NinjaToke
Active Member
Fuk I never thought of that! i guess ill be dealing with new issues come flower time.
If you use a Portable Air Conditioner, please step in..
- Thread starter mcinnc
- Start date
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
I'm a newbie who just settled his own heat issues getting set up for my first grow so I thought this might help.
I bought three 400w set ups from HTG, 1 MH & 2 HPSs (all 3 have real cheap hoods) and I also have two 10.0 USB bulbs hanging. I'm using a walk in closet that's about 4' 8" wide, 7" long, & 8" tall. The closet opens to a bedroom with a wall unit A/C, not sure how many BTUs but I've owned stronger window units, this one seems pretty week. And I live in a colder state that's very dry.
I first tested the temp with no fans or A/C by putting a thermometer under the lights and hanging the lights at about 26". The temp was close to 105 degrees.
I wont bore you going through everything that I tried over the last week, but what finally worked was a combo of 2 different A/Cs & 2 fans.
First the wall unit. I cut a piece of cardboard the right size to cover the exhaust and I was carefull to not cover any part of the intake. I bought a 25' lenth of 6" duct from Home Depot and cut a hole in the cardboard the size of the duct. I used tape to mount the duct to the cardboard flush so the cardboard's still flat on one side, then I taped the cardboard over the A/C exhaust.
This wasn't enough so I traded a 32" TV back to Best Buy for a portable A/C http://www.savinglots.com/lotprod.asp?item=DPAC120068 It's 12,000 BTU and it comes with both a drain plug and a big old water bottle on the back, you can only use one or the other so the drain line would probably be better for you if you use the window to run the drain line outside.
Neither A/C did the job by itself, but both together got the temp down to the lower 70s under the bulbs (mid 60s 2 feet away). I'm also using 2 fans for circulation, a floor fan in front of the portable A/C pointing up and a 4ft oscilating fan oscilating toward the area where the plants will go (from an "A/C neutral" corner).
The unit also has 2 special pieces that you can close in a window or sliding glass door. The hoses have a special fitting that allows you to attatch them to these pieces. But I wouldn't put both exhaust & intake in the same window/door piece, you don't want to suck hot air back into the room. It also has a rain guard for the intake and it oscilates.
Currently I have intake & exhaust just a foot or so outside the closet door and the exhaust is pointed in a way where most of the hot air goes under the bedroom door toward the rest of the house. I'll eventually hook that up to the bathroom vent but I have to figure out a carbon scrubber first, and I'm guessing that I'll probably need an inline fan to help exhaust.
I'm sorry to say that for the 1,000w bulb you may need to buy a second A/C, but I hope the info helps. I'll be posting a journal if you want to see the set up, I'm just waiting on an answer on mixing the dirt for the pots. Once I have that I'll finish setting up, clean a little, and then start taking pics for the journal.
Until you get the 1,000w you might want to try raising the A/C (heat rises) and putting an inline fan on the exhaust line to help move more of the hot air out faster. That might help enough for now.
Don't worry to much about the carbon scrubber, just attatch an inline fan to help the A/C push the air through it. This unit sais it exhausts at like 261psi or something crazy like that, if that's true I probably wont need an inline fan, I'll just have to make sure the scrubber doesn't shoot off the duct. lol HTG has good deals on inline fan & carbon scrubber combos.
Roland
Active Member
nice post Danny ! ............. -----> + rep
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
Hey, I just found something else that might help when you get ready to deal with odor https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/99452-diy-febreze-odor-control-bucket.html
You'd still need a carbon scrubber if you're going to vent outside, this is just for the smell inside your house. I'm sure their must be a way to turn this into an inline odor controller that you can hook up to your A/C exhaust but I wouldn't know how. Trick would be to find a way to keep the Febreeze from backing up into your A/C or shooting out the vent. I'll probably experiment & try to come up with something.
This would be a good idea for controlling odors inside your house. I'm not going to use it in the grow room because the Febreeze will slowly evaporate and I don't know if it would have bad effects on the plants. It may not do anything to the plants, but I always like to be cautious.
Roland - Thanks for the +rep, I hope the info helps people avoid what I just went through.
You'd still need a carbon scrubber if you're going to vent outside, this is just for the smell inside your house. I'm sure their must be a way to turn this into an inline odor controller that you can hook up to your A/C exhaust but I wouldn't know how. Trick would be to find a way to keep the Febreeze from backing up into your A/C or shooting out the vent. I'll probably experiment & try to come up with something.
