Airflow...

Hey all, finally had the electrician install a sub-panel for my tent. I am using a 5x5x7 tent, and I have an 8" AC Infinity CloudLine for exhaust and a 6" AC Infinity CloudLine for intake. both with carbon filters attached. Temps are still a little high (84F) and I def need more airflow. Any suggestions on clip fans and/or DIY solutions for wall-mounted fans? Thanks!

vitalsine said:

Hey all, finally had the electrician install a sub-panel for my tent. I am using a 5x5x7 tent, and I have an 8" AC Infinity CloudLine for exhaust and a 6" AC Infinity CloudLine for intake. both with carbon filters attached. Temps are still a little high (84F) and I def need more airflow. Any suggestions on clip fans and/or DIY solutions for wall-mounted fans? Thanks!

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Try removing the carbon filter on the intake. Honestly I just run two of my vent flaps open and let the exhaust pull air in.

Merkn4aSquirtn said:

Try removing the carbon filter on the intake. Honestly I just run two of my vent flaps open and let the exhaust pull air in.

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I was thinking of doing that but didn't want to feel like I wasted money on the filter lol. I have another small tent I am going to setup for veg, maybe I'll just remove the intake and use that fan for that tent as an exhaust? Plenty of experimenting to do I guess. lol.

vitalsine said:

I was thinking of doing that but didn't want to feel like I wasted money on the filter lol. I have another small tent I am going to setup for veg, maybe I'll just remove the intake and use that fan for that tent as an exhaust? Plenty of experimenting to do I guess. lol.

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That’s exactly what I’d do. If anything, try it out and see what happens.

Yeah like Merkn4aSquirtn said, there really isn't a need for using a inline fan and carbon filter, but I do still like filtering my intake as I don't like all kinds of dust getting into my grow area's and maybe that may sound silly to some but if anyone saw what a simple 10 inch merv 4 (10 x 10 x 1) stops from getting in one of my 5 x5 tents in 30 days I think anyone would want to use a simple filter to filter their intake, plus it helps make the carbon filter hooked to the exhaust last much longer. Anyway... I just have a short 3 foot piece of 8" ducting for my 5 x 5 intakes and then I just rubber band the merv 4 filter to the outside of the tent end of that 8 inch ducting, then wash the filter every 30 days!

Maybe I'll give that a shot. Is there a big difference between MERV 4 and MERV 8?

If you are looking to shave a sheckle ... panty hose secured over the intake pipe does a pretty good job of particle filtering - and they don't cost that much.

vitalsine said:

Hey all, finally had the electrician install a sub-panel for my tent. I am using a 5x5x7 tent, and I have an 8" AC Infinity CloudLine for exhaust and a 6" AC Infinity CloudLine for intake. both with carbon filters attached. Temps are still a little high (84F) and I def need more airflow. Any suggestions on clip fans and/or DIY solutions for wall-mounted fans? Thanks!

Click to expand...

you most likely do not need more airflow. you need to cool the air in the room that your intake is pulling from. in my room my temps get a bit high. what i did was installed an portable A/C unit and have it blow air right into the intake fan this will lower the temps of your room. most you can set the temp you want and it will kick on and off on its own it works really well for me. take off the filter and use an ac to cool the room your problem with high temps will be solved. i also suggest running your lights at night ambient room temp has everything to do with this you wont get your room cooler than the air in the room that your tent is in without a/c

Coloradogrower710 said:

you most likely do not need more airflow. you need to cool the air in the room that your intake is pulling from. in my room my temps get a bit high. what i did was installed an portable A/C unit and have it blow air right into the intake fan this will lower the temps of your room. most you can set the temp you want and it will kick on and off on its own it works really well for me. take off the filter and use an ac to cool the room your problem with high temps will be solved. i also suggest running your lights at night ambient room temp has everything to do with this you wont get your room cooler than the air in the room that your tent is in without a/c

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I am running a portable AC at full blast set to 60. I'm gonna let everything run for the night and see what it looks like in the morning. I may have to adjust the filter/AC so that it's blowing right at it. My room is on the second floor which really hurts temps up here, I just dont have many other options. I will definitely take into consideration only running my lights at night though, that seems like a solid idea. It's my first grow if you couldn't figure it out haha. I am gonna stick 6 clones in the tent this weekend, or maybe Monday, just want to iron out these last few kinks.

vitalsine said:

I am running a portable AC at full blast set to 60. I'm gonna let everything run for the night and see what it looks like in the morning. I may have to adjust the filter/AC so that it's blowing right at it. My room is on the second floor which really hurts temps up here, I just dont have many other options. I will definitely take into consideration only running my lights at night though, that seems like a solid idea. It's my first grow if you couldn't figure it out haha. I am gonna stick 6 clones in the tent this weekend, or maybe Monday, just want to iron out these last few kinks.

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i think to combo of running your lights at night and taking the filter off and blowing your cold air straight into your intake will make a ton off difference. i do 4pm light on for veg light off at 10am so the light is off during the hottest part of the day in flower i do light on at 10pm off at 10am works pretty good. make sure you do not have any light leaks tho.

Good looks brotha. I will def take this into consideration. I'm gonna run it all night with filter, see what temps I get, then tomorrow Ill run another 12 hours without the filter and see the difference. I think as long as I keep the ducting off the floor it wont take up as much dust... def would be worth it to regulate temp... I have 2 SF2000 in there, I want to add a third, so I gotta do something.

