Overview
Dosatron systems can automatically dose nutrients, pH altering agents, or anything else to a pressurized water supply. They’re a cultivator’s premiere choice for automated nutrient dosing, and minimized the potential for human error when administering nutrients or other additives to the water supply.
However, Dosatron systems do require a minimum flow rate to function. Blumat Watering Systems are demand-based, so the flow rates are variable. This means that the majority of the time (if not all the time), the flow rate demanded by a Blumat Watering System does not meet the minimum flow rate required to get a Dosatron to properly function.
Sustainable Village has solved the problem by strategically placing Dosatrons within a pump system, or by using a solenoid valve in conjunction with a previously-pressurized line (e.g. well pump, municipal source, etc.).
Concept
With a Pump Kit
To integrate a Dosatron system with a Sustainable Village pump kit, the Dosatron configuration is placed in between the pump and accumulator tank. The pumps are designed to turn on for brief spurts, outputting water at high flow rates for short periods of time. The water/solution accumulates in the pressure accumulator tank.
Because the flow rate on the output of the pump is high enough for the Dosatron to work, the Dosatron system is installed following the pump, but preceding the accumulator tank in the kit.
For more details on the Sustainable Village pump kits, read this guide.
With a Solenoid & Pressurized Line
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Some cultivators have high quality water from either a municipal source, well, or other pressurized line. In this case, a pump is not needed. A solenoid valve can be integrated with a pressure sensing switch preceding the Dosatron & Accumulator tank.
When the switch senses low pressure in the system, it turns the solenoid valve open (instead of turning a pump on, as with the previous system). The flow from the pressurized line will be high enough to get the Dosatron to function optimally, and the Accumulator tank will buffer between the variable-flow Blumat system and pressurized line.
Which Dosatron and/or Accessories Do I Need?
A cultivator administering a single, completely water-soluble fertilizer will need a very different array of products than a cultivator administering an entire product line.
Things get more technical with more products, varying dosing rates, pH adjustments, etc.
If you have a comprehensive overview of exactly what products and at exactly which concentrations you’d like to administer to your Blumat Watering System, contact a Sustinable Village designer and we’ll get a complete parts list for you to integrate your customized Dosatron system.
