Cooling advice needed

[t33to]

Hey ic,

Ive got two new grows starting soon. One is 6 x 600w Quantums, the other is 4 x 1kw. They should be roughly similar in power usage and heat I figure. The rooms are roughly the same size too (about 12x12). Id like to know what you think would cool better, 1 x 10" vortex active exhaust, 1 x 10" vortex active exhaust + 1 x 4" vortex active in or, 1 x 8" vortex active exhaust + 1 x 6" vortex active in.

Im just referring to cooling one room here. I will put the same cooling system in both rooms. I have very little experience with active intakes but Im expecting this summer to be a scorcher so I gotta try something new and A/c is out of the question. Thanks guys!

 

[Granger2]

t33,
If your talking about lighting and growing in the whole 144 sq ft space, you've got 1/2 the light wattage you need. I would prefer passive intake and I don't believe a 10" is enough. That would evacuate the air every 1.45 minutes. I don't think that's enough with "scorcher" summers.

Passive intake with twice the sq. inch as exhaust, 14" vortex 2.5 time/minute air exchange, separate enclosed light cooling system, with twice passive intake as exhaust. Size of fan dependent on number of lights.

Also, to lessen powdery mildew and bud rot, it would be best to bring your room intake thru a big carbon filter. Good luck. -granger

 

[t33to]

t33,
If your talking about lighting and growing in the whole 144 sq ft space, you've got 1/2 the light wattage you need. I would prefer passive intake and I don't believe a 10" is enough. That would evacuate the air every 1.45 minutes. I don't think that's enough with "scorcher" summers.

Passive intake with twice the sq. inch as exhaust, 14" vortex 2.5 time/minute air exchange, separate enclosed light cooling system, with twice passive intake as exhaust. Size of fan dependent on number of lights.

Also, to lessen powdery mildew and bud rot, it would be best to bring your room intake thru a big carbon filter. Good luck. -granger

I know I could cram more lights into the space but that makes it really tough to work in, so no I don't think I'll be using all 144 sqft.

So you think just having a passive intake and upgrading the exhaust to 14" Vortex would be the way to go? I've never heard of having a carbon scrubber on an intake before. Sometimes I'll use fiberglass filters to catch bugs and such though.

 

[PrivateAero]

I'm running four thousands in a similar sized room. Just put them close enough to take advantage of two diff lights hitting one plant and enjoy the walk way.

On running without a/c keep in mind that the best you can do is get your room ten degrees warmer than outside temp. If it's 80 outside best case scenario it's ninety in your grow.

Privateaero

 

[t33to]

I'm running four thousands in a similar sized room. Just put them close enough to take advantage of two diff lights hitting one plant and enjoy the walk way.

On running without a/c keep in mind that the best you can do is get your room ten degrees warmer than outside temp. If it's 80 outside best case scenario it's ninety in your grow.

Privateaero

What cooling system do you use?

 

[yerboyblue]

Hey ic,

Ive got two new grows starting soon. One is 6 x 600w Quantums, the other is 4 x 1kw. They should be roughly similar in power usage and heat I figure. The rooms are roughly the same size too (about 12x12). Id like to know what you think would cool better, 1 x 10" vortex active exhaust, 1 x 10" vortex active exhaust + 1 x 4" vortex active in or, 1 x 8" vortex active exhaust + 1 x 6" vortex active in.

Im just referring to cooling one room here. I will put the same cooling system in both rooms. I have very little experience with active intakes but Im expecting this summer to be a scorcher so I gotta try something new and A/c is out of the question. Thanks guys!

I run pretty much the same as you. I have 6 600's in a 10x10, air cooled hoods exhausted with a 10" max fan exhaust. I run at least a 6" active intake, filtered, on a thermostat. It still doesn't keep it cool enough in the summer fyi.
Sorry, looks like someone said pretty much the same thing.

 

[t33to]

I run pretty much the same as you. I have 6 600's in a 10x10, air cooled hoods exhausted with a 10" max fan exhaust. I run at least a 6" active intake, filtered, on a thermostat. It still doesn't keep it cool enough in the summer fyi.

Damn, I hate air cooled lights. So much f'n equipment, but they do help grow in the heat don't they?

 

[yerboyblue]

Damn, I hate air cooled lights. So much f'n equipment, but they do help grow in the heat don't they?

