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chiller and a dehumidifier or just an A/C?

WeedFreak78

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
I'm looking for opinions, my rooms about 12x8, split into a 4x8, flower and 8x8 veg/clone/work area built in an open basement, has passive intake and a 6" 440cfm extraction fan, running all hydro, appx 30 gals of solution combined( 3- 8 gal res in flower,LP aero/nft hybrid, 2- 5 gal dwc moms in veg) and 45gals of RO water. I have a dehumid that runs in the basement, takes care of the whole area but raises temps about 5F. Basement runs around 70-72 in the summer, room temps are OK, 75-80 depends on the day but I need to get my res temps down( running 70-75) and would like to lower room temps for flower. Now here's my issue..a 1/4 hp chiller( appx 480W 4A) and a dehumidifier( appx 860W 7A) pull about the same power as a 12K BTU window AC( appx 1100W 10A) and I'm having trouble trying to figure out which makes more sense. I either need to buy a chiller or an A/C ( I just bought a dehumid)..either one is going to cost me $300-500. The A/C will cool and dehumid, but will it run more than a separate chiller /dehumid setup that will cycle independent of each other making the appx 200W power difference negligible? The Dehumid/Chiller combo also has additional costs of a secondary cooling res, pumps,cooling coils and a radiator.

I also have a big bastard 240V 17A 35kBTU( 4000W..:o) window AC in storage, but I think it would be cycling too much..maybe make it into a chiller? What would it be equal to size wise in a chiller?

I'm so confused right now..both ways seem viable..
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
WeedFreak78 said:
I'm looking for opinions, my rooms about 12x8, split into a 4x8, flower and 8x8 veg/clone/work area built in an open basement, has passive intake and a 6" 440cfm extraction fan, running all hydro, appx 30 gals of solution combined( 3- 8 gal res in flower,LP aero/nft hybrid, 2- 5 gal dwc moms in veg) and 45gals of RO water. I have a dehumid that runs in the basement, takes care of the whole area but raises temps about 5F. Basement runs around 70-72 in the summer, room temps are OK, 75-80 depends on the day but I need to get my res temps down( running 70-75) and would like to lower room temps for flower. Now here's my issue..a 1/4 hp chiller( appx 480W 4A) and a dehumidifier( appx 860W 7A) pull about the same power as a 12K BTU window AC( appx 1100W 10A) and I'm having trouble trying to figure out which makes more sense. I either need to buy a chiller or an A/C ( I just bought a dehumid)..either one is going to cost me $300-500. The A/C will cool and dehumid, but will it run more than a separate chiller /dehumid setup that will cycle independent of each other making the appx 200W power difference negligible? The Dehumid/Chiller combo also has additional costs of a secondary cooling res, pumps,cooling coils and a radiator.

I also have a big bastard 240V 17A 35kBTU( 4000W..:o) window AC in storage, but I think it would be cycling too much..maybe make it into a chiller? What would it be equal to size wise in a chiller?

I'm so confused right now..both ways seem viable..
Click to expand...
My two Ton window banger chillers were made from Frigidaire units that pull 2kW. Therefore I'm guessing that doubling the watts doubles the cooling power or close to it. You'll want someone who knows WTF they're doing to convert an AC unit into a chiller; at this power level, just dunking the evap coil in a tub of water isn't going to be sufficient. Likely it will be better and easier to get the unit you really want instead of remanufacturing your old one.

Water chilling is efficient and versatile, but its high initial cost of installation means that only those who can afford to let it amortize those costs will see the benefits. In other words, you need to make enough money over a long enough period of time to justify the expense. This is something businesses do regularly that consumers often don't, so that's why it's more of a commercial solution.

If you own your home, if go to the trouble- or better yet, consider a heat pump. Same thing, only its even easier to heat your house with waste heat extracted from your grow op.
 
taGyo

taGyo

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
I got yer smart people... RIGHT HERE! lol
Click to expand...
Been debating getting a chiller. I run a 8x4x6.8 room with two 1000ws air cooled, 6" 720 cfm fan blowing through CF to lights.

Probably going to get a 4" to cool both those lights. Just got an RDWC system but haven't set it up in the flower tent yet. My biggest fear is that the two 1000ws will heat up the buckets to 70+, which will fuck my whole grow in an RDWC.
Found this: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=33123
Might be worth a shot since I have one of these guys laying around if it looks like I need it. What do you run tt? Any advice? I haven't hooked any of it up yet, just trying to make sure I spend money while I have it :lol:
 
WeedFreak78

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
My two Ton window banger chillers were made from Frigidaire units that pull 2kW. Therefore I'm guessing that doubling the watts doubles the cooling power or close to it. You'll want someone who knows WTF they're doing to convert an AC unit into a chiller; at this power level, just dunking the evap coil in a tub of water isn't going to be sufficient. Likely it will be better and easier to get the unit you really want instead of remanufacturing your old one.