This would be a good idea for controlling odors inside your house. I'm not going to use it in the grow room because the Febreeze will slowly evaporate and I don't know if it would have bad effects on the plants. It may not do anything to the plants, but I always like to be cautious.
Roland - Thanks for the +rep, I hope the info helps people avoid what I just went through.
Bumping this thread back up - anyone have a portable air conditioner that they like?
Gets pretty hot around these parts in the summer, so I'm planning ahead for that, and I'm gonna need to find a portable A/C that kicks ass and takes names (actually two, one for each tent).
Furthering that thought, have a 2x4 veg tent with a 400HPS in it, and have a 1000HPS in a 4x4 tent (which I plan to upgrade to an 8x4 with two 1000HPS by summertime).
That being said, anyone have any ACs that they'd recommend for me? Been doing some searching on how many BTUs I'll need for each, and having some issues finding that out.
In the garage in the summer, temps can get up to ~110F.
Thanks for anyone that can help.
Gets pretty hot around these parts in the summer, so I'm planning ahead for that, and I'm gonna need to find a portable A/C that kicks ass and takes names (actually two, one for each tent).
Furthering that thought, have a 2x4 veg tent with a 400HPS in it, and have a 1000HPS in a 4x4 tent (which I plan to upgrade to an 8x4 with two 1000HPS by summertime).
That being said, anyone have any ACs that they'd recommend for me? Been doing some searching on how many BTUs I'll need for each, and having some issues finding that out.
In the garage in the summer, temps can get up to ~110F.
Thanks for anyone that can help.
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
A lot depends on if the tents are in an air conditioned house, or if they're outside. Assuming they're in an A/C cooled home.....
It's a good idea to first take a temp below the lights at about the distance where your plants will be with no A/C or fans (it's hotter under the lights). This probably isn't a neccessary step, but for me it's easier if I know how many degrees I have to drop the temp.
On your 400w, I have some limited experience with them. One unit should work, 12,000 BTU should definately get the job done. You might also be albe to get away with a 10,000 BTU.
On the single 1,000w, I don't have any experience with them so I'm not sure how hot they get. If the one 1,000w bulb gets as hot as my three 400w when combined, then you'll probably be OK with two 12,000 BTU units. I'm not sure if they make a portable big enough to handle it alone.
On the two 1,000w, again I don't know for sure how hot a 1,000w gets, but if I were you and money wasn't an issue, I'd upgrade my central A/C unit to cool a second zone and I'd make that tent the second zone. Just remember that when the thermostadt on the wall of the tent reads one temp, it will be another temp under the bulbs. You'll have to experiment to find the right temp that you can set the A/C for to get the right temp under the light.
You can find the 12,000 BTU unit that I bought a few messages up. But right now it's the perfect time to get a deal from Best Buy, or any other store that allows returns without the packing materials. See, the store can't return big items like that unless they have all the packaging so once it starts getting cold, they're stuck with them till next season. So the store mgrs & dept mgrs are usually only too happy to make a deal. Best thing to do is to call around and find the stores with open units on the shelf, then go see what they got.
Sorry I couldn't give exact answers but I hope this helps some.
It's a good idea to first take a temp below the lights at about the distance where your plants will be with no A/C or fans (it's hotter under the lights). This probably isn't a neccessary step, but for me it's easier if I know how many degrees I have to drop the temp.
On your 400w, I have some limited experience with them. One unit should work, 12,000 BTU should definately get the job done. You might also be albe to get away with a 10,000 BTU.
On the single 1,000w, I don't have any experience with them so I'm not sure how hot they get. If the one 1,000w bulb gets as hot as my three 400w when combined, then you'll probably be OK with two 12,000 BTU units. I'm not sure if they make a portable big enough to handle it alone.
On the two 1,000w, again I don't know for sure how hot a 1,000w gets, but if I were you and money wasn't an issue, I'd upgrade my central A/C unit to cool a second zone and I'd make that tent the second zone. Just remember that when the thermostadt on the wall of the tent reads one temp, it will be another temp under the bulbs. You'll have to experiment to find the right temp that you can set the A/C for to get the right temp under the light.
You can find the 12,000 BTU unit that I bought a few messages up. But right now it's the perfect time to get a deal from Best Buy, or any other store that allows returns without the packing materials. See, the store can't return big items like that unless they have all the packaging so once it starts getting cold, they're stuck with them till next season. So the store mgrs & dept mgrs are usually only too happy to make a deal. Best thing to do is to call around and find the stores with open units on the shelf, then go see what they got.
Sorry I couldn't give exact answers but I hope this helps some.
