JoeReal
09-06-2005, 12:54 PM
Automatic misters for your banana: Can be made from a timer and a mister.
The cheap misters can be obtained from Home Depot or WalMart. There are several types. The cheap ones that work are the Cobra Mist Stand ($7) by Arizona Mist. For $6 more, I recommend that you get the "Arizona Mist Cooling Stand", which is higher capacity and adjustable. If you have several bananas, you can buy several of these misters and connect them unto a garden hose, you can also buy wyes (Y-connectors for garden hoses) to split the hose into several branches to accomodate several misters. You can secure these misters on top of a frame to mist directly over your banana leaves.
Sprinkler Timer. One of the thing that throws people off are the timers that would seem very expensive or complicated. These are really cheap and easy to install. But don't get any ordinary timers, as you need something that will have built-in misting mode or can be made to run 8 hours continuously, or perhaps with 2 hours maximum running time but can be made to run 4 times in a day. The "Melnor Electronic Water Timer-6 Cycle", sells for $40. This timer has a built-in misting program. Set the timer to run the built-in misting program from about a couple hours after sunrise to an hour before sunset. This turns the water on for 7 seconds every 2 minutes. Due to the residual water pressure in the hose, this keeps the mist flowing constantly. Basically, the timer can be programmed to turn on for any duration you choose, and can have up to 6 different start times per day. During those times that you have programmed the water to be on, the timer can operate in one of two modes. In normal mode, the water is turned on continuously during the programmed time frame, just as you would expect. In "misting mode", instead of being on constantly, it cycles the water on for 7 seconds every two minutes. This setup ended up using only 4 - 5 gallons a day per mister.
Other timers can be used as long as they provide at least an option for 8 hour running time.
The cheap misters can be obtained from Home Depot or WalMart. There are several types. The cheap ones that work are the Cobra Mist Stand ($7) by Arizona Mist. For $6 more, I recommend that you get the "Arizona Mist Cooling Stand", which is higher capacity and adjustable. If you have several bananas, you can buy several of these misters and connect them unto a garden hose, you can also buy wyes (Y-connectors for garden hoses) to split the hose into several branches to accomodate several misters. You can secure these misters on top of a frame to mist directly over your banana leaves.
Sprinkler Timer. One of the thing that throws people off are the timers that would seem very expensive or complicated. These are really cheap and easy to install. But don't get any ordinary timers, as you need something that will have built-in misting mode or can be made to run 8 hours continuously, or perhaps with 2 hours maximum running time but can be made to run 4 times in a day. The "Melnor Electronic Water Timer-6 Cycle", sells for $40. This timer has a built-in misting program. Set the timer to run the built-in misting program from about a couple hours after sunrise to an hour before sunset. This turns the water on for 7 seconds every 2 minutes. Due to the residual water pressure in the hose, this keeps the mist flowing constantly. Basically, the timer can be programmed to turn on for any duration you choose, and can have up to 6 different start times per day. During those times that you have programmed the water to be on, the timer can operate in one of two modes. In normal mode, the water is turned on continuously during the programmed time frame, just as you would expect. In "misting mode", instead of being on constantly, it cycles the water on for 7 seconds every two minutes. This setup ended up using only 4 - 5 gallons a day per mister.
Other timers can be used as long as they provide at least an option for 8 hour running time.