Hooking up my huts - your advice requested

[Guest]

I have a Hydrohut Kindergarden and a mini. The mini is 3x3x6.5 ft. and has 4" flanges. The Kindergarden is 2x4'7"x6.5 ft. I am using the kindergarden (I will refer to it as "K") for vegging and the mini for flower. The K will be first in line and I would like to hook ducting up so the mini will pull through the K, the mini has a 4" vortex and a diy can filter.

I am thinking of getting two 6" flanges and have a Stanley blower fan soon to arrive. Add a 6" flange to the K and I would have the Stanley pulling from the K, outside of the K, and pushing into the mini where I would add a 6" flange to the mini to accept the K air. I won't change the mini's exhaust to 6" because the end exhaust duct has to go out a 4" outlet and then to the 8" chimney liner. Would the 4" vortex be overwhelmed? I would want to have the can filter be as effective as it is able to with odor control. Should I run the Stanley on low and scrap the fan controller for the vortex?

Please let me know what you think, this is my first time and your experience is invaluable!!!!

Also, I was thinking of this for light control. I saw a binocular case that included a small tripod. The compartment was the soft velour type and had a panel that was attached on one side inside the bag and the other side of the panel had velcro to make it two separate compartments. By cutting a 1/3 of the panel and then affixing the end with velcro to attach to the hydrohut duct openings and cutting out the other end for air inlet would allow a lightweight light control box/diffuser. I wonder where material like that could be found? Lightweight, yet rigid enough to be able to support its weight. Whaddya think?

 

[wickedpete66]

you would definitely need the 6" vortex to be able cool both cabs, plus you will also need a 4" for your carbon scrubber since they don't make inline scrubbers. overall plan sounds good

 

[Guest]

Good! Thanks. Anyone use this flexible ducting? Recommend?
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Extra-Durable...goryZ519QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

 

[vinivici]

JJSCHAGUNDI you can find the same ducting at home depot or any hardware sore for less than half the price. its called A/C ducting or dryer ducting.

i got a 12 foot for 6 dollars

 

[Guest]

vinivici: Thanks! Yeah, I was wondering if what they say differentiates their ducting from the other and if it was worth going with it. I am curious what anyone who is using it thinks.

Just got the 4" inlet cut for fresh air to get into this sealed room. Bugproofed and facing down outside, louver on the inside. I just have to spray paint black as much as I can reach from the inside part and that is complete.

Finally got the 4" outlet duct cut into the chimney breast or lateral (whatever you call the part that the water tank and furnace vent to that then connects to the chimney liner). That was big!

Will be picking up a Galaxy 600 w 240v ballast, a Super Sun2 reflector hood, and a Sylvania hps bulb today.


I was thinking of this:
The huts will be side by side w/ 4 ft. inbetween, then no more than 5 ft to the 4" duct at the chimney from the mini.

How about cutting/adding two 6" flanges on the mini at the middle top sides. The ducting to and from the Super Sun2 hood would attach. On the side that is closest to the chimney have that pull air from the room and on the other side have that connect to the bottom nearest side of the Kindergarden where I would enlarge the hole from 4" to a 6" flange.
Then enlarge the top hole of the K to a 6" and have that connect to a Stanley blower mod fan that would hang by bungie cords between the two huts. The Stanley would pull air from the K and push into the mini where the 4" hole would be changed to another 6".
Finally, have the 4" vortex hanging by bugie outside of the mini, closest to the chimney with the carbon filter inside the mini connected to the vortex. I would want to put used dryer sheets over the remaining openings of the K and mini and those would all remain as 4" holes.

Do you think I should include one of those 6" duct booster fans on the flange that would be taking the air from the reflector and pushing to the K? Like these: http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/ecoplus-inch-inline-duct-fan-wpowercord-p-1021.html

Could anyone briefly describe how to hook up this 240V timer? The 240 timer is for the single dedicated 240v circuit for the Galaxy ballast.
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80HDUS....new=Yes&N=2984&CNTKEY=misc/searchResults.jsp
Intermatic 40 Amp 125/208/240/277 Volt AC Water Heater Time Switch
Model WH40D89
(hope the link works)

Let me know your comments, I can take it!!