Water chilling is efficient and versatile, but its high initial cost of installation means that only those who can afford to let it amortize those costs will see the benefits. In other words, you need to make enough money over a long enough period of time to justify the expense. This is something businesses do regularly that consumers often don't, so that's why it's more of a commercial solution.
Click to expand...
I've read a bunch you've written about grow room cooling and I like your approach. Running a chiller through a old alum radiator for room cooling would work great for me seeing how I don't need a huge temp drop, don't see me ever needing more than a 10F drop in air temps. I've been reading about converting AC's and i think i can handle it..I'd drop the cooling coil into a antifreeze solution to protect from freezing, run individual coils/pumps for each res in the glycol on temp switches. By keeping the solution side pressurized it should stop whatever antifreeze solution i use from entering the system IF there was ever a system leak.

I'd love to go to geothermal cooling..if I only knew someone with an excavator I'd be getting it done..

ttystikk said:
If you own your home, if go to the trouble- or better yet, consider a heat pump. Same thing, only its even easier to heat your house with waste heat extracted from your grow op.
Click to expand...
I just had a system overhaul done on the house 2yrs ago, new heating sys, insulation, etc. If i was a little more financially liquid I would just fix my central air and upgrade the compressor another 1/2 ton to handle the room..but that's not happening anytime soon so I'm looking for ..relatively..inexpensive options for a couple year solution until i have the $$ to do the central air right.
 
WeedFreak78

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
taGyo said:
Been debating getting a chiller. I run a 8x4x6.8 room with two 1000ws air cooled, 6" 720 cfm fan blowing through CF to lights.

Probably going to get a 4" to cool both those lights. Just got an RDWC system but haven't set it up in the flower tent yet. My biggest fear is that the two 1000ws will heat up the buckets to 70+, which will fuck my whole grow in an RDWC.
Found this: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=33123
Might be worth a shot since I have one of these guys laying around if it looks like I need it. What do you run tt? Any advice? I haven't hooked any of it up yet, just trying to make sure I spend money while I have it :lol:
Click to expand...
I have one of those water coolers i grabbed when my old company was throwing it out, almost brand new. I'm just wondering how long it will last..they aren't really meant for continuous running...it also has a UV sterilizer built in i think i can adapt..I think I'm gonna tear it apart and see what I can do with it.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Since I'm using larger chillers I really can't say much about modifying a water cooler.

Water chilling an entire op is more for commercial operations. There are a lot of water lines and up front investment in infrastructure that I'm not sure is worth the trouble for a tent or two.

I did it exactly BECAUSE I'm modeling commercial scale operations here, for the specific purpose of creating better equipment and approaches for the 'big boys'.
 
taGyo

taGyo

Well-Known Member
WeedFreak78 said:
I have one of those water coolers i grabbed when my old company was throwing it out, almost brand new. I'm just wondering how long it will last..they aren't really meant for continuous running...it also has a UV sterilizer built in i think i can adapt..I think I'm gonna tear it apart and see what I can do with it.
Click to expand...
My concern as well :/,

like @ttystikk said, that initial investment is crazy for a small scale op. Have to find a way to cool it down and water bottles sound tedious.
 
jijiandfarmgang

jijiandfarmgang

Well-Known Member
I passively water cooled in winter a similar sized room with 3k watts.

The main reason I did it is because I thought I could, and to save on energy (there already was a minisplit in there.) And another reason lol, but I won't bore you with details.

Actively cooling a small grow water cooling, I just don't see the use. The automation and sizing, install and setup costs etc. are just so high.

An inverter mini split is just so cheap, and just plain works well and efficient too.

I never got mine working correctly, or at least how I wanted it.

Don't get me wrong, it can be done, but to do it right, a mini split is cheaper up front. Unless you can get large holding tanks, or use an excavator for free etc....(which for most isn't free)

Just my two cents, air cool it, or air condition. Properly sized chiller for rez.

- Jiji

P.S. anything that cools lower than the dew point is going to dehumidify. Whether it be chiller or AC. Which for my neck of the woods isn't enough, but for dryer climates may work fine.
 
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