attic from scratch

hi im a newbie to growing aswell as to these forums. I've just started construction on my homes unfinished attic.
the useable attic is 20' long 6' wide at the floor, and 6' tall.
My budget is about 2,000$ I'm a contractor so construction is not the problem.
Ive got the floor in and i'm rough plumbing and wiring it today.

My main concern is heat, I want to run 2 1000w HPS, as of now there are 3 vents going out of the roof, I can add more.

a friend had mentioned to me there are new HPS lights that run much cooler, I really know nothing about the elements I will need to make a succesfull grow, I am more interested in quality over quantity, and I am not very worried about the law, as I live in a medical aproved area and have the proper documents.

Heat is my main concern!

Please respond to this post you can help me put together a kickin system for a good price! (dumb it down for me =]] )

thanks in advance =]]

in an attic... in the summer.... depending on summer temps i believe you could be looking at needing an AC unit.. i mean it is an attic with 2ks sooooo haha but if you had some good blowers and cool tubes on the lights u may get away with out it

Unwanted said:

in an attic... in the summer.... depending on summer temps i believe you could be looking at needing an AC unit.. i mean it is an attic with 2ks sooooo haha but if you had some good blowers and cool tubes on the lights u may get away with out it

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ah, I do have a portable AC unit on wheels with intake tubing, I bought from home depot several years ago, I'm not sure how many btu it is.
thanks for your response.
any ideas on whats the best way to deal with the odor of the exaust?

ventilation is def the key here man. make sure you get a good carbon filter and in line duct fans to expel as much heat as possible. keep the air circulating good with plenty of fresh air comming in. home depo has a nice portable swamp cooler for around 99 bucks that works nice for an area your size. good luck!

also tke a look at hood set ups that allow for ventilation to help keep the lights cool. i have 6 inch in line fans and exuahst ducting to expel the heat from the lights out of the room.

Nukulhedd said:

ventilation is def the key here man. make sure you get a good carbon filter and in line duct fans to expel as much heat as possible. keep the air circulating good with plenty of fresh air comming in. home depo has a nice portable swamp cooler for around 99 bucks that works nice for an area your size. good luck!

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I think I can vent in from my eve vents and vent out thru the top. how many ins and outs would you recomend for my space?

im not sure the exact size filter set up you will need for your space off hand but the goal is to be able to replace all the air in the space with in 5 minutes. the way i wet about it was buying my filter/fan/exauhst set up in accordance to the size room i was venting. then once i had it installed i added my intake vents one at a time untill i found a good balance between intake and exauhst. there are several nice little intake tricks that can be used to help out as well. i run a 6 inch exuahst vent used for your home dryer as in intake with a 6 inch inline fan hooked directly to it. from there i run 5 feet of soft ducting and cap it with duct tape at the end and 1x1 inch holes cut in it about every 8-10 inches to direct air in to center of my grow. take a look at mt grow room set up on here.

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/317817-my-lil-flower-room.html

asdfkry said:

a friend had mentioned to me there are new HPS lights that run much cooler,
Please respond to this post you can help me put together a kickin system for a good price! (dumb it down for me =]] )

thanks in advance =]]

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I think digital ballasts will run cooler than traditional ones, though I suppose the lamps themselves will be more of an issue. For that, you could look at vented hoods (sending hot air from the hoods through a duct/pipe, straight out one of your vents).

these are the hoods i use http://www.hydrowarehouse.com/hydrofarm-hydrofarm-daystar-air-cooled-reflector-p-1294.html

do they have thoes 6inch inline fans at the normal hardware stores?
how do LED lights compare to HPS or MH?

im also wondering how far a hod like that needs to be from the celing/walls, is it save to have it touching the walls? my attic is shaped just like this /\
and i could find a hood that would fit snug at the top, what type of wall covering is recomended?

Yeah, I think you can get those fans at a hardware store. I think the more expensive ones you'd get at a grow store would probably give more power and less noise though.

I have a friend who deals with height issues, and has his hoods touching his ceiling at times. I suppose the type of hood would make a big difference in how much heat it puts out where it touches walls/ceilings. Some are just a single, thin layer of sheet metal. The ones my friend has have a couple of layers: the outer thick, white painted metal, and the inner reflective metal.

yes you can get the fans and ducting at home depo. those hoods have a 5x5 foot lumen patern and you could easily tuck them up and run them down the middle of the roof to get plenty of light to all the plants. they will be fine up against the cieling/wall. LED lights have there ups and downs but nothing can compare to the HPS/MH for total lumens.

awesome! you guys have been alot of help
I got the plumbing done, just 1 spigget near the door into the room, im starting the electrical now, do you guys think 1 circuit will be enough for 2kw's?
I think i will def need another circuit for the AC unit (pretty sure I will need the AC)
Ill get some tempature readings tomorrow.

You mean a 20 amp circuit? (Because 15 amps would definitely not be enough). Personally, that would pushing it too much for my taste. Sure, 2kw would be under 20 amps, but just barely. I'd feel safer not cutting it so close though.

hey guys thanks for the great input! im wondering if anyone has any experience with this type of reflector, I think it will be the best option to get height and keep things cool in my attic

http://www.hydrowholesale.com/Reflectors/Viagrow-19-Air-Cooled-Cylinder-Reflector.asp

Once you factor in your AC, Lights, pumps, fans etc you will DEF be over 20 amps a safe bet s 100 watts is one amp. So plan accordingly . Also what is your plan... soil hydro.. if so what kind? Give us some details, I for one love building grow rooms. Good Luck man!
Chillums

Chillums said:

Once you factor in your AC, Lights, pumps, fans etc you will DEF be over 20 amps a safe bet s 100 watts is one amp. So plan accordingly . Also what is your plan... soil hydro.. if so what kind? Give us some details, I for one love building grow rooms. Good Luck man!
Chillums

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im doin soil since this will be my first venture. im gonna run 3 15amp circuts for 2 1k's and an AC.
does that sound safe? I ran 2 off of 220 and fried my radio and my fan earlier lol.

today the high was 76 degrees f my attic was 103degrees F with only a 75watt bulb so im a little nervous!!