Introduction to Fertilizer Injectors
Enhancing your irrigation system with DIG Corp’s Automatic Proportional Fertilizer Injectors, like the Add-It™ and Fertilizer Caddy™, brings economical, flexible, and easy-to-use solutions for residential, commercial, and greenhouse applications. These injectors are perfect for automatically feeding lawns, shrubs, trees, flowers, raised beds, vines, and potted plants without the need for pumps, spreaders, or hoses.
They are available with capacities from one pint to five gallons and are designed to feed your plants using any liquid fertilizer nutrients or premixed liquid of water-soluble granular fertilizer through your drip irrigation, micro sprinkler, misting or sprinklers system. Add-It™ and Fertilizer Caddy ™ Automatic Proportional Automatic Fertilizer Injectors are designed for use under the water pressure presented in any the irrigation system with up to 80 PSI.
ABOUT THE DIG ADD-IT™ AUTOMATIC PROPORTIONAL FERTILIZER INJECTOR
The 1-pint capacity, Add-It™ Automatic Proportional Fertilizer Injector (AFI) is designed to feed your garden plants using any liquid fertilizer (or premixed solution of water-soluble granular fertilizer) through a drip irrigation system, sprinkler system or garden hose. The Add-It™ AFI requires a minimum flow rate of 30 gallons per hour (½ GPM) or a minimum drip system with 30, 1 GPH drippers to operate.
Key Features
- Versatile Capacities: Available in sizes from one pint to five gallons, catering to various needs.
- Easy Integration: Compatible with drip irrigation, micro sprinklers, misting systems, and traditional sprinklers.
- Efficient Feeding: Use with any liquid fertilizer nutrients or premixed liquid of water-soluble granular fertilizer.
- High Compatibility: Designed for use with irrigation systems operating up to 80 PSI.
Ideal Applications
- Residential Gardens: Perfect for maintaining healthy lawns, flower beds, and potted plants.
- Commercial Landscapes: Efficiently manage large areas with minimal labor.
- Greenhouses: Ensure uniform nutrient delivery to all plants.
Economical and User-Friendly
DIG Corp’s fertilizer injectors offer an economical way to maintain plant health with minimal manual effort. Their user-friendly design ensures easy installation and operation, making them suitable for both novice and experienced gardeners.
Option 1: Drip system installation with hose thread Start the installation at the water source by attaching the backflow preventer (included with Add-It™ # AFI 5016-HV) to your faucet, then the Add-It™. If installed with a drip system, add a Y filter and then a 25 PSI preset pressure regulator. To automate the system, use one of DIG’s battery or solar powered hose end timers (model B09D, EVO 100 or BOHE-BT) available online or in a store near you. Make sure to install the timer to the faucet before the backflow device.
Key Features
- Versatile Capacities: Available in sizes from one pint to five gallons, catering to various needs.
- Easy Integration: Compatible with drip irrigation, micro sprinklers, misting systems, and traditional sprinklers.
- Efficient Feeding: Use with any liquid fertilizer nutrients or premixed liquid of water-soluble granular fertilizer.
- High Compatibility: Designed for use with irrigation systems operating up to 80 PSI.
Ideal Applications
- Residential Gardens: Perfect for maintaining healthy lawns, flower beds, and potted plants.
- Commercial Landscapes: Efficiently manage large areas with minimal labor.
- Greenhouses: Ensure uniform nutrient delivery to all plants.
Step 1
What is the fertilizer solution ratio?
For every part of fertilizer solution, there are X parts of water, where "X" is determined by the injector ratio.
For example, with a 1:200 ratio 1 part of fertilizer solution is mixed with 199 parts of water, for a total of 200 parts of final mix. Ratios are also expressed in %. For example: 1:100 ratio equals a 1 percent of fertilizer. 1:200 ratio equals a 0.5 percent of fertilizer.
Step 2
The Add-It & Fertilizer Caddy Injectors are available with proportional ratios of 1: 200
This ratio means that 1 gallon of concentrate fertilizer is added to each 199 gallons of irrigation water. Review how many gallons of water each model uses to empty the tank, (see part# and flow chart).
