How do I check a hydroponic grower’s nutrient system and pumps before buying?
Watch the nutrient system run, from mixing and dosing through pumps and lines to the plants. Check for scale, leaks and worn parts, and ask what has failed before and what the backup is. In hydroponics, one stopped pump can damage a crop in hours, so redundancy matters.
Ask the seller to walk you through a full cycle: how nutrients are mixed, how strength and acidity are measured, and how the system doses each zone. Look at the tanks, dosing units, sensors, filters and lines. Check for crusty deposits, algae, slow drains and patched hoses. Ask how often sensors are calibrated and who does it.
Ask about failures. Has a pump failed in the middle of a crop? How was it caught, how long did it take to fix and what was lost? Look for spare pumps, a backup power source and alarms that alert someone after hours. If the seller is the one who gets the call, plan how that role will pass to you.
Ask for service records, supplier names and a list of parts that are hard to find. Find out whether any equipment is leased or financed, and have your lawyer check for claims. A grower or technician can inspect the system with you. After closing, plan a period of learning the routine alongside the seller before you run it alone. Ask how water is sourced and treated before it enters the system, and what the seller does with used solution. Check how much of the daily routine is manual, because that tells you how much labour you are buying.
Key takeaways
- See a full nutrient cycle from mixing to delivery.
- Ask what failed before and what the backup is.
- Learn who receives the alarm call and how that passes to you.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentEquipment valuation: How to do it
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