OK, so here is an update. Cuttings of VDB and Black Madeira ( Thanks Mario ) cuttings were put in the cloner using just plain water and stuck under the T5 Grow lights on January 24th.

 

Here is the inside of the clone machine. Nothing special, just some 360 degree spray heads running off a small pump.
 

Here's whats happening underneath.
 

Appears to be not much, but closer inspection of the Black Madeira I've got the beginning of roots!!!  

Looks like the VDB are starting to form roots as well.  

So that's 6 days sitting under a T5 400Watt growl light that's on 12hrs a day, and the clone machine runs 24/7 with just plain water. No cloning gel, no hormone dip, just tap water out of the faucet. Needless to say I'm beyond impressed with this method. No more rotten cuttings, wet moss, plastic bags and perlite, etc. This works system works, and works amazingly well. Build one, or buy one with all the parts ready to go, it doesn't matter as the concept is the same. I bought this one as I didn't feel like hunting around for all the parts to build one as the cost is the end was about the same.

Could the be a world record for getting a Black Madeira cutting to show roots?

OK, now who has some blueberry bush cuttings they don't need? :)

RIMike, Nice progress!
Does anyone have any comments on the pros and cons of leaving more of the cutting down in the rooting chamber?  When I do rooting and pot up, I tend to try to bury extra nodes to encourage more roots to grow out of the buried portion of the cutting....and as insurance for any future cold-related die-back catastrophes.  If there's more cutting down in the misting chamber, there's more liklihood of starting off with more roots over a greater section of the cutting...
Jim

I have a cloner like Mike also but think I like the fog better.  Like Sharon commented on, the fog vapor wasn't uniformly distributed so I added a 12 volt waterproof fan a couple of nights ago.  It's range is 6v - 12v and I'm running it at 6v and even that blows more air than is needed.  The fog favor is very uniform now and I'm considering constructing a much larger unit.  The main attraction to these for me is that I don't need to monitor moisture every 2-3 days like I do with the method I have been using in rooting directly in mini-treepots with ProMix HP.

great job!!!
i wish i could have one here in greece.

Andreas,

I do not think you need one up there! You have the Nature and climate on your side, they are much more powerful!
Those guys are doing some powerful magic things but they are in Rhode Island, NJ and elsewhere behind the Arctic circle :)

Igor
you are right my friend but looking at Harveys machine makes me want a new toy.
you guys root year round... i cant even start yet... will do so sometime next week.
i can only root cuttings outside.

I am sure many people here would trade your “outside” for their “inside” cloning machine :)
Especially when it is 0 and freezing in their garden !

Hi Harveyc,
Rooting more Panache ? :P

Some of my figs are getting bumps too.  I think they have been slow because things in the basement are cool.  I noticed a few green bumps  on top so added a light and little leaves are growing.
I plan on taking them out as soon as the roots are about 1 inch, putting them in mix and tossing them in the greenhouse.  The folks are starting seed and cutting so the propagation tables are going full blast.  This keeps the humidity very high even with the heaters running.  The plant normally take off as long as I keep them watered.

Show us more pictures when you get 'real' roots.  I'd love it if this works.  :)

It's been a week since the last photo update.  Any roots should have grown to be easier to see by now.  More photos?

Ok so here's an update as requested.

I've got more than just figs in here now to see how different things react. Besides the figs, holly, variegated red twig dogwood, Japanese Lilac, and some blueberry bush cuttings. That's all I could find a this time of the year to stick in here.

 
There doesn't appear to be anything drying out as there was some discussion about a humidity dome in previous posts. You can see some breba starting to form, which I've since knocked off.

I've changed the water earlier in the week. I don't think is a requirement, I was bored and tired of starting at 2ft of snow out every window in the house!
  
From the looks of things, the greener cuttings seem to be reacting very well to this propagation method, more so than the older brown wood.

Here are some RDB Cuttings
 

White Triana cuttings here

 
 

Here's one of the Black Madeira cuttings

 

VDB Cuttings from older wood. You can see they are string to show signs.
   
    

So far I'm pleased. For the middle of winter, it's working just fine. I'd expect better results with warmer temps that whats happening under the grow lights in the basement. 70 degree water and 75 - 80 degree air temps and I think things would work very well. And for what it's worth, checking them 3, 4, 5 or more times a day doesn't seem to speed up root development.

