Swamp cooler / AC

[ZerocoolSmith]

Does anyone have any experience with a swamp cooler in a grow room? I know they raise humidity, if the room is sealed can it be used with a dehumidifier?

For near future um looking at options besides a duct ac. A split ac? Swap coolers are so cheap to operate.
Room will be about 4000 watts.

 

[Red1966]

If you use it with a dehumidifier, it will use more power than a A/C.. The lights will generate about 16,000BTU by themselves. You can vent 50% or better if you use air cooled hoods.

 

[kinddiesel]

those coolers only work well in humid conditions . I have also looked into these to cool a large grow . I was ready to drop 2 k on one until I read and checked on out in action on a 90 % day. . they will raise the humidity majorly as soon as it turn on the humidity will spike . I have seen these in a large warehouse I stood directly in front of it you can feel the humid air coming out of it . even with a dehumidifier , this would absolutely would not work at all . horrible ac unit to grow plants or in side a sealed environment . its ok only for workers out side that can stand directly in front of it . I was not impressed at all by the units . my opinion I rather have a fan blowing on me instead of one of those units. and the ones I seen were the big boys garden hose attached to the back of it and it was about 300 pounds. best to get a window ac unit and if not possible then next best choice is a mini split ac unit . mini splits work like central air and use a lot electricity but higher initial cost . best mini I have found was this one . https://www.amvent.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1513 you prob could use the 18ooo . I need to buy this one . 24. I like the over kill cooling .

 

[ZerocoolSmith]

Good to know. Right now I have 1,800 watts with 3 600's and A wing reflectors. Having trouble keeping heat down (due to venting outside the garage.) But I'm looking for alternatives like air cooled hoods and a ductless ac. Window unit is better then a mini split ac?

ill probably build a room inside the garage. Having a window unit built into the grow room and blowing hot air into the garage might not work unless I'm exhausting the garage air as we'llwe'll

 

[Red1966]

Good to know. Right now I have 1,800 watts with 3 600's and A wing reflectors. Having trouble keeping heat down (due to venting outside the garage.) But I'm looking for alternatives like air cooled hoods and a ductless ac. Window unit is better then a mini split ac? ill probably build a room inside the garage. Having a window unit built into the grow room and blowing hot air into the garage might not work unless I'm exhausting the garage air as we'llwe'll

The whole garage will heat up if you don't vent it outside. Does your garage have a window? Use that wall as one side of your grow room.

 

[Admortis]

Having a strong mechanical background I see you having several options. A lot of people use a window unit as it pushes the hot air outside and smaller units run on 110 volt saving electricity. If you go this route make sure you get a carbon filter that fits the window unit well or all of your neighbors will know what you are up too. Mini-splits are nice, but if you are going to spend that much money why not just go ahead and buy a split system. the reasoning for this is simple, the cost is the same (around 2500 installed) and you can get creative with your supply and return. You can have a main return and supply set up to attack the heat load areas by having duct-work going to each light, drawing the heat load right from its source and evenly distributing the supply. This will allow for adjustments as needed, which you can not do with a ductless mini-split. The other nice part about this setup is the air is kept inside the room. You will still want to eliminate the odor with carbon filtration but it is kept confined to your room. Lastly, if room is a problem, you can drop a package unit outside the garage for the about the same cost as the split system and achieve the same results as the split system (not mini-split) as far as duct work goes. The only drawback is by dumping the hot air outside you must be careful about odor elimination. With any of the systems I would recommend adding a UV light to the coils as green house air tends to have a lot of things floating around that will clog you coil. If you let me know the actual size of the room I can use that with your lighting to give you an estimate of the size system you will need. Hope this helps..

 

[SnapsProvolone]

Ductless minis are the way to go.

 

[ZerocoolSmith]

Does help a lot. I'm going to build the room in a month or so. I'm blooming in an 8x4 tent right now and don't dig it too much. Hard to control temp in a tent. $2500 is too much for me to spend on an AC. I'm so far out of pocket already. Joking a mini split for around $800 will work.

 

[SnapsProvolone]

A window banger will work but don't bother with CO2 and scrub the room with carbon filter hardcore.

 

[Red1966]

Does help a lot. I'm going to build the room in a month or so. I'm blooming in an 8x4 tent right now and don't dig it too much. Hard to control temp in a tent. $2500 is too much for me to spend on an AC. I'm so far out of pocket already. Joking a mini split for around $800 will work.

It's possible to seal a window unit and attach intake and exhaust ducts to the front to go to your tent. You will need to drain condensate from the front. The ones with the slide-out casings are the easiest to seal (also to install) but come only in 17,000BTU and up, requiring 220v. You will need to add a fan or maybe two to the ductwork because the fan in the A/C isn't strong enough. The smallest mini-split made is too big for a 4 x 8 tent. I used a 5,400BTU window unit to cool a 4 x 8 tent. When running bare bulb w/ 2 x 600w HID, it ran almost constantly and brought the humidity below 14% (the lowest my meter can read), far too low. Adding air cooled hoods drastically reduced the time the A/C ran. I had to add a dehumidifier to control humidity during lights off.

 

[CashCrops]

Ductless minis are the way to go.

What snaps says, use em, love em!

 

[kinddiesel]

only reason I rec a window unit over a mini is because of the initial cost . I bought 25 thous btu window unit for 450 bucks and the cheapest mini split I found brand name is 1000.plus installation cost or tools to install it about 150 bucks vacuum pump is a must and gages . but in the long run the mini do you less electric then the window units a 24 mini vs 24 window about 200 to 500 watts less. that does add up fast.

 

[budleydoright]

Swamp ads humidity, only works well in very dry climates and can not recirculate the air. Works well in a high desert greenhouse.