Clone King Aeroponic Cloning Machine

Growing guides and competing brands converge on roughly 5.5 to 6.3, which keeps root initiation stable through the rooting window. That range is general industry guidance rather than a Clone King-published specification, since the machine ships with no pH target in its instructions. Plain tap water sitting in that band works without adjustment for most growers.

Thirteen spray heads feed the 25-site and 36-site machines; the 64-site flagship runs twenty-five. Head count scales with site count so the far end of the manifold receives the same spray pressure as the section nearest the pump intake. Replacement heads throw a 280-degree cone and press into every tier.

The submersible pump is rated 317 GPH on the 25-site and 36-site machines and 496 GPH on the 64-site flagship. That flow keeps every stem base wet under continuous operation without a timer. The pump also adds a degree or two of heat over a week of running, which matters in a room already sitting above 70°F.

The 25-site and 36-site tubs measure 13.75 by 13.75 by 12.5 inches and weigh 5 pounds empty, so they sit on a closet shelf or under a bench. The 64-site flagship runs 18 by 16 by 18 inches at 14 pounds empty. Add water weight before deciding where the machine finally lives.

The flagship collar opening grips everything from a thin mint stem to pencil-thick tomato stock. The neoprene splits so the stem seats without crushing, then releases the rooted cutting without tearing the new root mass. Color-coded inserts on the 64-site lid also separate batches by the day they went in.

Plain water roots most soft-stem cuttings here without any gel, which is the method the manufacturer documents. An IBA-based gel is optional and shortens the window on harder stems.

Most operators run the pump around the clock, the configuration the machine ships ready for, since no timer is included or required. A cycle timer set to roughly one minute on and four to five minutes off also works, provided the stem bases never dry between bursts. Continuous running remains the simpler default for a first batch.

Plain water is enough until white roots appear. Nutrient solution added before root formation feeds bacteria in the reservoir rather than the cutting, and raises stem-rot risk in exactly the window you can least afford it. Once roots reach an inch, a quarter- to half-strength feed is the usual next step, in the tub or after potting up.

Low-intensity light on a 16 to 18 hour photoperiod suits unrooted cuttings: a T5 fluorescent or a modest LED panel a foot or two above the lid. Intense HID lighting or direct sun stresses cuttings that have no roots to draw water with. The kit includes no light, and that is the one thing you supply.

An air stone does no harm and lifts dissolved oxygen, which helps in a room that runs warm. It is not required, because the mist itself carries oxygen to the stem base.

Fill level matters more than total volume: keep the water above the pump intake and well below the underside of the lid, so the cut ends hang in mist rather than sitting in liquid. On the 25- and 36-site tubs that is a few inches in a 13.75-inch square base. The 64-site tub takes proportionally more.

The sales record for the reservoir-and-manifold design traces back to January 2013, tracked through third-party price-history data. That is thirteen years of continuous availability in a category where no-name imports appear and vanish inside a season. The tooling has not been redrawn: a 2013 lid and a current lid share the same layout.

Verified buyer reviews across the cloning machines and the mister accessory total 2,821 at a 4.5-star weighted average. The 36-site machine alone carries 1,864 of those, the 25-site tier 683, and the 64-site flagship 206. Review volume at that scale is unusual here, where rival pages often show a dozen ratings or fewer.

Outcomes genuinely split. Most reports describe 80 to 100 percent rooting on soft-stem cuttings, while one detailed reviewer logged a total loss across a large batch alongside an unresolved return dispute. The variance tracks water temperature, cut technique, and change frequency more closely than it tracks unit-to-unit build quality. Growers who drop a thermometer in the tub and change water weekly report the consistent runs; the ones who plug it in and walk away report the losses. Read the negative reviews for the conditions, not the verdict.

Treat it as marketing rather than a specification. Rooting outcomes depend on species, cut quality, reservoir temperature, and hygiene, none of which a machine controls on your behalf. The defensible numbers are mechanical: 317 to 496 GPH of flow, thirteen to twenty-five spray heads, and root bumps at 3-5 days when conditions hold steady.

The manufacturer of record listed on the 25-, 36-, and 64-site machines is Harrigan's Hydroponics and Supply, which has produced the design since the sales record first appeared in January 2013. Units ship direct from the manufacturer rather than through a rebadging chain, which is part of why replacement parts stayed compatible across tiers.

Every tier sells online through the product pages linked on each card here, alongside the replacement misters and the net pots. Check today's price, and ordering through that page starts your 30-day return window.

Freight damage falls inside the standard 30-day retailer return window, which covers a replacement or refund without a warranty claim. Inspect the reservoir seams and manifold joints before you fill it, because a cracked seam shows as a slow drip within an hour of the first fill. Photograph anything cracked before you send it back.

No BPA-free certification is published for these reservoirs, so treating them as certified would overstate what the manufacturer documents. The tub holds plain water and cuttings rather than anything you eat directly, and growers transplant rooted stock into medium well before harvest. Anyone needing a documented food-contact rating should ask the manufacturer directly.

