Ebb and Flow Glue
A special glue is required for joining the inter-connecting Ebb and Flow table plates together.
This glue is supplied in 300ml tubes and used with a glue dispenser gun.
When the bench trays are correctly placed in the bench frames, the glue is pressed into the grove (NOT between the overlapping of the trays), and any extra glue is scraped off with a steel putty knife.
Always use as little glue as possible. Excessive use will damage the trays which is not covered by warranty. As principal rule the use of glue must not exceed 1 litre of glue per 20 meter glue joint (1 tube per 6 meter of glue joint).
The glue must dry for at least 24 hours at 20° Celsius. If the temperature is bellow 20° Celsius, the dry time is increased. It`s important that the temperature is kept constant during drying.
Sub-support of bench trays
The trays are designed to support a maximum load of 70 kg/m2 evenly distributed.
The following criteria must be met :
- Bench trays must be supported with up to 500 mm of space
- The support should be placed less than 70 mm from the glue rim
- The support should be placed less than 200 mm from the edge of the bench tray. Note that the sump must not rest on the support beam
NOTE: The support MUST be placed under the part of the tray that contains the glue lip (see drawing).
Installation
Bench trays should be placed and distributed in a way that makes the glue joint visible at 5-8 mm.
Due to variations in temperature the bench trays work lengthwise. It is therefore important to ensure that there is distance between the edge of the trays and the edge of the bench frames.
The required distance depends on the tray length and the temperature variations it is exposed to.
Glue
- Place the trays in the bench frame and press the glue into the joint. Excess glue can be removed with a putty knife
- Always use as little glue as possible. Excessive use will damage the trays (damaged trays due to faulty gluing procedure is not covered by warranty)
- Glue use should not exceed 1 liter per 20 meter glue joint, or one 300 ml cartridge per 6 meter joint
- The glue must dry for at least 24 hours at 20°C. If the temperature is bellow 20°C or ventilation is insufficient, the drying time will increase. The temperature must be kept constant during hardening. Make sure the glue feels completly hardened before you take the trays into use
- Use breath protection, goggles and gloves during installation.
Use the following calculations as a reference for 20° C tray temperature*:
2a. For installations in cooler regions, use at least 2 mm of space per linear meter bench tray, distributed evenly between both ends. This can be expressed in the following formula: Space [mm] = bench length [mm] x 0.002.
2b. For installations in warmer regions, use at least 3 mm of air per linear meter bench tray, distributed evenly between both ends. This can be expressed in the following formula: Space [mm] = bench length [mm] x 0.003.
* For every 10° C temperature variation under 20° C, use an extra 1 mm of space per linear meter bench tray.
Always handle the bench trays carefully. Do not store empty benches trays in direct sunlight – especially not on warm days. The sun can rapidly heat the plastic material up to and above 60°C. If the bench trays are left empty, protect them by stacking the benches, move them into the shade, cover them or fill them with water.
Please contact pure Hydroponics for pricing.