Help with ideas for 4k sealed room

Hey everybody! I am not new to growing indoors, however, I am sailing into unfamiliar waters with my new project I am planning on setting up. I have grown with a single 1000 hps with good results but would like to up my scale a bit in order to be able to help some terminally ill/disabled family members/friends with safe/reliable meds. Any helpful advice would be very much appreciated.

I plan on setting up a (4) 1000HID light sealed room in either a 10x11 or 12x13 spare bedroom. I have done a bit of research and have gathered a little bit of an understanding as to how a sealed room works. Essentials for environmental control seem to be a good AC unit with proper BTU for cooling, CO2 system, and a dehumidifier.

While a mini-split seems to be the preferred route among growers with sealed rooms, this is not an option for me. I have read that it is possible to cool with the right sized window unit (4000 BTU/light + additional BTU depending on size of the room and other factors) is this true? If so, are there any security risk such as odor leakage from doing so? I have also read about constructing a box for the window AC and keeping the unit completely inside of the grow room. Is this a good idea? I have been told to stay away from portable ACs and plan on doing so. Any recommendations on a good window AC unit for a room of this size?

I have many more questions but will save those for later. Any thoughts, ideas, criticisms or suggestions that would help are very much appreciated. Thank-you kindly for taking the time to read my thread. Jah bless.

look into Subcool's flower room. You can see it on anyone of the many Weed Nerd videos on youtube. LED's make less heat.

i believe a window unit will leak odor if its inside the grow room.. now if you got a tent inside the room it should be fine..

get a 10x10 tent, put it inside the spare bedroom. put the ac in the window and grow normally inside the tent.. if you use the 12x13, it will have room to move around in.. i put shelves in my room to store all my nutes and stuff on

Go with the newer digital ballasts that are dimmable from 100% to 50% and the feature of "Super Lumens" to add 10% more lumens... You will find it's great for experimenting with the amount you give in veg and flower...

Exhaust fans made with ball bearing are quieter and last a LONG time. A 60 dollar temp thermostat hooked up to the exhuast fan does wonders for room temp control.

Thank-you everyone for your responses. Would it be possible to run open hoods with this type of setup and stay under 80F? I am also not sure if I am being understood correctly. I plan on setting up a sealed growroom with no intake/exhaust. AC, dehumidifier, and CO2 being released will be used to regulate the indoor environment.

No that isn't a good idea . Window units leak smell and piss out co2. You are not sealed if you use a window unit or a standing unit . A mini split is the only way to go if you want to make this the best room it can be . Why is this NOT an option for you? If you want to be a successful grower you have to put the garden #1 and work your problems around what the garden needs . Mini splits are a lot less trouble than people make them out to be.

I've had my best yields In a 4k watt 12x14 sealed with co2 and a mini split. This size room
Is very easy to pull a gram per watt if you minimize your working areas and fill the canopy .

patrickkawi37 said:

No that isn't a good idea . Window units leak smell and piss out co2. You are not sealed if you use a window unit or a standing unit . A mini split is the only way to go if you want to make this the best room it can be . Why is this NOT an option for you? If you want to be a successful grower you have to put the garden #1 and work your problems around what the garden needs . Mini splits are a lot less trouble than people make them out to be.

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Im renting and not sure how long I plan on staying where I am at. If I owned the house and planned on staying put for a while I would definitely opt for a mini split.

@patrickkawi37 do you happen to know what some possible pros/cons of building an intake/exhaust box to enclose the window AC inside of a grow room might be?

Iriemedicine said:

Im renting and not sure how long I plan on staying where I am at. If I owned the house and planned on staying put for a while I would definitely opt for a mini split.

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Iriemedicine said:

@patrickkawi37 do you happen to know what some possible pros/cons of building an intake/exhaust box to enclose the window AC inside of a grow room might be?

