Saturday, December 23, 2017

Week of December 18-21

Hello everyone,

This week, my objectives were:

1. Finish the prototype minus the solar panel

2. If time, add the solar panel.

I did not complete either of these objectives, and here's why:

As I was working on the prototype, the top tube kept filling up with water and flooding. I kept making the hole bigger until I accidentally broke my pipe, popping part of the end out. I decided to roll with it and cut that part off entirely, but that did not make it any better.

Eventually, I realized that it would be better to start over, new top pipe, new design. The old one had a gro cube, a basket filled with hydrotin, a pouch of hydrotin, and a hole for growing. I also put in gutter foam between all of these.

This new prototype tube has four baskets filled with gutter foam. The problems with hydrotin is that it floats, making it unstable for the plant roots, and since there's many individual pellets, it's easy to lose track of them when you're cleaning the system or trying to remove a part for repair.

This prototype also has no gutter foam between the baskets, so water should flow quicker.

Hopefully, this prototype will work out better than the last time.

Thank you for reading, and happy holidays,
-Ben

Monday, December 18, 2017

Objectives for Week of December 18-21

Hello everyone,

This week, my objectives are:

1. Finish the prototype minus the solar panel

2. If time, add the solar panel, though I doubt this will happen.

I'll let you know what happens at the end of this week.
-Ben

Friday, December 15, 2017

The Week of December 11-15

Hello everyone,

This week, my objectives were:

1. Collect more data for my solar panel.

2. Getting my prototype working in terms of water.

I have met objective number 1. I collected sufficient data for my solar panel and found that it worked best in bright sun to slightly cloudy weather. It had up to 18.5-19.5/20 volts in sunny weather, and 19-21/200 volts in slightly cloudy weather. If I clock the power just right, I think I can make the pump work for at least ten minutes a day.

I did not meet objective 2, but I am close. 
Aligning and getting water to flow exactly right is very difficult. My main problems are leaking at the end of the top tube, the bottom one not filling up, and overflowing on the top tube. I am not entirely sure what I will do to fix it in the future, but so far I have made a much bigger draining hole on the top tube, eliminated suction from the pump, removed my peat moss experiment, unclogged the drain, added an ending onto the drain to make it more precise, and even drilled a hole into the pump's tube to make it output less water.

All of this has gotten me so close, but not exactly to where I want to be. Luckily, since this is a prototype, once I fix this, I can apply what I learn to the final.

Thank you for reading,
Ben

Monday, December 11, 2017

Objectives for Week of December 11-15

Hello everyone,

This week, my objectives are:

1. Collect more data for my solar panel. Hopefully, there will be a cloudy day or two so that I can get sufficient results.

2. Getting my prototype working in terms of water. I need to align and make sure my water is flowing at an efficient rate before anything else can be added onto the system.

See you later,
Ben

Friday, December 8, 2017

The Week of December 4-8

Hello everyone,

This week, my objective was to finish the prototype, minus the solar panels. I ran into two obstacles.

The first is that I was unaware at the time that Thursday was a short day, so there was no Greengineering. As a result, I had less working time.

The second is that getting my system to align is very hard. This is the prototype so far:

I am having difficulty getting the top pipe to drain directly into the bottom one without going off to the side. I plan to solve this by drilling a hole in the bottom of sufficient size so that it can drain right into the larger one below.

I have made the pump part of the system, and it runs smoothly.

I also am still measuring the solar panel's output under different weather conditions. So far, there have not been any cloudy days with class, so I have not gotten sufficient data. Though I will try to measure it when cloudy days come.



Thanks for reading,
Ben 

Monday, December 4, 2017

Objectives for Week of December 4-8

Hello everyone,

First off, I would like to apologize for not posting last week at the end of the week for what I accomplished. I will not forget this week.

This week, my objective is to finish the prototype, minus the solar panels. I have been recording the voltage output for my panels, and I have been getting pretty good results, which I will be writing about more later this week. I am continuing to focus on just the non-electrical part of this prototype.

Thanks for reading,
Ben 

Monday, November 27, 2017

Objectives for Week of November 27-30

Hello all,

This week, my objectives are:

1. To get readings for my solar panel. Starting this week, I will record the output of my panel each day. They will be tested in different weather conditions in the Tiger's Loft.

2. Continue constructing the prototype, to point of near completion. I am still working on assembling the parts of my prototype, and I think that if I manage my time right, I can finish most of it this week.

Thanks for reading,
Ben

Friday, November 17, 2017

Happy Friday,

This week, my objective was to be nearly done with the prototype. I have all the pieces, and I have started putting them together. I have made the frame and the tubes. I also need to re-test my solar panel system to run better. Next week, I think I might decide to move on from the solar panel and put together the whole system without it, then come back to it at the end.

