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Help with growtent ventilation/inline fan

faesthetic

Member
I've got a 5x5x6 grow tent and a 4" vortex inline fan that should pump about 180 cfms i think. Is this big enough? running the fan full speed up against one of the tents exhaust holes didnt seem to produce much suction.. so yeah. I'm going to be running a 400 watt hps w/detatched ballast but the hood still gets pretty hot, so I can't start until im sure.

my buddy said i should have got a 6" instead. I bought it off of ebay and they want a 15 percent restocking fee plus i have to pay to ship it back, plus pay the extra 10 for the 6", so i have to spend about 40 just to upgrade my fan, so I'm hoping this will be sufficient.

i dont have ducting or the carbon the carbon filter, but i know the fans going to lose more power when it's all hooked up. could i possibly add an booster fan and add it to the system for the same price or cheaper if this isnt enough cfms?
 

Weedler

Well-Known Member
I am growing in a 3'x3'x6' tent and I have a 4" no air cooled hood... 250W in one a 400W in the other. I am using an axial fan to push cool air in and exhausting the hot air out of the room itself through a return vent. Anything over the above mentioned size tent, I would get a 6"
 

faesthetic

Member
fuck.. i made a thread asking for advice and the consensus was i should get a 4" so i went with it because i was just eager to get shit started.. guess that's what i get for not doing my research. cool. pay 25 to ship this 15 percent restocking fee and 10ish more dollars.. what a fuckin waste when i could have originally just spent the extra 10.

even if i blow cold air into the room it's not doable? It's in my basement and the ambient temperature is pretty low i would say, especially right now, and it should get even colder as it starts to snow.
 

faesthetic

Member
turns out i cant even return it since it's been opened. i read it wrong. so what now??

looks like my only option, if this wont work when i finally set it up and test it, is to ssell the 4 and get buy a 6.. i fugd up..

should i even buy the 4" duct and see or would i be wasting money (like 10 bucks) and time? i spent some time in there fucking with it and it indeed does cause suction that i can watch slowly decrease when i turn it off. i just couldnt tell before, because it's not THAT powerful.. and like i said, for now, the ambient temp. will be cold. we have a pretty small house and i plan on venting the hot air into my room directly above the tent, and turning the heat down, therefore lowering the ambient temp i hope..

how DO you do cooled air, anyways? since its cold outside could i bring it in from out there with a small fan? ugh im such a noob.. i learn better asking you people because half the time i dont even know the terms/how to word my questions on google, so it takes some interpretation by ppl who know.. lol im so stoned and rambling now
 

bekindbud

Well-Known Member
turns out i cant even return it since it's been opened. i read it wrong. so what now??

looks like my only option, if this wont work when i finally set it up and test it, is to ssell the 4 and get buy a 6.. i fugd up..

should i even buy the 4" duct and see or would i be wasting money (like 10 bucks) and time? i spent some time in there fucking with it and it indeed does cause suction that i can watch slowly decrease when i turn it off. i just couldnt tell before, because it's not THAT powerful.. and like i said, for now, the ambient temp. will be cold. we have a pretty small house and i plan on venting the hot air into my room directly above the tent, and turning the heat down, therefore lowering the ambient temp i hope..

how DO you do cooled air, anyways? since its cold outside could i bring it in from out there with a small fan? ugh im such a noob.. i learn better asking you people because half the time i dont even know the terms/how to word my questions on google, so it takes some interpretation by ppl who know.. lol im so stoned and rambling now
Checked your thread and I am a nOOb too..... I have a tent as well and got some great help on RIU. You are in the right place.

If you have a window in the room your tent is in then I would exhaust your tent from the top and duct it to your window. With your window being open in your room you will also have fresh air coming in your room.

What type of budget do you have right now? Thats going to be very important. If you have chee$e to get a 6" 440 CFM Fan then get it and use that to exhaust your tent and use your 4" as a supply.

If not that, then you can get away with using your 4" fan exhausting your tent and keep the bottom hole of your tent open or just get a 4" In-Line Booster fan which is cheaper then buying a 6" CFM Fan. Put that 4" in-line booster in sleeve at the bottom of your tent.

You do have some options on what you could do, I will also post a diagram that I made but its with a cool tube light. If you have 6" or 4" or both its going to cost you more money but not much more because you will also need reducers which are usually $10-$20.

