Help deciding exhaust route for my tent closet microgrow

[trouthugger]

I am trying to re-vamp my closet grow (only one previous harvest in this space) before my next grow.

My top priorities are stealth and efficiency. I am renting my home long term, my landlord comes about once a year for 10 minutes and doesn't leave my living room. That being said, I like to be prepared for the worst. I am handy but want the repairs that I'll have to do when I move out to be as minimal as possible.

My first step is figuring out my exhaust situation. I have three options:

1. Exhaust through the ceiling of closet through the attic and out of the house
2. Exhaust through the right side of the closet into the home stairway

3. Vent through the left side of the closet into an adjacent storage closet.

What option do you think would be the best given my unique situation?

 

[trouthugger]

I should add that I use a 225W LED and grow between 1 and 2 plants at a time...

6" Carbon Filter & 6" AC Infinity Inline Exhaust Fan

 

[Three Berries]

I have a tent in a a closet, technically unheated area of the house. It's got bifold doors. But I run intake air from another room through the wall using 6" round duct.

I have another veg tent that is exhausted into the bedroom it's in. This is OK as long as I open the tent up when the lights are off, otherwise humidity is an issue.

If you use a carbon filter back into the house exhaust is OK for that amount of light. My veg tent is up to 250w at times. The closet tent is 450w sometimes and that takes a lot of air flow to keep temps down. So if exhausting outside then you need to make sure you have enough air coming in.

I just redid the exhaust for the flower tent though. Attic in non winter times, outside through the wall in winter.

 

[trouthugger]

I think I've narrowed it down to either:

1. Buying a new door to cut an exhaust into and replace the door when I move out or
2. Cutting the drywall above the door and creating an exhaust vent there, covering if with art if landlord ever comes over. Patch when I move out.

I still think the best option would be to vent through the roof into the attic but I'm scared of black mold in a house I don't own.

If I go with option number 1 I would need a way to rig the exhaust to the door and still be able to open the door. I'd probably mount the ducting to the wall to where it would stay stationary when I open and close to door. Open to suggestions.

 

[trouthugger]

I have a tent in a a closet, technically unheated area of the house. It's got bifold doors. But I run intake air from another room through the wall using 6" round duct.

I have another veg tent that is exhausted into the bedroom it's in. This is OK as long as I open the tent up when the lights are off, otherwise humidity is an issue.

If you use a carbon filter back into the house exhaust is OK for that amount of light. My veg tent is up to 250w at times. The closet tent is 450w sometimes and that takes a lot of air flow to keep temps down. So if exhausting outside then you need to make sure you have enough air coming in.

I just redid the exhaust for the flower tent though. Attic in non winter times, outside through the wall in winter.

Could I see some photos of your exhaust setups?

Also what do you mean by if I exhaust outside I need more airflow coming in? What's the difference?

 

[Ca++]

Ceiling. If you use the cupboard you are recirculating air. The stairs is too visible.
Fixing a cupboard roof is fairly easy, as no light is cast upon it, and people don't look there generally. If you had to, you could board it again. It's a tiny room. Decorating it wall to wall to keep the brush marks matching is no hardship.
Noise leaving into the loft is also advantageous. Personally I would have my fan between two silencers, in the loft, hanging with elastic. With the duct through the ceiling to reach the tent. I would likely put my carbon in the loft blowing through it, but it's not a big thing to hang in the tent. Though flex between fan and filter is never a great idea. While drawing air out flush with an enclosure roof is very effective. This all leads towards your fan being in the loft, and a grow so quiet you hear nothing.

 

[Creeperpark]

It's not very nice knocking holes in the walls or doors. I had a problem like yours and I purchased a black curtain and used it for a temporary door. I kept the curtain open all the time but when guests came, I pulled the curtains shut. You could get a nice colored curtain that would match your living area.
If you keep the solid doors, you will have to ventilate through your walls or ceiling.

 

[Ca++]

Some awkward surfaces there creeper. I might of used a proper curtain rail, with two screw holes in the ceiling to fix it. That wooden looking cladding is hard to repair

Sometime a ceiling has an awkward pattern, or woodchip. Nearly always it's not actually flat, so your repair must follow a contour. This is my take on it..

