Kool Sci My Garden User manual

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ASSEMBLY
OUTDOOR SOLAR GARDEN
IMPORTANT
• Legs now include solar anel su orts on 3 sides (E, S, & W)
• DO NOT ROTATE LEG TEES OR YOU MAY NEVER REPOSITION THEM AGAIN!
• With 2 exce tions gluing i es and fittings is neither recommended nor needed. Not gluing
allows for adjustments during assembly and for easy disassembly for moving and storage.
Loose connections can often be tightened using Teflon ta e (included)
• The Garden is described with ends (N&S) and sides (E&W). This is im ortant from a
horticultural stand oint because the N end receives no direct sun, the E side receives the
excellent morning sun, and the S end and W side receive the hot direct afternoon and
evening sun. The Garden’s functional com onents – reservoir and electrical box – are
located at the N end and Garden ex ansion occurs linearly to the S end.
• Use QPlugs only, NEVER use soil or loose growing media with the Garden. The small-bore
s aghetti tubing will clog.
• Kee the Electrical box closed and sealed. There’s lots of water around the Garden that’s
incom atible with electrical equi ment and connections
• Flat surfaces e.g. atios, decks, driveways make life easier but with shims, a level, and
atience the Garden can be situated almost anywhere. Proximity to a hose bib is a lus,
see Autofill below
• Solar means for sun required for both lants and PV anels. Both need almost full sun to
exceed ex ectations. Morning sun is most im ortant. MyGarden will disa oint in shady
locations.

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Figure 1. Clockwise from the cross: tee, lug, ca , and elbow
Lift out the i es and i e bundles and se arate them carefully on a large table or clean floor
Figure 2. Left to right: N end bundle, S end bundle, to side bars, bottom side bars (note crosses), Reservoir su ort bar, (2) To
Bars, Manifold, and Irrigation system attached to its su ort bar. Outside and in front of the reservoir is the um and combination
flow valve control / filter system, small bag of su orting items, the return to reservoir drain i es, solar anel su orts (2 of 6
shown), rubber mallet and GroPlugs (behind mallet). Inside reservoir is the electrical box (bottom), Autofill (above), lant
nutrients and battery charger (immediately in front). Above the reservoir is the reservoir su ort shelf and a solar reflector to
rotect both the electrical box and the reservoir from the sun.

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STRUCTURE
Begin assembly with the leg bundles (figure 3). Note the ca s at the ends of some of the i es (far
right). They are “feet” that end u on the ground when the Garden is u right. The S end bundle
has a straight bottom bar while the N bottom bar includes a short middle leg that will su ort the
Reservoir.
Figure 3. Leg bundles: S end to , N end bottom of icture
O en the S end bundle and insert the S end bottom bar into the 2
nd
from the bottom tees on both
legs. Note that there are lots of tees making u each leg. Do not twist them! Put aside the S end.
Figure 4. This makes the S end once the straight bar is inserted into the lowest tees on each leg

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O en the N end bundle and note that the N end bottom bar includes a short central Reservoir
su ort leg. Insert the short su ort leg into its tee and insert the N end bottom bar into the 2
nd
from the bottom tees on the N legs. This makes u the N end.
Figure 5. This makes the N end once the bottom bar and reservoir su ort is inserted into 2
nd
from the bottom tees on each leg
Locate the side bottom bars, the only com onents made with crosses.
Figure 6. side bottom bars. As always, the feet (ca s) go down
Lay the S end flat on the ground. Insert the longer of the 2-side bottom bar i e segments into the
lowermost S end leg tees. The side to bars are straight i es. Insert them into the to tees on the
S end legs. Study figure 7. You Garden should look like this at this oint.

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figure 7 showing the to and bottom side bars inserted into the S end legs. Looking to down from the N end
Now lay the N end over to and match u the leg tees with i e ends as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8 showing the N end (to ) overlaid onto the 4 side i es coming from the S end (on the ground)

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Once all i es are in their fittings ush down gently on all connections. Roll the Garden onto each
of its four sides re eating the rocedure. Then stand the Garden on its feet.
Locate the to bars identified by large 1 ½” tees at each end with 3 small 1” tees along their
horizontal axis’. Identical to bars go ato both the N and S ends and locking down the structure.
To bars have two horizontal i e sections: 12 ½ and 8 ½ inches. When standing in front of the N
end looking towards the S end the longer 12 ½” section goes to your right.
Figure 9. To bars, identical com onents ato both the N and S ends
Figure 10. The Garden structure on its feet with the identical N and S to bars attached. Notice that the longer i e segment on the
to bars goes to the right when looking from N end to S end as shown above.
Next insert the central reservoir su ort bar into the crosses on the side bottom bars.

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Figure 11. Inserting the central reservoir su ort bar com letes assembly of the main structure
To fully insert i es into fittings firmly ress down on each corner once more re eating the
rocedure while rotating the structure.
Plant su ort bars are o tional and can be re laced with lugs when lants are small. The bars
server two ur oses. They su ort taller, bearing lants that often tend fall over, and they’re
easily substituted for bottle su ort i es if a gardener chooses to grow larger lants in 2-liter
bottles (another o tional method of roduction in MyGarden).
Figure 12 showing lant su ort bars often re laced with the lugs when cro s are small. The small holes in the long horizontal
i es (not shown in the i es above) are for bottle su ort stra s if the o tion for a GroBottle o tion is selected.
Locate the manifold illustrated u side down in Figure 13 below. Make certain the 5 orts are
erfectly lined u , stand the manifold vertically on a concrete surface, and ush down firmly to
make sure all fittings are firmly seated. The manifold sits ato the N end to bar, held in lace by
the five GroPi es that screw into the manifold orts. Hold it in lace now by screwing in one
Reservoir Su ort Bar

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GroPi e. The return to reservoir section ( ointing u here but down during o eration) is glued
together exce t for its connection with the manifold. That connection is made with Teflon ta e to
allow for fine tuning adjustments during assembly. If it dri s during testing add additional ta e.
PLUMBING
Figure 13 the drain manifold and return to reservoir section (shown here u side down). The 5 manifold orts oint to the S end to
acce t the GroPi es, and the return to reserve sits below underneath ointing towards the reservoir (see Figure 14)
Figure 14 view from N end to S end illustrating how one threaded GroPi e su orts the manifold in lace above the N to bar. Note
return to reservoir section below the to bar

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Figure 15 is a view from the S end looking towards the N end and the manifold held in lace using one threaded GroPi e. Note
return to reservoir section below the to bar
Figure 16: The 5 GroPi es installed on the manifold

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Figure 17 illustrating the return to reservoir manifold section connected to the reservoir via a removable return to reserve i e. A
2
nd
90
0
return to bucket i e (not shown) is included to use when draining the reservoir into a bucket during nutrient solution
change out (Hint: fertilize otted lants and flowers with used nutrient solution).
Locate and install the irrigation system (Figure 18). Com onents include the su ort bar
(horizontal PVC), connection system to the um and filter system inside the reservoir (vertical
section), irrigation tube (1/2” rubber tube), nutrient solution manifold, and five s aghetti
distribution tubes, one to each GroPi e. Everything is reassembled. Insert the irrigation su ort
bar’s vertical i es into the middle tees on N and S end’s to bars. The irrigation manifold goes to
the S end. The vertical connection system to the reservoir is flexible and swivels to assure easy
access into the Reservoir through a small 1” hole. The short rubber tube section is glued into the
white lastic connector but is not glued with the grey lastic 90
0
connecting elbow. If you find a
leak here, sim ly tighten the small i e clam .