Greenhouse for cannabis

HI:

Our goverment has declare legal to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes, a new customer is asking for a quotation where a small PLC (ML1400) is going to handle almost everything, as per specifications the most important part is lighting and luxes control. They told me that normally the move lights from far to near plants according to their growing, far at the beginning and close to the plants at the end.
I was wondering if anyone know of a LED type light that can be driven by 4-20 mA or 0-10 VDC in order to avoid moving lights physically.
I still do not have luxes data yet.
I want to use the PLC to control irrigation if possible.
Thanks in advanced for your help.

I have a family member who has a grow operation. He used controls purpose built for all of his controls. There are irrigation controls, lighting controllers, CO2 monitor and more. I can ask him what he uses, but he asked me about an enclosure for it all... I discussed using PLCs, but from what I gathered, the stuff he picked out is quite economical and feature rich for what they do, so it is probably worth checking out.

From a picture he sent, this is the brand:

https://www.trolmaster.com/

Gained a new found respect for OkiePC.
That being said, I've been thinking about this project for years.
You could do the CO2 thing, monitor the temp, ph, turn on ventilation, lights, et al.
I don't know, I am only currently high.
And now w/ the new light bulb technology, no heat signature.
HMI > Menu > Tomato Recipe > Start

the Wago brand seems to offer the most I/O card variety and the cheapest and supports the IEC611-3 languages (codesys).
Phoenix and Beckoff are supposedly similar.

widelto said:

HI:

Our goverment has declare legal to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes, a new customer is asking for a quotation where a small PLC (ML1400) is going to handle almost everything, as per specifications the most important part is lighting and luxes control. They told me that normally the move lights from far to near plants according to their growing, far at the beginning and close to the plants at the end.
I was wondering if anyone know of a LED type light that can be driven by 4-20 mA or 0-10 VDC in order to avoid moving lights physically.
I still do not have luxes data yet.
I want to use the PLC to control irrigation if possible.
Thanks in advanced for your help.

Click to expand...

Do it for free and invest in the company
Trust me on this one !

Canadian Cannabis producers have been loosing big time.

ganutenator said:

Gained a new found respect for OkiePC.

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Don't get it twisted. I have not even touched alcohol in many years. I am a conservative with strong libertarian leanings. I believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from the moment of conception. I have a strong respect for among other things: sobriety.

ganutenator said:

...
I don't know, I am only currently high.
...

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Sobriety is highly underrated.

Now that it is legal to grow weed in Okieland, make all the money you can from it, not sure it is legal in Kansas yet.

In my opinion, it is not harmless, and the "medical" thing is just an excuse to get high. Sure, there are anecdotal cases of treatments for certain disorders, but I am convinced that >99% of medical marijuana card holders are just using that excuse to do what they would be doing anyway and for the same purpose. I can agree that it might be less harmful than alcohol.

To each is own. I don't oppose legalization. I am glad that these formerly undocumented pharmacists can now perform their trade out in the open.

Some folks attain a temporary illusion of happiness from a THC high. It ain't your daddy's bunk-weed though. That new-fangled stuff is so strong it would put me straight into psychosis. No thanks...

@OkiePC : I contacted the firm you recommended, they seem to offer almost everything.
Hope their prices are fair.
@Ganutenator: I have never worked with wago, but It´s worth a try. I Have used codesys in the past.

I am installing these in a manufacturing plant, they have 2 additional wires for dimmer 0-10 vdc control, not sure if the Light would be applicable for a grow light. We are using the HL 480 which is putting out 125 Foot Candles on the floor from 20'. I believe cost was $320 each USD

okiepc said:

... I am a conservative with strong libertarian leanings. I believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from the moment of conception....

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+1

I think the number of non-malingerers with medical marijuana recommendations is closer to 5%.

Since this is a silly thread, I'll tell my universal jurisdiction story. I live in Washington State, one of the first states to legalize recreational cannabis.

But marijuana is still Federally illegal, and some Federal agencies have strict policies about enforcement when things come under their jurisdiction.

I volunteer with a club that provides sailing adventures to disabled and paralyzed persons. We have specially equipped two-person servo-assisted sailboats so it's fun for me to maintain them, as well as being ballast and a rescue swimmer. I've got some sailors who can use one hand, some who use sip-and-puff devices, some who are blind, deaf, or developmentally impaired. It's a blast.

Two summers ago it was the traditional Opening Day of boating season, and we were rigging up the boats and getting our sailors ready to go. My skipper Chris, a quadraplegic, had rolled his power wheelchair out onto the floating dock and I was getting ready to fit him into a loading sling.

There was a shadow and a rumble at the dock, and a thirty-foot orange-and gray gunboat with heavy automatic weapon under a shroud on her foredeck came into the marina. Five US Coast Guard crewmen jumped onto the dock and the leader walked up to me, evidently because I looked like I was in charge.

He pointed to shore. "Can you help us ? Is that a bathroom ?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, I've got the key, right this way."

Once I got that crew squared away with shore leave, cold water, and directions to the convenience store a block away for the best fried chicken in the city, I went back to the sling... and Chris was gone.

Not just out of his wheelchair and into the boat: vanished. No sign of bubbles or silt, he wasn't in the water.

I traced my footsteps back, then wandered bewildered through the parking lot and found Chris with his chair squeezed between two parked vans.

"Are they gone ?"

"No, they needed to pee. That gunboat doesn't even have a bucket. What's going on ?"

"I thought for sure they finally found out."

"About what ?"

"I've got three joints under my seat. I'm a medical patient ! Didn't you know I smoke ?"

"Dude, the Coast Guard did not come with a gunboat because you have weed."

"Are you SURE ? They could seize our boats ! These are the navigable waters of the United States ! They've got a fifty-cal !"

"Chris, you've got to go with a mellower strain."

Ken Roach said:

"Chris, you've got to go with a mellower strain."

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Ken Roach said:

"I thought for sure they finally found out."

"

Click to expand...

This reminds me of early in my career in the water industry as a grad engineer. I was running an I&I study (inflow and infiltration) in a small town to try figure out where stormwater was getting into the wastewater network. This was pretty rudimentary before the age of IOT manhole level sensors etc - we basically drove around during heavy storms and opened manholes, then followed upstream any pipes that were running at higher than expected flows.

So we turned up at about 11pm outside a house at the end of a quiet cul de sac in our dark blue Holden Ute (pickup truck), a favorite with the undercover police of the day, jumped out quickly and off down the drive to a manhole just outside the property. Saw the lights come on in the house, movement inside and then silence. Just as we got the manhole cover back on, a lady came out and said "you're not cops are you? Dammit! I just flushed a brand new stash down the toilet when I saw you turn up! Get the hell off my driveway!"

I've been asked several times to outfit grow rooms. After looking into "canned" controllers I don't think I could build anything that comes close as far as price. So I got to thinking on what I could do to set myself apart. I think it's automating the light distance and measuring lux. But that just drives the price higher. (no pun intended) These are small time growers so they get sticker shock every time. If someone with a large set up and a decent budget came along, I'd probably jump on it. Building the same old machines day in and day out is kind of boring.