Thanks fro reading,
Ben

Monday, November 13, 2017

Objectives for Week of November 13-16

Hello all,

This week, my objective is to be nearly done with the prototype. It will hopefully be finished in the following two weeks.

Thanks for reading
Ben

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Week of November 6-9

Hello,

This week, I aimed to finish 1/2 of my prototype. I can say that I have achieved that objective. I have cut all of the wood for the frame of my prototype and I have made the pipes for them to grow in. I have also found a basket to hold the water for the plants. All I have to do is put the pieces together and decide what to do with the survey.

I'll update soon,
Ben

Monday, November 6, 2017

Objectives for Week of November 6-9

Hey all,

This week my objective is:

1. Finish 1/2 of the prototype. I just want to be well on my way with building it. Then I'll go from there.

That's all,
Ben

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Week of October 30- November 2

Hi all,

This week, my objectives were to:

1. Get survey results

2. Finish 1/2 of the prototype

So far, I have a grand total of one response. Maybe more will come, but I have to prepare for the possibility of not getting many responses, or figure out a way for more people to take the survey.

I also ran into an obstacle with the prototype. When plants die, what happens? If I plant the seed directly into the gutter foam, it will become difficult to remove. So for the prototype, I will be making three different holes- two as I planned, with just the seed, one with cloth and hydrotin (a pellet-shaped clay-like material), and one in a gro-basket with hydrotin.

I forgot that there was going to be a half day on Thursday, so that is one of the reasons I have not entirely met my goals.

Thanks for reading,
Ben

Monday, October 30, 2017

Objectives for Week of October 30-November 2

Hello all,

This week, I have two objectives:

1. Get survey results. I tried my best to make posters and get people to take the survey. On Thursday, I will determine the impact the survey will have on the system, which may be no impact.

2. Finish 1/2 of the prototype. I understand that it's a very arbitrary number, but I plan on halfway being finished with the tubing, rope, and frame

Thursday, October 26, 2017

The Week of October 23-26



Hello everyone,

I apologize for not writing an end of the week post last week. I was very busy and once I finally wrote it, it glitched and deleted the post.

This week was both productive and not productive. My objective was only to finish the prototype design. That has not entirely happened because the survey is still getting results.

However, I can still work on the principal parts of my design, since many parts are dependent of the survey results. This is the prototype thus far:
For now, I can build what is shown here. The only things that will change is possibly things being added. I have a lot of work I can do. For plants, I have decided to use basil, baby greens, and snow peas. The students from another part of Greengineering, aquaponics, found that plants will use what there is. In other words, there is little difference from plant to plant when doing hydroponics, except for plants that have low tolerance for water. Below are pictures of me making the tubes.

In the tubes are five holes. One for water, the other four for plants. It is sealed with foam and superglue on one end, while the other end is open. Inside is gutter foam. Eventually, I will plant my seeds in here and keep it somewhat submerged in water to simulate growing conditions.

I'll keep you posted,
Ben

Monday, October 23, 2017

Objectives for Week of October 23-26

Hello from Greengineering,

My objectives for this week are as follows:

1. Finish the prototype design. This is the only objective. There is more to it than just designing. I still have to aquire materials and figure out how to build the system, especially making it solar powered.

That is all. I am hoping that by setting just one objective, I will meet my goals more easily.

Thanks for reading,
Ben

Monday, October 16, 2017

Agenda for October 16 to 19

Happy (tired) Monday,

This week, I am going to accomplish two things:

1. Finishing the prototype design. I can only do this once my survey has received a sufficient number of responses. Ms. McKinney has told me that she would like to put up signs with my survey URL herself. Her cafe, her rules. So hopefully within the next week or two, I will get some input on the idea.

2. Starting the build. Even though the survey is incomplete, I can still start making the concrete parts of the prototype. I know that it will use tubing, so I can set that up. There is a lot of work to be done.

I will be writing about the results of this week this Thursday.

See you next time,
Ben

Thursday, October 12, 2017

This Past Week for October 10-12

Hello everyone,

At the beginning of the week, I had two objectives:

1. Getting approved for my independent study in Greengineering.

2. Administering my completed survey to people who work in the Tiger's Loft and those who go there.

As of now, I have finished writing my independent study proposal and I just need to proofread it, then send it to the right people. I have decided I will make a sign and hang it up in the Tiger's Loft so that people can take the survey on their phones while waiting in line for food. Today, I printed that sign from the school's amazing Graphic's Department. I brought a copy to the Tiger's Loft to make sure the director liked it, but the classroom was locked and deserted, so I assume that there was no class today. I will be trying again on Monday.

However, I am finalizing my prototype design. There are a few parts still undetermined since the survey addresses them, but the prototype can still be built, just not used for a final design until the survey is complete.

