really hot weather 85-100F! AC info would be awesome...

[aaxxeell]

Hey guys n girls, my very 1st post on here!
its getting hot real quick where i live

ambient temperature is around 86F but,
with my location the general daily temperature will peak around 97-100F in full blown summer...

Currently I have been running a 4x4 tent, cooltube 600w hps, lumatek digi ballast (in tent),
45w box fan for circulation, 275cfm centrifugal fan for heat extraction (sucking the air 30 yards outside

)


But unless i bite the bullett and go with an air conditioner i dont see how i will get my temps down to a reasonable level

what do u say AC experts? should i get a portable AC for the tent?, or cool the whole 8x10ft bedroom its in???

(BTW i'm asking a specific question about my grow, please dont send me a link to the sticky on calculating AC for my room i have allready read it...
i would just like someone to shed some light on how to cool a tent (or the bedroom its in) not a whole grow op.)

 

[Jnugg]

Cool the whole bedroom it's in.

Does your place not have Central A/C?If not get a nice window banger unit and use that.What are the temps in the grow tent?I see you say your ambient temps (temp of the room your grow tent sits in) is 85F so what about the temps in the grow tent?

 

[ItsAllOver]

Do what the poster above said.
Just get a window A/C and run that shit in the room. Get one sized for the square footage you have. The box for the unit will have that info on it. The only time, I would say, that you need to worry about the calculations as the sticky in this forum contains is when you are running lots of lights. You system is so small that I'm sure a smaller unit would work fine.
So yea just cool the incoming air and you should have it under control. I would recommend against a portable unit because they leak smell like a motherfucker and if you ever intend on going sealed one day it is pretty much useless as they also strip CO2 from the room, whereas you can avoid that with a window unit.
Good luck with those temps!

 

[Hydro-Soil]

You can get a 5K btu window unit from Home Depot for $99. Don't know if you have any of those stores in your area but it's a great little A/C (They ship from the website too)

 

[Che]

Take the heater (ballast) out of the tent, and get a 5K-10Kbtu window AC.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Your fan is bound to be laboring with that set-up. If you can increase the CFM (or the pressure rating) of the fan, or increase the duct to 8", or add an additional fan to cool the lights separately, you may well see your temps lower considerably.

 

[aaxxeell]

Big thanx for all tha quick replies, especially for a 1st time poster like me

Cool the whole bedroom it's in.

Does your place not have Central A/C?If not get a nice window banger unit and use that.What are the temps in the grow tent?I see you say your ambient temps (temp of the room your grow tent sits in) is 85F so what about the temps in the grow tent?

yeah dude, i got central ac but its a huge one and most of the time nobody is home, would arouse suspicion as the AC fan is noisy + on the front of tha house LOL, with the cooltube hooked up ambient temp = tent temp
oh and it cools at one end of the house , my designated room is at the opposite end... on killer hot dayz it dosent cool my room down a great deal LOL.

Do what the poster above said.
Just get a window A/C and run that shit in the room. Get one sized for the square footage you have. The box for the unit will have that info on it. The only time, I would say, that you need to worry about the calculations as the sticky in this forum contains is when you are running lots of lights. You system is so small that I'm sure a smaller unit would work fine.
So yea just cool the incoming air and you should have it under control. I would recommend against a portable unit because they leak smell like a motherfucker and if you ever intend on going sealed one day it is pretty much useless as they also strip CO2 from the room, whereas you can avoid that with a window unit.
Good luck with those temps!

yeah, thats the shit! im gonna do that!!!
( might even build a stealth box 4 it and draw the heat somewhere else...)
i really wanna go 1000w on rail/mover with co2 someday in the future, so that sounds awesome bro.

You can get a 5K btu window unit from Home Depot for $99. Don't know if you have any of those stores in your area but it's a great little A/C (They ship from the website too)

cool cool, im liking the idea of a window unit more and more, better temps, no extraction of unwanted smells, more efficient/cheaper to run when comparing same BTU rating models.
Hey Hdro-Soil' any idea on a ballpark figure of how much a 5000BTU would cost to run with my temps and ducting setup?

Take the heater (ballast) out of the tent, and get a 5K-10Kbtu window AC.

big fan Che' , awesome to have your input straight up brother, your threads/posts have provided a amatuer like me (only done 2 outdoor seasons + on my 4th hydro grow) with lotsa great information, cheers.

 

[aaxxeell]

Your fan is bound to be laboring with that set-up. If you can increase the CFM (or the pressure rating) of the fan, or increase the duct to 8", or add an additional fan to cool the lights separately, you may well see your temps lower considerably.

Hey hoosierdaddy,
i enjoyed the 9page read on boxing a window AC with awesome info and pics thanks buddy'

Thanks for the comment but my Weather is 86F and will get to be 97-100F.
no matter how big a fan or ducting i get it will still be hot (in my corner of the world)... Which is why i am asking about AC.