First mark the hole with a Q as the stick is orientation.
2, hole saw it out.
3, pop a batten on the back, but with some black goo, not flush. Add a screw/handle using the hole left by the cutter.
4, slip the disk back in the hole, holding it with the screw. Watch the Q and pull it about a bit using the black goo.
5, bridge the gap left by the curf of the cutter, using screws that put the flanks into the ceiling and disk. This holds the disk solid while you run fillar around the gap. Remember the landlord is a day away and you don't have time for goo to set fully. Wet in the gap with a spray bottle, and add a quick drying fillar. Very soon the original ceiling is back in place, and you have a circle of fresh fillar with a hole dead center.
Presuming the ceiling was flat, you can use paper and block. A paint with a latex fillar for gap covering is very useful. A power sander can add other rounded divets to a roof, if you need eye catching features that are not your hole. If the roof was woodchip you can get busy with chips of your own. Woodchip wallpaper sheets can be ripped up providing small bits with feathered edges. It's paper machete time. However the best place to put a hole with woodchip, is where you peel the paper down first. Steam a join, and peel it off before putting the hole in. Sometimes I have cut flaps at joins. This is the same for any patterned papers. Artex though... that shits a real barrier.

 

[trouthugger]

Some awkward surfaces there creeper. I might of used a proper curtain rail, with two screw holes in the ceiling to fix it. That wooden looking cladding is hard to repair

Sometime a ceiling has an awkward pattern, or woodchip. Nearly always it's not actually flat, so your repair must follow a contour. This is my take on it..
View attachment 18743761
First mark the hole with a Q as the stick is orientation.
2, hole saw it out.
3, pop a batten on the back, but with some black goo, not flush. Add a screw/handle using the hole left by the cutter.
4, slip the disk back in the hole, holding it with the screw. Watch the Q and pull it about a bit using the black goo.
5, bridge the gap left by the curf of the cutter, using screws that put the flanks into the ceiling and disk. This holds the disk solid while you run fillar around the gap. Remember the landlord is a day away and you don't have time for goo to set fully. Wet in the gap with a spray bottle, and add a quick drying fillar. Very soon the original ceiling is back in place, and you have a circle of fresh fillar with a hole dead center.
Presuming the ceiling was flat, you can use paper and block. A paint with a latex fillar for gap covering is very useful. A power sander can add other rounded divets to a roof, if you need eye catching features that are not your hole. If the roof was woodchip you can get busy with chips of your own. Woodchip wallpaper sheets can be ripped up providing small bits with feathered edges. It's paper machete time. However the best place to put a hole with woodchip, is where you peel the paper down first. Steam a join, and peel it off before putting the hole in. Sometimes I have cut flaps at joins. This is the same for any patterned papers. Artex though... that shits a real barrier

What are you describing here? A little confused...

 

[trouthugger]

Ceiling. If you use the cupboard you are recirculating air. The stairs is too visible.
Fixing a cupboard roof is fairly easy, as no light is cast upon it, and people don't look there generally. If you had to, you could board it again. It's a tiny room. Decorating it wall to wall to keep the brush marks matching is no hardship.
Noise leaving into the loft is also advantageous. Personally I would have my fan between two silencers, in the loft, hanging with elastic. With the duct through the ceiling to reach the tent. I would likely put my carbon in the loft blowing through it, but it's not a big thing to hang in the tent. Though flex between fan and filter is never a great idea. While drawing air out flush with an enclosure roof is very effective. This all leads towards your fan being in the loft, and a grow so quiet you hear nothing.

Eliminated cupboard and stairs.

Now thinking either customize a new door with exhaust vent, go above the closet door through drywall, or through attic. Still going with the ceiling in your opinion? Black mold scares me. I'm in the southeast so not that cold here in the winter but I don't want to ruin someone else's house...

 

[Three Berries]

Could I see some photos of your exhaust setups?

Also what do you mean by if I exhaust outside I need more airflow coming in? What's the difference?

If you exhaust outside the room/house you have to have air coming in vs just in the same room where it goes round and round.

Here's my tent exhaust in the closet. There is also a 4" house exhaust. Up in the attic it has a 45* at the top pointed towards the peak. I also have a sheet of that emergency blanket reflective film stapled to the rafters above this to keep the air from directly contacting the wood and roof under surface until it cool/heats to attic ambient.

Not sure when to flip, probably late November.

I should add I have plenty of wind driven or powered ventilation in the attic year around.

 

[Legalcdn]

Any bathroom or laundry vents nearby? Garage?
Going into the attic has a good chance of mold.

 

[trouthugger]

Any bathroom or laundry vents nearby? Garage?
Going into the attic has a good chance of mold.

No bathroom vents nearby. Laundry vent in next room but it wouldn't be stealthy, I might as well vent out of the window in the same room if I'm not considering stealth.

Stealth is important for me having a landlord (even though he comes once a year), so I need to have it somewhere hidden or that can be easily hidden with a piece of art or something.

