tent environment

[420forme]

I have a sealed 5x5 tent with 2-1000w aircooled hps and co2.. Fully controlled by sentinel chhc4.
Problem is my heat and humidity. My AC and dehumidifier run almost constantly to maintain 85' degrees and 55% humidity. This is gonna get expensive! Even with dual 6" fans cooling hoods, and being located in a cool basement.
I'm thinking of ditching the AC and exhausting the tent via filter to the outside, instead of keeping it sealed. I know I'll lose most of the co2, but I can cycle it opposite the exhaust with my controller.
Is there that much benefit to running sealed room, compared to vented? The electric bill is gonna be alot better vented.
Or is there a more efficient way to cool my room?

 

[phillipchristian]

Sealing a room helps you control the environment (Co2, humidity, etc...). I don't think venting the room into your basement is going to alleviate all of your problems. Sounds like your a/c is undersized as well as your dehumidifier. I am guessing you have a portable 12,000btu a/c and probably a tiny dehumidifier. I have seen 30 pint dehumidifiers work about 40% of the time in a space 4 times larger than yours in an area probably twice as humid (the rainforest). The other proble I see is the amount of light you have in that tent. I think you had a thread about this before so I won't go way into it but 2k in lighting is overkill in my opinion. A 1k light has an optimal footprint of 5x5 at 18" from the canopy.

 

[Gastanker]

I'm going to have to agree with phillip in that you have too much light for too small of a space. IMO 1kW lights in 4x4s are a bit much and 2kW in a 5x5 is even more heat per volume. I'd recommend getting either a larger tent, or using 2x600w or just a single 1kW in your 5x5 tent. My buddy pulls 2lbs from a single 1kW in a 4x8 with CO2 and a light mover so it's not like you'll be pulling nothing if you lower it to just 1 light.

What are ambient temps in your basement? Could you vent the basement room with colder outside air to further lower ambient temps?

 

[420forme]

I have dimmed them both to 600w and my temp only dropped like 2 degrees.
My humidifier I think is only like 30l or something, but drains almost 2gal. Of water a day. So it is working.
My AC is a 10k portable unit, I got refurbished, so may not be working so well. I have another, newer 12k model I could try, but that's adding even more power.

 

[OGEvilgenius]

If your AC isn't working properly the new unit could very easily be far more efficient (it's not broken) and eat far less power.


2x1000w is a huge amount of light for a tent that size. Are you growing vertically? If you were vertical maybe I could see it although I don't think 5x5 is big enough with a 1000w for most vertical setups.

 

[420forme]

Well I guess I'll try the newer AC and dim to 1200w before I go changing the whole setup. I understand it might be a bit much for the size, but after growing for a while and always wanting/wondering what more would do, so I bought the biggest I could fit.
Its not a vertical setup, rather the opposite, I have 2 26x40 screens trying to organize 12 plants. Its pretty full in there.
its my first attempt at a bigger grow, i'm used to scrogging in a 3x3 with 400 Watts. I think I should of changed my style completely but stuck with what works. Its just not working.

 

[phillipchristian]

I have dimmed them both to 600w and my temp only dropped like 2 degrees.
My humidifier I think is only like 30l or something, but drains almost 2gal. Of water a day. So it is working.
My AC is a 10k portable unit, I got refurbished, so may not be working so well. I have another, newer 12k model I could try, but that's adding even more power.

If you dropped your ballasts down to 600w then be careful. I always recommend that you put a 600w bulb in there because dropping a 1000w bulb to 600w actually changes the light spectrum of the bulb (not great for plants) and the frequency from the ballast to the bulb which will decrease the life of your bulg. If you can then I would get 600w bulbs to put in there and run it at 600w. I also would try out the 12,000btu a/c and see how that does. Depending on the model and efficiency they both might use the same amount of power and if not then the 12,000btu is not even going to use a noticeable amount more. That dehumidifier should be more than enough for that space. It must not be very efficient or you live in tropics. Not really sure. I have a home in Costa Rica where the humidity is 85-90% year round. I used a 30 pint dehumidifier in my workshop and it worked a lot less than yours.

 

[420forme]

Thanks Phillip, i'm gonna try the different AC, and dimming the lights, if it works I'll change the bulbs to 600's. Also may look for a new dehumidifier.
Which brings me back to the question, is it worth the added expense of running a sealed room versus running a vented room.?? Because its not that its not working the way it is, its just all my equipment runs all the time.

 

[phillipchristian]

Thanks Phillip, i'm gonna try the different AC, and dimming the lights, if it works I'll change the bulbs to 600's. Also may look for a new dehumidifier.
Which brings me back to the question, is it worth the added expense of running a sealed room versus running a vented room.?? Because its not that its not working the way it is, its just all my equipment runs all the time.

