Cheap Air Condition substitute

kjc0314

Well-Known Member
Do any of you have ideas for a cheap AC substitute? I have spare deep freezers and mini fridges. Would these help at all and be energy efficient left open?
 

mud1dnot2

Well-Known Member
Allright man, I can tell you from experience the mini fridges/deep freezes won't work the way you're going to want them to. I'm in FL. and even the winters here can get a little warm since we don't have central AC. so what you do is take a cooler you can cut some holes in ( styrofoam cooler works just as good ) cut a vent hole in one end and cut a small 4-6" round hole in another. run a duct fan from one side of the cooler to the box and then just fill the cooler with some frozen 2 liters and you're in business....

i should've asked what type of grow set up you have 1st but this should work.
 

Navior

Active Member
Theres another similar way but without the ice. Have your vent coming into the room/tent vent into a cooler or a bucket with a rag or sham wow or anything that will wick up water sitting on top the water inside. As the air flows over the rag it will evaporate water which will act as a poor mans air conditioner. I've seen it done but have never tried it personally so I have no idea how well it works!
 

mud1dnot2

Well-Known Member
kind of sounds like a swamp fan type setup. as long as you change the rag often enough so no mildew or mold grows then it could work
 

mud1dnot2

Well-Known Member
yeah, if you're gonna go a route like the soaked rag technique you should just go get a swamp fan....plus that might jack your humidity all out of whack too...

all i know is I use the cooler full of frozen 2 liters and it drops the temps about 5 degrees...
 

kjc0314

Well-Known Member
thanks for all the tips guys...do co2 generators provide enough cool air for a good sized room? Also, if I bought a small ac unit would that do the trick and be pretty cost efficient? thanks
 

mud1dnot2

Well-Known Member
It will be more efficient at cooling down the area but it'll still cost money to run, obviously....and I don't know about the co2
 

AquafinaOrbit

Well-Known Member
Though it seems more effiecent and very possibly is, a freezer is going to have to work harder to cool your containers and thus its compressor will kick on and take much the energy a A/C unit would.
 

jokertoker

Active Member
you could also use dry ice in the cooler. it would cool the area and add co2 to your grow room, which allows the plant to survive in higher temps.
 

Stoney McFried

Well-Known Member
Doesn't last too long, though.It is pretty cheap, however.Just make sure you don't sleep on the floor if it seeps out of your grow room.:lol:
you could also use dry ice in the cooler. it would cool the area and add co2 to your grow room, which allows the plant to survive in higher temps.
 
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