temp problems

[hdn155]

i have a growbox with 2 air cooled 1000's (ill try and get pics)

it was gettin really hot in there when i did my first test runs, so i went out and bought myself a small window ac unit.

anyways i got everything hooked up and running and my temps with the lights on are 83.
my exhaust fan in on the floor of the box and the air coming out of it is really cold.
so heres my question, is the cool air from the ac unit just getting sucked out by my exhaust fan?
if i move my exhaust to the top of the box will this solve my problem? my thinking is cool air condenses and falls and hot air rises. thanks everyone

 

[-ShutterBug-]

yes, raising the exhaust to the top should solve your problem. Good luck

 

[hdn155]

thanks shutterbug

 

[stke_fingas]

are you using fans to circulate the air in the grow space?

a fan circulating the air in the grow would also help out. doesn't need to be a special fan just something to move the air around. walbog's has some nice ones that are perfect for this, <$20 and sit on the floor.

larger version of this little guy.


if you can point the ac up that would help too, 2 6" duct's can be formed to fit the ac outlet.then you can aim that bad boy right on the tops of the lights(this is where the heat is coming from). put your hand on top of the light when it's running n you'll see what i mean.

those ac's will fucking kill your power bill! last summer i used one to cool 6x600w and seen $100-150 more during the hot months. i'd use it as a last choice type of situation. it'll be cheaper in the long run to use better ventilation. IMO..

best of luck to ya!

 

[hdn155]

yeah i have a fan inside the grow box. actually lookin at that picture i think i might have the same exact fan.
i like the idea of directing the ac towards the light. im going to try that.
i know the ac is going to run up the bill but the temps inside the box were around 95 without it.
im moving my exhaust fan to the top of the box today and i hope that will bring the temps down into the 70's

 

[stke_fingas]

lol i hope you don't have the same fan that i had pictured. that's a micro with a 400w cmh. you need something around 8" to move enough air. that little thing is like 4" and doesn't do shit. i'll be upgrading next run.

 

[hdn155]

well i know for sure my fan is bigger than 4 inches.. looks almost the same as yours though haha.

 

[stke_fingas]

lol oh nice. i got a good laugh out of it. i could see this little ass fan on the floor not doing a damn thing.

how are you venting your lights? fan.. duct.. and how is it set up?
ambient temps?

 

[hdn155]

the lights are vented with 6 inch ducts connected to a 6 inch fan... not exactly sure of the cfm on the fan but its one of the u.f.o looking fans, it cost me like $260 so i think it will do the job... im in the process of trying to get some pictures so you all can see everything.
im not sure what you mean by ambient temps?

 

[stke_fingas]

the temperature of the area outside the grow. the reason i was asking is because you want to run only a few degrees above room temp(ambient).

man those 1000'watters a freakin hot burning bulbs! that's going to suck during the summer. there is a few things that you can do to cool those hoods off or help keep the heat in the duct and out of the room.

insulate the duct and tops of the hoods to stop that heat from escaping. that alone could keep it low enough to go without the ac. at least till the heat hits us.

 

[hdn155]

the temperture outside the grow is around 68-72 degrees. the lights are not in the grow box itself, they sit ontop of the box. as i assummed they would burn the crap out of my badies if they were inside. luckily where im out the summers arnt bad at all. lots of places that get hotter than the bay area during the summer months.

 

[hdn155]

i switched my exhaust to the top of the box and it didnt really make any difference.. the temps are still in the 80's..... any other suggestions?

 

[julsbagell]

how big is the box?

 

[zombi3girl]

what's a good temp in general...the box that I'm working on currently keeps running temps around 90 degrees

 

[hdn155]

my box size is 7' long 4' tall and 2 1/2' wide. my cooling fan for the lights is a 6" elicent 309cfm, and the exhaust fan is 4" elicent 152cfm. the ac unit i have is 5200 btu. right now my temps are 83 with the lights on.

 

[hdn155]

heres some pictures of the box.... kind of ruff around the edges but im hopin it will do the job.

 

[stke_fingas]

lol you have enough light for that whole room! a 400w in those hoods would be perfect! no wonder you have heat problems... i'd hang those bad boys over some 4x6 tables SOG. you could pull way more than you would want with one of those lights.

that is the most power i have ever seen in a cab. way way way over board IMO.

bigger grow space or smaller lights will solve your heat problems.

 

[GirthDogg]

holy hell dude. wow. That is waay too much light for that cab (never thought I'd say that... lol). I have to agree with stke. Some 400's would be a much, much more efficient option for that cab shape.

If buying new lights isn't an option, then is building a bigger cab one? You can seriously get busy with 2 1000's man and wood is pretty cheap. You just have to make that cab way bigger and you might also need a bit more cfm's so a bigger blower could also be in order. But if you are willing to run 2 1000's, then you can yield waaaaay more than that size cab is capable of holding.

Also, in one of those pics, it looks like your intake and exhaust are in the same area of the room. You might be able to lower temps by exhausting the hot air to another room with some insulated ducting (if possible in your living situation). And it's a little hard to tell in your pic, but is the inside of your cab stuffed with insulation? That might be acting to hold in the radiant heat generated by the bulbs. With 2 1000's, that's a lot of radiant. If you have a ton of mylar then that might also be hurting by creating a lot of hot spots.

I like your drive, but it's too much for that space. It just needs to be dialed in.
just my
peace

 

[hdn155]

thanks for the input stke and girth... i totally agree that the two 1000's are overboard but i thought i might be able to get it to work... buying new lights isnt really an option at this moment in time nor is building a bigger cab since i spent all my money on the current set-up.. im already barly makin rent for the month..
i think my only option is to try and dial it in and hopfully bring the temps down a few degrees.. then maybe after this run, ill re-model the cab and make it bigger... any suggestions on how much bigger i should make it??

 

[inc0gnit0]

I've just experienced this myself. The problem is your fans are too strong for that size box. You're pulling to much air and it's not having time time to cool the box. Get a speed control for your fan and dial it in.