condensation on intake fan

[normlguy]

my buddy has insulated duct from the outside into a 6 inch vortex 15 ft away. then 6ft to his tent. then aircooled lights then back outside his house.

he pushes air thru light instead of pulling air from tent from the non perfect seals of lights. seperate fan w filter for tent air.

he looked yesterday and said his fan was dripping from condensation. he didnt look inside at the first light cause the lights were out. hes gonna this morning he said to see if condensation is near his light.

he said it got colder last night. and w the winter coming he said its gonna get alot colder.

can he get a speed controller and slow it down? i said that wouldnt work probably cause hes still pulling cold air in.

he was loving the idea of colder air colling his lights, but what can he do besides figuring out a whole new intake?

thanks

 

[PeteWeedSeed]

I don't think it will work.. that cold air hitting the fan first is always going to cause a small amount of heat and causing condensation.
Take off the insulated intake duct, so the air heats up a little. All that cold air hitting the bulb will cause condensation at the bulb...

But pulling such cold air in really sounds like a bad idea, you really should just pull air from the room and exhaust it outside. Cold air + hot surfaces = condensation everytime.

 

[Sloppy Seconds]

What pete said, just draw from the room and you will be fine.

 

[Fly by Night]

Condensation on vortex type fans a problem? I've got a blower conditioning the lung room, she's dripping wet homies Temps are just perfect however! Peace

 

[Fly by Night]

Are the fan motors protected? Do the blades/internals corrode? This sloppy 6 inch keeps spinning the breeze for now. Peace y'all

 

[Fly by Night]

Never drew cold air in...plants love, but will fan get cranky?

 

[Medium Pimpin']

my fans got drippy wet and never had a problem.
i find that if you leave a few feet worth of duct before the fan uninsulated, most of the condensate will disappear before getting in the fan.
just put something under the duct to catch the drip and collect it in a bucket, or send to your res. unless it doesnt drip on any of your plants or equipment, good luck!!!

 

[noyd666]

yep my intake fans get wet with condensation, probably not a problem but I wrapped a short length of towling around the metal and twist tied. check and replace rag every grow. =might add I get condensation on passive air vent pipe that has insulated ducting over the pipes.

 

[packerfan79]

I had the same problem last winter, wrapped it in insulation problem solved

 

[Jhhnn]

Your friend really needs a temp controller on the fan, downstream from the lights. When it's really cold outside, he needs less airflow, and just the opposite when it's hot. He probably wants backdraft preventers where the ducting goes to the outside, too, for when the lights are off.

Obviously, there will be less condensation with less airflow & he'll keep grow chamber temps more even. Pressure drop at the fan inlet promotes condensation because the temp also drops, & the fan acts as a mechanical separator, too, throwing the droplets against the housing. Best condensation control is to put the fan after the heat source, but best odor control is the other way.

 

[Fly by Night]

Wonderful news fellas. Thanks for jumping in within encouraging word! Jus got a maxfan pro6, it's plastic, with three speeds. I'm dumping cold air into the cellar, from outside. The cool cellar air pulled passively into grow space, 72f lights on, bare 1k's!

Midflower plants glisten, lemme get some pics here

Peace

 

[Ichabod Crane]

Putting the fan before the lights is a bad idea. Mine throws ice out once in awhile.

 

[lvtokerr]

if its that cold in his area like it is in mine i like to use the lights to warm up the lung room. that way you can increase your air exchange rate ratio. the more fresh air the better. i just pump air through the lights from lung room and back into lung room. then have lung room set on thermostat at like 60 or what ever it takes to keep your tent at ideal temps. once it gets warmer like in spring for example i switch the lights exhaust to go back outside.

 

[rootfingers]

Ichabod, holy crap! If you have that set up still maybe install an exhaust vent in reverse on the very outside of you intake run (outside). Tape on something small and weighty like screws to keep the flaps down when the fan isn't operating. I have the feeling you are freezing over because excess cold air is getting in your intake while the room in sleeping/not warm. Does this make sense or am I way off? What are your dark cycle temps?

 

[EclipseFour20]

I use outside air to cool both my lights and the room (free CO2 from mama nature) and quite happy with the setup.

May I suggest a few things:
1. Most motorized appliances generate heat, and your fan is no exception. So where you place this "heat generator" makes a big difference. If you place the "heat generator" between your cold air source and your lamp (as you have) I guarantee there will be water/condensation in the ducting. But if you place the fan (heat generator) it at the end of the trunk so it pulls air--the fan will not generate any "condensation". Besides, when working with "air movement" and comparing "push" vs "pull", it takes less power to "pull" the same volume of air than "pushing it"; more air flow with less energy. Place the fan at the end of your run so it "pulls" air.
2. Wrap all the ducting and connectors with insulation. Double wrap it if you can.
3. Where possible use rigid ducting where ever you can...as the flex ducting reduces the air flow efficiencies (less air flow with same level of power).

I pull air from the outside (DIY vents under the roof eave) and each lamp receives cold air (as opposed to a chained setup where exhaust/warm air of the first lamp "cools" the second lamp). The ducting runs up and into my attic (where the fans are) with all intake ducting (both rigid & flex) insulated. In doing so, I eliminated all condensation issues and enjoy nice cool air--allowing the room AC to cycle "off" more than it is "on" when lights are on.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

Ichabod, holy crap! If you have that set up still maybe install an exhaust vent in reverse on the very outside of you intake run (outside). Tape on something small and weighty like screws to keep the flaps down when the fan isn't operating. I have the feeling you are freezing over because excess cold air is getting in your intake while the room in sleeping/not warm. Does this make sense or am I way off? What are your dark cycle temps?

If I reverse the fan I would get ice chunks on the side of my house. I run flip rooms so there is no down time. Temps in the room are the same pretty much 24 hours.

My room is fine I was just pointing out you could ice up. The picture is from when I was drawing in -20 air from out side.

 

[rootfingers]

Ha, that's what I get for giving unsolicited advice. I know you know your stuff, it was just something I cooked up recently that fixed a similar problem for myself.

As to the op's question - insulation around the fan would be my 2 cents.