The perfect growroom...

Loads of info snow crash... took me a while to take all that in, i had a portable a/c unit before and ended up returning it as it wasn't cooling the room enough unless it was actually placed directly inside the tent - i was exhausting directly back into the room. I don't mind investing if it is going to be a safe method of doing things, im mainly worried about masking any heat signature i may be giving out.

I know the heat will have to go somewhere, im thinking the best idea might be a big tent within a fully insulated enclosure and i could exhaust all that heat up through the insulation and out through a chimney - also means moving property

SOG did an insulated grow on here in an attic space with a similar methodology - https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/131873-sog-grow-room-op.html

whitewidow2 said:

Thanks smileyface - very informative - trying to get my head round that lot...
I know some people say that FLIR wont see through roofs etc but im worried that the technology is out there to bust grows and as a grower i need to do everything in my power to avoid people seeing what it is i am doing. Ive seen some videos where the light signature is apparent from the air through the roofs of buildings and this is one of the main reasons i want to insulate everything, even though i know it will not hide the exhaust trail from a window but will still make things less obvious and help me sleep better at night. The way that i see it is if i build an insulated frame i hide any light/heat signature from the air and it is also a good starting point to building a perfect setup. I am a little worried about the amount of heat it will all put out though as i know that those a/c unit exhausts can get quite hot!!!

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I dont know if it was said or not, but exhausting through a dryer outlet fireplace or chimney is a good way to make the inevitable heat signature be over-looked.

I think the chimney is the best option, although i know they are aware of these things but i think it would look least suspicious

Has anyone else here built an insulated enclosure for their grow and how did you go about it?...

Go with the Blockbuster hood for the 600's. Near perfect 4ftX4ft coverage with a 600. XXXL Magnums are a waste with anything less than a 1000 watt bulb.

1 1/2 foam insulation panels make great growrooms. No frame, power tools or special equipment required to build.

You could get a fan chiller for the same price as the fans and hoods. The hoods dimish light as it goes threw the glass. Plus you have to buy the fans to?
Do you already have this stuff? If not, go buy a fan chiller for pretty cheap. You will save power. My 3 fan can do 9 1000w lights and im not joking.
You can get a brand new 1 fan cancoil for around 700-800. The 1 fan will have no trouble with 2400watts. Over kill.
Honestly if this is gonna be a mickey mouse grow just get a fan with a theromstats.
A small a/c can do those lights no problem. You wont need the shades. That way you dont have to have heat coming out of your house for 12 hours straight.
I prefer water chillers. They are so much more efficent and run way less power. The 1 fan is about 200 watts and its 1 ton of cooling. The a/c 1 ton using 1200watts. With the chiller you wont need any exhaust. Remember each light needs 4000 btus in a sealed co2 room. Even with the hooded shades you still need 3000btus per light(1000watts) when using co2 burners.
Get the 1 fan and be happy when you chop down. No heat aswell. goodluck. grow smart.

To the OP don't buy an XXXL Hood. They suck ballz. I'm completely disappointed in mine (I've owned 3 so far). One came damaged from the factory (the metal is was ripped) and my other one won't attach the screen brackets back on the unit (the holes no longer match the screw threads...this was after one disassembly). Seriously just unscrewing these hoods a part to clean the glass and replace the bulbs causes a shit ton of wear and tear on these units. It's kind of shocking considering how expensive these hoods are. Just unscrewing the units can fuck up the threading. Everything on them is just built like cheap shit. I'd either get something cheaper or something from another maker other than sunlight supplies. Just about everything they make is subpar.

Also don't expect these units to be light or air proof. They need a crap load of duct tape coverup their gaps. Seriously the one unit I returned with the rips had gaps in the ductwork so larger that I could shove my hand in it.


The only thing Magnums do well is spread light. Seriously these things are beasts. 2 side by side are easily over 6 feet long. They're light coverage really is impressive but the overall build quality will really disappoint you since they cost 180-200 bucks a piece.

Ok, guys - time for an update.

I do have 1 x Magnum xxxl running a 600w at the moment - works good for me just now

Now the plan is to have 4 of them in a sealed enclosure (fully insulated) running a 14000 btu portable a/c unit and a dehumidifier and probably bottled co2 or a burner (undecided yet)

Ill have a couple of fans inside just sitting in the corner with carbon filters attached to the bottom of them pulling air down into them to control smell, oscillating fans in the grow room as well.

