Glad you found something that works for you Dennis. I know you must be busy...

Doug, I have no idea.  I do know the one I built for my Commando 35 has one huge pump!  It has a dial on the front that allows me to control the flow rate.  If you're going to build a tiny one, like a 5 gallon bucket, then I would run the pump only every other 15 mins....otherwise your water will become too hot due to little water to keep the pump cool.  All that hot water coming from the pump will cook your cuttings.  Good luck!

Thank you.

This will be a good winter project.

Doug

I really like this idea, especially if rooting in the winter months.  Thanks for linking the vid.  I have a couple questions:

1.  I believe this is the tote from lowes.  Just so I'm understanding this correctly, you manually drilled all the holes in the lid to hold the 2" net cups correct?  What size hole saw blade did you use (this might sound dumb, but I'm wasn't sure of the OD for the inner lip of the cups is actually 2").
2.  From your experience with the 5 gallon paint bucket cloner, excessive heat from the pump can be an issue.  What is your internal temperature with the 27 gallon rig you built?  Could this system be amended to use a non-submersible pump that is housed on the outside of the water reservoir container?  This would eliminate heat issues (also, I already have a non-submersible pump which I use for making compost tea).
3.  Would there be any benefit to adding some small weeping holes in the side to provide extra entry points to promote oxygen exchange with the roots?  I understand you could also lose some humidity this way, but if the pump is continuously cycling....
4.  It's my understanding that fig cutting roots are very fragile.  Would cuttings suffer any root damage when removing them from the neoprene inserts?
5.  When you say your rig is leaking, I'm assuming you mean around the sprinkler head ports, or is it somewhere else?
6.  What is your pump's on/off cycle times?
7.  With a constant humidity at 100% is there a concern about the cuttings rotting?
8.  Since water vapor is being constantly sprayed onto the cuttings is there a concern about FMV contamination from one cutting to another?  I know that the virus' natural vector are mites, but I've read it can also be spread via vegetative propagation.  I'm wondering since these cuttings are not isolated from each other during the rooting process, if there would be a infection control issue.
9.  Finally, what improvements would you do to your cloner if you were going to build a v2?

Thanks. 

It looks like a must have item, This guy got great results with his cloner 

Looks like a great idea.  I think I found my next project to do with my kids.  I'm getting ready to order a few things I'll need.  What size submersible pump should I use?  I'm getting the exact storage bin from Lowes - so the size will be the same.  Just need to know how many GPH the pump should be? Thanks

My unit leak a little because I had too many sprayers and a powerful pump.  I ran mine 24/7.  The hardest part of all the work is making the manifold for the sprayer heads.  You're going to need a tap to tap the holes for your sprayer heads.  A tap and die set is hard to find.  Nowadays, they only sell them in sets of 2.  The young guys at Lowes didn't know what I was talking about when I asked for a tap set!  Go Figure!  They had to google it on their cell!  The old guys came over and took me staight to where they only had 2 in stock!  They told me Lowes got rid of all their tap and die set because they were not selling.  But they are worth their weight in gold for the "do it youselfer"!!!!

Another tip.....get yourself a ratchet PVC cutter.  Yeah, I know they're expensive but the cuts are so clean and perfect!  I paid 25 bucks for mine!  Ladies, tell you husband to make you one.  THey are cheap to make.

Dennis, thanks for tips.  What size was your pump that was too powerful? 

Hey Dennis,

What size tap was that for those micro sprinklers?  1/4"  or was it metric?

I think you can get tap and die sets at harbor freight tools..

Dennis, My question is how well do the plants respond to transplanting into soil/potting mix or are you growing them out hydroponically? Be sure to check out HTG Supply on Freedom Dr. they have a bunch of hydroponic stuff and nutes. They also have Dutch master gold range replicator, a must have rooting gel for hard to root cuttings. Thanks for sharing. 

Oh they know him well there, if you had mentioned figs they might have given you one of his cards...

Dennis,
I just built and setup an 8 site Bubble Cloner, http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1284197705&postcount=14 similar in operation to an Oxyclone. I placed several green cuttings in the cloner and one cutting is from a Violetta Bayernfeige which has visible FMV/FMD symptoms, all other cuttings are from non FMD symptomatic NYC and tissue Cultured trees, a question came to mind.

