MistKing (and other mister) questions

[ehdee6]

I'm looking at the MistKing systems and have some questions.

Can you use generic nozzles? Or is it worth it just to get the ultimate or advance system for the extra nozzles? I can't see myself ever running more than 10 nozzles. It's CAD $233 for the starter, or $409 for the ultimate. I have two XL reptibreeze cages. One extra nozzle is $54, or $68 with the bracket.

If you didn't use the corner brackets, how did you install the nozzle?

My landlord isn't totally keen on setting up a mister. How avoidable is a leak? Can you set it up to leak into a bucket, if it were to leak?

How hard is it to disassemble/reassemble?

Have any general positive/negative feedback?

Have you tried different misting systems? How did it compare?

Do you use a different misting system all together? Which do you use?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[LizardLurkin]

I use the mistking. I had never ever set up something like it before, and even I managed to make it so the reservoir is leak free. When you're setting up the 5g bucket that will be used as the reservoir, you can test as much as you like in a tub for leaks by filling up the bucket some amount, and then tightening the bolt if there is apparent leakage. It's...Time consuming to set up initially. I followed this video only because, while he is very slow and the quality isn't the best, he shows a good deal of the actual setting up. This video is helpful too, though I feel it was harder for me to "get" because I felt I was seeing less.
I only use a single nozzle as I only have one cham, and am not sure if he needs another being that it does well to bump up the humidity as is. I have it spray for four minutes in the morning, and 4 at night (and then two one minute sessions during the night just to make sure it's maintaining the spike. Might go down to 45 seconds in those AM spray sessions.)

I feel very positive about it. I felt like my handmister was a bit more aggressive with its bigger/less fine droplets of water. It's also a chore to fill it with anything that's not tap water, whereas the mistking reservoir, I just dump a bunch of bottled waters into it and the water stays for a couple weeks. (I uh am not SUPER on top of cleaning the reservoir...It hasn't shown signs of algae build up since I used a rather dark blue petco bucket and its away from sunlight.)
It's a worthwhile investment imo, but I image trickier to set up with the two enclosures you have
Also I didn't get the side corner thingies. I just cut a hole in a corner of the top of the enclosure...You certainly have to finagle the angle more, and get the right weight balance (the cord is key here) but it can be done.

 

[LizardLurkin]

Oh and i have a ten gallon toe to catch the water in the event of a big leak

 

[ehdee6]

@LizardLurkin thank you so much for the videos!

Do you have the MistKing pump & in/output also over the 10g bin in case of leaking? Or just the cage itself? ...I guess I'm more worried about it leaking from anywhere but the nozzle, if that makes sense?

 

[LizardLurkin]

I have the whole cage sitting on a drain pan, like...several holes drilled into the floor and the tote underneath the holes.
There aren't many potential leak points with the nozzle and the reservoir, if you screw them on just the right amount of tightness. I can't see the tubes leaking unless a hole got poked in one. The tubing is very sturdy, and it comes with a band to affix to the reservoir fixture to prevent leakage.
With the mistking um, component? The heavy thing that feeds the water to the enclosure, you have to shove the tubing in until you feel a click-ish feeling which lets you know it's correctly in place and there won't be any leaking. Same for when you hook the tubing into the actual nozzle too. You sort of feel when it's in place. It's more subtle than a click, but it does feel like it's in.
Of course, I can't really tell if there might be a freak accident. I think that's why they recommend the extra bucket that is 2x the reservoir size to catch drainage just in case.

 

[ehdee6]

@LizardLurkin perfect description of the connection to the unit; it makes me feel safer that it has to click in to secure everything too! Thank you!

 

[ehdee6]

This is a picture of my current setup for reference. I've since drilled holes where the water pools in the reptibreeze floor panels so it drips into a plastic container. And the white drip tray is set up to drain potential overflow into a 5g bucket.

 

[jamest0o0]

It shouldn’t leak at all if set up right. If you’re very worried you can always silicone in the bulk head and set the reservoir in a tub or something. That seems like overkill to me, but if it helps your worries no harm in it.

The mistking imo is pretty much a necessity. No other system really compares either. I also like to have my nozzles outside of the cage on the top spray downward. Plenty of mist still sprays through, but gives the feel that it’s raining in the cage from water droplets forming on the screen.