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I am renting and I have 3 of them. if you can't guarantee yourself 4 runs there.. I wouldn't even put the money towards starting a 4 lighter . With that being said, if you can do at least 4 runs, a few hundred bucks to have a mini split installed shouldn't be an issue . I wouldn't build a box to enclose the outdoor part of the unit.. These units are meant to sit outside and if you run them inside they are worthless from an efficiency standpoint. Now imagine putting a box around where all the heat is coming from..your effiency will be even worse . I'm all about doing stuff the right way the first time. When I stated with 4 lights I used a window unit for 3 runs and ended up
Buying a mini split anyways. Save yourself the money in the long haul and buy the good shit now

@patrickkawi37 What would be a proper mini split for this type of scenario and do you know how much install would cost? Thank-you kindly for your replies and advice.

Iriemedicine said:

Thank-you everyone for your responses. Would it be possible to run open hoods with this type of setup and stay under 80F? I am also not sure if I am being understood correctly. I plan on setting up a sealed growroom with no intake/exhaust. AC, dehumidifier, and CO2 being released will be used to regulate the indoor environment.

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No, you won't be able to run open hoods, Not with the window a/c. Ive ran co2 with window a/c before i went split system. Worked just fine, yea i lost a little co2. Probably spent an extra 14 bucks so no biggie.

Iriemedicine said:

@patrickkawi37 What would be a proper mini split for this type of scenario and do you know how much install would cost? Thank-you kindly for your replies and advice.

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They make plenty of window units that can handle Cooling the room even without air cooling the lights ... The reason I wouldn't run the window unit is because of smell, efficiency (run costs of the Ac and co2 loss) not to mention noise . And cutting a whole in a house or having that ghetto lookin thing poking out the back of a window..
I just picked up another 2 ton mini split unit for a spare bedroom 4'lighter.. Paid 1000 bucks for the unit, ounce of weed for the install .

If money is a problem I should point out that the most expensive items in a sealed room are the dehumidifiers not the air conditioning

patrickkawi37 said:

If money is a problem I should point out that the most expensive items in a sealed room are the dehumidifiers not the air conditioning

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Could this be done on a $5-6000 budget or should i look to plan something of a smaller scale?

Iriemedicine said:

Could this be done on a $5-6000 budget or should i look to plan something of a smaller scale?

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It could be done. I don't suggest it. I just put together a 4 light spare room, didn't have to buy 1 piece of lumber because I didn't build a box.. And I'm still out about 7 grand before electric

Iriemedicine said:

Could this be done on a $5-6000 budget or should i look to plan something of a smaller scale?

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I'd say 6 grand can get you all the gear, the mini split, a nice room, and the nutrients. Not including labor , electric , and all the extra

patrickkawi37 said:

I'd say 6 grand can get you all the gear, the mini split, a nice room, and the nutrients. Not including labor , electric , and all the extra

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What would i be looking at total for an op this size? Also curious how much the monthly electric would be. I appreciate you being upfront w me about all this possibly saving me alot of time and money.

Iriemedicine said:

What would i be looking at total for an op this size? Also curious how much the monthly electric would be. I appreciate you being upfront w me about all this possibly saving me alot of time and money.

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another few gs should keep you comfortable. I'm not sure what you pay for
Electric but I would say around a grand per month.

Economics 101 - How to save more growing your own herb instead of picking it up at a dispensary. Growing can save a person a ton of money. It can also cost you an arm and a leg if things go bad and there are a plenty of ways to screw up. Insect pests seem to cost people more money than anything other than electricity. I run an 8x25 space plus a 4 x 8 mother room. The most I've used during 12/12 lighting for flowering has cost me close to 700 a month to run 4K. I live in the mountains and wait for cooler months to avoid having to cool the rooms and don't have kids at home now to run up the monthly bill.

Right now I'm vegging the 8x25 space with only 1000 watts for 16 hrs. a day. I'm in no rush as I have to wait until Oct. to come along with cooler temperatures. The plants are quickly filling up the space entire space. When I started 12 clones in March a space of only 4 x 8 was used. As they grow up more light and space is provided.