DIY Misting System ideas...

RoscoRescuer

RoscoRescuer

Member
I'm looking to make a misting system myself. Any ideas or advice would be very much appreciated. I've seen some videos of a submersible pump with tubing and misting nozzles and I've seen a large pump system that looks more like the Mister King setup. Has anyone made one of these and I'm curious about supplies and cost (average). Thank you!
 
If you check the archives, it appears there are at least 15 threads on the subject.
I'd also search google & YT.

I would think the most difficult component would be the timer, BICBW.
 
Klyde O'Scope said:
If you check the archives, it appears there are at least 15 threads on the subject.
I'd also search google & YT.

I would think the most difficult component would be the timer, BICBW.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I'm new to this forum concept. Never even occurred to me that there was a such thing as archives. I saw a video on YouTube that someone made their own and plugged the submersible pump into a smart plug for the timer part. She controlled the times through her phone. What does BICBW mean?
 
Oh boy. I'm so old school and just dont catch on to these abbreviations. Hahaha. I guess an old dog can be taught something new...I hope. I just have to remember the abbreviation now. Lol. Thanks!
 
could get one of those cheap human misters for the deck, and hook it up to house plumbing.

Or do the same, and use a reverse osmosis booster pump (which is all the lizard misting system is).

If you dont mind the labor, some just use a 1-2 gallon sprayer that you pump up. By my math its 1 gallon per 5min of pumping, and i was only using 2-3 gallons a week for 1 very large cage.

Mind you, you have to be a fittings/coupler wizard at the local hardware store to get this going.


At one point mistking was using these nozzles, but have changed to something else in the last few years:
http://www.ecologictechnologiesinc.com/misting_systems_misting_nozzles.html
 
Klyde O'Scope said:
Retiree? I thought I was the relic around here (but I know there are a few of us... ;))
Click to expand...
Well, no. Mid 30's with 2 boys that already know everything about technology and the new way of doing things than I will probably ever know. Hahahaha. I grew up in the country and have embraced the hard working, simple life even now. Lol.
 
nightanole said:
could get one of those cheap human misters for the deck, and hook it up to house plumbing.

Or do the same, and use a reverse osmosis booster pump (which is all the lizard misting system is).

If you dont mind the labor, some just use a 1-2 gallon sprayer that you pump up. By my math its 1 gallon per 5min of pumping, and i was only using 2-3 gallons a week for 1 very large cage.

Mind you, you have to be a fittings/coupler wizard at the local hardware store to get this going.


At one point mistking was using these nozzles, but have changed to something else in the last few years:
http://www.ecologictechnologiesinc.com/misting_systems_misting_nozzles.html
Click to expand...
This is what I'm worried about. I'm not knowledgeable in this area but am a good learner if shown the procedure. I've seen this video on YouTube and am wondering if this would be sufficient or if anyone else has done a setup like this and how they like it, how long its lasted, volume of the pump, etc.? () My thoughts were to plug the unit into a smart plug to control the the on/off but I'm not even sure if this is possible.
 
RoscoRescuer said:
Well, no. Mid 30's with 2 boys that already know everything about technology and the new way of doing things than I will probably ever know. Hahahaha. I grew up in the country and have embraced the hard working, simple life even now. Lol.
Click to expand...
No crime in any of that. I'm a little old school myself (don't own a cell phone, just recently learned about smart plugs :rolleyes:).
Welcome to the... well, I was going to say "Monkey House", but that's a somewhat obscure dated reference. Welcome to the forum! ?

nightanole, that's a nice reference site. I'm a little split myself between MistKing, Climist, or DIY. I've read all the threads in the archives re: MK vs. CM; now I'm looking at DIY. ?
 
Klyde O'Scope said:
No crime in any of that. I'm a little old school myself (don't own a cell phone, just recently learned about smart plugs :rolleyes:).
Welcome to the... well, I was going to say "Monkey House", but that's a somewhat obscure dated reference. Welcome to the forum! ?

nightanole, that's a nice reference site. I'm a little split myself between MistKing, Climist, or DIY. I've read all the threads in the archives re: MK vs. CM; now I'm looking at DIY. ?
Click to expand...
I'm trying to keep the basics of "Old School" alive through my kids but boy it's tough. I'm proud to be raised from old school. I love it!

I'm kind of leaning towards DIY too. Especially after watching the video on YouTube. ?
 
nightanole said:
could get one of those cheap human misters for the deck, and hook it up to house plumbing.

Or do the same, and use a reverse osmosis booster pump (which is all the lizard misting system is).

If you dont mind the labor, some just use a 1-2 gallon sprayer that you pump up. By my math its 1 gallon per 5min of pumping, and i was only using 2-3 gallons a week for 1 very large cage.

Mind you, you have to be a fittings/coupler wizard at the local hardware store to get this going.


