The Farm Hack River of Activity

I have also wanted to know when the electricity goes out in the greenhouse, because that means the heater doesn't work. I did this simply with the "normally closed" contacts on a SSR (solid state relay). As long as there is power, it holds the contact open, when the power goes out the contacts close and ring a wireless doorbell in the house. I know that eventually the relay may fail being energized all the time, but after a year I have had no problems.

I like the idea of a tool wiki to document this method of communication for the community- I think you can embed the iframe but the text format has to be in markdown syntax and HTML- here it is:

I have basically the same question. I basically want hard data to be able to compare my different practices. I have 500sq feet of raised bed gardens,16 boxes total. All are well within wyfy range, but I'd like to avoid plugging them in if possible.

I'd like to collect soil temp. and soil moisture for sure, Im at the beach so humidity tends to be fairly consistent. I guess maybe luminosity would be good? I'm looking for suggestions in this department. What are the key data most necessary?

What would be the most cost effective wireless device?

Thanx!

Hi all - check out the insert button when you upload an image to a Conversation or Wiki. It will insert into the body of the post the HTML markup for the image. Doesn't work on comments yet...

\ RJ

I have some screen size documentation and supplier information that I can post later this week. It would be great to attach this work to the dehuller, thresher and combine tools as well. One of the concepts I would like to see developed is the concept of "kits"/so we can group multiple tools together in different combinations.

I'll try to use the format suggested. Working on it now. Thanks again for the feedback. Once posted you'll have to let me know how I did. P

If you installed the free Tapatalk plugin I would check this forum every day. This forum is not mobile friendly.

Joel, I'll do my best to put together what we do as well as I can. I'll put it on a page like the one previously posted. To get people started, below are photos of the axle parts of our single dibbler and Infinite dibbler. I can sell any parts people want. On a case by case basis I can let people know the problems we have had getting them correct. By the time you are done getting a machine shop to make a part you might as well buy ours. We get quotes for parts and most are like qty 1- $20each qty 20 $5each qty 100- $2.50each , so we would be happy to help, but most times it's easier to sell someone the one we made/had made for $5 then for any single person to have one made. Some, like laying out the hole pattern that fits our wheels or the star inside of the drum you could do with a scribe, center punch, and drill press and not be far off. Others like our leg design that the drum axle would attach to are difficult. 1" square steel drilled with a 3/4 hole. Then a 3/4" od, 1/2" Id piece is welded inside that hole(idarms2.jpeg). So in answer to your questions, yes there is some fabrication that would be difficult for a home person to do/have done. We will sell what we can to help. Our hub system for the single dibbler would be the easiest to sell as a stand alone, but because of the weld location, it's a bit harder than just drilling a 2x4(see the photo sdaxle). For the Infinite dibbler/ drum dibbler it's trickier.

long story short, we'll post what we can(I'll shoot for within 2 weeks) and if someone needs something/parts/advice we'll help. Thanks for your continued interest, Pete

Joel, Thank you for your feedback. I agree with everything you said. I have never built a dibble wheel that does not require welding, so I've posted everything useful for non welders that I can think of. We can't weld everything on our commercial DWs because we have to ship them, and it's nicer to hold the 1 1/4" wood then the 1" square steel. For someone that can weld, I would adapt our designs and weld everything. Just be careful of the 2 arms(on our infinite dibbler) as alignment is important. We have intended to push not pull the DWs. It doesn't roll quite as well, but I think it helps keep the rows from veering, but it would be interesting to talk more about it. The hardest thing is clearly the axle attachment. We have steel parts punched commercially to the right specs then welded to either the axle or the tube the bushings go in. It is a pain and is precise. I'm not sure how to make it easy without tooling. To your suggestion, I guess the best course would be for me to post a guide as to how we do it and others can adapt it for home use, as that is not my strong suit. What do you think would be most useful?

Thanks again, Pete