Need Help with your Dosatron Fertilizer Injector?

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Permalink Reply by Eric Rohloff on April 3, 2009 at 12:48pm

Here's a tip for any grower using a Dosatron DI16 unit. If you count the number of clicks the injector makes you can calibrate your chemical applications very accurately. 9 clicks on this unit is 1 gallon of water out of the hose. I don't know what it is for some of the other units but I live by this for chemical calculations on how much I'll need or on the fly to calibrate a hand application to an area. Even when you get far from the unit where you can't hear the clicks you should be able to feel them in the hose. Remember to calibrate your injector to make sure it's drawing the proper amount of chemical into the water stream.

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Permalink Reply by Lela Kelly on April 3, 2009 at 1:24pm

Eric, may I add to that if you change out the maintenance seal kits about once a year, it will help keep your injector working perfectly.
Good ideas, growers come up with some very inventive ways of using equipment!


Eric Rohloff said:

Here's a tip for any grower using a Dosatron DI16 unit. If you count the number of clicks the injector makes you can calibrate your chemical applications very accurately. 9 clicks on this unit is 1 gallon of water out of the hose. I don't know what it is for some of the other units but I live by this for chemical calculations on how much I'll need or on the fly to calibrate a hand application to an area. Even when you get far from the unit where you can't hear the clicks you should be able to feel them in the hose. Remember to calibrate your injector to make sure it's drawing the proper amount of chemical into the water stream.

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Permalink Reply by snewman7118 on April 3, 2009 at 2:08pm

If you need help with the calculations, check my blog: http://tinyurl.com/deurk9

Steve

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Permalink Reply by Michael Pawelek on April 4, 2009 at 11:47am

During my two peak growing seasons a year (Spring and Later Poinsettias) a full liquid fertilizer mix in my large stock tank usually lasts me 3-4 weeks. Once the tank mix is blended for the pH and the EC levels I need "at the hose end" I write down the pH and EC levels and keep them posted near the injector. I also keep my EC and pH meters in the greenhouses and once a day as I water I check the EC and pH levels quickly to determine if the injector is proportioning correctly. Doing a once a day quick check at a hose end insures that I don't get surprised later on when I perform an in house soil pH and EC level for that crop. Injectors like all machinery eventually wear out and need to be updated periodically with some new parts and with the "newer" water soluble dyes one can no longer guess at the strenght of a liquid feed by the color. I have to use so much sulfuric acid in my liquid feed mix to counteract my high well water alkalinity that the fertilizer comming out the hoses is almost clear so a pH and EC meter are extremely necessary for my operation to insure the injector is working properly.....
Michael Pawelek
Pecan Hill Nursery
www.pecanhillnursery.com

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Permalink Reply by Lela Kelly on April 6, 2009 at 4:32pm

Michael, you are absolutely correct! Any injector can wear out and you cannot tell by the color of your fertilizer. Regular seal maintenance on the Dosatron injectors help to ensure that they stay accurate and work correctly.
Great advice for all growers, thank you!

Michael Pawelek said:

During my two peak growing seasons a year (Spring and Later Poinsettias) a full liquid fertilizer mix in my large stock tank usually lasts me 3-4 weeks. Once the tank mix is blended for the pH and the EC levels I need "at the hose end" I write down the pH and EC levels and keep them posted near the injector. I also keep my EC and pH meters in the greenhouses and once a day as I water I check the EC and pH levels quickly to determine if the injector is proportioning correctly. Doing a once a day quick check at a hose end insures that I don't get surprised later on when I perform an in house soil pH and EC level for that crop. Injectors like all machinery eventually wear out and need to be updated periodically with some new parts and with the "newer" water soluble dyes one can no longer guess at the strenght of a liquid feed by the color. I have to use so much sulfuric acid in my liquid feed mix to counteract my high well water alkalinity that the fertilizer comming out the hoses is almost clear so a pH and EC meter are extremely necessary for my operation to insure the injector is working properly.....
Michael Pawelek
Pecan Hill Nursery
www.pecanhillnursery.com

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Permalink Reply by Steve on April 15, 2009 at 1:06am

Hind sight being 20/20, given the large bone yard of dosatron AND dosamatic injectors we have amassed over the last 30 years I think I would have saved more money if I had paid more money upfront and bought all Anderson Injectors. I would have had better crops and less maintenance headaches.

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Permalink Reply by Lloyd Traven on April 15, 2009 at 9:44am

We've had LOTS of experience with the full range of injectors, and frankly, we feel that DOSATRON easily makes the most sense to any grower. We keep a couple dead dosamatics around just to remind us graphically how overcomplicated they are and impossible to service in the field. DOSATRON, however, is almost always fully servicable while still in-line. We follow a REGULAR maintenance program of replacing all seals annually, and Dosatron makes that incredibly easy with their reminders and auto-shipment of the CORRECT repair parts. Not only do we do almost all our own repairs onsite, but we also get calls from our retail customers to calibrate and maintain THEIR units, the one we have either GIVEN them or convinced them to buy (way too many retailers do not fertilize at all). We are happy to provide this service, because if our product looks good at retail, it continues to sell through and generates more business. We also could not afford the cost of initial purchase of Anderson's full system and accessories, especially given the different ranges, requirements, etc. Ongoing costs were part of the equation, too. In our opinion, DOSATRON gives us the best value, durability, ease of upkeep at a low cost, and maximum flexilbility. We also see the same to be true at some of the largest growers nationally, where there may be multiple 100 gallon units chunking along FLAWLESSLY for years at a relatively incredibly low cost, including maintenance. Our most recent DOSATRON units are adapted specifically for compost tea application through booms at an unusually low proportion of 1:10---try that with the Anderson, and I'd guess you might be calling the factory for an RMA number. I'll stick with what always works!!! If only they were available in a tie-dyed housing, life would be perfect!!

Steve said:

Hind sight being 20/20, given the large bone yard of dosatron AND dosamatic injectors we have amassed over the last 30 years I think I would have saved more money if I had paid more money upfront and bought all Anderson Injectors. I would have had better crops and less maintenance headaches.

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