Hi all,
First of all, glad to be apart of the forum!
I very much respect all you experienced growers out there, this isn't easy!
I am getting back into growing (but still fairly novice) and had a couple questions regarding my setup. I've attached a sketch for reference. Budget is ~$5,000. Growing in PNW (United States). Background behind problem listed in black, question in red.
Grow Space
So I have an ~10'ftx11'ftx8'ft shed outside. It's constructed of some corrugated tin, brick floor, wood paneling, etc. No insulation exists in the tent. There are three very large single-pane, caulked in windows. The door does not seal and has gaps in the frame. There is 240VAC service, with a sub-panel that reads two interlocked breakers @ 30A each. This makes my limitation ~30A BUT am getting an electrician to check it out & run new cable to up it to 240VAC ~60-65A. Sounds kind-of like a mess, right?
So I decided to put a 10'x10'x~5-6' tent (am double checking dimensions to make sure it can fit). Am going to insulate the shed walls and cover in plastic. Not sure what to do about the door (velcro strips? weather strip? would prefer it to seal)The windows will need to be boarded up and sealed for light, I don't want to assume the tent is 100% light proof, so it will act as a second light barrier point.
Anything I'm not thinking of here?
Lights
(4) 1KW MH (Eye Hortilux Super HPS) (~22A @ 240VAC & 0.8PF)
(4) 1KW HPS (Eye Hortlux Blue) (~22A @ 240VAC & 0.8PF )
(4) SunSystem XXXL Magnum Air-Cooled Hoods
(4) Switchable ballasts
Need some direction on light timer. Will explain more in ventilation.
Ventilation/Climate Control
This one I think I need some direction on.
Intake (TENT,TO BE DUCTED THRU SHED NEAR BOTTOM AND THEN TO TENT) - Can I leave this passive & size it according do the chart listed here?
https://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/Intakesizing1.jpg
Exhaust (TENT, TO BE DUCTED THRU TENT AND THEN SHED TO OUTDOORS) - @ 600 ft^3 6" 5 mins/change = 120CFM
Does this sound reasonable? I am reasoning that with the lights being air-cooled, and ambient outdoors around the shed being around 37 degrees - 51 degrees. Maybe I am creating a cold problem?
With the lights being air-cooled and the ambient temperature being low, but with the surrounding shed outside the tent insulated, is there a fan/temperature controller or setup method which involves using some of the heat from my lights to heat the room? At the same time, I'm restricted by 6' clearance @ ceiling, so the lights will probably be pretty close to the plants at some point. Or, should I just get a space heater and have that on a temperature controller instead?
Intake (Lights) - Will be two rows, one for each light. So that means two fans. To blow cool air over my lights, I'm going to take the ft^3 of the ducting and add it to the ft^3 of the lights.
Exhaust (Fan) - Just a hole out the other side, nothing fancy. Do I need to oversize this hole as well, similar to the exhaust in the room?
Is this an adequate ventilation design for the lights?
Dehumidifier
Outside it can get humid, and range from 66% to 99%. I'm thinking on an air-cooled water handler. Pretty neat stuff. If it adds too much complexity, I may just stick with a dehumidifier and suspend it from the ceiling with chains, then figure out a way for it to outflow into a reservoir or something.
Growing!
Growing medium in soil. I was thinking of doing (24) plants, 6/1K light. Been focusing on the construction of the room so much I haven't picked out nutes, soil, etc. Any recommendations?
I think I will add more questions as I think about it more. Hopefully I am not just repeating the million questions posted here by all us newbies
Thank you for reading.
First of all, glad to be apart of the forum!
I am getting back into growing (but still fairly novice) and had a couple questions regarding my setup. I've attached a sketch for reference. Budget is ~$5,000. Growing in PNW (United States). Background behind problem listed in black, question in red.
Grow Space
So I have an ~10'ftx11'ftx8'ft shed outside. It's constructed of some corrugated tin, brick floor, wood paneling, etc. No insulation exists in the tent. There are three very large single-pane, caulked in windows. The door does not seal and has gaps in the frame. There is 240VAC service, with a sub-panel that reads two interlocked breakers @ 30A each. This makes my limitation ~30A BUT am getting an electrician to check it out & run new cable to up it to 240VAC ~60-65A. Sounds kind-of like a mess, right?
So I decided to put a 10'x10'x~5-6' tent (am double checking dimensions to make sure it can fit). Am going to insulate the shed walls and cover in plastic. Not sure what to do about the door (velcro strips? weather strip? would prefer it to seal)The windows will need to be boarded up and sealed for light, I don't want to assume the tent is 100% light proof, so it will act as a second light barrier point.
Anything I'm not thinking of here?
Lights
(4) 1KW MH (Eye Hortilux Super HPS) (~22A @ 240VAC & 0.8PF)
(4) 1KW HPS (Eye Hortlux Blue) (~22A @ 240VAC & 0.8PF )
(4) SunSystem XXXL Magnum Air-Cooled Hoods
(4) Switchable ballasts
Need some direction on light timer. Will explain more in ventilation.
Ventilation/Climate Control
This one I think I need some direction on.
Intake (TENT,TO BE DUCTED THRU SHED NEAR BOTTOM AND THEN TO TENT) - Can I leave this passive & size it according do the chart listed here?
https://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/Intakesizing1.jpg
Exhaust (TENT, TO BE DUCTED THRU TENT AND THEN SHED TO OUTDOORS) - @ 600 ft^3 6" 5 mins/change = 120CFM
Does this sound reasonable? I am reasoning that with the lights being air-cooled, and ambient outdoors around the shed being around 37 degrees - 51 degrees. Maybe I am creating a cold problem?
With the lights being air-cooled and the ambient temperature being low, but with the surrounding shed outside the tent insulated, is there a fan/temperature controller or setup method which involves using some of the heat from my lights to heat the room? At the same time, I'm restricted by 6' clearance @ ceiling, so the lights will probably be pretty close to the plants at some point. Or, should I just get a space heater and have that on a temperature controller instead?
Intake (Lights) - Will be two rows, one for each light. So that means two fans. To blow cool air over my lights, I'm going to take the ft^3 of the ducting and add it to the ft^3 of the lights.
Exhaust (Fan) - Just a hole out the other side, nothing fancy. Do I need to oversize this hole as well, similar to the exhaust in the room?
Is this an adequate ventilation design for the lights?
Dehumidifier
Outside it can get humid, and range from 66% to 99%. I'm thinking on an air-cooled water handler. Pretty neat stuff. If it adds too much complexity, I may just stick with a dehumidifier and suspend it from the ceiling with chains, then figure out a way for it to outflow into a reservoir or something.
Growing!
Growing medium in soil. I was thinking of doing (24) plants, 6/1K light. Been focusing on the construction of the room so much I haven't picked out nutes, soil, etc. Any recommendations?
I think I will add more questions as I think about it more. Hopefully I am not just repeating the million questions posted here by all us newbies