co2 with portable ac

I think the problem with 2 hose systems is the same as it is with window shakers. As the air coming from the first hose passes over the condenser coil and out the second hose, there is not an air tight seal between the condenser area and the evaporator area, and depending how big the cracks are, some evaporator coil air is able to be sucked out with the condenser air. Windows shakers have a lever so you can adjust how much room air you want exhausted, but even when you fully close it, it still exhausts some

These AC are not built with CO2 ppm in mind, they are only built air tight enough inside to work efficiently. You may want to see what you can do with foil tape or caulk on the inside to keep your ppm up.

SoOLED said:

need to be a dual hose system

http://www.ideal-air.com/products/Portable-Air-Conditioners.aspx

like this: there are a lot from many companies: but from some reason this one is used a lot in grow rooms, I think its because its connects are silicone covered for humidity...but I dunno.

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maybe, maybe to help keep an air tight seal too.

resinhead said:

It's not good to add co2 in the middle of flower.

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wait what?

xmatox said:

wait what?

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I thought op was trying to go from from ambient to 1500ppm four weeks into flower. My bad.

DemonTrich said:

1st run I kept ambient temps 82, leaf temps 78 and got 3 lbs of all fluffy garbage buds. Next run I dropped the temps a bit and got 80% normal yeilds, 20% was fluffy. I always drop temps last 2 weeks of flower. Now I'm back to an air exchange room, I have no worries of my normal harvests.

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Hydro or soil?

High Times has an article with a blurb on how CO2 can affect flower quality.
http://www.hightimes.com/read/cultivation-clinic-co2-can-increase-yields-40

NICO ESCONDIDO said:

However, there is such a thing as too much CO2. Much like human muscles with steroids, cannabis plants that take in too much CO2 can start to have tissue- deterioration issues -- and when flowering plants are pushed to these limits, the quality of the buds may start to diminish.

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bdt1981 said:

Hydro or soil?

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Soil

DemonTrich said:

Stay away from active air 14k dual hose ac. Utter GARBAGE! !!!!!!! My single hose lg 14k blows the active air like it's an 8k unit.

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I was looking at the 8k model. I have a 5x9 tent with Dehumidifier to keep around 40-55%. Can I get away with the 8k lg to cool temps? Can I ditch the dehumidifier?

I used an 8k in a 4x4 with 1x600. I tried it when I upgraded to a 5x 10 with 2x 600 and it barely kept temps under controll.

Here's a neat calculator, not sure of accuracy but it looks pretty close.
http://www.ideal-air.com/resources/btu-calculator.aspx

DemonTrich said:

Soil

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Thats one of my favorite things about the aeroflo2 design. Get a chiller and keep nutrient locked at 65f spray constant if u want i did 4 on 4off and didnt lolliepop and it over grew hitting 95f in the closet with poor ventilated portable ac. I was only to check on this grow every 14 days with bad caretaker and out of control they grew.. If u knew the problems this grow had u would be shocked to think i got over 1 lb with 24 sites that ended being 19 in a 2x4 closet that got little care. No co2.

I was pointing out the filter because it shows that the unit is drawing in air from more areas than just the intake. Dual hose units exhaust as much CO2 as single hose units because of that. I believe that this happens because the unit disrupts the "jetstream" of air from intake to exhaust by pulling in CO2 rich "air" through the back (which isn't a perfectly sealed flow either). The CO2 rich air is significantly heavier than the low CO2 air pulled through it by the intake. Once the low CO2 air reaches the unsealed area before the exhaust, it is "pushed" up and out of the flow of the exhaust by these "forces", like air released under water, or releasing a helium filled balloon. If the unit was not drawing in from anywhere else than the intake (which it cannot do), then the "jetstream" from intake to exhaust, though not sealed, may go uninterrupted/with little interuption, so less room air/CO2 forced into the exhaust. Yes, there would be CO2 rich air from the room within the unit regardless of the rear filtered intake, but it would not be "flowing" through the unit.

So, "negative pressure", or not, most of the "air" being exhausted is from within the room, and not the intake.


It was late, I was crazy tired, assumed I wouldn't have to explain that part.

nxsov180db said:

I wouldn't really go as far to say that "most" of the air being exhausted is from the room...Enough to make CO2 not a feasible option yes... I still don't see your point about the rear filter. How does the filter getting dirty which is supposed to filter the air that is recirculated through the coil prove that they significantly leak. Or that the ac is drawing in air from someplace else other that the intake? I use "modified/sealed" dual hose A/C's in a sealed CO2 enriched grow and their filters get just as dirty as when I first started years ago with single hose super inefficient garbage. I agree with you in every aspect of what you said aside from claiming the "most" air being exhausted from a dual hose is from the grow room (I'd guess less than 10%) and that a dirty filter proves or even suggests that a dual hose a/c is drawing in air from areas "other" than the intake...

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I actually had a look at Odin's unit specs and that filter in the back has a cover in it that is removed if doing a one pipe system if I'm looking at the same unit, so yes it probably is not air tight and is bringing in room air. And yup I was wrong in saying they don't . And yup I just assumed they would seal the wire and pipe holes, guess not. Get a ductless . No air exchange there and way more effiecent . And yup doubt it's drawing more from the room but still a waste of gas.

A 20 lb tank would last upwards of 3 weeks at 1200 ppm at 12/12 in an 8x12x7 room iirc while running a dual hose unit placed inside my room. It did create a neg pressure as my panda film on my floor would get sucked up. There are teks to seal with caulk the internals to minimize the sucking out of precious co2 enriched air.

nxsov180db said:

How does the filter getting dirty which is supposed to filter the air that is recirculated through the coil prove that they significantly leak. Or that the ac is drawing in air from someplace else other that the intake.

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I explained the significance. It isn't it "getting dirty", it's the pull of CO2 air into the unit and the "unsealed flow". The airflow into and through the unit (intake hose to exhaust, or rear intake to blower) is not sealed. The air coming through the rear intake hose is lighter than the CO2 rich air in the room. Once the lighter intake hose air reaches the unsealed area before being exhausted, it is literally pushed out of the way by the heavier CO2 room air. Without interuption, this "jetstream" of air (intake hose to exhaust) would continue with less room air being pulled into the exhaust. However, the air coming through the rear intake of the unit (not a perfect "jetstream") creates a 3'rd circulation. Outside air is pushed upward by the weight of the of the CO2 at the point before the exhaust. If the intake hose to exhaust hose were perfectly sealed, the rear intake wouldn't have any relevance, but because intake to exhaust isn't perfectly sealed, and the flow from rear intake to blower isn't perfectly sealed, this allows for a constant "flow" within the unit (rear intake CO2 rich air "falls" as light intake hose air rises at the point before the exhaust). The effect is greater due to the weight difference of the room air and the air from the intake hose. I could probably describe it better, but I'm sleep deprived.

Think "ocean currents".



@DemonTrich Sounds like you have it squared away. There is another step you can take to ensure that little, to none (CO2), is pulled from the room.






There other other factors that would effect the duration of a tank. How often the compressor has to run is a big one. 2x 400w lights that are ducted with a blower pushing air through them will last longer (CO2 tank) than 4x 1000w lights that aren't ducted. The longer the compressor runs, the more heat that needs to be exhausted, the greater amount pulled from the room.