# DIY Misting System < $100



## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

I'm finally building the DIY misting system I've been thinking about for way too long 

The idea is to build a system that is affordable and mostly made out of parts you can get at a local hardware store. This way if parts are needed I don't have to wait on shipping. 

I've spent about $70 so far and I should be able to expand it to all my vivariums without any additional cost. Hopefully, if it's successful it will make automated misting a little more in reach for others.

I'll be using RasPiViv as the controller and a timer will increase the cost of the project pretty significantly if you need one. I'm not sure how much they cost.

This is the first test run. It needs work for sure, but I'm just glad everything is operational.

https://youtu.be/oPXx9cSXaDk


This will be my build log. Parts list, more pics and instructions to follow once I feel confident I can make it work reliably without flooding my house or frogs.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

Nice work, Nate! Does it turn off right away and not drip? I couldn't tell for sure how fine the mist is. Those things are what I have learned to associate with the quality of a Mist King. This would be a lot cheaper though. I look forward to seeing the parts list. Being able to go to a big box store to buy components would be a lot easier than waiting on shipping like I have to do now. It might also be possible to hybridize with my existing Mist King, too.

Keep up the good work!

Mark


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## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

Thanks Mark. Just got everything installed last night. Hopefully I'll have something up by the end of the weekend. Unfortunately this system isn't going to integrate with MK. Nor will it be anywhere near the performance of MK  It's loud, it's ugly but it works and it's super cheap and accessible.

The frogs love it so far  I see why you guys like misting systems so much. 



Encyclia said:


> Nice work, Nate! Does it turn off right away and not drip? I couldn't tell for sure how fine the mist is. Those things are what I have learned to associate with the quality of a Mist King. This would be a lot cheaper though. I look forward to seeing the parts list. Being able to go to a big box store to buy components would be a lot easier than waiting on shipping like I have to do now. It might also be possible to hybridize with my existing Mist King, too.
> 
> Keep up the good work!
> 
> Mark


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## dedman (Sep 5, 2008)

Just curious, what kind of misting nozzles did you end up using?


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## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

dedman said:


> Just curious, what kind of misting nozzles did you end up using?


Nothing like yours  which I will most likely upgrade to later. I just wanted to try this out first and see if it is possible.

It's made almost entirely out of micro irrigation components. Sounds scary but I've got it all setup so all potential failure points will (hopefully) be contained within the pump reservoir or the vivariums. So if something like an elbow blows the water will be captured.

The mist heads are made by DIG and they're labeled "fogger mister". The mist is surprisingly pretty good *but* is very wide angle so it hits the top of the viv and creates a lot of drip. Also if it hits the front door it too hard it will also leak out the front.

So far I'm happy with it. Only spent $60 give or take and and the frogs seem to really like it. It looks like a major rain storm in there when it's going!

Anyway, if I still feel like it will help others (and not flood their house) I'll make a quick tutorial soon. It's pretty easy to build.


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

Just a comment, a lot of people seem to think that mist should be directed into the vivarium. Personally I do not care in fact I like mist to spray down doors and ceilings of vivariums, It washes poop, and slime and anything else off reducing how often I need to clean all the surfaces. The downsides to this which IMO are not worth the loss of the washing is that you do waste some water and some tanks such as exoterras can leak out the front. (that's a hint to you vivarium makers design the doors and tracks so water drains back into the vivarium) 

I use a mixture of what we call mistking and compatible parts, since mist king is just a brand name for roughly 100 psi misting heads like those from tefen and corresponding quick connect tubing. And I place my misters flush to the top of the vivarium to allow them to mist everywhere. 

It is also worth mentioning that if you want to save money you can design 100psi misting systems with a lot less wasted cash if you simply reduce the massive amount of connector overload IMO. But interestingly most retailers do not like to stock misting nozzle itself I think mistking calls them non adjustable greenhouse nozzles. I just pop a 3/8" hole in the top glass and screw the misting head directly through the glass into the 1/8 fpt port. It is flush, cheaper, and cleaner looking both inside and outside the tank. The more tanks you have the more you save since 1 pump can power a lot of tanks.


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## rjs5134 (Feb 1, 2017)

Looks good... I think with different nozzles it might be perfect.

What pump did you use?


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## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

Thanks for the tips Pub I kinda like the way to looks with lots of water dripping off the top. You're right about the door. I learned that already...



rjs5134 said:


> Looks good... I think with different nozzles it might be perfect.
> 
> What pump did you use?


It's a marine diaphragm pump I bought of Ebay a long time ago. I actually just ordered a new one because I think it's too powerful and way too loud. I'm OK with the noise TBH it's not a big deal, but it's way too much pressure for irrigation plumbing and increases the chances of something eventually blowing out.


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## ruairidh_ (Feb 9, 2016)

What was the psi you were running with the old one?


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## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

ruairidh_ said:


> What was the psi you were running with the old one?