If one or more cuttings are from trees that have FMV, can Fig Mosaic Virus be transmitted to cuttings that have an active vascular system? Can the virus survive in the clone solution? I don't expect an answer, its just an interesting question that I may need to research, since I'm starting a Hydroponic Heat Therotherapy Virus elimination project, .

Sorry guys, I've very busy at work and home with my trees. I'm also doing a lot of prep work for my self watering pots this Fall which will be here in 6 weeks. Got 20 55g food grade barrels. Just finished measuring, marking, cutting, and washing them. Talk about work! Whew!

Tony, I don't remember the pump size. I do know that I got 4 pumps each for the different sizes. Google EZ Clone 32 and EZ Clone 64 and see what size pump they have listed.

James, get the 3 pack from lowes with 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16. I tried to use a screw as a tap and it did not work. The tap worked flawlessly. Harbor Freight has the tap and die set too.

EL, Gloria is right! I am a repeat customer at my HiTech Garden Supply. I get a lot of free stuff there. They love my Drunken Fig Jam.

Pete, yes, the FMV will get transferred. Don't worry about FMV. Once your cutting is potted up and growing just give the tree pure Nitro every 3 years. Pete I like the bubbler idea. You're going to have to keep an eye on the water level. And try your setup without the peat pots. Your might start getting gnats. Great job!

Dennis,
Thanks for the reply.
The cuttings are being rooted 100% Hydro, there is no substrate, they're just hanging down below the foam insert in the 2-inch cut net pot, just like your cuttings in the Aeroponic Cloners. The difference is that the bottom of the cutting is about 1" below the surface of the water.
  .

Good Luck with the SIP builds, I still have to build about 30 from 30 gallon barrels.

Oh, ok. That should work verry well.

Heavens to Murgatroyd, that looks easy and quick.

Thanks for sharing your methods guys.

Dennis,
Its 21 days since the cuttings were placed in the Bubble Cloner and all have rooted. Their roots are currently growing. All the leaves are still green and healthy.  I have not maintained a steady warm temperature in the solution, which would account for the longer rooting time. The long cutting on the right in the picture was a broken branch that was stuck in the cloner recently...
Thanks again for sharing this method.
  .

Pete, is that Gynura in the cloner next to the figs? I have this plant, supposed to be good for diabetes.

Mike in Hanover, VA

Mike,
Yes. It produced roots in 3 days from cuttings.
Tomato suckers also started to grow roots in 3 days.
 .

BTW, fresh cuttings are placed in clean spring water with no additives and the water is changed every 7 days. Once roots form a balanced Hydroponic fertilizer is added to form a nutrient solution at 1/4 recommended strength. With multiple DIY Shoebox Cloners the cuttings can be easily moved from plain water to nutrient solution once they've rooted.

I'm about 2 weeks into this experiment. Thought these were just lenticels, but appear to be roots.

Hard water from very deep well, outside all the time, no heating, cap full of hydrogen peroxide every 3 or 4 days, Scrap foam on top to hold cutting and tight fit to air hose has meant no need to add any water during this time. Standard small air pump and small stone. Tip barely submerged but there is much splashing from the bubbles. No sign of rot, bugs, or musty smell inside.

Cutting was taken from Brown Turkey and immediately put in water, no hormone, nothing besides hyd peroxide added to water. Stripped all but two leaves.
   

With the weather getting cooler by the day, the time as come for me to fire up my propagator again!  For those who have not tried this method, it really is simple.  Just don't try using the 5g bucket system for figs.  We tested it at the hydroponic store and every cutting failed.  The water was just too warm for the cuttings.  We even tried running the pump 15 mins on and 15 mins off and the water was still too warm.  But, the beauty of this system is.....NO GNATS!  You can have little trees potted up in 20 days more or less depending on the cuttings.

Hey Pete, how did your cuttings turn out in the fogger?

Snaglpus totally inspired me. Thanks again!!
!    

Way to go Gloria!  I was amazed how tough the roots were after being in mine for 30 days!  This method is definitely my way of rooting cuttings.  

Nice job!

What's the trick with the cuttings. I have a system bout ten gal I never used cause the bucket failed with the figs. Was just thinking of scraping it for a larger pot.