AutoPot - 1Pot 24 pot watering system

The 1Pot system for 24 pots is the largest ready-made 1Pot build: twenty-four trays each with an AQUAvalve5, eight metres of 16 millimetre main line and all the fittings. At this scale the project starts not with the parts but with the floor plan.

All trays at the same level

This is the demand the whole system makes, and you only need to get it right once. Each valve fills to 20 millimetres above its own tray floor, and supply arrives by gravity. A tray standing a few centimetres higher than the rest comes last in line and runs dry first. One standing lower gets priority instead.

So set them on one plane, and check it with a level before filling pots, not after. Moving twenty-four filled 15 litre pots is an afternoon's work; levelling two benches is ten minutes.

Weight and floor

Twenty-four 15 litre pots is 360 litres of substrate. Wet, that weighs a multiple of dry, and the reservoir comes on top of it, standing higher than the trays and potentially several hundred kilos when full. Check that against whatever surface you are using, particularly benches or an upper floor.

Leave working space between rows too. You need to reach every tray to check it runs dry, and the end of the main line to flush it.

The reservoir sets your run time

The system does not stop after a set period; it stops when the tank is empty. So decide first how many days you want covered, estimate the daily use of twenty-four plants in your conditions, and size the tank to that. Top up at about a third: running fully empty admits air to the line and valves then lose their vacuum seal.

Technical Specifications:

• Pots: 24 x 15 litres
• Trays: 24, each with its own AQUAvalve5
• Substrate volume: around 360 litres
• Main line: 16 mm, 8 metres supplied
• Tank: not included, FlexiTank optional
• Requirement: all trays at equal level

Frequently asked questions

Must all trays be level? Yes. An odd one fills and dries out of step with the rest.

How big should my tank be? Work back from the days you want covered at 24 plants.

Can I go beyond 24? Yes, to around a hundred pots on one line, provided reservoir and height grow with it.

Do I need a pump? No, it runs on gravity at this scale too.