roof exhaust with grow tent? Need advice/help..

[xivex]

Hi,

I am an indoor gardener and am getting ready to start inside a 3 x 3 tent. I have to setup the exhaust/ventilation for the tent and am having a hard time visualizing how I want to do this. Coincidentally, I am replacing my roof on the property here also and could add an additional roof vent for exhausting the air from the tent. I am just not quite sure how this should work and what I will need...or the cost.

I figure I would like to keep with a 6" ducting, so have a 6" inline fan with carbon filter on it, ducting running from the tent to theceiling in the room and from the ceiling to the roof (via the attic) and finally exhausting at the newly installed roof vent.

Is that correct? Can someone explain this or point me in the right direction of what I'd need to install roof-vent/duct wise to make this happen and how I pipe it from the tent to the roof vent?

Thanks,

X

 

[trichlone fiend]

...here's how I set mine up...the exaust goes form the end of the light to the outdoors (roof)...the straighter the shot, the better. Good luck.

 

[Robert Paulson]

i have a 4x4 tent with a 6" wind tunnel. i have it set up so six inch ducting runs out of the tent into the attic i then just ran it up to the crest of the roof to vent (metal roofs are vented at the crest). you could just do the same except run to a vent. i don't have a filter on mine because i run a 03 generator inside the grow room and the six inch fan moves so much air (425 cfm) that it doesn't get a chance to stink too much. i also wired my fan onto a dimmer switch so i can control the power. it is noisy done like this, to reduce noise use insulated ducting.

all you need is some tape for the ducting (i prefer the metal stuff) and maybe drywall knife to cut the whole, but you can really cut drywal with just about anything. a shop-vac would also be handy.

so i guess you are planning on mounting the filter in the tent? if you don't have close neighbors i wouldn't worry about it. i live in a duplex and am buddies with the neighbor, but he has no idea i'm growing. installiong the vent is super easy if the roof is off just cut a whole and then when you put the roof on install the vent, hell the roofers will probably do it for nothing.

 

[trichlone fiend]

...here's a link if you need to know how to install the actual vent on your roof.>>> http://www.realtor.com/home-garden/do-it-yourself/roofing/installing-passive-roof-vent.aspx

 

[xivex]

Wow, great responses! Thanks guys. I'm pretty much a construction newb, so I'm just trying to put this all together in my head. Trying to size up the order of it all, is it better to put the carbon filter inside the grow tent? I thought you put the fan on the light, push air out through the light through the ducting through the side wall of the tent, up through a carbon filter and up through the ducting through the hole in the ceiling and up through the attic out the newly cut vent hole?

Is that right? Or do you put the carbon filter inside the tent and have it go fan pushes air through the light, through the carbon filter and out the tent wall's ducting and up through the ceiling into the attic exiting through the new roof vent.

Also if the room I'm using has those little white spackled celings I can just cut a round hole through that and pass the ducting up through that? Or how do I connect the tent's ducting to the vent in the roof EXACTLY? Is there some kind of join in the ceiling that I hook it to or just cut a damn hole and run the ducting from the tent through the hole all the way up to the vent? What about filters on the roof vent or some kind of screen to keep stuff out? Whats your advice?? LOL!

??

 

[trichlone fiend]

...okay bud. You want the filter in your tent to do away with odor. You have a hole at the bottom of the tent that sucks in freash air, the freash air shoots through your room and into the carbon filter, through the light (to rid heat) and immediately directed outdoors or attic. If you must install a roof vent, you'll want to cut your whole between 2 rafters. The vent will be nailed to the osb board under your roofing inbetween your rafters (studs for roof).

...you should be able to find a vent that has a screen in it that will stop creatures from crawling inward.

 

[Robert Paulson]

okay most all carbon filters are designed to suck through, the inline filters are like $400. so i take it you have a vented hood then? if so it would go just like the drawing trichlone posted. cut right through the ceiling its just spackle and is easy to repair if you have to move, make sure to line the hoile up so you don't hit a beam. you wouldn't want to cut half the hole and find out there's a stringer there and have to cut another hole. connect the ducting with the metal duct tape and possibly a couple self tapping screws. the vent will have screens on it.

