The AutoPot™ Smart-Dripper is the ideal solution for delivering nutrient solution to larger plants in the ground or in a large planter. If you need to feed and water a plant bigger than what can be grown in the Hydrotray Single 12" module, or if you want to create a zone of moisture in the ground then watering from the top using the Smart-Dripper is for you. The Smart-Dripper contains the Smart-valve within its own reservoir below the cover, from which a wick draws the nutrient solution from the reservoir to drip in to the medium.
How it works;
1. The Smart-valve will allow water to fill the Smart-Dripper's inner reservoir (hover your mouse over the picture above to see the inner reservoir) up to 40mm and then stops.
2. The water within the reservoir will activate the capillary action of the wick to draw water from the reservoir over its side and then trickle down the other side of the wick.
3. The slow drip flowing from the free end of the wick will continue one drop at a time.
4. The speed of dripping is governed by the size of the wick used.
5. The water in the reservoir gradually dries up as the water is drained off by the wick in half an hour to 2 hours depending on the flow rate. Despite the drop in the water level in the reservoir, the Smart-valve remains closed until the reservoir is completely drained. Once that happens, the Smart-valve automatically re-opens to allow another consignment of water into the reservoir. The filling and draining of the reservoir is automatic and its interval depends on how quickly the water was removed.
The advantages of the AutoPot™ Smart-Dripper are;
* Less blockages – it is far less likely to block compared to conventional drippers. This is due to the narrowest point in the system being the the Smart-valve's inlet - measuring 2mm in diameter compared to the very small orifice required to reduce the drip rate for a conventional dripper.
* Uniform output – the drip rate is very uniform. Unlike conventional drippers, the output of the Smart-Dripper is not affected by distances in the lengths of tubing, differing water pressure or varying terrain.
* Low drip rate – drip rate can be adjusted to as low as 2 litres in 24 hours of continuous dripping.
* Low pressure – The Smart-Dripper can operate on very low working pressure of less than 1 psi up to a maximum of 10 psi. This means that you can have the system fed off a tank by gravity.