Yeah, if you want to speed up root growth you have to check them every 15 seconds.   :)  I see lots of lenticels and 2 things that might be roots.  Maybe another photo essay next weekend?  I might be mistaken but it seems the mister at the lower left isn't working and the center mister may not be working well.  Best of luck with them.

Harvey,  when I tested out my setup (to be), I convinced myself I wouldn't need the fan.  I originally thought I would.  But if I left the lid open a crack, mist would come out the top---indicating that mist was reaching all the way to the top.  And at any given moment one area might have slightly thicker mist than another...but there seemed to be enough air movement caused by the splashing of the fogger that it would all even out over time.
  Plus, I really didn't want to spend money on the waterproof fan ;-)
Bob, I would rather spend the fan money on the waterproof web cam that I can mount inside the unit so that I could check the cuttings every 15 seconds (or more).

  I did make one observation about these commander XXL tubs.  The lids fit on the tubs upside down. When oriented this way, there are some parts of the lid that hang down below the inside lip of the tub.  So, IF a humidity dome was needed, and if condensation became a problem, a couple of small holes could be drilled in those low sections to allow the condensate to drain back down into the tub.

Cheers,
Jim

You should cut of the flower buds from the blueberries as well.
And may be you can try using aquarim water heater. You can drop it at the botom of the tank and set a good water temperature. Just a thought.

Mike, yours looks great. If it were me, I'd add a lot more water till it touched the bottom of the manifold. More water means more power and more oxygen in the water. And don't worry if the roots get long and in to the water. Just keep doing what you're doing and everything will root. The roots will become tough, again don't worry. Nice pics!

I just looked at my tub again and the whole "upside down" lid idea is probably not the way to go due to "lock holes" that are in the lid.  When the lid is on correctly, the bulk of the lid sits lower into the tub than when it is upside down, anyway.  (I should have looked at it again before posting.)
I'm getting excited to try mine out.  I have no hydroponics stores nearby, and I finally found a source of 2" netpots that are truly 2" and have a nice, wide lip so the pots don't fall through.

In addition to cutting off the majority of the net pot, do you guys also split the side to make it easier to get off a cutting that has grown a large root mass and has lots of leaves?
Cheers,
Jim

Good observation on the blueberries. I'll do that in the next time I check them....

I split pots to get everything in.  I added a light and am trying ti warm things up a bit.  Might have to get mine off the floor to keep it warmer.  I was originally worried about leaking but so far no issue. 

Jim, I only added the fan after first running the fogger for a week and I noticed some cuttings were not wet on at least one side.  After adding the fan, all of them are wet.  Based on the value of some cuttings, the price of the fan and AC adapter were a minor consideration.  I'm still thinking up a design for a much larger cloner.

My tub is elevated 4" off the floor in a room that is 73-82F (depending on where I shoot my laser thermometer).  I think I want to put it up on a higher shelf so it is warmer or add an aquarium heater.

Harvey,
  The proof is in the pudding -- sounds like the fan is a must have.
Do you have any seedling heating mats?  You could put one underneath the tub.  But all-in-all, the aquarium heater is probably the way to go.  They're made to be submerged in water, after all.
Cheers,Jim

I already have 4 tables 2' x 4' that are using my existing mats but I have considered buying another for a bigger cloner.  Since my wife's beta died some time ago, he no longer needs the aquarium heater. :)

Here is the most advanced cutting in my cloner after two weeks.  I'm not sure what I will do, but I might just go ahead and plant it soon as the roots will soon be too large to fit through the hole since they're growing straight out like that.

 

Now *that's* what I'm talking about!  Harvey, is your mist maker at the bottom or floating?  I wonder if the floating mister will get cuttings more uniformly wet as the floating mister moves around.  Or is this a pump with sprayers?  Thanks.

This is the nebulizer type and it's not floating.  This tank is too dang heavy as it is with just 2" of water in it for me to dump once a week to change water.  I don't think floating would make much difference on coverage as I'm pretty sure it would still stay in the same spot most of the time.  I'm considering a larger unit with the nebulizer and fan in a separate tank and blowing fog in via ducts so that I could dump that separate tank without even touching plants.  In that case the tank would probably be narrow and deep and I'd use the float that came with the nebulizer.