I honestly don't know I got it so long ago I don't remember but I believe it's above 100 psi.


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## ruairidh_ (Feb 9, 2016)

Ah ok, I was looking at coffee machine diaphragm pumps on eBay, seemed to put out a pretty high psi, some were something like 120 if I'm not mistaken


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## TheCoop (Oct 24, 2012)

I can tell you now those DIG heads are incredible, but I would suggest using one with a lower GPH. I am currently using 8 in my greenhouse driven by a standard MistKing pump, beautiful fine mist/fog! 

Superior to any MistKing heads I have ever used.


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## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

TheCoop said:


> I can tell you now those DIG heads are incredible, but I would suggest using one with a lower GPH. I am currently using 8 in my greenhouse driven by a standard MistKing pump, beautiful fine mist/fog!
> 
> Superior to any MistKing heads I have ever used.


They do work surprisingly well. The only ones available at my Home Depot are 6-7 GPH. It would also be nice if they came with a narrower mist. I'll have to look into it.

Is your pump really loud using it with these compared to a normal MK setup? The pump I ordered says it's whisper quiet lol I can assure you, it is not. But I think it might be because of the 1/4" irrigation line.


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

These aren't the same as the DIG heads but I should also mention that if you want to control the angle a company that makes misting nozzles is called tefen, and you can buy them in a wide range of colors and spray cones and flow rates. This is one such supplier you can find other options. 

https://www.ecologictechnologiesinc.com/misting_systems_misting_nozzles.html


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## Grimsrude (Apr 6, 2017)

This thread made me realize my plan to buy the mistking set and then just use those DIG mist heads from the home depot will work. I was a bit worried about that lol but it sure saves a ton of money on mist heads.


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## dedman (Sep 5, 2008)

Port_plz-

Just wondering - somewhat aside here......

Have you ever tried to run the raspiviv software on a pi zero? 

Just wondering as I am going to build another raspiviv and was unsure whether I could go with a pi zero "w" (wireless)

I think that it would work fine, but wanted to get your thoughts.

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

dedman said:


> Port_plz-
> 
> Just wondering - somewhat aside here......
> 
> ...


Haven't tried the zero yet but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Let me know if you try.


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## dedman (Sep 5, 2008)

I have a pi zero "w" on the way - I will let you know how it works next week. The pinouts are the same so it should work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MDfrog (Apr 2, 2012)

I'm looking to do a similar setup. Do you think the barbed connectors on the misting head will hold up to the high pressure over time. This was my main concern with these misting heads.


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## sparrow (Nov 14, 2015)

This might not be what you are looking for, but it will certainly be super cheap.

Get a tea towel, or some pillow case that's never been in use preferably, or even just some paper towels. Cover the top (if you have the mesh on top? I don't have critters in my tanks so I'm not sure what the norm is), and pour water on it. It should drip the excess through like teeny tiny rain cloud, haha.

It won't "mist" in the sense you want, probably, but you will get drops of water atleast. I'm thinking of trying this on my build, but I don't have the mesh since it's just a fish tank with plants, basically, haha.


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## Timbow (Aug 17, 2016)

I bought the DIG fogger/misters for my greenhouse based on this thread. Thought I would share my initial impressions. I'm powering 4 DIG's, along with 2 single mistking nozzles that are in a viv next to my indoor greenhouse. The DIG nozzles produce a very nice, fine mist and work nicely with the mistking pump. The 1/4" poly micro tubing is the same as mistking and can be bought much cheaper, though it's only rated for 60psi. It looks and feels exactly the same as the mistking, so I think it will be fine. In addition, the barbed connectors for the micro tubing are WAY cheaper than mistking or John Guest quick connect fittings and seem to work well. The only downside I see to the DIG heads is that they do not have a built in check valve, so they drip after misting stops until the lines are depressurized. I'm going to try to add a zipdrip valve and see if that takes care of it. Hope someone finds this useful.


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## dedman (Sep 5, 2008)

Just wanted to follow up quickly - the Pi Zero works perfectly. No issues at all with functionallity.


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## Grimsrude (Apr 6, 2017)

So I've been trying out the DIG foggers/misters for about a month, and ... I'll be buying mistking nozzles here soon it seems. I use 0 TDS RO/DI water and even then, I've found myself having to replace a few of them as they just start spraying a single line of water (rather than a 120 degree mist or so). I even went out of my way to get the 0.8/0.5gph DIG nozzles you can find online. It's entirely possibly I'm blowing them out using the mistking pump, as I tried a 2GPH fogger and it hasn't given me any troubles other than severally limiting the number of nozzles I can use. I'm still doing some experiments with them, and in a pinch, they are great in their own right, but as I said, I'm looking to replace them slowly for something I don't have to keep buying. Of course, YMMV! 

Also cool news on the pi zero. That's my next project (once I get all my glass tops and doors in in a couple weeks .... ) - once these puppers are sealed up, I wanna manage humidity and watering more dynamically.


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