One ton of AC for a 400 and two tons of AC for a 1000? That sounds like you aren't using the ACs right.
A 1000W bulb produces around 3500 BTU/hr so 12,000 BTU/hr should easily be able to handle 2 1000W bulbs plus heat from the ballasts, fans, etc with some to spare.
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
I don't know, I'm just stating what I went through. Are you measuring your temp under the lights at 30" or less? When the temp under the lights reached 74 it was about 63 degrees just 2 feet away so if you're not testing the temp under the lights, then it's a lot easier to get the desired temp, but that's not the temp that your girls are going to be feeling.
You can read about my set up a few messages up if you think I'm using the A/C wrong, but I got +rep for that message so I can't see how I'm using them wrong, except for maybe adding an inline fan to the duct coming from the wall unit.
In fact I'm having a problem now. I was doing a last minute check before getting the clones tommorow. The air from the wall unit isn't as cold as it should be for some reason, not as cold as it was the other day. The temp is now 87 degrees under the lights with the 12,000 btu A/C running full force in the closet.
I'm thinking I need an inline fan so the wall unit ACs compressor isn't working so hard. Either that or it needs a charge of refrigerant. But without the 2nd A/C I'd never be able to run three 400w lights without making it too hot.
I don't use AC because I don't have to. 4" below the glass my temps are 78. Room temp is 75 or 76. Do you have air flowing between the glass and the canopy? Maybe you just need a fan to keep fresh air flowing around.
I sure didn't mean to sound like I was jumping on you; just spouting the numbers.
When I've used AC a 12K BTU took care of 2 1K bulbs without breaking a sweat.
Maybe I'm reading this wrong but you covered the AC exhaust?
Your ventilation system sounds kinda byzantine. I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what's going on and how you are actually moving the heat out of your grow are.. A good inline fan would probably straighten things out.
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
My hoods suck, they're not vented. I'll be upgrading as I go but this is my first grow.
About my set up, the walk in closet opens to a bed room with a wall unit A/C. A wall unit has an intake & a cold exhaust on the inside part of the unit. The coils are on the outside part of the unit so it doesn't need to be vented. I'm running the cold exhaust through 25' of 6" duct into the closet because just running the A/C with the closet door open wasn't doing it.
This is where I'm having my problem, the air starts to come out cold, but 20 mins later when I check it the air is luke warm.
Because the hoods aren't vented the wall unit A/C isn't enough to do the job so I got a 12,000 portable BTU. I put a floor fan in front of the portable pointed strait up and I have a second fan oscilating toward the plant area from an A/C neutral corner.
With both running the temp under the bulbs should be around 74, but only if I'm getting cold air from the wall unit. If I can figure out how to get the wall unit to stay cold, then I'll be ok until I harvest and can upgrade my equipment.
Are you familiar with wall units?
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
Oh, this is weird but it might help to figure out what's up with the wall unit. When I checked it I pulled the duct out of the closet. I checked a few things then noticed that the metal of the duct was starting to get cold again. I checked the air and that was getting cold again too. So I put everything back and crossed my fingers. When I checked it again 20 mins later, the air coming from the duct (wall unit) was luke warm again.
There's nothing in front of the duct when I put it in the closet to restrict air flow. So I'm kinda lost as to what they heck could be going on.
There's nothing in front of the duct when I put it in the closet to restrict air flow. So I'm kinda lost as to what they heck could be going on.
Sounds like the fan which is pushing from the wall unit might not be strong enough to push 25' of duct. How much air is coming out of the duct into the closet when everything is hooked up.
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
There isn't as much air coming from the Wall Unit A/C as there is coming from the portable. The wall unit isn't very strong, but it still helps. (to give an idea, it takes about 4 hours for the window unit to drop the temp in a 4 room apartment about 5 degrees. Air's cold, just not a huge ammount of it)
Someone else also suggested the fan in another thread just a second ago, I think that might be my problem, just wasn't sure about the refrigerant. Home Depot has a cheap in-line fan that's not very strong, but I don't really think I'll need too much.
Thanks for your help, with any luck I'll have the clones and a journal started by tommorow night.
smartguy345
New Member
please look at this
https://www.rollitup.org/showthread.php?t=260411
For pics.
I have a portable a/c unit that has a exhaust vent system. I attached the exhaust to my cool tube light with the fan in the attic. so the hot air is going into the attic. I have a entire room for grow op. I then have my portable a/c enclosed into my vegging room. Its always on... and if i paid full value for it i say it sucks ass.. but i paid 150. Needless to say temps are within desirable range and never go over 82 degrees. thats in a closet with 5 fluros 8 x 54 w t5 light and 400 w hps. so there is quite a bit heat being created. as for summer time how this will work out.. well i am not sure... I hope temps are still within desired range.
