Mist King Installation and Evaluation

[Kisa]

GREAT thread Don, thanks for posting this, we all may be needing it in the future. XD And great pictures by the way, very clear and nice looking presentation.

[DonLisk]

Being that it was such a nice sunny day here, the family was off to see Cinderellea, and I had lots of free time on my hand, I had to play with the new Mist King system.


The above instruction were pretty much the only obsticle to putting the system together and in use for me since I decided to just remove the Exo-Terra Monsoon and leave the already installed nozzles to use with the Mist King.

1. I compared the nozzles and they were very similar at the nozzle end.

• The Monsoon is more plug and play with suction cups to hold the nozzle in place.
• The Mist King nozzles must be installed through the a piece of glass or screen to hold the nozzle in place. Thus, drilling is required.

2. To install the system once your bucket is prepared:

• Simply connect your bucket to the pump.
• Then your pump to the nozzle.
• Connect your timer to the pump.
• Then plug the timer in. Thats it.

I set the timer to run similar to how I setup the Monsoon, 15 second durations and 4 times a day.

3. Timer:

• The Monsoon is not a percise setting as you select time intervals such as every 6, 8, 12 hours. You then select the amount of time you want it to spray for example, 16, 30, up to 120 seconds. If you can setup a digital alarm clock, you can easily set up the time here.
  
• The Mist King on the other hand allows for up to 8 preset time to run, and each time can be set to spray for a different duration.

I select 7am, 12 noon, 6pm, and 10pm. Each setting I set for a 15 second run time.

I first cycle did not run at 12 noon and after reviewing the manual found the the timer will keep time but not run a cycle until the internal battery is charge for two hours.

4. Mist King's First Cycle:

• At 6pm the timer set off the system flawlessly.
• The spray from the nozzle was much more of a high preasure finer mist.
• The spray lasted the full 15 seconds and was very impressive compared to the Monsoon.

To compare the two system I would have to say that the Monsoon is a good reliable misting system. Does the job but does have its limitations. These limitations would be number of nozzles to supply would be probably no more than 4 since the preasure wouldn't be enough to really supply 6 or more.
The Monsoon can also be noisy if the top vibrates while sitting on the plastic tank. I almost did not hear the Mist King start up until I heard the mist itself.


Conclusion:

• Monsoon
• Easy setup
• Can easily supply a 3 to 4 nozzles
• Simple to program
• Will keep you viv happy or 3 to 4 vivs happy is each is using single nozzles.

Mist King:

• More complicated installation
• More powerful pump.
• Can easily supply a pile of nozzles
• Glass or screen drilling required
• Quieter than the Monsoon.
• Will keep plenty of vivs happy

I hope this will help you in your decision to purchase either of these systems.

[DonLisk]

Cheri, thank you so much for your generosity and all you do for this forum.

[clownonfire]

That is good to know, Don. I have to say I am really happy with the Monsoon. I am only using 2 nozzles in one tank, and wasn't sure if I would be able to connect two more nozzles in another tank.... I am thinking about adding two for the Atelopus tank. But I'm afraid of the loss of pressure.

The Mist King seems ideal when you have many vivs to keep humid. Because of it's more complex installation, I might just invite you over to give me a hand if I ever go there... I'll then invite you to Schwartz's, the best smoked meat in town.

[DonLisk]

That is good to know, Don. I have to say I am really happy with the Monsoon. I am only using 2 nozzles in one tank, and wasn't sure if I would be able to connect two more nozzles in another tank.... I am thinking about adding two for the Atelopus tank. But I'm afraid of the loss of pressure.

The Mist King seems ideal when you have many vivs to keep humid. Because of it's more complex installation, I might just invite you over to give me a hand if I ever go there... I'll then invite you to Schwartz's, the best smoked meat in town.

If I jump the border I may have to stay there a while.
Tough jumping back once they are watching for you

I don't think you will have a problem with four nozzles Eric. The Monsoon is definitely powerful enough for that. The Mist King, on the other hand, pumps the water hard enough to smack the hose off my wall and make a pretty loud thumping noise if I don't secure the hose.

[DonLisk]

The following are two examples of how the Mist King can be set up for multiple tanks.
The first example uses "T" sections in the line and the supply line will return to a valve that connects to the power source on the pump to cycle water back to the pump and reduce the chance of water dripping from the nozzles after running.

The second example is more basic and connects each nozzle in a series and ends at the last nozzle. Note that all nozzles except the last one would have a T section built into the nozzle or supply line and the last nozzle becomes the end of the supply line.
Nozzle of both types and T sections are available from Mist King directly or suppliers such as Josh's Frogs.

[MikeM670]

Don,

Very nice work on putting this together. Now I want to see your real setup with all this stuff attached.

[DonLisk]

Don,

Very nice work on putting this together. Now I want to see your real setup with all this stuff attached.

Thanks Mike. I will as soon as I get that drill bit to drill the glass top. I'll also do some more diagrams of other ways to route to multiple tanks.

I'm using the Monsoon nozzles right now since I am either going to drill that top or make a larger screen section for the top and put the nozzles through that.