EZ Cloner hacks

This is one of the many drafts, for "posts" I'm writing. Which are mostly all 420ish type writings.  They are all in different stages of completion. Some just a title, some half way, some waiting on photos, some needing just to be "proof  read...... as this one........anyway ......

Well  after reading some posts at icmag.com about people's experience using a EZ Cloner, I thought I'd say something on the subject. I been using, both.. the 120 site unit and 60 site unit for like 7 to 8 years.... at least one of the cloners is up and running most the time...  anyway..... I'm needing like thirty (30) to Fifty (50) clones every 30 days.. depending on style of grow. Usually picking the best from 60 or so clones..

EZ Cloners... yeah............ Been running them for awhile now. I have the Original EZ Cloner design.... The ones with the drain on the front lower left corner.. The new EZ Cloner design  have the drain on the side, kind of high off the bottom... after draining...it probably leaves a lot of water still in the tub... I'll bet.. The original ones leave some water to.... but I'm a lazy grower.. And after these few years of working with the machine I have made some changes that make my life easier......

The real labor and pain with any cloner, at least for me.......is changing the water weekly...specially mid run.. I'm sure there are others just like me and hate changing that water.... but its one of those maintenance things you just "have to" do... usually when the water doesn't hold its pH, is when I change my water.. when the pH is like in the high 4's and wont come up with help.... commercial pH Up or Down solution.... is what I use to help.

Well...so these are a few of the things I've done to make my EZ Cloners less work to run, and maybe helped with the efficiencies of the units... I put a hose thread "cut off" valve and "female to female" hose adapter on my drain flange. That way I can hook a hose to it to drain and then refill with the same connection... it makes for very little work. Here's what the valve now looks like

Still leaves alittle water in the tub.. but.........awhile back I  bought my kids these squirt gun tubes.... you see em at swimming pools and lakes...the kind that are like a straw and you pull water up the tube....  then quickly push it out the end.... so one day... I filled up a bucket of water so the kids could run around the yard squirting each other.... I watched that squirt gun tube suck up half the bucket. Well...........doggy.... I knew then what I was gonna do with that toy squirt gun. Next time I changed water I used that squirt gun to pull up the last bit of water that was left in the corner of tub.... check it out..........

 

They cost like 3 bucks at Walmart... shoots water hella far.....
notice that big round air stone at lower right..... in front of the pump intake, you really can't see it. I'll get a better photo of the air stone....

So that's the way... I change my cloner water .... no problems and no moving the tub to clean it. I prop the tube up with a 2X4 block... one in the rear one at the right end.. I got a good brush I keep close, to scrub out the interior and rinse down it all down the drain hole with a pitcher of clean water.. once you get the water out of it.... its no work to fill... just thread the end of your hose onto a faucet and filler up.  Be sure up lift the hose to make sure its empty of the dirty water. before attaching to your clean water source...

blocked-up for draining

some other small things I've done, is remember that big air stone I told ya to notice.. its one of my upgrades to the air supply... instead of the perforated tube that came with the unit... also this bigger air pump is the another upgrade... blows serious bubbles I put it in front of the pump intake.. so when the pump is on it sucks hella air infused cloning solution, to all those clone stems

Better shot of air stone

Air pump upgrade

 



Being one... of the few pieces of equipment that I feel is mandatory to have when growing, that's a good working cloner... one that works for you... I used a DIY EZ Clone knockoff... that I built for like 2 years, before a good friend kicked me down the 60 site...  later acquired the 120 site in poker game... I cant even guess at the money these machines have saved me... or made  me...

I usually break down and buy some new seed once a year or so. I try to stay current on strains... trying some new strains or redoing some old ones.... or both.... The price of seed is amazing...... anyways.. Of the seed I buy, I try to keep one or two of the best phenos as moms. Using those plants, and clones that are given to me, I make it through the year or more with various strains to puff...

Hey so check out how I triple plug... Based on foliage and length of stem, if I got good air flow I'll triple plug, if I have the cuts... I try to "soft tissue" clone if possible they root faster and easy....... You have to vegg them longer cause they are smaller in size... but you cant beat the technique..... Usually taking my cuts from the small thin lower braches. I keep most of my lateral branching and main branch tips... most of my clone cuts have a very thin diameter stem... under 1/8th of a inch, more like 1/16th... if I had my pick. The tissue is soft, easy to develop root growth....and full of growth hormones, helping the speed it roots... my thinking.. That size cutting also allows you to triple plug very easy.

 

I try to keep them this thin if not thinner

Check this photo of my triple plugs..

 



If your gonna "double" and "triple" plug be sure that the cuts don't touch below the rubber. It makes it easier to get "mush stem" if they do...

When I'm loading plugs, I cut under water and dip in old school "Dip and Grow" for a few seconds.....I then spray them with Bubblemans, "Powdery Mildew Killer" mix..... before plugging them and loading them in the machine. Its the only time I spray them... Over the years I've found, for me, that spraying them with a PM preventive, then leave them dry till they root....  works the best for me.....Yeah I don't spray or mist the cuts, but that one time... before I load them. I also try to use a dry plug.. don't know if it helps anything but I like dry plugs..

I also run Clonex at 20ml per gallon in my cloner water.... it's like 9 to 10 gallons for the 60 site...  so that's like 180 ml a week.. Hey Clonex is not cheap.. $25 bucks a bottle.......... Im very frugal when it comes to buying nutrients... I just really feel they (Nute companies) are burning all of us....  I wont get started...... but I've also run straight water with great success. Just takes longer to root... but they do root. on straight water, air and light.

Yeah I was watching You Tube and "Bubbleman's World" popped up in the search screen... so anyway...... he was running down some of his tech on Powdery Mildew.. and shared his low impact solution you can make at home.... Well I tried it.... and it works great........ so I use it in my preventive maintenance grow practices.

Heres the mix:

1                 gallon water

1 Tbs          baking soda

1 Tsp          cooking oil

3 drops       liquid dish soap

 

Mix in container,

shake up before use..

spray till dripping wet...

use daily until PM is beat down

 

So with that.... I'll close here....

 

Gonna start getting my next project together..... waiting on parts for my colloidal silver generator.......

 

Yep gonna try making my own female seed...............So we will see....

 

Soooooooo until again..
 

Hey you should really try Bubblemans, "Powdery Mildew" mix.... works hella good...