 

[regal81455]

Everybody is going to have an opinion on this, it's almost like asking about temp controllers; myself included. I'm sure the mist king is great but there are cheaper, less bulky alternatives that work IMO just as well. I've been using the unit linked below for 2 years now and there have been no hiccups to date. Add to the fact via a phone app, you can run it remotely, setup timed events, & get alerts when you're out of water it sure seems like the way to go. You could replace this unit several times over and still not have the $$ wrapped up into a mist king. Just saying...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXGYL8GW/ref=twister_B0DF7JPCRV?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

 

[jamest0o0]

Everybody is going to have an opinion on this, it's almost like asking about temp controllers; myself included. I'm sure the mist king is great but there are cheaper, less bulky alternatives that work IMO just as well. I've been using the unit linked below for 2 years now and there have been no hiccups to date. Add to the fact via a phone app, you can run it remotely, setup timed events, & get alerts when you're out of water it sure seems like the way to go. You could replace this unit several times over and still not have the $$ wrapped up into a mist king. Just saying...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXGYL8GW/ref=twister_B0DF7JPCRV?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

I’m not familiar with this one, does it have the ability to customize the way mistking does? Seems like a solid option for one enclosure, but not sure how it’d hold up for those of us with multiple enclosures. Over the years there’s always people trying to find alternatives to mistking and a cheaper option is always welcome, but all the others seem to have something they fall short on, or they don’t last. My mistkings have been going for 10 years without an issue, love their reliability.

 

[regal81455]

I am not sure what you mean by "customize"?

As mentioned, mine has been going strong for 2 years now. Can't speak to a decade but like all things motor/pump driven it's a crap shoot, some will last a long long time, some will show up a dud, and most will fall somewhere in between. Operator error can effect this too. Consistently running a pump dry can also shorten lifespan regardless of what they claim ( this one will quit automatically and send phone notification btw ). Way too many variables to make any claims for any system's reliability out there IMO, even for mist king. I'm sure people have had warranty claims and failures all the same with them. No product is "guaranteed" to run for any amount of time. You are only guaranteed the time they allot in the "warranty". Looks like mist king's is 2yrs. So you're only guaranteed 2yrs before your responsibility to replace/repair is on you. You could easily replace this one 4x in that 2yrs should you need to and still be at the cost or below a mist king.

With this system, I'm able to pull water from a 5gal bucket about 6ft below the pump and push it up another 18" and across a 4' span and still feed two nozzles consistently. I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to run a 1/2 dozen or more if that was your need. Certainly, based on OPs two standard size looking cages, in close proximity, it's IMO a perfect use case.

I'm not out here shilling for these people; just saying there are alternatives and the alternatives ( both this and temp controller ) have been good to me and far less expensive than those being pushed here.

 

[regal81455]

That last part maybe misinterpreted by some. All Im saying is everyone has to assess their risk and how much they want to attribute to that risk. If your chams mister went out though, its not like they're going to die from missing a session or two so regardless of what system you use, you've got time to replace without undue harm to your cham. For me, Ill take my chances with a low cost alternative.

If you're a breeder with oodles of cages, I can see benefits to having multiple individual pumps too as a matter of redundancy instead of relying on one at the same overall cost.

 

[jamest0o0]

I am not sure what you mean by "customize"?

As mentioned, mine has been going strong for 2 years now. Can't speak to a decade but like all things motor/pump driven it's a crap shoot, some will last a long long time, some will show up a dud, and most will fall somewhere in between. Operator error can effect this too. Consistently running a pump dry can also shorten lifespan regardless of what they claim ( this one will quit automatically and send phone notification btw ). Way too many variables to make any claims for any system's reliability out there IMO, even for mist king. I'm sure people have had warranty claims and failures all the same with them. No product is "guaranteed" to run for any amount of time. You are only guaranteed the time they allot in the "warranty". Looks like mist king's is 2yrs. So you're only guaranteed 2yrs before your responsibility to replace/repair is on you. You could easily replace this one 4x in that 2yrs should you need to and still be at the cost or below a mist king.

With this system, I'm able to pull water from a 5gal bucket about 6ft below the pump and push it up another 18" and across a 4' span and still feed two nozzles consistently. I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to run a 1/2 dozen or more if that was your need. Certainly, based on OPs two standard size looking cages, in close proximity, it's IMO a perfect use case.

I'm not out here shilling for these people; just saying there are alternatives and the alternatives ( both this and temp controller ) have been good to me and far less expensive than those being pushed here.

That last part maybe misinterpreted by some. All Im saying is everyone has to assess their risk and how much they want to attribute to that risk. If your chams mister went out though, its not like they're going to die from missing a session or two so regardless of what system you use, you've got time to replace without undue harm to your cham. For me, Ill take my chances with a low cost alternative.

If you're a breeder with oodles of cages, I can see benefits to having multiple individual pumps too as a matter of redundancy instead of relying on one at the same overall cost.

You seem to be pretty aggressive about supporting this company so I’ll take your word for it and see if I can find some videos of it in action. And of course you can’t guarantee anything in life for the most part, but you won’t find many people saying their mistkings were duds. You bring up a good point though that if it broke it’d still be a cheaper alternative. I have no ties to mist king so I’m not “pushing” anything, I just speak from mine and many others’ years of experience. Like I said, any cheaper alternatives are more than welcome. I’m not here to argue for one company or another. Happy to hear any other suggestions. Also by “customize” I meant, can it handle more nozzles, have a lot of timer settings, etc. I can look all of this up, but I don’t have the time or real need to do so, just a little curious, and for other’s that might be reading.