See you next week,
Ben

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Agenda for October 10-12

Good day,

For my blog, I am going to have a new schedule. Each week, I will have two posts. The first, this one, which addresses what I aim to accomplish for this week. The second, which addresses what I have accomplished by the end of the week.

This Monday was Indigenous People's Day, so there are only three days of class this week. For this week, I am going to be focusing on two main objectives:


1. Getting approved for my independent study in Greengineering. Currently, I am attending Greengineering, but I am not approved for receiving credit for taking the class. However, once I fill out a lengthy form and submit it to the department head, I can get my credit for the class.

2. If I finish that early enough, I will work on administering my completed survey to people who work in the Tiger's Loft and those who go there. Once that is complete, I can finalize my prototype plan and start building it.


I expect to finish objective #1 and start on objective #2. If all goes well, I will finish them both.

Until next time,
Ben

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Prototypes

Good day,

The past week has been a bit toned-down. On Tuesday there was no class and on Wednesday I was absent. Because of this, I have only made three prototype designs. I originally planned to have five, but time ran out.

Alpha-HydroLoft (AHL):

This system yields 30 plants, and it uses plastic bottles. However, it will be difficult to utilize the plants with all the rope that would hold the bottles and many of the plants would have little room to grow. There is also a lot of wasted space.

Beta-HydroLoft (AHL):
This system yields 20 plants. It is the simplest of all the systems and would be somewhat easy to construct. The main downside is a low yield.



Gamma-HydroLoft (AHL):
This system is the most efficient, and somewhat easy to build. It yields 45 plants. The main issue is that you wouldn't be able to see the interior of the system. Other than that, this is near-perfect.

Note: The tubes are funky-looking in the diagram because I couldn't get the angle correct

Next Monday, I will have a short blog post outlining my plan for the week.

Thanks for reading,
Ben

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Designing the Prototype

Hello from Greengineering!

This week I went on a field trip, missing two days of class so I did not work that much on the HydroLoft system. However, I am in the process of designing a prototype. I am calling the prototype Alpha-HydroLoft (or AHL for short). AHL is going to be a 1/4 size of the real system and designed on a grid representing two by two square feet. The real system is estimated to be six feet tall and six feet long, excluding the top shelf, which is an extra one and a half feet for solar panels to power the system.

Originally, the prototype was going to be tubes that conducted water with plants in them. See the image below.
However, there is a problem, how to hold the tubes up? I was thinking rope but I am still not sure of that. I talked to my biology teacher about the system, and she suggested plastic bottles with soil and rocks that drained out the bottom into the next. The only problem I had was that there wouldn't be constant flow, the pump would need to be inactive and there would also need to be accounting for the water absorbed by the soil. So I thought of a compromise:
This is the same idea as the pipe system, but each plastic bottle drains to the next, like a set of stairs. This plan could change again, but the plastic bottle stairs idea is great because it is aesthetically pleasing, uses plastic bottles, and allows the water to flow quickly and easily. It would also be much easier to tie rope around; once at the first indent, then again at the bottleneck. Once I have finished the AHL design, I will write about that and about building it.


Thanks for reading,
Ben

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

What is HydroLoft? and Interviews

Hey all,

If you're reading this, you're probably interested in green-engineering. If not, welcome anyway!

The project concerned with this blog is called HydroLoft. HydroLoft is a hydroponic plant-growing system for the culinary department of Newton North High School, based in a room called "The Tiger's Loft".

So what the heck does that mean? First of all, A hydroponic system is a system that uses water to do something. In this case, to grow plants, specifically, spices. Newton North High School is the school I attend. Within NNHS is a culinary department, which mainly works in a room called The Tiger's Loft. In The Tiger's Loft, students make a variety of meals for students, mainly sold during lunch and breakfast. This hydroponic system will help supply spices for The Tiger's Loft, thus, giving it the name HydroLoft.

HydroLoft is still in the design phase. At the moment, it is just an idea, but it will be designed in full detail and then re-created in real life and implemented into the school.

Part of the design process is consumerism - the part that deals with the consumers, in this case, the Tiger's Loft's chefs and the people they serve. What I have done is interviewed the director, Ms. McKinney, and both chefs and students alike.

When I interviewed Ms. McKinney, she was very open to the idea. We concluded that the system should be able to fit on the window ledge (this is possible due to the large width) so that it will receive sunlight for much of the day. I asked her what plants she would like to be grown. I received the following as an answer: 

  • Basil
  • Rosemary
  • Cilantro
  • Thyme
  • Sage
  • Mint
When I asked Ms. McKinney about salads, her and I agreed that it would probably not be able to grow enough food for an ample amount of salads. "Besides..." she added "we already order our food online. Anything we get from this is a bonus."

As for interviewing more people, I am making a survey, which I hope to publicize very soon and give the link to the students and staff that work in the Tiger's Loft and other classes.

-Ben