Air conditioner question

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ogderp

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone, I'm planning on growing 1 plant in a sun hut blackout tent that's 2.6 ft x 2.6 ft x 5.3 ft with a pro grow 260 LED grow light and a 6" hurricane inline fan running at 435 CFM with a speed controller, equipped with a 6" x 16" phresh carbon filter running at 400 CFM. The tent will be in the closet of my room, which is 132 square feet. Now the closet has no doors, so it'll just be open to the rest of the room, but my room gets really hot in the summer (80's or 90's usually).

A window air conditioner isn't an option, so I have to go with a portable air conditioner and I was considering this Haier air conditioner from Home Depot in the link below. I'm debating between either the 10,000 BTU or 12,000 BTU model, the 10k is said to cool a room up to 350 square feet and the 12k one is said to cool a room up to 500 square feet. I don't know which one to go with because I've heard that portable air conditioners are notorious for being unreliable, but I have no other option. Another question that I have is that the closet is on the exact opposite side of the room as the window, so I can't really exhaust out the window. I was wondering if I could just exhaust into the room since the tent will be open to the rest of the room, and I'll have the ceiling fan running along with opening the door multiple times a day to let fresh air into the room.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Haier-10-000-BTU-350-sq-ft-Cool-Only-Portable-Air-Conditioner-with-80-Pint-Day-Dehumidification-Mode-and-LCD-Remote-Control-HPN10XCM/204712072?MERCH=REC-_-categorylevel2horizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-204712072-_-N
 
BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
yep, when in doubt get the largest size. if you don't vent to outside of the area you're trying to cool, it may not cool sufficiently and you may have moisture problem, especially if the ambient temp in the room and outside is high to start with.
 
G

Glaucoma

Well-Known Member
Dumping the heat into the room will just draw it into the tent, won't it? I'm not sure how you intake air to the tent, but I'm betting you don't use a duct from the outside.

Also, the problem I have with portable units is many of them use only 1 vent hose. Make sure the one you want uses 2. One for intake, one for exhaust. Otherwise, the unit will use indoor air to cool the condenser coil. This becomes especially problematic when it's 100F outside. I'll never understand why they even bother to make some of them like that.. Using conditioned air to cool the coil is a huge waste of energy.
 
Red1966

Red1966

Well-Known Member
Glaucoma said:
Dumping the heat into the room will just draw it into the tent, won't it? I'm not sure how you intake air to the tent, but I'm betting you don't use a duct from the outside.

Also, the problem I have with portable units is many of them use only 1 vent hose. Make sure the one you want uses 2. One for intake, one for exhaust. Otherwise, the unit will use indoor air to cool the condenser coil. This becomes especially problematic when it's 100F outside. I'll never understand why they even bother to make some of them like that.. Using conditioned air to cool the coil is a huge waste of energy.
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Some of the two hose models use indoor air to cool the motor also. The second hose just draws in outside air that is cooled and then pumped into the room. If he's got a window in the room, I suggest a window unit set at 68F. The LG units appear to be pretty well sealed, from what I can tell looking at display models.
 
G

Glaucoma

Well-Known Member
Red1966 said:
Some of the two hose models use indoor air to cool the motor also. The second hose just draws in outside air that is cooled and then pumped into the room. If he's got a window in the room, I suggest a window unit set at 68F. The LG units appear to be pretty well sealed, from what I can tell looking at display models.
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The second hose just draws in outside air that is cooled and then pumped into the room?

I've never seen that. That makes even less sense than using indoor air to cool the high pressure side. Why would you want to cool air that is hotter than inside, all the while making the room positive pressure which only forces your cooled air escape? That's gotta be the most wasteful use of A/C I've ever heard of, if it actually exists. The only reason I can think of to do that is to guarantee fresh air, like my car does. It switches to fresh air intake once the cabin is cooled.

The intake hoses I've seen on portable units are always for the condensers.

I made the mistake of buying a portable unit once. It only had an exhaust. Totally worthless!