The exits for the a/c unit and ducting for the air cooled lights will need to meet up and be exhausted out the window - the ducting will come from outside the grow room > through the grow room and lights > out the other end keeping it completely sealed.

So would i be ok to grow like this, having complete control over the environment?

what confuses me about AC units is the exhaust. they need a place to spit out the hot air that it makes, and said air is unfiltered and smelly. if u exhaust it outside AND manage to filter it, u lose Co2, if u dont vent it, it doesnt do anything but make noise..... im clearly missing a step

anonymuss said:

what confuses me about AC units is the exhaust. they need a place to spit out the hot air that it makes, and said air is unfiltered and smelly. if u exhaust it outside AND manage to filter it, u lose Co2, if u dont vent it, it doesnt do anything but make noise..... im clearly missing a step

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Bigger a/cs go outside of the growroom and preferably outside of your house.
Small a/c arent preferd for most grows. Its all about fan chillers!!!
Sealed rooms only.

mr.smileyface said:

Bigger a/cs go outside of the growroom and preferably outside of your house.
Small a/c arent preferd for most grows. Its all about fan chillers!!!
Sealed rooms only.

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got an AC unit that goes in the window. those things spit out some hot ass air. r those just no good for growrooms?

only solution seems to vent it under the floorboards. but no1 makes a vent for those things so it would need to be homemade.

Yeah i agree they do put out some really hot air - im just trying to create a perfect room, with all variables in check - the venting thing, the more and more i think about it - the more i think i need to move somewhere with a chimney as that heat just has to go somewhere

whitewidow2 said:

Ok, guys - time for an update.

I do have 1 x Magnum xxxl running a 600w at the moment - works good for me just now

Now the plan is to have 4 of them in a sealed enclosure (fully insulated) running a 14000 btu portable a/c unit and a dehumidifier and probably bottled co2 or a burner (undecided yet)

Ill have a couple of fans inside just sitting in the corner with carbon filters attached to the bottom of them pulling air down into them to control smell, oscillating fans in the grow room as well.

The exits for the a/c unit and ducting for the air cooled lights will need to meet up and be exhausted out the window - the ducting will come from outside the grow room > through the grow room and lights > out the other end keeping it completely sealed.

So would i be ok to grow like this, having complete control over the environment?

Click to expand...

You should have took my advice. I just finished doing what you did.
Your showing a heat sig. The fans and A/c are going to be loud. Your room isnt going to be 100% seal so you can use bottled co2 or your cost will be alot.
Example. When i did a room like yours, the a/c took air away. I used about a 20 lb propaine tank in 4 days. 2 a week. Now a 20 lb last two weeks. I dont have any outtakes or vents. My temps are 27c-31c depending when the co2 was burnt..
It just doesnt make sense to do a grow like that if you didnt have to. Do you already have the equitment or something?
Its something i have done before.
I did get 4.6 pounds from 4000 watts hps from 4 cooltubes and 42 plants in a setup like you explained.
I upgraded and hoping for gram per watt.

Fan chillers eh?...

Never heard of them in the uk, urban grower has a video with one but it connects to a swimming pool reservoir? Maybe i should just stick with two tents in my bedroom, my main reason for going sealed was to insulate as im worried the police helicopters can still see a heat signature through the roof of the building

Can anyone confirm if the signature of the lights is evident through the roofs to police helicopters in the uk?

And if i do build a sealed room (which is gonna be a lot of work...) - do i not need in/out vents due to supplementing the room with additional co2?

thx

Can anyone confirm.... It looks like they can spot grows in that video through the roofs of the properties... you can see where the light sources are situated - so im worried about it and thinking of building a sealed room - i cant seem to find much information as to whether they can see the light sources or not although it does seem pretty evident in that video that they CAN see something. I mean if i thought they couldn't see 4 lights id just go and buy a tent and fit 4 x 600w lights in it and run as per usual but i am worried and i cant seem to find concise evidence as to whether i need to build an insulated room or not. And if i do need to build one to err on the side of caution i need more info on how to do it - so any links and advice appreciated

you should be more worried about smell than heat.

Looking for the perfect growroom check this guy out http://http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=109231&page=2

Ive got the smell under control, its the choppers im worried about - link not working?...

http://urbangardenmagazine.com/2009/04/growing-in-sealed-rooms-hydroponically/

and

http://urbangardenmagazine.com/2009/08/hydroponics-blueprint-breakdown-almost-sealed-room/

for anyone interested