Well the way i have it set up, is I am creating a NEGATIVE pressure in the grow room. This pulls air from other areas. Now in my grow room but not inside , i say its about 77 degrees give or take. My unit is 12,000 btu and is listed under the url i provided. So far temps have been great with no issues! I have plenty of ventilation going on as well.
BTW for smell issues... lets just say i have a 200 dollar carbon filter NEW and is NOT in use. The ONA GEL BUCKET DIY is best odor control next to the DIY activated carbon control...
https://www.rollitup.org/showthread.php?t=260411
For pics.
I have a portable a/c unit that has a exhaust vent system. I attached the exhaust to my cool tube light with the fan in the attic. so the hot air is going into the attic. I have a entire room for grow op. I then have my portable a/c enclosed into my vegging room. Its always on... and if i paid full value for it i say it sucks ass.. but i paid 150. Needless to say temps are within desirable range and never go over 82 degrees. thats in a closet with 5 fluros 8 x 54 w t5 light and 400 w hps. so there is quite a bit heat being created. as for summer time how this will work out.. well i am not sure... I hope temps are still within desired range.
Well the way i have it set up, is I am creating a NEGATIVE pressure in the grow room. This pulls air from other areas. Now in my grow room but not inside , i say its about 77 degrees give or take. My unit is 12,000 btu and is listed under the url i provided. So far temps have been great with no issues! I have plenty of ventilation going on as well.
BTW for smell issues... lets just say i have a 200 dollar carbon filter NEW and is NOT in use. The ONA GEL BUCKET DIY is best odor control next to the DIY activated carbon control...
smartguy345
New Member
Your a/c unit is similiar to mine... I tried exhausting outside window.. but that was not happening.. So i thought why not hook it up to the cool tube and let the hot air escape to attic. The fan aided the air flow into the attic... and keep in mind I use the portable a/c and wrapped panda film around it basically expanding my closet. That way when you walk into the grow room there is a light trap. Then when u go past light trap u see panda film draped top down around the close adding for space within the area.. this allowed the unit to blow the cold air directly into the grow room... but not into the rest of the room! IT IS IMPORTANT! to do this way to maximize cooling.. since it is less space it has to cool. I have noticed and just using panda film ( once again my post above shows a link to provide pics to help describe this) that as soon as I walk into my grow area where lights are at.. I get a smell and temp drop instantly... My lights are putting out alot of heat.... and I have got the grow as cold as 62 degrees. Its usually on avg with lights on 78-80. Add a few degrees more when I am in there.
I hope this helps out alot..Quite honestly i am disappointed with the unit and the cost, but considering the deal I got... well its getting the job done. BTW when you ducting out into the attic if that is possible, use INSULATED ducting.. it helps with temp control. Learned this the hard way..
I hope this helps out alot..Quite honestly i am disappointed with the unit and the cost, but considering the deal I got... well its getting the job done. BTW when you ducting out into the attic if that is possible, use INSULATED ducting.. it helps with temp control. Learned this the hard way..
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
I wish I had my own house, or vented hoods for that matter, but I don't and can't afford to upgrade lights till I get in my first harvest.
With 3 unvented lights the temp is 105 under the lights before I start to cool it off. So right now I need both A/C units.
The two A/Cs carry air in and my one portable A/C vents air, so I don't know if I have positive, negative, or neutral pressure.
I'm sure once I get the vented hoods I'll be able to turn off my wall unit, but till then I have to fight the heat.
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
I have the portable A/C in the closet next to the door and I'm venting and pulling air from outside the closet. It's already cramped in there, so I can't really block any of it off.
Under my lights the temp jumps 10 degrees or more in temp, probably thanks to my unvented hoods.
DannyGreenEyes
Well-Known Member
Anyway tommorow I'm going to get a cheap fan from Home Depot and some more duct to extend the portable A/Cs exhaust & intake a little. If the fan don't work then I'll take the new duct & fan and pull air from outside. I'd rather not do it this way because it's really cold outside, but I'm running out of options.
Thanks for your help.
Thanks for your help.
smartguy345
New Member
if its cold outside.. i think it help....
So just to recap, although there are a couple of people in this thread who are "kinda" satisfied with their portable AC performance, no one could be classified as "happy", correct? Taking that further, if you could buy another portable AC and money was no issue, which would it be, and do you think it would work better for you?