OP, make sure your unit doesn't do anything stupid like mentioned above.

Given your situation, a mini split would likely be best.
 
O

ogderp

Well-Known Member
BarnBuster said:
yep, when in doubt get the largest size. if you don't vent to outside of the area you're trying to cool, it may not cool sufficiently and you may have moisture problem, especially if the ambient temp in the room and outside is high to start with.
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What's the solution to that problem then? My plans have hit a snag if I gotta vent out a window. i don't even know how that would work if I already have a portable air conditioner hooked up to the window.
 
O

ogderp

Well-Known Member
Glaucoma said:
The second hose just draws in outside air that is cooled and then pumped into the room?

I've never seen that. That makes even less sense than using indoor air to cool the high pressure side. Why would you want to cool air that is hotter than inside, all the while making the room positive pressure which only forces your cooled air escape? That's gotta be the most wasteful use of A/C I've ever heard of, if it actually exists. The only reason I can think of to do that is to guarantee fresh air, like my car does. It switches to fresh air intake once the cabin is cooled.

The intake hoses I've seen on portable units are always for the condensers.

I made the mistake of buying a portable unit once. It only had an exhaust. Totally worthless!

OP, make sure your unit doesn't do anything stupid like mentioned above.

Given your situation, a mini split would likely be best.
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I'd love to do a mini split if I could, but unfortunately that's not an option. So I should only use one with 2 hoses? would that bring fresh air into the room?
 
Darth Vapour

Darth Vapour

Well-Known Member
well i would think it would work if water was ice cold and for a size of grow this guy is doing i bet it would work
 
G

Glaucoma

Well-Known Member
ogderp said:
I'd love to do a mini split if I could, but unfortunately that's not an option. So I should only use one with 2 hoses? would that bring fresh air into the room?
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Hopefully not, but if what Red mentioned has truth to it, then there is a chance.

In an ideal unit, the evap (or cooling) coil only recycles indoor air. The condenser coil is cooled by outdoor air and vented back out as exhaust. They usually used this air to cool the compressor as well. They will also route condensation from the evap coil over to this airflow for drying so you don't have to drain anything. They make them exactly like this, but they also make a lot of other crap that is nowhere near as good. The only way to know for sure is to open it up or find somebody who can verify the air flows.

Bottom line: It should function no differently than a split system.. just in one unit. I've modified a window unit to work like a portable one using ducting and booster fans. You should have 2 completely separate air circuits, and never should the two ever mix.

You should still be giving it some fresh air exchange like opening the door for a while. The problem with having a closed cooling circuit becomes CO2 replenishment. Exchanging it with house air will be easier on your A/C, especially if your outdoor temps get high.
 
O

ogderp

Well-Known Member
Glaucoma said:
Hopefully not, but if what Red mentioned has truth to it, then there is a chance.

In an ideal unit, the evap (or cooling) coil only recycles indoor air. The condenser coil is cooled by outdoor air and vented back out as exhaust. They usually used this air to cool the compressor as well. They will also route condensation from the evap coil over to this airflow for drying so you don't have to drain anything. They make them exactly like this, but they also make a lot of other crap that is nowhere near as good. The only way to know for sure is to open it up or find somebody who can verify the air flows.

Bottom line: It should function no differently than a split system.. just in one unit. I've modified a window unit to work like a portable one using ducting and booster fans. You should have 2 completely separate air circuits, and never should the two ever mix.

You should still be giving it some fresh air exchange like opening the door for a while. The problem with having a closed cooling circuit becomes CO2 replenishment. Exchanging it with house air will be easier on your A/C, especially if your outdoor temps get high.
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Thanks, I guess I should try and find one with 2 hoses instead of one then, because if there's only one, then I'm guessing the air circuits would mix. Like I said in my first post, I can't vent my tent directly out the window, so I would have to be venting it into the room and opening the door so that fresh new air can come in while also running the portable air conditioner to keep the room at the right temperature. Could this work? I really wanna grow and I don't want this one snag in my plan to stop me, I want to find a way around it.
 