Roots one to two inches long, white and firm rather than brown or slimy, mark the transplant point, usually one to three weeks after the first tips show. Transplant shock is the real risk at that moment: pot into pre-moistened medium and hold humidity up for the first two days rather than moving straight into dry soil.

Cut at a 45-degree angle just below a node with a clean blade, strip the lower leaves, and trim large upper leaves by half to cut transpiration load. Seat the stem so the cut end hangs an inch below the lid, inside the mist cone. Work fast, because a cut end that dries on the bench roots poorly.

The 25-site and 36-site tubs occupy a 13.75-inch square of bench and stand 12.5 inches tall with the lid on, which clears most shelf tiers. The 64-site machine needs an 18-inch footprint and the same height again. Leave headroom above for a light and for lifting the lid without moving the whole tub.

The submersible pump sits underwater with the lid closed, so what carries is water movement rather than motor noise. In a bedroom it is audible at night. In a garage or spare room it disappears.

Cold slows root initiation more than it harms the machine. Below 65°F the reservoir stalls cuttings without improving hygiene, so an unheated garage in January will drag a 3-5 day root bump out to two weeks or longer. A small aquarium heater dropped in the reservoir solves it cheaply and holds the tub near 66°F.

Rose and other woody cuttings root here, but far less reliably than soft-stem material, and they need the reservoir held near 66°F to beat rot across a longer window. Take softwood cuttings in early summer rather than hardwood in late autumn. Expect two to three weeks and partial success rather than a full tray.

Site spacing is fixed by the lid, so twenty-five, thirty-six, or sixty-four cuttings all sit at their designed spacing. Shading becomes an issue only when you leave large upper leaves intact, and trimming leaves by half fixes it. Taller stock benefits from the wider 64-site lid, which spreads sites over more surface area.

Rooted cuttings transfer into net pots, rockwool, coco, or soil without a hardening step, since the roots formed in air and moisture rather than a dense medium. Slit net pots take the fragile root mass without a repot two weeks later. Start feeding at quarter strength once the roots reach an inch.

Warm water hurts both methods, but standing water in a DWC bucket holds heat and sheds oxygen faster than a misted reservoir cycling through a pump. Switching helps only if you also address the room, because a 78°F space heats any reservoir eventually. Add a chiller or an aquarium heater controller before changing systems.

EZ-Clone builds a comparable aeroponic machine at a higher tier of the market, with fixed site counts per model line and pump specifications that are not consistently published. Clone King prints flow rate and spray-head count per tier and offers 25-, 36-, and 64-site tubs plus a two-machine bundle. Compare current prices before deciding.

A drilled tote, a pond pump, and PVC sprayers reproduce the mechanism for less outlay, and one reviewer with a biology background said exactly that. What the kit buys instead is a lid drilled to spacing, a manifold matched to the pump, and collars that fit, plus thirteen years of the same parts staying available.

A dome costs almost nothing and roots soft cuttings slowly, at the price of daily venting and a standing mold risk. The machine removes both, because bare stems in moving air never sweat and root bumps show at day three rather than week three. The dome still wins for seed starting and hardening off.

The 36-site machine is where most first-time buyers land, and it carries the deepest review record at 1,864 verified ratings and 4.5 stars. Choose 25 sites if you propagate herbs and a few tomato varieties a season. Step up to 64 sites only once you already run out of room on a smaller lid.

Replacement misters ship in a 15-pack rated at a 280-degree spray angle and press into any Clone King cloner, from the entry tub to the flagship, so a worn head never means a new machine. Neoprene collar inserts and slit net pots are sold separately too. Cross-tier fitment is why a spare pack keeps its value.

Clean the reservoir, manifold, and spray heads at every water change, roughly every 5 to 7 days. Scale builds inside the nozzle orifice first, which is why a head dribbles before it stops.

Twice a week is the cadence long-term owners settle on, because it keeps the reservoir hostile to the bacteria behind stem rot and slows biofilm inside the misters. Add it when you top up water so the habit sticks. Once a week is enough in a cool room, though not in a space that runs warm.

Algae needs light and nutrients, so deny both: keep the lid closed, run plain water before roots form, and change the water every 5 to 7 days. Plug unused sites with a spare collar.

Weak spray traces to a clogged head or a fouled pump intake, almost never to a failed motor. Pull the lid, run the pump for ten seconds, and watch which head throws a dribble instead of a 280-degree cone. Mineral scale clears with a vinegar soak, and a badly fouled head gets replaced.

Leaks come from the lid seam, the manifold fittings, or the pump outlet, in that order. Dry the outside, fill the tub, and mark where the bead appears within the first hour. Reseal joints with aquarium-safe silicone or reseat the manifold fitting, since most leaks are a loose push-fit rather than a cracked tub.