WhispersOnly420
Member
This is my first hydro grow ever and it's been 3 years since my last soil grow.
I built a custom grow cabinet and reservoir system. During some testing I discovered all kinds of heat problems, one of which is the reservoir. The reservoir is a 22 gallon tub I got from Wally World. The reservoir originally was one of those clear ones, which I sanded and primed with 2k auto primer using professional equipment. I primed the reservoir white and it is completely light proof however, it can't stand the heat (well, it can't insulate the heat).
I'm now on a journey to resolve this heat issue and, surprisingly, I have not come across too many "great" ideas for keeping a reservoir cool (that don't involve ice boxes, frozen milk containers, etc).
So here are my thoughts... feasible or not?
My plan is to purchase another 22 gallon reservoir which I will sand on the INSIDE. I will then place 2" high strips of wood along the INSIDE bottom and sides of the tube to create a descent 2" gap between this tub and the reservoir I already have ready. I will then place the primed reservoir into the inside of this new wood lined tub then fill the 2" void between the two tubs with spray foam insulation. I will then line the outside of the outer tub with reflectix, or some other type of reflective tape which should stop or reflect 97% of Radiant Heat Energy (I got those numbers from the source so they are probably skewed a bit).
If all goes as planned, I would expect that cool water going into my reservoir should stay relatively the same temp as it went in due to the insulation that will be provided by the foam and radiant barrier tape. I may need to add a frozen milk jug in order to cool down nute solution that has been heated due to the pump and during the flood times but that's no big deal if I don't have to change the bottle ever 7 hours.
Does this method sound feasible to you experts out there?
Thanks again!
I built a custom grow cabinet and reservoir system. During some testing I discovered all kinds of heat problems, one of which is the reservoir. The reservoir is a 22 gallon tub I got from Wally World. The reservoir originally was one of those clear ones, which I sanded and primed with 2k auto primer using professional equipment. I primed the reservoir white and it is completely light proof however, it can't stand the heat (well, it can't insulate the heat).
I'm now on a journey to resolve this heat issue and, surprisingly, I have not come across too many "great" ideas for keeping a reservoir cool (that don't involve ice boxes, frozen milk containers, etc).
So here are my thoughts... feasible or not?
My plan is to purchase another 22 gallon reservoir which I will sand on the INSIDE. I will then place 2" high strips of wood along the INSIDE bottom and sides of the tube to create a descent 2" gap between this tub and the reservoir I already have ready. I will then place the primed reservoir into the inside of this new wood lined tub then fill the 2" void between the two tubs with spray foam insulation. I will then line the outside of the outer tub with reflectix, or some other type of reflective tape which should stop or reflect 97% of Radiant Heat Energy (I got those numbers from the source so they are probably skewed a bit).
If all goes as planned, I would expect that cool water going into my reservoir should stay relatively the same temp as it went in due to the insulation that will be provided by the foam and radiant barrier tape. I may need to add a frozen milk jug in order to cool down nute solution that has been heated due to the pump and during the flood times but that's no big deal if I don't have to change the bottle ever 7 hours.
Does this method sound feasible to you experts out there?
Thanks again!