Had the same problem until I vented outside, made a world of a difference. Sucking in the same air that’s being exhausted out is kind of counter intuitive. Unless you run your Central AC all day, then it doesn’t matter, but get ready for that crazy electric bill if you go that route. I live in the desert, so I don’t have a choice but to run mine.

Pulling air off the floor for your intake is dusty, but that's where the cool air is, so it's like a trade off.

I was having some problems with summer heat. A fan on the intake dropped temps a few degrees vs passive, but it was still a little hot.

I put a squirrel cage fan or "blower fan" in the fan, right in front of the intake fan duct, blowing up at the light. This dropped temps another 4-5 degree and I was good to go.

Don't worry about wasting the other filter, you can probably use it to kill the smell when you hang your finished buds.

vitalsine said:

Hey all, finally had the electrician install a sub-panel for my tent. I am using a 5x5x7 tent, and I have an 8" AC Infinity CloudLine for exhaust and a 6" AC Infinity CloudLine for intake. both with carbon filters attached. Temps are still a little high (84F) and I def need more airflow. Any suggestions on clip fans and/or DIY solutions for wall-mounted fans? Thanks!

Click to expand...

Is a stand possible? I use a pvc PVC DIY stand that you can hang anything from. I made mine 5 x 5 but you could make it as tall or as short as you want. If you are open to this option i can post pictures and materials. it'll cost you around 15-20 bucks

Mine is currently not assembled but heres similar versions. 1 1/4 pvc, 2 90s, 2 T fittings and 2 10 foot pieces of pvc is all you need. you could build it to fit flush between two corners and hang anything you want. Even make it adjustable if you take it a step further. i hope this helps

So, I'm still working to dial all this in. Here's where I'm at, want to make sure things are in the right place before moving forward.

Required CFM:

5x5x7 tent = 175
3x SF 2000 lights (+10% for each light) = 175 x .1 = 17.5 x 3 =52.5
2x carbon filter (+20% for each filter) = 175 x .2 = 35 x 2 = 70
Total required (minimum) CFM = 297.5

Fans:
Cloudline T8 = 807 CFM
Cloudline T6 = 402 CFM
Total CFM at Max setting = 1211 CFM

Configuration:
6" Carbon Filter -> Ducting -> Cloudline T6 -> Ducting -> 8" Carbon Filter -> Ducting -> Cloudline T8 -> Ducting -> Window

I have the filter for the intake positioned directly in front of my 12,000 BTU portable AC, which is set to 60.

Fans are set to auto mode
High Temp: 80F
Low Temp: 70F
High Humidity: 55
Low Humidity: 45

When the system isn't running, temps aren't too bad in the room, around 70-72 and about 50% humidity. Once I turn the system on though, the intake is definitely sucking up all of the cool air from the AC as ambient temps spike to 78-79 and humidity is reaching as high as 70%.

Current tent temp and humidity: 82F/52%
Current ambient room temp/humidity: 78F/67%

I honestly don't really like this portable AC... the small window unit I had in here before seemed to do a better job, but I am now using the window that had the AC to feed my exhaust out, and there is no way I can fit both in the same window. The only other window I can place the window AC in is at the opposite side of the room, where my desk is. (dealing with this noise in my office sucks, but no other choice right now.) I have a horizontal sliding window in the middle of the room where the portable AC vents out. It sucks cause I bought the portable AC specifically for this, and it doesn't seem to be performing up to par... it will double as a heater in the winter and also has a dehumidifier built into it.

I've checked for leaks etc, and everything is sealed tight. Airflow in the tent seems great as there is def negative pressure... so much so that I am considering building a PVC brace to hang in the tent to keep the walls from sucking in so much. I have 4 6" clip fans coming tomorrow that I plan to mount in the corners of the tent, 2 below the canopy and 2 above, to help circulate air.

I also have to take into consideration that we are in the middle of a heatwave here in Massachusetts. Temps outside are in the mid-90s and it's very humid. My room is also on the second floor, and it tends to get extremely hot up here without AC this time of year.

What do you guys think? I am thinking maybe I install the other AC by my desk and have 2 running? That seems like overkill though... I guess not though because I have to get these temps right? I have some clones coming tomorrow so I will be starting my grow then, and would like to get this as close to perfect as I can before they arrive.

Thanks for all the help fellas.

RonnieB2 said:

Mine is currently not assembled but heres similar versions. 1 1/4 pvc, 2 90s, 2 T fittings and 2 10 foot pieces of pvc is all you need. you could build it to fit flush between two corners and hang anything you want. Even make it adjustable if you take it a step further. i hope this helps

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I actually bought some PVC yesterday to build a brace to help hold the walls out because of negative pressure. Maybe I will double it a stand to hang fans from.

If you need a quick temporary fix i know how to make a portable diy air conditioner. Put frozen water bottles in the cooler and turn the fan on high. It lasts for hours.

RonnieB2 said:

If you need a quick temporary fix i know how to make a portable diy air conditioner. Put frozen water bottles in the cooler and turn the fan on high. It lasts for hours.

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That actually seems like a pretty cool idea... Could connect ducting directly to it with the right parts. Def would only be temporary tho haha. I will keep it in the back of my mind just in case.

vitalsine said:

That actually seems like a pretty cool idea... Could connect ducting directly to it with the right parts. Def would only be temporary tho haha. I will keep it in the back of my mind just in case.

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I have 2 and it will freeze you out of a small room. They're very efficient