Fertilizer Injector tank size and how many gallons to empty
• 1-gallon fertilizer tank used to apply 200 gallons of water to empty
• 2-gallon fertilizer tank used to apply 400 gallons of water to empty
• 3-gallon fertilizer tank used to apply 600 gallons of water to empty
• 5-gallon fertilizer tank used to apply 1000 gallons of water to empty
Step 3
Understand the fertilizer information
The fertilizer solution information will help to determine the percentage of the fertilizer nutrient. This information is available with any fertilizer solution with the percentage of nitrogen shown first.
Example: 10-10-10, 20-10-20 or 17-5-24 fertilizer solation. The first number in the three series of numbers is the percentage by weight of nitrogen (N); the second is the percentage of phosphorus (P) as P2O5; and the third is the percentage of potassium (K) as K20.
Step 4
Calculating how much liquid fertilizer to apply
To calculate how much liquid fertilizer needs to apply to deliver the required amount of nitrogen to a specific area, you need to know the following:
Example:
a. If a fertilizer container or bottle weight is 9 lbs,. the volume is 1 gallon and the type of fertilizer is 16-4-8. To be able to accurately weigh the amount of liquid, you need to convert volume to weight. The net weight of the container/bottle is 9 pounds, and the volume is 1 gallon. This means that the fertilizer weighs 9 pounds per gallon.
b. Multiply the weigh/gallon of the liquid fertilizer container by the percentage of the nutrient in decimals.
Calculation: 9 lbs./gal x .16 = 1.44 lbs. of N per gallon
c. Desired amount of fertilizer to apply?
• Desired application: 1 lbs. of N per 1000 sq. ft.
• 1 lbs./1.44 lbs. of N per gallon = 0.69444 gallon
• Total area needed to cover: 3200 sq. ft.
• Total amount to apply .69444 x 3.2 = 2.2222 gallon of N per 3200 sq. ft.
We are rounding the amount of 2.2222 to apply to 2 gallons to fit a 2 gallon fertilizer tank
Step 5
Calculating how much liquid fertilizer to apply to a tree farm with 200 trees in an area of 3200 SF with each tree having 2, 4-GPH drippers.
a. Assuming that the wetted area covered by the two 4-GPH drippers is 16 sq.ft per tree.
b. Total of 200 trees x 16 sq. ft. = 3200 sq. ft. of area
c. Total system flow rate is 1600 GPH or 26.6667 GPM.
d. From step two, 2-gallon Add-It fertilizer tank use to apply 400 gallons of water to empty
e. 400 gallon/ 26.667 = 15 minutes.
f. It will take 15 minutes to apply the rounded 2 gallons of N using 16-4-8 fertilizer
Economical and User-Friendly
DIG Corp’s fertilizer injectors offer an economical way to maintain plant health with minimal manual effort. Their user-friendly design ensures easy installation and operation, making them suitable for both novice and experienced gardeners.
Conclusion
Integrating the Add-It™ and Fertilizer Caddy™ Automatic Proportional Fertilizer Injectors into your irrigation system simplifies the fertilization process while ensuring your plants receive the nutrients they need. These injectors are a smart choice for anyone looking to improve their irrigation efficiency and plant health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do these injectors work without a pump?
A: The Add-It™ and Fertilizer Caddy™ injectors use the water pressure from your existing irrigation system (up to 80 PSI) to distribute fertilizer evenly.
Q: Can I use any type of fertilizer with these injectors?
A: Yes, they are compatible with any liquid fertilizer nutrients or premixed liquid of water-soluble granular fertilizer.
Q: What maintenance is required?
A: Minimal maintenance is needed; simply ensure that the injectors are clean and check for any blockages periodically.
Q: Are they suitable for large commercial landscapes?
A: Absolutely, these injectors are designed to handle large areas efficiently, making them ideal for commercial use.
Q: How difficult is the installation process?
A: Installation is straightforward and does not require any electrical connections, making it accessible for both novice and experienced users.