I like them because it definitely helps keep it cooler if you are using reflectors and you can get the plants closer to the lights. It's not a lot of work to set up honestly, just some ducting stuff. I will like the other person, if it's 80* out the best you could hope for is 90* in the room. Start planning for an A/C for the summer if you are running these rooms.
You might, and I mean might, be able to get by if these rooms are 12/12 and you can run at night, if the temps stay in the 60's at night and early morning, like 8pm to 8am.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

What's the max night-time temp in your area? Here in the mountains I don't think it ever gets over 70F (if even that hot. wow) (edit: Haha... yerboyblue beat me to it. lol)

Run your lights at night, especially during the summer.

Stay Safe!

 

[t33to]

What's the max night-time temp in your area? Here in the mountains I don't think it ever gets over 70F (if even that hot. wow) (edit: Haha... yerboyblue beat me to it. lol)

Run your lights at night, especially during the summer.

Stay Safe!

I usually try to run my lights at night, but in this case I was hoping to do a flip flop style with the two rooms. One on for 12 hours and the other on for the next 12 hours. It just makes it easier and simpler with the electrical but I do believe heat will be a bigger factor than the electrical requirements so I think I may just do the night time running thing. I may also look into evaporative cooling. I hear some guys at the local hydro store here chatting about it.

As for the temps here, in summer it probably peaks around 85f

 

[St3ve]

I usually try to run my lights at night, but in this case I was hoping to do a flip flop style with the two rooms. One on for 12 hours and the other on for the next 12 hours. It just makes it easier and simpler with the electrical but I do believe heat will be a bigger factor than the electrical requirements so I think I may just do the night time running thing. I may also look into evaporative cooling. I hear some guys at the local hydro store here chatting about it.

Be careful with evaporative coolers as they only really work with low RH.

If that is the case (85F) you're going to need an AC of some sort if you wanna run during the day. Its going to get too hot for sure.. I mean, 85 is already too hot IMO, and thats without ANY lights running. You should probably just go ahead and plan to run both rooms at night or you're just going to be fighting it later.

As for the passive intake, no you don't want a carbon scrubber. You can get one of the filters that are made to go on a furnace to filter out anything going into the grow.

Rule of thumb for passive intakes: 12"x12" for every 300cfm is what most locals codes call for venting.

 

[PrivateAero]

I'm using the 24k btu lg but you could probably use an 18k btu window ac. I was going to run flip flop but it just doesn't make sense, plus you have to go to your grow twice a day and if your on a time of day plan for your electricity it won't work. I wanted to use a water tower with an open top and liquid cool lights and have some radiators in my room. Idk if it'd work but maybe a thought. I've been talking with my buddy about air cooled reflecters and decided that if we'd put or money towards an ac we'd been better off, the glass blocks a percentage of the light and the blowers use nearly 200(estimated) Watts each and if your running two for lights one for intake one for exhaust it really adds up. I'd avoid portable ac if possible and if you can get an hvac guy in there and have him hook up an air handler with a humidifier and dehumidifier built in it'll pay for itself in energy savings in a couple years, but will run about ten grand.

Privateaero

 

[Jhhnn]

Like it or not, window A/C is probably your best answer in a large grow. They don't exchange air to the outside, so smell isn't an issue, and they can be made secure & light-tight with some ingenuity. If you can route the condensate drain inside, use it to operate a humidifier.

You'll need to go oversize- if the unit says it'll cool a 12x12 room, it won't be big enough.

 

[Jhhnn]

Be careful with evaporative coolers as they only really work with low RH.

Quite true. I have a large one on the house here in Denver, along with a whole house fan that vents through the attic. It really only drops the temp by 15F, at most, and we turn it off when the humidity is high, like before a thunderstorm. Otherwise, it just makes the air stickier, not enough cooler to do any good.

 

[Granger2]

Swamp coolers use a lot of water and give your room high humidity, making crop prone to powdery mildew and Bud Rot. Check out Thru the Wall AC's, or a Window unit if you have a window. There are DIY Install Mini-Splits, like the Friedrich Breeze. No technician needed. Good luck. -granger

 

[Phillthy]

I run pretty much the same as you. I have 6 600's in a 10x10, air cooled hoods exhausted with a 10" max fan exhaust. I run at least a 6" active intake, filtered, on a thermostat. It still doesn't keep it cool enough in the summer fyi.
Sorry, looks like someone said pretty much the same thing.

ditch the 6" active. it isnt doing anything anyway. the 10" is pulling faster than the 6" can keep up. rule of thumb i double the intake. so if you have 10" out you need 20" in.