A/C Questions,

[st0ne]

Hello,

I have a 3 ton A/C which in the past ran 4x 1000 watt lights. The ballasts were located in the shed, as well as propane fired co2 supplementation.

We found that the A/C ran close to continuously. I believe we set the differential to 8 degrees.

I also know of a man who runs 8x 1000 watt lights, also co2 supplementation. He has a 5 ton A/C. I am unsure regarding if his ballasts are located within his room.

My question is regarding the fact that my 3 ton A/C is rated for 32000 BTU, and has a seemingly hard time keeping up with four lights, plus the added heat.

I bought the A/C used and was told that it was a three ton. I am unable to located the size by the label, although have no reason to disbelieve my hydro store. Still, the BTU's don't add up.

Is my A/C an old piece of shit? or is this standard? I ran to waste, and the intake temperature was surely adequate. I was told that water cooled A/C's require no maintenance.

I can always run air cooled shades, and a flipflop to compensate. Is the 4000 watts of A/C power inefficient?

 

[ocitown]

Hello,

I have a 3 ton A/C which in the past ran 4x 1000 watt lights. The ballasts were located in the shed, as well as propane fired co2 supplementation.

We found that the A/C ran close to continuously. I believe we set the differential to 8 degrees.

I also know of a man who runs 8x 1000 watt lights, also co2 supplementation. He has a 5 ton A/C. I am unsure regarding if his ballasts are located within his room.

My question is regarding the fact that my 3 ton A/C is rated for 32000 BTU, and has a seemingly hard time keeping up with four lights, plus the added heat.

I bought the A/C used and was told that it was a three ton. I am unable to located the size by the label, although have no reason to disbelieve my hydro store. Still, the BTU's don't add up.

Is my A/C an old piece of shit? or is this standard? I ran to waste, and the intake temperature was surely adequate. I was told that water cooled A/C's require no maintenance.

I can always run air cooled shades, and a flipflop to compensate. Is the 4000 watts of A/C power inefficient?

I'm no AC expert but 12000btu=1ton IIRC.

There should be a port to test the freons quantity but only someone with that knowledge and gauges can test it.

You also can test the cold tempts when it is running and see if it gets into the 50s,IIRC it should.

A non-cycling AC is not a balanced system and is doomed as it will not last w/o any resting at all during the long 12 hrs.

What AC is it?

 

[ogatec]

Hello,

I have a 3 ton A/C which in the past ran 4x 1000 watt lights. The ballasts were located in the shed, as well as propane fired co2 supplementation.

We found that the A/C ran close to continuously. I believe we set the differential to 8 degrees.

I also know of a man who runs 8x 1000 watt lights, also co2 supplementation. He has a 5 ton A/C. I am unsure regarding if his ballasts are located within his room.

My question is regarding the fact that my 3 ton A/C is rated for 32000 BTU, and has a seemingly hard time keeping up with four lights, plus the added heat.


I bought the A/C used and was told that it was a three ton. I am unable to located the size by the label, although have no reason to disbelieve my hydro store. Still, the BTU's don't add up.

Is my A/C an old piece of shit? or is this standard? I ran to waste, and the intake temperature was surely adequate. I was told that water cooled A/C's require no maintenance.

I can always run air cooled shades, and a flipflop to compensate. Is the 4000 watts of A/C power inefficient?

lol 3 ton ac!!!!!!!! i think something is wrong with it or u installed it wrong....

lets see my 18k(1.5ton) unit would do 4kw EASY in all but the worst summer months.(i live in the south)

so your unit should be able to handle atleast 8 lites...


edit- i just noticed u are using a co2 burner & ballasts-in-room, but that still shouldn't make too much of difference, my buddy did 3k ballasts in room with a 1 ton window unit. (bottled co2). it ran all the time, & it would get warm in there during the summer mo. but he always produced.

how is the insulation? i would try to get the room as sealed & insulated as possible, that can make ALL the difference! Beeing in a shed i'm guessing that is the real prob & not the a/c...

get ballasts out of room.

 

[Guest 18340]

What kind of ac is it? Portable? Mini split? Window unit? Or central air? Also, are your lights being cooled?

 

[st0ne]

Hi, sorry for the late reply.

It's a 3 ton, water cooled heat exchanger. Lights were not being cooled.

I once asked the man at the hydrostore regarding any maintenance, and was told that the compressor is a sealed unit, and doesn't require maintenance. It wouldn't be the first time I was lied too though. I often find it hard to find people who know what the fuck they are talking about. Equally frustrating is how many people pretend they know. It makes learning progressively more difficult, as you need to be able to sift through the shit, to find the proverbial gold.

Any more ideas? I do appreciate the input.
Thanks.

 

[Guest 18340]

The first thing i would do is cool those lights.
I'm not sure what a "water cooled heat exchanger" is, can you post a pic or link?

 

[jordas]

absolutely get some air cooled reflectors for all of those lights first.....
otherwise your just wasting your time and money trying to cool with the a/c alone....

 

[ocitown]

Sounds like you may have a swamp cooler but they dont use compressors.

Lighting with AC fixtures venting in and out of the room will cut the AC need by allot.

Does the unit cool well w/o the lights?

Post the exact AC if you can.