Week Seven: Custom Irrigation

The irrigation system that the farm wants is a mist irrigation system.  Gothic Arch Greenhouse Inc. sells a mist irrigation system that is specifically designed for the greenhouse and includes all necessary parts; however, at $455.00, it is very expensive. The team has decided to put together our own system.  During this passed week, I had searched for the parts offered in the Gothic Arch Greenhouse Inc. set.  These parts included "24 hr. program timer with dayskipper, electric solenoid control valve, gate valve, line strainer, mist heads, plus all PVC pipe fittings and accessories." Below are the links for each part. The total for this system is $140.22 without a solar panel. At this point, we are still unaware of if we are able to use the solar panels that are already on sight.  If we are not allowed, the total will be $350.80.  The pump only uses 13.5 watts, and the solenoid valve only uses 19 watts.

Mist Irrigation System- http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/do-it-yourself-mist-system

Pump- http://www.discount-pumps.biz/inline-pond-pumps.htm

Day Timer- http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202206745?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=202206745&R=202206745#more_info

Solenoid Valve- http://www.amazon.com/Normally-Closed-Brass-2-Way-Solenoid/dp/B0072PKMJK/ref=sr_1_4?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1369790593&sr=1-4

Solar Panel- http://www.amazon.com/RENOGY-Monocrystalline-Photovoltaic-Battery-Charging/dp/B009Z6CW7O/ref=lp_2236628011_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1369789934&sr=1-5

Battery- http://www.amazon.com/Controller-Regulator-Charging-Automatic-Functions/dp/B008I0IZ7O/ref=pd_sim_lg_1#productDetails

Week Seven: Summary and Future

As the term slowly comes to an end, the group is finalizing the outline for what would be the rainwater catchment and irrigation system. A virtual design of the greenhouse was created in order to better visualize what the irrigation system would look like, both inside and outside. For the greenhouse, a mist irrigation system was chosen for the microgreens, but the exact price of the irrigation system is yet to be determined.

Within the following final weeks, the price will be set along with a finalized budget that Walnut Hill Community Farm could use if they wish to once their greenhouse is created. The team will also be entering the poster contest for the project.

Greenhouse CAD

One of the most pivotal aspects of the project, since implementation of the rainwater catchment and irrigation system by us will not occur, is creating CAD files to showcase our proposal. These files need to accomplish everything that the physical system would have. Most importantly, they need to show exactly what the system will do to convince the necessary people to fund the project. Here are some screenshots of the finished greenhouse, rainwater catchment, and irrigation system.

Front of the Greenhouse

Here is a front view of the greenhouse. You can see the proposed locations for the plant beds, the gutters on the side of the greenhouse, and the irrigation pipes on the inside.

Back of the Greenhouse

This shows the back of the greenhouse. The rain barrel is represented in red with the pump for the irrigation system beside it. It also shows how the gutters feed into the rain barrel.

Side Views of the Greenhouse

These show the sides of the greenhouse. The gutters run the entire length of the greenhouse, near the middle of the wall, to maximize rainwater catchment.

Top View of the Greenhouse

This is a top view of the greenhouse. It clearly shows the proposed layout of the plant beds. Also, it shows the orientation of the irrigation pipes above the plant beds.

Week Six: Bill Of Materials

This week the team decided on which gutters, end caps, and brackets will be used for our final proposal. The next step in our project is to determined if the Mist Irrigation system sold by the same company constructing the green house is  the best and most cost-efficient option. The updated Bill of Materials is listed below.

