and replacing of the hoses for my next run.

 

[Big Sul]

Had same issues. Upgraded to their grommet trays. Not a drop for last 2 grows.

 

[JP1]

Problem should never actually be the hoses. They don't leak. I'd guess you're really fixing the problem with the taking apart/putting back together process. Have you tried using a hair dryer to tighten up the connections at the ends of the hoses? I used to get a lot of gunk in my lines that would end up sticking to the rubbers and connections from mixing my nutes out of order...

 

[BigB6]

I bought a water leak detector that's connected to the WiFi. My phone ring whenever it detects water. Saved my ass countless times. I've had some disasters

 

[Esculibierto]

I think u should make manteniance each 3 weeks 1 month.