At one point mistking was using these nozzles, but have changed to something else in the last few years:
http://www.ecologictechnologiesinc.com/misting_systems_misting_nozzles.html
Click to expand...
Most of what you said, I struggle understanding. I'm pretty good about being a Jill of all trades but this one has me a bit overwhelmed as my understanding is just not great. I was hoping to ask here with the hope's that something would click and I would understand enough to feel confident to make my own. I've gutted and put back together our bathrooms, pulled up carpet and tiles then layed flooring all by myself, fixed odds and ends things around the house, built things (Rosco's enclosure included) but the plumbing aspect is outside my realm.
 
RoscoRescuer said:
This is what I'm worried about. I'm not knowledgeable in this area but am a good learner if shown the procedure. I've seen this video on YouTube and am wondering if this would be sufficient or if anyone else has done a setup like this and how they like it, how long its lasted, volume of the pump, etc.? () My thoughts were to plug the unit into a smart plug to control the the on/off but I'm not even sure if this is possible.
Click to expand...


Id just buy whats in the video, since he made it dead simple. The only "hard" part is picking the flow/pressure for the nozzles. One thing that people constantly over spend on is "bulk heads". They should be a buck or 2, but some people get away with charging $10-20-$30. If you have a local fish/hydroponics store, you may be able to get everything but the pump for under $40 easy. The pump is the only expense part, they are $20-120 depending on the model. But since you are using them for just misting and not boosting house lines with a high flow rate, just about any membrane pump will work if its gets to 40-60psi. Not to throw you off course, but some have even rigged up really cheap submersible fish pumps and found low pressure nozzles. The only down side is much bigger dropplets, so its more of a spray vs fine mist.

Once you get the hoses/fittings/nozzles FROM THE SAME SUPPLIER, its bone head easy. About the only pit fall is the knack to install the fittings. You cut the hose, shove it in the fitting, then complain on the interwebs that it leaks. Most people forget the final step, yank on the hose to set the seal so it doesnt leak.

On the video that is a very small pump, but its very inexpensive and fine for maybe 4 nozzles(i only use 1 nozzle per cage). I happen to fall into a big mamajamma on crags list from someone throwing out an "old" RO system that wasnt working any more. Its complete over kill and could fill a bath tub, its got 3/8" fittings, but luckily had reducers down to the normal 1/4".

As far as controlling it. Best bet is only of those 24/7 "utility" 3 prong timers, not the "lamp" timers. Those will cut all the power, the lamp timers do "funny" things when off. As for the "smart" switches, you either have to have a control hub, or the app constantly running on your phone.

IMG_20200619_091904.jpg




 
Last edited:
nightanole said:
Once you get the hoses/fittings/nozzles FROM THE SAME SUPPLIER, its bone head easy. About the only pit fall is the knack to install the fittings. You cut the hose, shove it in the fitting, then complain on the interwebs that it leaks. Most people forget the final step, yank on the hose to set the seal so it doesnt leak.

On the video that is a very small pump, but its very inexpensive and fine for maybe 4 nozzles(i only use 1 nozzle per cage). I happen to fall into a big mamajamma on crags list from someone throwing out an "old" RO system that wasnt working any more. Its complete over kill and could fill a bath tub, its got 3/8" fittings, but luckily had reducers down to the normal 1/4".

As far as controlling it. Best bet is only of those 24/7 "utility" 3 prong timers, not the "lamp" timers. Those will cut all the power, the lamp timers do "funny" things when off. As for the "smart" switches, you either have to have a control hub, or the app constantly running on your phone.

View attachment 269974
Click to expand...
That is my biggest concern is pressure. My little man does not like to be sprayed, not even with the super fine pump mister I have and I dont even spray him directly. There has been times he has appeared to almost fall off of the branch he is on. I just took him to the vet because his behavior had been off and vet said he was a bit dehydrated so I've been spraying like 5 to 6 times a day and today he seems to be mostly back to normal as far as behavior but I dont want to put something in his enclosure that he is going to freak out about and get hurt. It appears that he is a little more accepting of a super fine mist (as long as it isn't at him). By the way, I love your comparison pic! Looks like something my husband would do. Lol. I may post some screen shots of possible pumps and connecting tubes to see once if it would work.
 
RoscoRescuer said:
That is my biggest concern is pressure. My little man does not like to be sprayed, not even with the super fine pump mister I have and I dont even spray him directly. There has been times he has appeared to almost fall off of the branch he is on. I just took him to the vet because his behavior had been off and vet said he was a bit dehydrated so I've been spraying like 5 to 6 times a day and today he seems to be mostly back to normal as far as behavior but I dont want to put something in his enclosure that he is going to freak out about and get hurt. It appears that he is a little more accepting of a super fine mist (as long as it isn't at him). By the way, I love your comparison pic! Looks like something my husband would do. Lol. I may post some screen shots of possible pumps and connecting tubes to see once if it would work.
Click to expand...


ANother idea is to make a diy rain dome, or wrap the nozzle in screen. Diy rain dome is just pointing the nozzle up into a bucket, so it hits the bucket and rains down in big droplets.

But many many chams do not like to be misted. Ive only had one that does the magical "sits under misting, drinks, and does an eyeball wash", the rest just avoid it, then come out after its over and drink off the leaves.

