How to vent a closet.. help??

[customelement]

A little info in advance.

I have a regular everyday closet offa my bedroom that I've been using to grow.. It's a decent size at 3'8"w x 2'5.5"d x 10'5"h, with a shelf at the 6.5'h mark. As it stands now, below the shelf is the grow, above it is my storage/electrical. The walls are currently a white with a blue tint though I'm gonna be installing Reflectix on everything below the shelf probably with a week or two. I currently only have 4x 26W CFL daylight bulbs dangling about 3" from the top of my single surviving plant (tried to germ 8, 3 sprouted, and 2 of them just never broke through the soil, though they were from REALLY old bagseed so I'm surpised that 1 even survived) I also have a digital thermometer in the room and a small fan blowing across my plant to help produce stronger stems.

My problem is, with the current layout, it's almost always registering 83-86F in the grow area with just those 4 CFLs. I know that optimal temp should be around the 72-75 range, but I cant figure out how to go about cooling it as I cant cut into any of the walls, nor can I leave the door open constantly. I know it CAN grow in those temps, just not as well, but I'm really worried about my 400w HPS I was planning on putting in there instead of the CFL's.. this is gonna make my temps skyrocket.. (i remember how insanely hot these get from my old grow at diff appt 5 years ago)

I'm looking for any suggestions or idea's people have used or are using, to cool an actual "closet" grow. I've got some more seeds germing (some newer bagseed and a couple left-over seeds from my grow several years ago) and would like to get this figured out before they go into the closet.

 

[doodah]

you will NEED to cut holes in your closet in order to circulate air (this in turn will cool your closet). if i were you i'd cut a vent into the space above to vent your hot/used air out, and into this hole i'd fit a bathroom extractor fan. depending on how tight the doors shut you may not need to cut a hole for intake, as the fan will draw air in.

sorry - rereading your post i see you can't cut into the walls and i think i'm right in that venting into the space above will keep the hot air in the same place...

you could use a v. small portable ac unit.

u r still gonna have to vent the stale air. can u replace the door with a dud, with an extraction hole in it? then replace the old door once you're done? sorry i ain't being more helpful.

 

[irieeyes808]

Man I am in the same boat right now I just cant really or should not cut a hole in the ceiling. I rent!

 

[customelement]

yeah.. cutting is 100% NOT an option for me.. ontop of the fact that I'm renting an appt and the landlords are SUPER anal about any damage done to the place.. my closet backs onto my sons room, and there is no way I'm running vents etc through his room.

I was hoping someone might have alternate suggestions.

Edit: BTW my building is quite old and lopsided now(my appartment drops 4" from left side of appt to right), so NO doors in the building close 100%.. they all have anywhere from a 1/2" to 2" gap around all doors. It's getting the airflow in, just not takin the heat out.

 

[doodah]

Man I am in the same boat right now I just cant really or should not cut a hole in the ceiling. I rent!

cut a hole in the ceiling and repair it smoothly when you leave/stop growing. i've done it before. a bit of mesh and some plaster/polyfilla and you're sorted. especially in the ceiling in a closet. if you sand it down after ur repair nobody would ever know

 

[customelement]

cut a hole in the ceiling and repair it smoothly when you leave/stop growing. i've done it before. a bit of mesh and some plaster/polyfilla and you're sorted. especially in the ceiling in a closet. if you sand it down after ur repair nobody would ever know

Unfortunately, my ceiling is +10 feet up(no ladder), and leads to an attic I dont have access too

 

[doodah]

Unfortunately, my ceiling is +10 feet up(no ladder), and leads to an attic I dont have access too

shit then man i don't know wot to suggest. good luck anyway - where there's a will there's a way!

 

[PrimoVG]

I hate to say that it cant be done....as you know, air needs to be replaced on a regular basis.

Maybe a stealth cab or PC grow would better fit your needs..?

 

[customelement]

I hate to say that it cant be done....as you know, air needs to be replaced on a regular basis.

Maybe a stealth cab or PC grow would better fit your needs..?

I actually started this grow hoping to NOT use my closet.. I searched all over town for some kind of closet/storage system that I could use, and came up empty handed with the exception of the rubbermaid totes, and I thought that would make things harder if I used my 400w HPS. And my carpentry skills are atrocious, not to mention i severely lack most tools, so building my own cabinet was a no-go as well

 

[Meaty]

I am in the same situation kind of. My ventilation is ok but the temps around the light are high. Ive thought about buying some of these and see if they work.

http://www.dreamproductscatalog.com/details.cfm?item=10285

 

[PrimoVG]

@customelement - you've got a lot of options, imo....lots of different DIY (dont have to be an expert carpinter) cabs...have you thought about flowering outside? ...in any case, you should check out the micro grow forums for some more ideas...