IMO its better to go all out and spend the money because you will reap the rewards in the long run.

Here is a pic of a diagram of a tent set up. Keep in mind the bottom 4" fan is a in-line booster fan.
Also here is my thread I started when I was trying to figure out my ventilation: https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/376518-darkroom-growtent-ventilation-help.html I got a lot of help.
Hope that made sense and helps...If you need anything let me know. I will make sure you get the help you need cause I got it here too. RUI is efin awesome. sub'd your thread!

BKB
 

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faesthetic

Member
reading your thread now. ive got the money to spend, my car and my grow are my hobbies and i have plenty of money allotted for them. i just want to get this going, and going right, soo bad just wish i had a local hydro shop and someone to help me in person lol..

so i guess im gonna go with another 6" inline fan for the exhaust. if i exhaust out my basement window though, i have to make some kind of vent or something to prevent snow from coming back in. idk i'll have to go check it out. thats why i figured i could just vent the hot air right into my room, directly above the tent. i figured it would heat my room in the winter lol, and the money we save on the gas bill i wont have to pay out of the electric. cool deal right lol? even if it only takes my hps from 50 a month to 30 a month i thought it'd be cool.
plus i'm afraid my air outake will be kind of obvious in the winter (it will totally make a cloud or something), and while i live in a house, it is by no means a private area. cop lives like 2 houses down too, and everyone can see every side of my house, theres a street on both sides and no fence in the backyard. so while that would work in summer i dont think i can right now.. yout tell me what you think.

but, you said i can get away with using the 4" to vent? i mean i have the money now but if it will work then i'll just wait till after this grow, after this winter. just growing 5 autos and 2 normal plants. like i said it's already really cold down there.

i'm going to go to home depot today and get 10' of 4" duct, and i'm looking for something to keep temperature and humidity with, and anything else i'll need. anything i should add to my list?

thanks for all ya help
 

bekindbud

Well-Known Member
reading your thread now. ive got the money to spend, my car and my grow are my hobbies and i have plenty of money allotted for them. i just want to get this going, and going right, soo bad just wish i had a local hydro shop and someone to help me in person lol..

so i guess im gonna go with another 6" inline fan for the exhaust. if i exhaust out my basement window though, i have to make some kind of vent or something to prevent snow from coming back in. idk i'll have to go check it out. thats why i figured i could just vent the hot air right into my room, directly above the tent. i figured it would heat my room in the winter lol, and the money we save on the gas bill i wont have to pay out of the electric. cool deal right lol? even if it only takes my hps from 50 a month to 30 a month i thought it'd be cool.
plus i'm afraid my air outake will be kind of obvious in the winter (it will totally make a cloud or something), and while i live in a house, it is by no means a private area. cop lives like 2 houses down too, and everyone can see every side of my house, theres a street on both sides and no fence in the backyard. so while that would work in summer i dont think i can right now.. yout tell me what you think.

but, you said i can get away with using the 4" to vent? i mean i have the money now but if it will work then i'll just wait till after this grow, after this winter. just growing 5 autos and 2 normal plants. like i said it's already really cold down there.

i'm going to go to home depot today and get 10' of 4" duct, and i'm looking for something to keep temperature and humidity with, and anything else i'll need. anything i should add to my list?

thanks for all ya help
Can you post some pics of your basement where the tent is and the windows? Also if you can make a diagram of your tent and how you plan to do your ventilation will be very helpful in seeing what you got. Then we can take a look at all that and see whats best for you and your set-up. If you are going to use a 6" fan you might want to get 6" ducting because it will be less work on your fan in the long run. But thats my Opinion.

Now as far as the whole cloudy air coming out your window, make it look like a Dryer Vent coming out your window. If you have a filter, you wont have to worry about any smell whatsoever. Even if a cop lives next door to you. But that does suck a cop living 2 houses away!!!

Last, I dont think a 400watt is going to warm a basement in a place where it snows. That wont create that type of heat to warm your basement.

Check you PM....