A final idea is to pop an extra nozzle in the cage that just fills up a water bottle with a pin hole at the bottom. So you get your 1-5min of misting, but then you have an auto filling dripper that will drip on leaves for another half hour or so.
 
nightanole said:
Id just buy whats in the video, since he made it dead simple. The only "hard" part is picking the flow/pressure for the nozzles. One thing that people constantly over spend on is "bulk heads". They should be a buck or 2, but some people get away with charging $10-20-$30. If you have a local fish/hydroponics store, you may be able to get everything but the pump for under $40 easy. The pump is the only expense part, they are $20-120 depending on the model. But since you are using them for just misting and not boosting house lines with a high flow rate, just about any membrane pump will work if its gets to 40-60psi. Not to throw you off course, but some have even rigged up really cheap submersible fish pumps and found low pressure nozzles. The only down side is much bigger dropplets, so its more of a spray vs fine mist.

Once you get the hoses/fittings/nozzles FROM THE SAME SUPPLIER, its bone head easy. About the only pit fall is the knack to install the fittings. You cut the hose, shove it in the fitting, then complain on the interwebs that it leaks. Most people forget the final step, yank on the hose to set the seal so it doesnt leak.

On the video that is a very small pump, but its very inexpensive and fine for maybe 4 nozzles(i only use 1 nozzle per cage). I happen to fall into a big mamajamma on crags list from someone throwing out an "old" RO system that wasnt working any more. Its complete over kill and could fill a bath tub, its got 3/8" fittings, but luckily had reducers down to the normal 1/4".

As far as controlling it. Best bet is only of those 24/7 "utility" 3 prong timers, not the "lamp" timers. Those will cut all the power, the lamp timers do "funny" things when off. As for the "smart" switches, you either have to have a control hub, or the app constantly running on your phone.

View attachment 269974



Click to expand...

That video was amazing! Thank you so much for sharing that. That totally dummed it down for me and made it much easier for me to visually understand without all of the unneeded fluff of some of the other videos I've seen. I guess now my biggest concern would be controlling power. I'd like to be able to go to the beach for the day and not have to worry about missing a couple of misting sessions with him or leave for a week and not have to have someone else worry about that part (just worry about daily/every other day cleaning and feeding). Any ideas or suggestions on that? I have a feeling my husband will know best when he sees the video when he comes home. He is my Jack of plumbing and electrical. Not his profession but he is more comfortable with it than I am. Lol.
 
RoscoRescuer said:
That video was amazing! Thank you so much for sharing that. That totally dummed it down for me and made it much easier for me to visually understand without all of the unneeded fluff of some of the other videos I've seen. I guess now my biggest concern would be controlling power. I'd like to be able to go to the beach for the day and not have to worry about missing a couple of misting sessions with him or leave for a week and not have to have someone else worry about that part (just worry about daily/every other day cleaning and feeding). Any ideas or suggestions on that? I have a feeling my husband will know best when he sees the video when he comes home. He is my Jack of plumbing and electrical. Not his profession but he is more comfortable with it than I am. Lol.
Click to expand...

Just buy an "appliance timer" for $15.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MVF16JG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can set it to mist up to 7 sessions a day, so that should be plenty. I normally do a 5-10min "soak" in the morning and evening, and then adjust some mini spritzes during the day if the humidity is going to be falling below 50%. Winter needs alot more spritzes than summer. The joke in winter for us folk who have open drain pans, is we dont have to empty the pans at all during the winter, it all evaporates :)
 
nightanole said:
Just buy an "appliance timer" for $15.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MVF16JG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can set it to mist up to 7 sessions a day, so that should be plenty. I normally do a 5-10min "soak" in the morning and evening, and then adjust some mini spritzes during the day if the humidity is going to be falling below 50%. Winter needs alot more spritzes than summer. The joke in winter for us folk who have open drain pans, is we dont have to empty the pans at all during the winter, it all evaporates :)
Click to expand...
I've lived in coastal NC for the last 3+ years and it is humid here. Even with our air on, his humidity never drops below 50%. I just worry because he hangs out on this one branch (seems like all the time, other than bedtime) and I never see him drink and now he's slightly dehydrated. I have a homemade dripper right above the branch that drips about 1 drip per second but once again, I never see him drink but maybe a few times in the last 3 and a half weeks I've had him. I'm not sure if he is still adjusting or not. I'm sure he has been through a lot as his last owner surrendered him and from the looks of his casque and back, I'm wondering if he had the start of MBD. I just want to make sure I do everything in my power to make him happy and give him a good quality of life. He seems scared to death of me (less of me and more of everyone else in my house) which makes me think that there was never any trust built up previously. I figure the more I show him food before I put it in his feeder run and maybe bring him outside to play in his own hibiscus Bush, the more he will warm up to me. Even just a little bit would be nice. I am patient but in the meantime I want to get this misting thing figured out for him. Even though he is scared, he really seems to have a curious personality (which I know most do I think) and seems sweet. Thank you so much for all of your recommendations. I'm so glad that I joined this forum and am thankful to all who have responded to my posts.
 
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