 

[Ca++]

I have never seen a roof mold. I wonder if a world of internet can find pics. The problem is usually condensation on the felt, running down to the fascia boards. At first the boards look dirty as the filth from the loft washes out. Persistent use will see them rot. With due diligence you see this condensation long before it's a problem. However, you need houses full of plants and no air circulation in the loft, in order to get the condensation going.
I have seen lofts used countless times. I mean countless. Gangs that only use the chimney if they are also working downstairs. It's simply how grows are done here in England.

I see you took shelves down. If you put them back in, with boxes on them that reach to roof, then your hole is covered. The pic above is how to chop a hole, then fix it with the bit that came out. Which may look flat as you stare up, but almost never is. Just as a floor always sags in the middle.

 

[Three Berries]

I had mine venting for the last several years into the attic, The last year I was adding humidity. Finally decided I better go look during a really cold snap. It was atrocious with icicles hanging all over close by the exhaust and frost on the surface of all the wood in the attic. And that is with wind driven ventilation. Which in the winter at night is none a lot of time.

 

[DARKSIDER]

I also vent into the attic England UK.. Have done for a few years now but check yearly to see if theres any problems happening up there, no problems up to now, but do notice in the winter im the one without snow on the roof compared to my neighbours, and yes a red flag for the helicopters for sure but do have plenty gaps for air in and out can see outside when im in the attic so all in all it looks ok but will still keep checking hopefully the helicopters dont

Always better to be safe than sorry so take all the info with a pinch of salt make your own decisions it will be worth it in the long run..

 

[Ca++]

I had mine venting for the last several years into the attic, The last year I was adding humidity. Finally decided I better go look during a really cold snap. It was atrocious with icicles hanging all over close by the exhaust and frost on the surface of all the wood in the attic. And that is with wind driven ventilation. Which in the winter at night is none a lot of time.

Is it damn cold there? I can't imagine actual icicles near the hose where it should be still warm. Years back I was working a proper loft conversion, but opened up a hole to the tiles to take temperatures. A friend was working a greenhouse in his loft where you could see the tiles. We spent most of the winter on the phone, comparing numbers at 3 points. I don't recall much, except for him being about 2 above me, and we were being very fussy about conditions. Even when we were snow capped, we had no issues. It was never cold enough for ice.

In your situation, I would of made a dehu

The green area is insulated, to keep grow temps. The hard pipe is spiral ducting. The T capped to stop the air coming out, but drilled for the condense. The black my bucket.
In your case the drilled hole would have to let some warm air out, to stop it freezing. With sub zero loft temps, there could be icing within the tube, so more tuning with insulation. Our lofts rarely got below 10c though.

A dehu has a very short pass time. That pipe is bloody long comparatively.

 

[hamstring]

I would ,and have, vented through the closet ceiling into the attic. Your attic should already be vented to the outdoors and will carry away any unwanted smells ( if not covered by filter). Easy to patch hole if you move out and with lock on closet door very stealthy.

In my opinion the extra humidity in the attic is not a concern. Although not the right way may peoples bathroom fan is vented in the attic with no problems. My 2 cents.

 

[Three Berries]

Is it damn cold there? I can't imagine actual icicles near the hose where it should be still warm. Years back I was working a proper loft conversion, but opened up a hole to the tiles to take temperatures. A friend was working a greenhouse in his loft where you could see the tiles. We spent most of the winter on the phone, comparing numbers at 3 points. I don't recall much, except for him being about 2 above me, and we were being very fussy about conditions. Even when we were snow capped, we had no issues. It was never cold enough for ice.

In your situation, I would of made a dehu
View attachment 18744244 The green area is insulated, to keep grow temps. The hard pipe is spiral ducting. The T capped to stop the air coming out, but drilled for the condense. The black my bucket.
In your case the drilled hole would have to let some warm air out, to stop it freezing. With sub zero loft temps, there could be icing within the tube, so more tuning with insulation. Our lofts rarely got below 10c though.

A dehu has a very short pass time. That pipe is bloody long comparatively.

-20F is not unusual.

 

[Ca++]

Oh eck, that's -30 almost.
Air can't leave a dehu at 0c or less, as the dehu would freeze over. Many have defrost sensors for cold condition use. If you could build a dehu that the air exited at 2c, it would have to be under 8% RH, to not be at dew point as the air cooled further to -28. If it were -28 in the actual loft.
Using a 2c dehu with typical pass times 30% RH is damn low. Giving a -13 dew point.
If you had ice, suggesting under 0c, your ~28c extract would have to be under 20%RH to not add to that ice.

That is a technical challenge. You would have to dry the air while at sub zero temperatures. Meaning condensing units just freeze and stop working. It's a job for descant based dehumidification. With salts that effectively make a brine that won't freeze.