Cheers aaxxeell.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

I'm just sayin that with a 250 cfm fan, it will have a hard time being efficient with a scrubber and that much ductwork. And you want efficient, especially if you are going to invest in cooling the ambient air. No need in cooling it just to have an inefficient air system.

 

[DankTreez14]

what r the temps in the tent, it looks like u have a sealed room so ambient temps r not relevant if the room is sealed bro. if u do decide 2 cool the whole room i take it u are gonna open up the tent?

 

[aaxxeell]

read it again, u got it all messed up bro

 

[DankTreez14]

i dont c any intake bro is the box fan intaking air from the room? all i c is the air being extracted.

 

[aaxxeell]

No DankTreez14' not a sealed room. the 4x4 tent just a has 6" passive intake from bottom corner of the tent dude...
as mentioned before tent temperature is same as the rest of the house (determined by weather) and no reason to open tent, because of this.

 

[ItsAllOver]

Damn I have to say if a 250 cfm fan is inefficient with a 600w I've been screwed using my 145 cfm fan for the last 2 grows. Granted my temps were sort of high but I think growing in the winter has helped. Indeed it is my plan to upgrade the fan after the next run.
I forgot to mention like the person said above you have to get that damn ballast out of there, homie.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Hey Hdro-Soil' any idea on a ballpark figure of how much a 5000BTU would cost to run with my temps and ducting setup?

Probably less than $20/mo *shrug* Not sure but they're really efficient A/C units.

I have a Stanley Utility fan screwed to the ceiling of my space. 6" aluminum ducting was stretched over the output of it and runs directly to my A/C unit. Built a cardboard box on the front of the A/C intake and the ducting connects directly to it. VERY efficient.

That stanley fan is approximately a 250cfm fan for $50. I found mine at Ace. The DIY Link O' Rama has a link to the stanley mod thread.

 

[Lazyman]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and suggest a portable AC in your tent (if it will fit.) Much smaller space to cool, and though they are more expensive and less efficient than window AC's, it's easier to get the cold air where you need it with a portable. As suggested above, move your ballast out of the tent. Also, I would put the fan inside the tent (hooked to filter) and blow through the hood, and blow the exhaust straight out the window so your AC has to run even less, and the whole room will stay cooler. I would put a Y or T fitting on the exhaust so your AC (hot side) exhaust and hood exhaust go out the same pipe.

 

[Lazyman]

Oh, and having the fan and AC inside your tent will keep noise down a little, but you also won't have a window AC whirring away all winter, kinda suspicious especially since you have central AC.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and suggest a portable AC in your tent (if it will fit.) Much smaller space to cool, and though they are more expensive and less efficient than window AC's,

That $99 A/C will cool a room with a 1K, I know 'cause I'm doing it. For what little light they have, a portable would be expensive and require extra ducting. With the window A/C, the room where the tent is at will be kept cool enough that there won't be any issues.

Simple. No need to make things complicated.

 

[solarz]

Hydro-Soil...do you have your AC mounted in the window, or did you build a bux for it? Thanks bro.

solarz

 

[aaxxeell]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and suggest a portable AC in your tent (if it will fit.) Much smaller space to cool, and though they are more expensive and less efficient than window AC's, it's easier to get the cold air where you need it with a portable. As suggested above, move your ballast out of the tent. Also, I would put the fan inside the tent (hooked to filter) and blow through the hood, and blow the exhaust straight out the window so your AC has to run even less, and the whole room will stay cooler. I would put a Y or T fitting on the exhaust so your AC (hot side) exhaust and hood exhaust go out the same pipe.

wow that idea of the T/Y-peice in the ducting would be great with the ac!
i would like to build a box for a window ac maybe i could leave the fan on the outside tho coz i read everywhere that fans suck under any sort of load more efficiently than blowing...
(not to mention my my fan is quieter outside my tent, stealth is a major concern for me... paranoia )

Oh, and having the fan and AC inside your tent will keep noise down a little, but you also won't have a window AC whirring away all winter, kinda suspicious especially since you have central AC.

great point about the central AC brother, never even thought of it...
another reason to build a box with a wondow ac...
i will post a diagram later when i get time.
i'm also in the process of trying to get a veg tent setup, maybe i can grab another fan and use my spare carbon filter to draw air from the little veg tent , thru the back of the window ac in a box and then vent it outta the room

That $99 A/C will cool a room with a 1K, I know 'cause I'm doing it. For what little light they have, a portable would be expensive and require extra ducting. With the window A/C, the room where the tent is at will be kept cool enough that there won't be any issues.

Simple. No need to make things complicated.

sa-weet im goin to get a ac cheers bud'

Hydro-Soil...do you have your AC mounted in the window, or did you build a bux for it? Thanks bro.

solarz