It's crunch time.

 

[Guest]

It sounds pretty convoluted but there is only one way to find out. I now plan to have the fresh air 4" duct connect to the furthest bottom end of the K, at least for now and will play that by ear as the RH and temp change outside. Hopefully, the hot air coming off the mini 600w hood that will go to the K won 't overwhelm the temp in the K. I won't have access to posting pics until my card reader arrives. It could use a visual. The reader is coming from Hong Kong

The Stanley blower fan is ready for pickup. Anyone know a good place to find a 5" starter collar fast? Home Depot just had 4's and 6's.
Picked up the Intermatic WH40 timer, the ballast is 240v. Thank you very much, MTF-Sandman,for your help and advice. Also, ballastman has been very helpful in answering some pretty basic and stupid questions. Everybody's advice is making this seem more and more possible.
I ordered the ducting from the link up above and that'll be here Friday. Ordered 5 - 6" dual duct flanges and one 4". They should include a dual as standard instead of the one single they provide.
Picking up a Galaxy 600 watt ballast, the Super Sun2 reflector, a bulb and 4" ducting tonight. Man, this shiznit better work! I've learned alot so far vegging my first plants for the past 3 months,so I am actually looking forward to going for it.

Thanks again!

jjschagundi

 

[HighonthePrize]

is the shelf in your kindergarden adjustable? just wondering if it would be better to get one of those or buy/build a shelf for the 2x4.

 

[Guest]

is the shelf in your kindergarden adjustable? just wondering if it would be better to get one of those or buy/build a shelf for the 2x4.

No, it's not. You can get about four inches depending on the way the middle shelf is put in as the wire shelf is on the top of one side. It is great! I am not taking advantage of it yet at all. I've got a 250w MH light in there and a two ft. two bulb fluoro, I could use more than that and that is the top shelf only. The bottom area is currently being used for water catching. As I'm able to put into practice things I'm learning it offers alot of space for me. I just want to get a perpetual grow going and have enough room for anything I want to do. I had taken it down to have work done in the room but left the frame as a couple slots were a bitch to get in. It went together easy once I had my wife there to help when trying to get it started. Once you get started easing it up one side at a time it is truly a one man job. Especially for a 5' 7" man. This time I just paid attention to keeping the seam straight and it goes well. It's on a concrete floor and this time I pushed it back against the concrete block wall. Very stable! Before it was in the middle of the floor and I could have used two 25 lb weights taped together with one at each bottom opposite corner.

 

[Guest]

Can anyone who has read through this thread advise me on light control between the two huts with the ducting? If I try to spray paint black the inside of the ducting that will be connecting the two huts does the paint adhere to the foil OK?
Can someone who has been down this road tell me how to go about it?

 

[wickedpete66]

Can anyone who has read through this thread advise me on light control between the two huts with the ducting? If I try to spray paint black the inside of the ducting that will be connecting the two huts does the paint adhere to the foil OK?
Can someone who has been down this road tell me how to go about it?

dont use flexible ducting between the cabs. use either pvc or sheet metal ducting paint will stick to both.

 

[Guest]

Damn!! I received the 6" flex ducting yesterday! Will the Stanley fan, which will be between the two huts connecting one of the runs, block light between the two?

 

[Guest]

I have a work friend that is a amateur cabinetmaker, he has built stuff for me in the past. I could tell him I am working on a surround sound thing and need several "subwoofer enclosures".

Could anyone recommend a schematic or rule of thumb for a 6" light control box? I would explain that the enclosure would have two 6" ports and I would want 2/3's of a shelf separating the two on the inside. Is that right? I am trying to think this through and realize with the two of them within 4 ft. of each other in a dark room that flowering would not work. Help, Cecil! Help!!

 

[clowntown]

I'm about to do something similar: cooling two lights in two different HydroHut's. I'm going to use one fan, outside of the HH's, connected to a "Y" splitter to suck from the reflectors, which have a carbon scrubber on the other end. This means two carbon scrubbers, but the scrubber on each end will reduce the air intake noise from the HH side.

 

[Rush Limbong]

Sounds like a hell of a plan!

