AreoGarden Repair

  I know that you can build your own hydroponics system, but not everyone wants to. A simple solution is to buy an AeroGarden , a self contained unit that has everything built in. We love ours because we can grow veggies indoors all year round. These units aren't that big and can even be mounted on the wall to save space.
 
The only bad thing about these units is that the boards are not coated for protection from water and chemicals. Of the three I own, two have failed for this reason. I will fix this on any other units I buy, but the pumps and lights are still working on these. It's only the controls that have failed. I decided to rewire the units without the controls because the pump and lights are what is needed for the plants to grow. I can add a timer on the outside to control when it comes on and off if I want that to happen

Tools Needed:
Small wire
Soldering iron
Solder
Small wire cutter or pliers
#15H Trox security screwdriver
Small #1 Phillips screwdriver.
Electrical tape or very small shrink tubing.

Step 1 The workings

The first thing to do is take it apart.  The pod that has the water and plants lifts off the base. Unplug the lights and remove them as well.

All the controls and the power supply are in the base unit. Flip it over and remove the screws. Two of them are Trox 15H security screws. The rest are small #1 Phillips. You will have screws left over from the removal of the control board after the repair and if you are not going to replace the bad board can use those screws to replace the Trox when finished.

Comments

[andybuda]

how long did the thing last befor that happened.. there very expensive aswell was going to get 1 for my mum last christmas

[redkcir]

A little over a year, but my wife kept overfilling the base and liquid got into the electronics on the front. I plan on coating any more I buy to prevent that. I still use all three and the only thing affected is the time the light stays on, which I can duplicate with a timing device. .

[andybuda]

so there worth the money then. iv used fluorescent tubes to start plant off in the garage then i move them in to the garden but in england we have had afew crap years of weather and they have not done well i prefer to grow chilly plant indoors but iv been growing tobacco plants and they need alot of space. oh buy the way iv never seen the areo extend that much in hight is that the top of the range one iv only seen the smaller table top one`s... looks good..

[redkcir]

As far as I know it's the biggest one they make. Our biggest problem has been keeping them pruned back because they grow so fast. We grow bell peppers, tomatoes and herbs mainly.