by jennaspevack
Airlift Window Farm (plastic-free)
12:17 am in Materials and Resources, posts with pitcures!, questions, Seeking Advice by jennaspevack
I’m attempting to build a version of the Airlift Window Farm without plastic parts.
The initial version uses stainless steel tumblers, sisal rope, metal crimps, a glass reservoir, and natural latex tubing. The only plastic part is the air pump. Everything was purchased fairly inexpensively (mostly on the Bowery in NYC).
You can find images of the project in progress HERE.
If I can get this one to work, I will build a second system next to this one using Chinese bottle gourds, coated in beeswax (see diagram). We’ll see.
PROBLEMS:
- I’m currently having problems getting the pump to push the water up the airlift tube. I’ve noticed others have had this problem and see that Britta posted some suggestions, which I tried– but they haven’t worked. The air forced into the air lift tube doesn’t seem strong enough to move the water up vertically. It goes for about 6 inches and falls back down again. It also makes a loud bubbling/spattering noise. The pump tubes are dry and the air lift tube is fully submerged and mostly straight. I have an ActiveAqua AAPA7.8L pump. — ANY SUGGESTIONS?
Hi Jenna. I love your system!! I can’t wait to see the gourd version. Getting the air lift to work does require getting the materials in just the right materials paired at just the right orientation. Since you have swapped out a lot of materials all at once, it is tricky to troubleshoot but let’s give it a try. I would start with the pump. Do you want to stop by Eyebeam and do a comparison of your pump’s strength versus the ones we have been using from Petco (we tried several until we found one that was cheap and quiet and had good strength). Not all pumps are created equal, unfortunately. Also, the tubes coming out of your pump and going into the tube are really looooong. You are probably losing a lot of momentum along the way. To get the best performance, we actually mounted our pumps to the outside of the reservoir so the air tubes could be as short as possible. Ania also found that the rigidity of the tubes was a factor and that’s why we emphasize that they be very straight. The latex might just be too susceptible to curvature aka floppy, but again, let’s try tweaking other things first because i get that the object is to avoid plastic. Are you getting bubbling within the reservoir (suggesting an air leak) or does all the air seem to be going into the airlift tube? Get in there with some more plumbers tape if you do have any leaks. Finally, see if you can create a gentler curve in the air tube. It may be kind of pinching somewhere. Hope this helps. Keep us updated.
Thanks Britta and Maya for your help- nice to meet you!
Problem solved. I replaced the 8″ high water container with a 12″ high container and also replaced the 3/8″ ID airlift tubing with 1/4″ ID. Now I’ve got a drip for all four containers!
Jenna
Wow, this is awesome! Eating stuff grown with water that was repeatedly leaching plastic was one of my big concerns. PLEASE let us know how the gourd thing goes because that looks so decorative and I totally want to copy your idea!!
Jenna! Your system is awesome. I just went out and got all the things I needed for the plastic window farm, and was kind of unhappy at all the plastic. I wish I’d found you before I went shopping. Ah well. Thanks again!
This is fantastic. Just one question: how long do you run the pumps and the lights per day?
It depends. Pumps can be put on a timer and can go on for just 5 minutes twice an hour depending on what kind of plants you are growing. Lights can also be put on a timer so that they turn on and off themselves. The number of hours per day depends on how much light your window gets, what kind of plants you are growing, and what stage of life they are in.
As a rule, unless you get tons of direct sunlight in your window, you are going to want to have the lights on up to 12 hours per day while the light is shining. Use 27 watt CFLs in the daylight spectrum available at homedepot.
Just watched the video and checked out all your pictures. This set-up is amazing and very attractive, great job!!
Brilliant no plastic system! This is just what I have been trying to do since I found out about windowfarms! I have been trying to use old wine bottles or some other form of glass, but thanks for doing the leg-work on getting the pump system working using latex tubing and the metal mesh strainers.
I put up a new post with a new picture and some info about replacement elements here:
http://our.windowfarms.org/2010/05/05/plastic-free-window-farm/
=)