I run sealed environments as well. I think it is a lot easier to produce a high yield and eliminate certain problems when you can control the environment your plants are in. It is more expensive to grow in a closed environment but it helps you eliminate future problems and also let's you totally control all aspects of plant growth.

 

[420forme]

So Phillip, would you consider it normal for my AC and dehumidifier to be running most of the time when lights are on? How often does your AC run in your setup?

 

[phillipchristian]

The dehumidifier is what seems weird to me. That really shouldn't be running all the time. Are you sure it isn't just on a recirculating setting or that it is maybe just the fan running all the time but the dehumidifier only comes on periodically? As for the a/c; with that much light in that small of a space I DO NOT think it is weird at all. When the lights are on that is entirely too much load for that a/c so it has to work all of the time. A 1000w hood that is air cooled still requires 4,000btu of cooling to offset the heat that it generates in your room. Plus if your ballasts are in the room they add another 2,500btu of cooling per 1000w ballast. And your dehumidifier is adding heat to the room and probably requires around 1,000btu of cooling. Seems to me you are just at the limit with that a/c unit. If you switched the lights to 600w the amount of electricity you would save would actually be greater than the added cost of putting that newer 12,000btu a/c in there. Something to think about.

I have a totally different situation than you. I run water cooled equipment and I have a 5 ton (60,000btu) water cooled air handler in my flower and another for my veg/clone/mother/drying/workspace rooms.

 

[TICAL]

trial and error Bro,this is what makes us great a what we do. I see you mastering this in no time...Peace and Respect

 

[420forme]

Damn Phillip, just checked out your water cooled thread. Now that's the real deal man, way more than I could ever think of hooking up, but sooo nice. I'm stuck in a 10x12 room, which needs to hold everything.
I forgot to mention, I have the ability to pull the intake air (for hoods) direct from outside. Would this also help control temps.? I live in NY, so might be good during cooler months, but during summer, my basement air is probally cooler than outside.

 

[phillipchristian]

Thanks man. We do some pretty crazy stuff with chillers. I've got a 12hp chiller right now.

I think pulling the air from outside would be great. Just make sure you put some kind of filter before your tent; could even just some hvac filter you pick up at the hardware store. Will help keep dust and spores out of your lights and grow room. Probably right about it being cooler in your basement in the summers. I'm from NY as well.

Don't count out water cooling in the future. A 10x12 room is perfect for a window mount 1-2hp chiller. Would look just like a window a/c from the outside. You'd be able to get rid of almost all of your fans, ducting, et... Plus a chiller is 40% more efficient than an a/c so you save over time on electric bills. Plus it allows you to have a truly 100% sealed room.

Check this thread out. I helped this guy set up a 2hp system that cools 2 8x8 tents. Where he lives is 90-95 all year round. https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/513182-newb-grow-journal.html

 

[420forme]

Well now i'm really curious about water cooling. Since I could still use my hoods and fans, and would just need a bunch of those Ice boxes. How much would a setup with like 3 ice boxes cost?

 

[phillipchristian]

You could probably get away with a 1.5hp EcoPlus chiller, 3 Ice Box, Reservoir, Pump, and Manifold Tubing. Maybe $2000-$2500 max. Just a ballpark figure. You can also put the Co2 generator on it in the future and even a water cooled dehumidifier. Plus you can cool your nutrient reservoir with it. Basically you cool every heat source in the room and then just have 1 Ice Box for the ambient room temp. It's pretty cool.

 

[420forme]

Not bad, after first harvest I could do an upgrade. I've already been looking into a co2 generator, since I have to change tanks weekly. But water cooled dehumidifiers are expensive

 

[phillipchristian]

Not bad, after first harvest I could do an upgrade. I've already been looking into a co2 generator, since I have to change tanks weekly. But water cooled dehumidifiers are expensive

The Hydrogen Pro is great. I used several for a few years till I just switched to a larger system because of my room size and the fact that I had plenty of cooling anyway. Those water cooled dehumidifiers are really expensive ($950 I think) but you can pretty much make your own. If you put an Ice Box or any heat exchanger over the exhaust you've got a water cooled dehu.

 

[420forme]

Only issue I can see already is I don't have a widow to out it in. i'm in my basement, and the windows are only like 13" high and 30" wide.

 

[phillipchristian]

Only issue I can see already is I don't have a widow to out it in. i'm in my basement, and the windows are only like 13" high and 30" wide.

Not a big deal. All you have to do is put it on a platform (couple cement blocks) outside; give it power; and bring 2 lines (hot and cold water lines) into the basement. Pretty simple.