My grow room is 8x10. I currently have (2) 2x4 trays under a 1000 watt light, and have a 4x8 tray ready to throw in there when I get the second 1000 watt light. Temps are getting a little high with just the 1000, as I live in a hot part of the country, and my room is on the side that catches the hottest part of the day. The guy at the hydro shop told me that for a dual hose A/C to work properly you needed to have the exhaust hose vented to the attic, and the intake hose sucking from a different room. Unfortunately I don't have another room to pull from. The grow room borders my living room and my bathroom, both of which are used by guests. The grow room is secure with light getting out, and has a lock and people rarely come by so I'm not concerned with it being in such close proximity, but I can't have holes in the wall that would automatically beg questions. Can I run both hoses through the roof of the grow room and into the attic, or will the intake air just be too hot for the A/C to handle?
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Dual Hose A/C
- Thread starter TriIron
- Start date
get a window unit... IME 'dual hose' a/c's just have 2 'out' hoses rather then one.. there usualy more powerful and make more heat then one hose units.
cut hole in wall at floor level. cover with vent cover. voila!
for extra bonus points you can put carbon air filters behind metal vent.
for extra bonus points you can put carbon air filters behind metal vent.
i could be wrong but i believe he is referring to a fresh air intake for the portable a/c
I just wanted to report what I have noticed with different models of portable AC units. I have been looking at the design of many different models just to note the differences and I must say what I have found out is that all models are not created equally. Like DigitalHippy said earlier, a window AC is always going to be much better. Unfortunately not all people can use one because either they are not handy enough to make their own with a regular window AC, just don't have the time or conveniently have one already at their disposal.
The single hose portable units are probably the most inefficient air conditioners you can purchase. The problem is the way it cools the compressor. With only having one hose the compressor is cooled by a means of vents on the back or bottom of the unit that suck the rooms cool air in past the compressor and coil and then out the exaust hose. This is bad for two reasons. First the exaust is creating negative pressure in the room because it is sucking in room air to cool the compressor and then blowing it out the exaust vent. Now the room has to pull air in from somewhere else and that is going to most likely be warm air from another part of the house. The reason the AC works is because it is cooling more air than it is exausting out of the room, but this is highly inefficent as that air has to be replaced somehow. The other problem is that the AC is pulling air from the room so it is also pulling the smell out with it and any Co2 you might be using.
The dual hose units are much more efficient with some models actually being close in efficiency to a window unit, but these are not very common. I will explain the differences in dual hose units a little later. The basic dual hose unit works by pulling in air from the back of the AC just like the single hose units do. The difference is with two hoses you have one for intake that sucks in air from another location to cool the compressor and one for exaust of the hot air. The benefit is that this air from another location is used to cool the compressor. This design allows no negative preasure in the room to be created like the single hose units do because a limited amount of air is being expelled from the room through the exaust. Instead it is being pulled in from somewhere else. This prevents warm air from other parts of the house being pulled into the room. Some air still is exausted from the room and this amount varies from model to model, but not nearly as much as the single hose design. Another benefit of not much room air being expelled is that smell is not as much of an issue and more Co2 can be maintained in the room. Like stated earlier, some units are better than others but in my experience still the best to get is a window AC if Co2 is a big concern.
I have noticed there are slight differences in dual hose design that can make a portable AC much more efficent and useful for our purposes. Some of the cheaper models and even some of the more expensive ones have a design flaw that can make the unit much less efficient. When purchasing a new unit look at the back where the two hoses enter the unit. Make sure there are no vents over top the intake hose or on the body close to it. These units without vents exaust much less air from the room. The other units have vents or passive intakes if you will on the back of the unit just by the intake hose. These units suck air in from another location through the intake hose, but also suck air from the room through these vents. So basically it is somewhere in the middle efficiency range in regards to single hose units and good dual hose units. I think the reason they do this is so they can use a less powerful fan and in return save a few bucks. There is probably more reasons I am not aware of.
The ones with no vents take only air from the intake hose. Even these will still take air in from the room as they are not sealed perfectly, but it will be minumal and vary from model to model. The only way to see which unit is the best is to purchase it and see how it works or open it up and explore the insides. Unfortunately this is not really possible most of the time, so stick to the units with out vents near the intake hose and the rest is just luck of the draw. Either that or hopefully you can get a recommendation from someone which hs personal experience with a particular model.
The unit I purchased a while back is built much better than most units and I am very happy with it. It is a Danby but the model I will have to look up. Very little air excapes to the outside and I beleive it is very close in efficiency to a window unit.
I hope this little article helps some people out as I felt it was pertainent to this thread and thought it might be useful for some to know that don't already know how they work. Sorry for all the spelling errors, it was never my strong point.
TGT
The single hose portable units are probably the most inefficient air conditioners you can purchase. The problem is the way it cools the compressor. With only having one hose the compressor is cooled by a means of vents on the back or bottom of the unit that suck the rooms cool air in past the compressor and coil and then out the exaust hose. This is bad for two reasons. First the exaust is creating negative pressure in the room because it is sucking in room air to cool the compressor and then blowing it out the exaust vent. Now the room has to pull air in from somewhere else and that is going to most likely be warm air from another part of the house. The reason the AC works is because it is cooling more air than it is exausting out of the room, but this is highly inefficent as that air has to be replaced somehow. The other problem is that the AC is pulling air from the room so it is also pulling the smell out with it and any Co2 you might be using.
