According to the supplier linked in your documents, the rubber grommets aren’t suitable for outdoor use!
Made from SBR rubber:
Common Name:
SBR, Buna-S
Chemical Name:
Styrene-butadiene
Generally Resistant To:
Abrasion, Water, Moderate, Chemicals, Organic Acids, Alcohols, Ketones
and Aldehydes
Generally Attacked By:
Ozone, Sunlight, Strong Acids, Fats, Oils, Open Flame, Grease and
Most Hydrocarbons
We have lots of Ozone and sunlight here in Australia
Can you suggest a suitable alternative?
Thanks,
Jon
As I’ve pointed out an several other threads, most of the materials selected for the kit are not suitable for outdoor, high humidity, extended temp, etc. This is an indoor, room temperature, controlled humidity environment product only.
I agree, so it looks like I’ll have to spend more money on a greenhouse/poly tunnel to keep it dry. This should have been made clear up front that it’s best used under cover.
I really hope that not the case as I’ve built an outdoor raised bed and installed my farmbot already. The farmbot.io site is full of videos of an outdoor farmbot in a backyard setting which is exactly how I’m trying to use mine.
I am a hardened, 30+ year engineer with hundreds of patents that has been building robots for outdoor/all weather applications for decades. I’m not affiliated with FarmBot in the least other than being a fan of the ideas and concepts behind the project. My statements are from my own personal experience and shouldn’t be taken for some official position by FarmBot on this matter.
I would suggest you search this topic on the form as I believe the farmbot guys have spoken about this in other threads. If you feel that that doesn’t answer your concerns, then you should contact them directly for advice on this matter. Please bear in mind that they offer you absolutely no written warranty under the terms and conditions for the product so I wouldn’t assume that a marketing video is any sort of guarantee of performance:
“12. Limited Warranty and Disclaimer. FarmBot Inc will be providing the details of its limited warranties for Products on FarmBot’s website at FarmBot.io/warranty before FarmBot Inc ships the Product. By providing your shipping address to us, you acknowledge and agree that you have reviewed the limited warranty for the Product you offered to purchase, and that you accept that limited warranty. FarmBot Inc will also provide the warranty terms for a Product together with the shipped Product. If you are dissatisfied with the warranty terms once published, you may contact FarmBot Inc to rescind your pre-order and we will refund the amount you paid in connection with your pre-order in full. EXCEPT AS MAY BE EXPRESSLY PROVIDED BY FarmBot Inc IN THE WARRANTY APPLICABLE TO A PRODUCT AT THE TIME THE ORDER FOR THE PRODUCT IS SHIPPED, AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PRODUCTS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT GUARANTEED WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND FarmBot Inc HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: (A) THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS; AND (B) ANY WARRANTY ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE. FarmBot Inc DOES NOT WARRANT THAT USE OF ANY PRODUCT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR FREE OF ERRORS OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, AND DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY OF THOSE ISSUES WILL BE CORRECTED. FarmBot Inc DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY PRODUCT COMPLIES WITH ALL APPLICABLE LAWS OR REGULATIONS IN ANY PARTICULAR JURISDICTION. TO THE EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU ASSUME ALL RISK FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY RESULT FROM YOUR USE OF THE PRODUCT.”
@Loveny if you are interested in replacing your grommets, you’ll need to find ones with the same or very similar dimensions and made of the material of your choice. The grommets on the FarmBots in our videos function fine after being outside in the California sun for around two years now (along with the rest of the device).
While we have tried our best to disclose as much information as possible about FarmBot (supplier links, tech specs, CAD models, software source-code, etc), at the end of the day each person must do their due diligence and find out if FarmBot is right for them given the current state/design of the technology, their expectations, their environment, and any other constraints they might have. The great thing about open-source is that anyone who is dissatisfied with any aspect of the design is fully empowered to re-engineer or re-design that aspect better. If you find a more suitable grommet, please share