Peace

BKB
 

bekindbud

Well-Known Member
Now do keep in mind I have a small one 4x2x5. I live in a 1 bedroom apt so I am limited on space. Yes I know I have to clean my room But the towels are up there when its sunny outside. I take them down at night. I have a MMJ Card so I am risk free. Best thing I ever did. As you can see, I didnt even have room in my tent to put the filter up. Thats y my filter is on the floor. My fan is also out side my tent because I had no room inside my tent. The ducting coming out the bottom is the 4" in-line booster fan suppling air into my tent. Those are mid afternoon tent temps....Perfect!!!! the humidity is so high cause its been raining here in Cali the last 2 days. That is a picture of my Bionicle Gaurd, he keeps males out of my tent...LOL
 

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faesthetic

Member
LOL @ bionicle hahahah! sweet though i have a ton of cfl's i've been collecting and now i can put em to use. im gonna take this shitty lamp apart and put those y's on so i can use 6 bulbs, sweet tip. i got an idea when i saw how your fan was sitting on top and i did the same thing with mine. it's running right now full speed with the light on, and it's been on for about an hour and i'd say the hood is as hot as it's getting. don't have a temp reader yet, going to get one when my buddy gets here in like 10 minutes, but when i get back i can hook it all up and get some exact numbers and go from there.
 

bekindbud

Well-Known Member
LOL @ bionicle hahahah! sweet though i have a ton of cfl's i've been collecting and now i can put em to use. im gonna take this shitty lamp apart and put those y's on so i can use 6 bulbs, sweet tip. i got an idea when i saw how your fan was sitting on top and i did the same thing with mine. it's running right now full speed with the light on, and it's been on for about an hour and i'd say the hood is as hot as it's getting. don't have a temp reader yet, going to get one when my buddy gets here in like 10 minutes, but when i get back i can hook it all up and get some exact numbers and go from there.
Yes, keep it running for a couple of hours with a temp gauge in there and if you get like the one I got it will give you min/max for both temp and rH%. If not go in there every so often and track it. Also I keep a Temp gauge outside my tent so I can monitor the difference between my room and inside my tent. Usually about a 7 degree difference. So w/my tent reading 77 its about 70 inside my room.
 

faesthetic

Member
left it running for about 6 hours and the temp was 82 with 33% humidity. is this too hot..? when i checked, and stayed there for like 30 minutes till i shut off the light, it eventually went down to 68. the fan has better suction now that i hooked up the duct and put it through the hole, which must be made for 4" duct cause it fit perfect. im very happy with how it turned out. hopefully the increased suction will lower the temp a couple degrees.

will post pics in a minute
 

bekindbud

Well-Known Member
left it running for about 6 hours and the temp was 82 with 33% humidity. is this too hot..? when i checked, and stayed there for like 30 minutes till i shut off the light, it eventually went down to 68. the fan has better suction now that i hooked up the duct and put it through the hole, which must be made for 4" duct cause it fit perfect. im very happy with how it turned out. hopefully the increased suction will lower the temp a couple degrees.

will post pics in a minute
Is that with your window cracked open or closed? Im sure if your window is open or cracked it will bring the temps down even more.
 

faesthetic

Member
I could make it as close to the hood as possible but I don't have a cool tube like yours unfortunately. I figured where I place the fan it should get a decent amount of heat from around the light. Other than that should80 degress and 33 % humidity be ok? Should be able to get it lower if I open the window, and in less than a month temps will be way lower than they are now.
 
you need a 6" fan depending on what light your using get a 6"L1 fan,you can use the fan you have bought for an intake fan,you may not need it now,but in the summer you will be glad of it,or you may get a veg tent in the future,you can use it for that,
 

faesthetic

Member
i cant crack the window i think its sealed shut lol... but i can break out one of the panels and run my duct there to some kind of exhaust like the one the dryer uses to push air out an identical window. would this be practical, considering ill be putting hot air into the frigid cold, and it will show? the hot air will look like steam in the cold air and someone will know that 18 hours a day im blowing hot air out of my house
 

bekindbud

Well-Known Member
i cant crack the window i think its sealed shut lol... but i can break out one of the panels and run my duct there to some kind of exhaust like the one the dryer uses to push air out an identical window. would this be practical, considering ill be putting hot air into the frigid cold, and it will show? the hot air will look like steam in the cold air and someone will know that 18 hours a day im blowing hot air out of my house
Kick the window out...J/k Just make sure you find a way to get some fresh air in there, if not you might want a co2 system. If you got chee$e go all out!!! Just a thought and probably would do it if I had $$$ and space! I wish we had fucking basements in Cali....Ugggh!!! LOL

BKB
 
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