Basic set for beginners as an introduction to the Tropf-Blumat-System for watering single plants or groups of plants in various kinds of containers or for small flower beds around the house.
Water supplied from an elevated reservoir tank.
(For connecting to a water faucet see Beginner-Set 2)
• 6 Tropf-Blumats with 20 cm of drip tubing + T-connector
• 7 m water supply tubing, black, 8mm
• 1 end piece, 8-3 mm
• 1 elevated tank connection, 8 mm (12 mm drill hole)
Set is suitable for (alternative examples)
• 1.6 m of planter boxes(2 x 80 cm box length)
• 0.6 m² planting bed (ca. 12 midsize plants)
• 6 single pots of up to ca. 20 cm apiece
• 3 planting tubs 40-(50) cm each with 2 Tropf-Blumats
• 6 single plants in a greenhouse such as tomatoes, peppers or cucumbers
Directions for correct usage can be found under “Use”
Deciding how many Tropf-Blumats are necessary
For watering planter boxes, use the rule of thumb: 4 drip locations (Tropf-Blumats) per 100 cm box length (box width- 20 cm), 3 drippers for 80 cm. For wider troughs (such as 100x40 cm), usually 6-7 Tropf-Blumats are enough, depending on the size of the plants – also see bed plantings.
For watering in pots, every plant / every pot should have 1 Tropf-Blumat. According to the pot size, 1 Tropf-Blumat is enough for pots up to ca. 20 cm in diameter, for pots up to 40 cm use 2 Tropf-Blumats, up to 50 cm 3 Tropf-Blumats.
The size of the plant is also an important factor and sometimes the needs of a particular plant species plays a role when deciding on the number of Tropf-Blumats needed. Large Containers such as planting tubs, for example, should often have fewer drippers in order to avoid overwatering.
For bed plantings, 2 plants (the size of typical summer flowers such as geraniums) require 1 Tropf-Blumat (plant spacing ca. 20-22 cm), when planted closer together (ca. 15 cm), 1 Tropf-Blumat is enough for a group of 3 plants.
Connection to an elevated reservoir tank
The connection onto the elevated tank (a spigot with hose) should be mounted towards the bottom of the tank, about 5 cm above the tank floor (12 mm bore hole).
The elevation of the tank should be at least 70 cm above the watering level (top of pot) to the bottom of the tank, in order to produce the necessary minimum pressure. Overly low pressure can result in clogging of the tubing.
The tank can be purchased at a local hardware store to meet individual needs. It should be impenetrable to light and should be cleaned occasionally.
Tubing Installation:
The 8 mm-water supply tubing should be placed near the plants, on top of the pots or along the top of the planter boxes; for each desired Tropf-Blumat location, the tubing is cut and a t-connector is inserted into the two ends of tubing ( for the last Tropf-Blumat at the end of the tubing, use a end piece instead of a t-connector).
In order to minimize the loss of pressure, the water supply tubing should have as few branches as possible and when branches are necessary, they should be as evenly distributed as possible. The water supply tubing can be mounted using support pins, which are an accessory to the system, but it can also be mounted using any wire fasteners or nail clamps.
System
"Tropf-Blumat" (Tropf = Drip) works using pressure as its basis, it requires a minimum pressure for the correct functioning of the watering head and to avoid cloggage.
The Tropf-Blumat is the heart piece of the entire system and acts as a moisture sensor and dripper at the same time. Every dripper location is therefore sensor controlled according to the tensiometer principle. Also included in the system are fittings to connect the tubing.
Procedure
Fill the Tropf-Blumat with water (part of the sensor function only!) – see Directions for Use – and insert into moist soil. As the soil becomes drier, water is sucked out of the feeler which is a porous clay cone. This creates a sub pressure (partial vacuum). As the pressure develops, a membrane in the watering head is released (before then it is squeezed together), opening the thin dripper tubing; the tubing begins slowly to drip. The water seeps through the soil once again to the clay cone, causing a lessening of the sub pressure, the valve closes; the dripping slowly stops.
Adjusting
The Tropf-Blumat is adjusted using the brown knob; it should be set so that when the soil is optimally wet, the dripper has just stopped dripping. When first using, the sensor requires a certain settling period. Therefore, adjusting should be carried out only after a day of use. The general recommended adjustments are described in the Directions for Use or in our Recommended Settings. It is important that the adjustment is correct from the beginning!
Maintenance
The water being used must be clean (there is no filter in the system), it can contain completely water soluable fertilizer. It is recommended to treat water that is extremely hard (over ca. 30°dH) by softening or to use rainwater, if possible. Light lime deposits in the tubing can be removed by rubbing.
The water inside the sensor should be occasionally checked. However, in general, the water will not need to be topped off during the watering period. Under certain conditions, winter operation is also possible.