2.2 Project Budget

Category	Quantity	Individual Cost	Total Cost
Mist Irrigation System	1	455	$455
Amerimax 5” X 10’ White Metal K Gutter	50 feet	$ .682 per foot	$34.10
Amerimax 5” White Metal Right End Gutter Cap	1	$1.54	$1.54
Amerimax 5” White Metal Left End Gutter Cap	1	$1.54	$1.54
OSI 5 Oz. Micro Gutter Clear Sealant	1	$4.28	$4.28
Amerimax 4 Pack 5” Gutter Roof Hanger with Bracket	2	$7.17	$14.34
Custom Sand Charcoal Filtration System*	1	$129.95	$129.95
Downspout First Flush Water Diverter Kits**	1	$39.99	$39.99
Rain Barrels	2	$69.00	$69.00
TOTAL*			$749.74

Rain Barrel

The Philadelphia Water Department offers a really convenient, free way to obtain a rain barrel. To obtain one, a person has to go to one of their Rain Barrel Workshops. These workshops are offered to Philadelphia residents living in watersheds with the intention to reduce stormwater flow into the sewer system and creeks. Walnut Hill is located in a Philadelphia watershed, so this is the perfect way for them to obtain a rain barrel. At the workshop, one is instructed on what a rain barrel is, why one would want a rain barrel, and how one can obtain a free one.

Some of the highlights of the workshop are as follows. A rain barrel is a storage container that collects rain water from downspouts. They consist of a container with lid, a system to divert water into the barrel and away from a building, a screen to filter debris, and a spigot to attach a hose for use. Rain barrels have two main purposes. First, the water stored can be used for gardening, washing, lawn watering, etc.: exactly what Walnut Hill needs. Also, rain barrels help the environment by reducing storm runoff into the rivers and sewer. This improves the overall health of the environment and helps reduce backups in the sewers. To obtain a rain barrel, one must attend a rain barrel workshop. There, the Philadelphia Water Department will instruct on the proper installation and use of a rain barrel. Now, there is a limit of one barrel per household, but Walnut Hill could possibly work out a deal with the Department since they are a community farm.

Here is the link to the program. Dates of upcoming workshops will be posted there.
http://www.phillywatersheds.org/whats_in_it_for_you/residents/rainbarrel

Week Five: Gothic Arch Greenhouse Contact

     In class on Wednesday 5/1, I contacted Gothic Arch Greenhouses Inc. with a few questions that the team had.  The major question was "how would you, the manufacturer, go about catching rainwater off of the roof of the greenhouse?" They told me that many of their customers have attached gutters to the side of the greenhouse, and there are plenty of instructional videos on youtube.  The manufacturer said the best place to obtain these supplies is through a local hardware store.
   Also, on Monday, 4/29, I attended the Drexel Urban Growers (DUG) meeting.  They offered support and possible fundraising.  One of the members has worked with Allison at the Walnut Hill Farm.  DUG seems to have a similar goal to the goal at Walnut Hill except DUG tries to focus on bettering the Drexel community.  The members are very helpful, and we will stay in touch.
        Figure 1 shows a preliminary design of the gutters. This design will be edited to be more detailed in the following weeks.

Figure 1: Initial design of gutters at half mast

-Dustin Brandl

Week Five: Pairwise Excel Sheet & Concept Finalization

Today, in class, we weighed our different concepts using an excel sheet embedded with formulas from Dr. Moseson. These formulas are essentially set up as a GPA calculator and aided us in deciding which concepts are the best overall. In this spreadsheet, the team's proposed specifications were given a weight compared to every other specification. A “0” shows a specification of lesser importance to the column heading, a “1” signifies equal importance, and a “2” means the specification is more important. This helped mathematically determined the order of importance of each specification. Then, each concept was rated on a scale of one to five for each specification. Our concepts were further segregated in two sections, rainwater catchment and irrigation. Figure 1 shows the subcategories of each and their final calculated "grade".

Figure 1

The rainwater catchment concept of gutters halfway up the side of the greenhouse was chosen as the catchment system; however, the proposed design of an irrigation system may change as to what degree of control the farm director, Allison Blansfield, would like over the irrigation of the housed plants.

Another topic of discussion this week was the proposed materials of gutters.The two central ideas are PVC piping or aluminum gutters. This will be discussed in greater detail in the team's meeting later this week.

Unfortunately, our adviser, Dr. Moseson, informed the team that we will most likely not get the chance to implement our design due to the fact that the greenhouse for which we are constructing the irrigation system is not yet in place. Instead, our focus will be to create a model of our proposed design and to explain why we chose the design that we chose.