A few things that I have learned/suggestions from venting with my Hydro Hut.

Keep an oscillating fan in each of your huts. Moving air between the tops of the plants and the bottom of the lights is essential! Even a tiny desk fan would be great in your "K"

Change everything you can to 6' flanges. Try and convert everything as closest to the fans you're dealing with. I think the 4' fan you intend to use might be too small for both huts, but it should still work. I don't know if I'd use that Stanley fan Is it loud?

Are you relying on JUST outside/fresh air? I have a 1000w and if the temp outside reaches the mid 80's(degrees), the temps in the Hut get alot closer to the mid 90's. I ask because if the temps in your area fluctuate like where I live, it's great to every so often close off the intake/fresh air from outside, and crank up your AC to cool the house/growroom. Also, contemplate having the scrubber INSIDE your house so that in the case you want to cool/ac your house, your not dumping AC air out through a scrubber that vents outside, which in turn wastes AC As soon as your lights go off, turn off the AC, and re-open the windows....

^^^try and figure a way that if you had to, you could pull air from within your house, along with your chimney intake to cool the hut's and your lights and vice versa. (I hope this makes sense)

In relation to the above^ using a speed control would help greatly with temperature changes/hut temps. It's a constant balancing game when it comes to all of the variables mentioned above


Also remember that pulling air through a scrubber, and then through a light works fine. Yes the protective glass gets a little dusty every so often, but it's easy enough to take it out and wipe it. Also try and shorten the distance as much as you can between the Huts....the fans will love it! Another thing, if you notice, some ducting has a glossy black finish in the inside, this will help with light. Try and use bends in the ducting between the two huts to help with light diffusion.

I'd also run a live 24 hour test run with constant monitoring with everything going like if you were growing.

I'm still a newb(6 yrs), but am learning new things with every grow, hope this info gives you some ideas

Good Luck,
RUSH

 

[Guest]

Thank you guys! I am going to do as you say, Rush, and will be curious to see how well the air moves. I am thinking I could have a duct fan pulling the reflector air from the mini to a Y that would feed into the air going to the chimney from the scrubber exhaust. If I don't feed the reflector air back to the Kindergarden it makes this a lot less complicated. I will have a damper on the fresh air intake for when the outside air should be kept out but otherwise it will be ported into the intake of the Kindergarden hut.
With a 600 W light, would those inline 6" duct fans like you see at Home Depot move the air enough to adequately cool the bulb? Any other options with that without moving up to a Stanley or Vortex?

My big concerns right now are the light leaking and flower hut reflector air. I will keep the fan controller around, I am just assuming that I will have to have the 4" Vortex at full tilt all the time trying it this way.

Also, that is a good idea about keeping the air conditioning in the house. The huts are in the same room as the main plenum and (YES!) we have A/C. I can open a damper to let air into the room or not and it is pretty cool down there when the air is on because of the plenum/main run radiating the coolness besides the room being a basement. What I know now is that when the A/C is running that I should unhook the ducting that goes to the chimney so the exhaust will remain in the house. Thanks!

 

[Rush Limbong]

If I don't feed the reflector air back to the Kindergarden it makes this a lot less complicated.

What I know now is that when the A/C is running that I should unhook the ducting that goes to the chimney so the exhaust will remain in the house.

Yep!!

I'm sure they way your planning this that it'll come out great....take some pics!

RUSH

 

[Guest]

Keep an oscillating fan in each of your huts. Moving air between the tops of the plants and the bottom of the lights is essential! Even a tiny desk fan would be great in your "K"

I am using a 6" stationary clip-on fan in the K, I bought a Air King wall mount 12" oscillating for the mini hut with the understanding I can return it if I don't F-itup and if it can't attach and have room to turn. Are you familar with the fan? Anyone know if it can be attached in there? I have yet to put up the mini.

I don't know if I'd use that Stanley fan Is it loud?

I took it out of the box and turned it on last night. I was a little baked but I faintly remember it not be worse than what I had hoped for.

 

[Rush Limbong]

Go buy a fan like this from Wal Mart. They're cheap, and if you really want to, when the grow is over, you can return it, no questions asked