G

Glaucoma

Well-Known Member
ogderp said:
Thanks, I guess I should try and find one with 2 hoses instead of one then, because if there's only one, then I'm guessing the air circuits would mix. Like I said in my first post, I can't vent my tent directly out the window, so I would have to be venting it into the room and opening the door so that fresh new air can come in while also running the portable air conditioner to keep the room at the right temperature. Could this work? I really wanna grow and I don't want this one snag in my plan to stop me, I want to find a way around it.
Click to expand...
I don't use LED, but I wouldn't go over 400W MH/HPS. You should be ok.
 
DirtyMcCurdy

DirtyMcCurdy

Well-Known Member
ogderp said:
Hey everyone, I'm planning on growing 1 plant in a sun hut blackout tent that's 2.6 ft x 2.6 ft x 5.3 ft with a pro grow 260 LED grow light and a 6" hurricane inline fan running at 435 CFM with a speed controller, equipped with a 6" x 16" phresh carbon filter running at 400 CFM. The tent will be in the closet of my room, which is 132 square feet. Now the closet has no doors, so it'll just be open to the rest of the room, but my room gets really hot in the summer (80's or 90's usually).

A window air conditioner isn't an option, so I have to go with a portable air conditioner and I was considering this Haier air conditioner from Home Depot in the link below. I'm debating between either the 10,000 BTU or 12,000 BTU model, the 10k is said to cool a room up to 350 square feet and the 12k one is said to cool a room up to 500 square feet. I don't know which one to go with because I've heard that portable air conditioners are notorious for being unreliable, but I have no other option. Another question that I have is that the closet is on the exact opposite side of the room as the window, so I can't really exhaust out the window. I was wondering if I could just exhaust into the room since the tent will be open to the rest of the room, and I'll have the ceiling fan running along with opening the door multiple times a day to let fresh air into the room.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Haier-10-000-BTU-350-sq-ft-Cool-Only-Portable-Air-Conditioner-with-80-Pint-Day-Dehumidification-Mode-and-LCD-Remote-Control-HPN10XCM/204712072?MERCH=REC-_-categorylevel2horizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-204712072-_-N
Click to expand...
Why is a window unit out of the question? Just put one in your window, cool the room, then use the cool air from the room to circulate through, and cool, your tent. The heat from the tent will be cooled by the air conditioner, etc... . If worried about odor put run a carbon scrubber somewhere in your room, closer to the exhaust of the tent the better.
 
O

ogderp

Well-Known Member
chuck estevez said:
Click to expand...
Hey everyone, I meant to reply to this thread awhile ago, but I kept forgetting. This pic that chuck estevez posted helped a lot, and now I understand why a dual hose air conditioner would be a lot better than a single hose one. If I'm reading the picture correctly, would a dual hose air conditioner bring fresh unused air into the room? Because the red arrow in the picture says outside air, and its pointing inside the room. So I was wondering if its also recycling the air in the room because that would be a huge help to me since venting out the window isn't really an option. The only option I've got is to leave the bedroom door open with the ceiling fan running to get a fresh air supply into the room. This is a dual hose air conditioner at home depot that I found in the link below, I was wondering if anyone has one of these or knows anything about this brand, and can tell me if its any good. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-Eco-Friendly-11-000-BTU-Dual-Hose-Portable-Air-Conditioner-ARC-110WD/204146581
 
DirtyMcCurdy

DirtyMcCurdy

Well-Known Member
It looks like the dual hose design uses outside air to cool the condenser coils(warm). Then it symply pulls room air through the evaperator coils(cold). Its like recirculation, only cools the already cooler air. Would be most effecient. The other diagram of the single hose looks like it pulls some of the cool room air to push through the warm condenser coils then outside. Neither will pull outside air in as it cools. You would need a much bigger unit to be able to do that. You will have to make your own way of bringing in fresh outside air/exhausting room air. The single hose design might create a small low pressure in your room, since it exhaust some of the air outside, to draw in air through a vent, maybe? probably need a fan
 
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