@Meaty - that's interesting to say the least...I triple dog dare you to buy it and let everyone know if it's any good...its cheap too...another cheap alternative would be to place a bowl of ice in front of a small oscilating fan...

 

[jack DA reaper]

But a jardin darkroom or growlab........pay for shipping and save you the head aches

or do what i would do make the kid sleep in the closet and use his room for the plants...Think cereal and Wiiz are free and shit

 

[FreezerBoy]

Define "regular everyday closet."

Do you mean a hinged door or a slider? If it's hinged, go to Home Depot and buy a new el Cheapo door. Punch all the holes you want in it while slipping the old door under your bed. When you leave, swap out the doors.

Course this kinda blows any stealth. "Daddy, why is the door full of holes?"

 

[niacinamide]

I actually started this grow hoping to NOT use my closet.. I searched all over town for some kind of closet/storage system that I could use, and came up empty handed with the exception of the rubbermaid totes, and I thought that would make things harder if I used my 400w HPS. And my carpentry skills are atrocious, not to mention i severely lack most tools, so building my own cabinet was a no-go as well

Perhaps this would be a bit smaller than you would like but Target's itso storage system could be readily adapted to serve as a cabinet and would not look out of place outside a closet. Here's one idea I had to get three of them to serve as a complete system. You would definitely need some tools however to install locks on the cabinet doors as well as to cut holes for ducts between cabinets / darkroom louvers.

 

[toastfighter2]

Personally, what I would do is remove the door, and measure the opening. I would then go to home depot(or lowes), and have on of the people there cut a sheet of plywood(doesn't have to be too thick, but it can be if you can still move it) down to size for you. Then drill, or cut as many holes in it as you want. You could even use a regular box fan if you cut the hole large enough. To hold it up, just drill 2 holes in the top corners of your door frame slightly larger than a nail, and use two nails like set pin for your new "door". When you go to move out, fill the holes with some chalk, put the door back on and your set

 

[Euphrates]

are the closet doors slide in shut, or fold and close? Either way you could remove the doors and set-up a tarp with a zipper, modify as needed. If your living in a med-state, have a med-card, and have access to sunlight on your balcony, you could do it out there, most/some ? land lords should be ok with that, I've heard of such instances. Be weary of jealous annoying neighbors though.

Edit: I forgot you have a kid. if you can't go stealth or don't have a med card, I'd personally might rethink on growing in your residence.

There are allot of means of going stealth though.

sorry.

 

[toastfighter2]

Euphrates has a point there, as the tarp type thing would be a lot lighter, and easier to use. You local hydro shop might even have one set up with a hole with the "sock" adapter of a blower

 

[customelement]

Thank you all for your suggestions.. you've come up with alot I hadnt thought of. Unfortunately, I live in canada so lowes is out of the question, and our HomeDepot doesnt even sell a fraction of what it does in the states Also, there arent any hydro shops within 45min drive of me, and I have a hard enough time finding even regular gardening stores that carry any of the stuff you guys seem to have so easily available.. my selection of stores I have to choose from are Walmart(canada), Home Depot (canada), Canadian Tire, and Home Hardware, and they all carry shitty stock.

I have since decided to scrape my closet grow idea completely and am working on designing a grow cab out of something like http://tinyurl.com/c4d688 and 6-8 23w CFLs

 

[pinecone]

I actually started this grow hoping to NOT use my closet.. I searched all over town for some kind of closet/storage system that I could use, and came up empty handed with the exception of the rubbermaid totes, and I thought that would make things harder if I used my 400w HPS. And my carpentry skills are atrocious, not to mention i severely lack most tools, so building my own cabinet was a no-go as well

Home Depot used to sell wardrobe cabinets made by a company called Mill's Pride. These cabs where white (good reflection) and had adjustable doors, ect. I'm growing with a 400w light in one of these now (my cab is 5.5'hX2.5'wX25"d). I run my exhaust to the attic, but lots of other people run the exhaust into a the room the cab is in.

Home Depot doesn't carry Mill's Pride cabinets anymore, but they do carry something similar. If you are interested in might be worth searching "Mills Pride" in this forum for some setup ideas.

Pine