1 Gal. Fertilizer Injectors?

[TheWaterbug]

Any recommendations for small-scale fertilizer injectors for drip irrigation systems?

I will be planting 170 lineal feet of sweet corn and 25 pumpkin plants soon, and I will have each set of plants on a separate, timered drip system with a flow rate of about 100 GPH each.

I already have 5 of these Add-It, 1 pint liquid fertilizer injectors for other parts of my garden:



but:

1) they are a bit small for my large applications, and
2) they appear to have been discontinued everywhere.

I think I'd like something in the 1 - 2 gallon range.

Anyone have good first-hand experience using an alternative product? Thanks!

[imafan26]

I only know about the injectors that was used on the farm, but it is not inexpensive. We used an electric one that was installed on a 55 gallon drum. It was manually operated. The drum had to be mixed with the concentrate and filled. The valve to the irrigation system had to be opened and the irrigation controller and the siphon pump had to be turned on and off manually. The irrigation valve would them be reset to auto mode for regular irrigation cycles. The system was uphill from the beds that it watered.

This one is not electric and is driven by water pressure. It can be metered for different delivery rates. It might be something to look into.
https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/equ ... njector%2b

For the inexpensive route, I always used siphon mixers. You will need to control the concentration of the mixture in the bucket for dosage as the ones I used can't be set. An Antisiphon valve must precede it at the water source. The main anti siphon valve should be higher than your highest emitter to work right. The siphon is portable and can be used with quick connectors. It should be flushed after use.
The ratio is 1:16. 1 gallon of concentrate to 16 gallons of water at 35 psi it will deliver 1 gal each 3-5 minutes. It can only be used on hoses up to 50 ft long, but if hoses are longer additional siphons can be connected for each 50 ft. It has been used for orchid greenhouses for a long time but there were issues of contamination of the main water supply because the antisiphon does not always work properly it is not above the highest emitter. That is why a dedicated antisiphon valve should be placed at the water souce and should be higher that the highest emitter to protect the water supply.
https://www.growerssolution.com/PROD/br ... phon-mixer

[TheWaterbug]

This one is not electric and is driven by water pressure. It can be metered for different delivery rates. It might be something to look into.
https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/equ ... njector%2b

$500!

Yeah, that's a wayyyyy out of my price range

For the inexpensive route, I always used siphon mixers. You will need to control the concentration of the mixture in the bucket for dosage as the ones I used can't be set. An Antisiphon valve must precede it at the water source. The main anti siphon valve should be higher than your highest emitter to work right. The siphon is portable and can be used with quick connectors. It should be flushed after use.
The ratio is 1:16. 1 gallon of concentrate to 16 gallons of water at 35 psi it will deliver 1 gal each 3-5 minutes. It can only be used on hoses up to 50 ft long, but if hoses are longer additional siphons can be connected for each 50 ft.

Interesting! I had no idea it could be that simple and inexpensive. But the ratio is so high that I'd have to dilute every time I use it, which would be more work that I want.

I am looking at this gizmo:



which looks very close to what I'm looking for. The price isn't bad, either. I'd want two--one for the corn and one for the pumpkins.

At my flow rate I'd need to use the restrictor disc, which then means I need to dilute, but I can just pour one gallon of fertilizer into the two 2 gallon containers, and then that would be an instant 4:1 dilution.

But I've never used one of these, so I don't know how good, reliable, robust, etc., they are. I do like that the outlet tube is clear, so if I put a dye in with the fertilizer I'll be able to see when it's empty.

Has anyone used one of these?

[TheWaterbug]

Well, I bit the bullet/budget and bought a pair of those EZ Flo injectors in the 2 gal. size. They worked well for the past several seasons. I've been filling them with the Liquinox, as noted above, and I don't have to refill them every week like I did with the pint-sized units.

I'm thinking of trying out pure 46-0-0 urea for my corn. The stuff I bought looks like this:



Not quite a powder, but not pelletized, either.

Has anyone used 46-0-0 urea in a fertigator like that EZ Flo unit? Do I fill the container full or half-full or ????