 

[xivex]

You guys rock! Thanks so much, I think I'm finally getting it all straightened out in my head

Much obliged..

 

[Robert Paulson]

no problem man (or women), thats what this site is for. do u have any pics of ur set-up?

 

[xivex]

no problem man (or women), thats what this site is for. do u have any pics of ur set-up?

Robert,

Not yet! I am just beginning my first attempt and haven't taken any photos due to my meager setup. Currently using a ghetto box from UPS (the big wardrobe one) with 6 26w 1600lumen CFL's (Energy Saver 6500k (4) with 2700k (2)).

Using a turkey pan as a ghetto reflector and had to "MacGuyver" the light fixture myself by punching/hanging/duct taping the "Y splitters" into the turkey pan to hang the 6 CFL's. Currently only have 1 baby from KB bag seed. Got something coming from Attitude though, hope it pans out..

Am very very close to pulling the trigger on a complete tent setup tho. Thinking this:

1) 3x3 or 4x4 tent
2) 400w Combo light with air cooled lamp, nice reflector and digital ballast -- both mH and HPS bulbs
3) 6" inline fan with carbon filter
4) 6" ducting
5) the roof vent

Under this I would use Fox Farms for about 6-8 babies depending on room with an oscilating bench fan setup inside the tent in addition to the inline exhaust fan.

This is what I'm envisioning..thinking approx. $1000-1100'ish should cover that.

What do you think, any suggestions?

 

[Robert Paulson]

chcek out my set-up, that's about what this cost. if i were to do it again though i would not buy a tent. its just as easy to build a box yourself. it then can be made-to-fit whatever part of the house you want it in, and if you still wanted the convenience of being able to take it apart, just use screws

 

[xivex]

chcek out my set-up, that's about what this cost. if i were to do it again though i would not buy a tent. its just as easy to build a box yourself. it then can be made-to-fit whatever part of the house you want it in, and if you still wanted the convenience of being able to take it apart, just use screws

Beautiful setup man. I'm jealous

 

[Robert Paulson]

thanks man it really didn't take much i can give you a rough estimate of the shopping list if u want to know more. tonight i am setting up another flood table next to the tent for veg. it will also have a 600 watt digi ballast with a mh conversion bulb. for the clones/starts i'm gonna use 5x5x5 inch plastic planters filled with hydroton. i have enough stuff to clone/start 36 at a time but only have one card, so i will have to stick to 18. but i guess we are fortunate to be allowed that much

 

[xivex]

thanks man it really didn't take much i can give you a rough estimate of the shopping list if u want to know more. tonight i am setting up another flood table next to the tent for veg. it will also have a 600 watt digi ballast with a mh conversion bulb. for the clones/starts i'm gonna use 5x5x5 inch plastic planters filled with hydroton. i have enough stuff to clone/start 36 at a time but only have one card, so i will have to stick to 18. but i guess we are fortunate to be allowed that much

Not all of us are in states that have medical laws Lucky dog.

 

[xivex]

Oh one last question..I read that local law enforcement looks for heat signatures/heat emissions coming from roof vents/chimneys/pipes, etc. and uses this as evidence for further investigation or potential charges..

Is that common?

 

[Robert Paulson]

is it common? i really have no idea, i think you would have to know what the cops are up to in your state to find out. i do know that the IR they use is very, very expensive, so i doubt they are very common. i couldn't see a state like oregon owning more than a couple, if any at all. it's also very expensive to fly the chopper around. i use to fill the state troopers chopper when i worked at the local airport. around here they only are checking the woods during harvest season, they were never checking for heat signatures. most states' general fund do not have the funding to support a program that's constantly on the hunt. the state can make more money by writing DUII. so they try to hunt at peak times, like early fall, so that they can catch growers in the act. the state doesn't make any money unless they actually bust someone. (i refer to oregon all the time because thats where i live, a state like cali that has even less money i would imagine would appropriate their funds more wisely than to commonly practice IR pot hunting in the suburbs)