The dual hose units are much more efficient with some models actually being close in efficiency to a window unit, but these are not very common. I will explain the differences in dual hose units a little later. The basic dual hose unit works by pulling in air from the back of the AC just like the single hose units do. The difference is with two hoses you have one for intake that sucks in air from another location to cool the compressor and one for exaust of the hot air. The benefit is that this air from another location is used to cool the compressor. This design allows no negative preasure in the room to be created like the single hose units do because a limited amount of air is being expelled from the room through the exaust. Instead it is being pulled in from somewhere else. This prevents warm air from other parts of the house being pulled into the room. Some air still is exausted from the room and this amount varies from model to model, but not nearly as much as the single hose design. Another benefit of not much room air being expelled is that smell is not as much of an issue and more Co2 can be maintained in the room. Like stated earlier, some units are better than others but in my experience still the best to get is a window AC if Co2 is a big concern.
I have noticed there are slight differences in dual hose design that can make a portable AC much more efficent and useful for our purposes. Some of the cheaper models and even some of the more expensive ones have a design flaw that can make the unit much less efficient. When purchasing a new unit look at the back where the two hoses enter the unit. Make sure there are no vents over top the intake hose or on the body close to it. These units without vents exaust much less air from the room. The other units have vents or passive intakes if you will on the back of the unit just by the intake hose. These units suck air in from another location through the intake hose, but also suck air from the room through these vents. So basically it is somewhere in the middle efficiency range in regards to single hose units and good dual hose units. I think the reason they do this is so they can use a less powerful fan and in return save a few bucks. There is probably more reasons I am not aware of.
The ones with no vents take only air from the intake hose. Even these will still take air in from the room as they are not sealed perfectly, but it will be minumal and vary from model to model. The only way to see which unit is the best is to purchase it and see how it works or open it up and explore the insides. Unfortunately this is not really possible most of the time, so stick to the units with out vents near the intake hose and the rest is just luck of the draw. Either that or hopefully you can get a recommendation from someone which hs personal experience with a particular model.
The unit I purchased a while back is built much better than most units and I am very happy with it. It is a Danby but the model I will have to look up. Very little air excapes to the outside and I beleive it is very close in efficiency to a window unit.
I hope this little article helps some people out as I felt it was pertainent to this thread and thought it might be useful for some to know that don't already know how they work. Sorry for all the spelling errors, it was never my strong point.
TGT
if you could look up that model # TGT it would be most appreciated
dontstepongrass said:
Below is a picture of the unit I am using right now. Like I stated earlier it is the best of the portable AC's I have seen - and I have looked at a lot. I am sure there are better ones as I have not seen them all obviously and you would be best off with a good window AC, but if a good portable is needed I would recommend it fully. I think it is a 12,000 BTU and is cooling 5 - 1000 watt HPS without hoods perfectly even on the hottest days. If hooked up properly it works great and I have yet to see any smell leak, although I have not been in bud for longer than 4 weeks yet with it. The model number I will be checking tonight and will edit the post to let you know. I figured a pic is the best I can do a the moment so it was better than nothing.
TGT
thanks for taking the time TGT! i have been in the market for one of those for awhile, but no one would ever vouch for a good unit. i have a 12,000 btu window unit and it isn't going to be feasible (security wise) when outside temps drop in fall.
what size room is that unit cooling with the 5 1k's?
what size room is that unit cooling with the 5 1k's?
wow 5 1K's with a 12k portable?? thats supposed to take up 20k btu to cool.... i dont get it..
If you can afford it, get a mini split. Can get a 110v or a 220v unit that will heat and cool. More efficient than the dual hose unit(especially the 220 unit) or the window unit. The dual hose units are a energy sucker.
if im not mistaken aren't mini splits no good for stealth?
No more obvious than a window unit. The compressor(outside unit) can be hidden behind shrubs or other structure up to 25 to 50 foot away,and are very quite. You can't even hear mine kick on. As far as anyone knows he's cooling is game room. Easier to explain than a vent sucking air.
Since he stated he's in a very hot area, a fresh air intake on the sunny side of the house is gonna make that dual hose unit work hard as hell to cool resulting in very high energy cost which would probably give him away quicker. Besides, a long run of hose through the attic to a fresh air source is going to cut way down on cooling ability and make it work harder to cool.
Since he stated he's in a very hot area, a fresh air intake on the sunny side of the house is gonna make that dual hose unit work hard as hell to cool resulting in very high energy cost which would probably give him away quicker. Besides, a long run of hose through the attic to a fresh air source is going to cut way down on cooling ability and make it work harder to cool.
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iluvtogrograss
Member
I concur with Resinryder. I am a Supplier in the Heating & A/C Biz. A Mini Split is the way to go for sure. You can get them as small as 9K BTU or as large as 48K BTU. They are very easy to install. The air handler can be mounted directly into the grow room on the wall. The outside unit or compressor can be situated outside and all they look like is that you have supplemental heat/ac in your home. They are very small and like ResinRyder stated it can be placed behind a bush or small shrub to help conceal if that is a concern. They can be controlled with a thermostat and or a remote control. They are highly efficient and incredibly quiet.
http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/
http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/
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they cant see a minisplit.TriIron said:
u can even put the compressor next to the central a/c unit.
killedkilleryo
Member
how exactly does a mini split work.do you have to drill holes through the building to connect the outside unit to the inside unit and do the inside and outside unit run off of one or two power sources.
The connections are put through a 3 inch hole through the wall. This is your coolant hose, drain hose if 1 is on that model(humidity control) and wiring. The power hook up is at the outside compressor only. The inside head is powered by the wire between the compressor and the head. So just 1 power source is used.
Really a sweet unit.
Really a sweet unit.
