In need of experienced advice on new grow room "please"

jmack1965

Member
Hello everyone here, I am new to the forum and hope I cant get some really good advice on my next grow room build. I just moved (renting) and have a un-attached garage in back hooked up with a separate electric panel equipped with 100 amps. The exterior walls are siding t-one11 and inside has been sheet rocked, the ceiling is open with truss joist and it has an aluminum roll up door and a regular side entry key lock door, also it has a window on one side. I started a couple years ago first with a 4 x 8 tent and 2k then went to a room with 4k air cooled with intake and exhaust.I had to move so i am now ready to start up again I am in the Sacramento valley area where the summers are brutally hot and the winters can get pretty cold.i have basically all my old equipment 6' and 8' air cooled hoods, fans portable a/c 70 pint dehumid ect... my new property management frowns on growing per the lease it was extensive so my " Dilemma" is that my next room HAS TO BE STEALTH. I am leaning towards a fully sealed room and need advice on the build reflectors I have already bought the co2 tanks so at this point I am thinking of building 2 inside walls inside the garage like an " L" shape and run three 4 x 8 trays in it. I am also willing to go to open reflectors and upgrade to a mini split a/c, so those are the basics sorry it's such a long read but I would really appreciate any really experienced grower/builders/consultants to help me from here. I used to be a carpenter before i became disabled so the building will not be an issue, I just need it to be odor free from neighbors and control the climate as best as possible. Again any help, ideas, reccommendations on the build or the equipment will be helpful. thank you all in advance. hope to speak soon with you all. peace .
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Well, i'll get it started for you as, I know the area very well;-)Carpenter here also, well, Union drywall/lather.
Yes on the sealed growroom I say. At least for the warm months;-) . Ventilated growrooms, in the summer months=boo-boo! Sure, you can add Ac to a constantly ventilated grow room, but it very inneficient.
Lets start with your lights in your sealed Room. So, how many watts of light in that sealed flower room? 6-1000w's( for the 3- 4X8's)? Can you air cool them? Naturally, with air from/to a source seperate from growroom.
You won't need as big of an Ac If you air-cool the hoods;-) lets start with that.
 
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Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Then I just realized. It will be fall soon! How soon are you firing up this grow. You could just set it up as a normally ventilated grow-room for now. Than, convert to sealed before next summer:-)
I lived next door to a cop in Stockton, and ran my room ventilated during the
"Cooler" months, without stressing. If ur room is setup right, no reason to worry.

IMO , if stealth is a concern, and you have close neighbors, An ac running during the cooler months is NOT stealth. Although, there are things we can do about that to though:-) If you insist lol
 
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jmack1965

Member
thanks aero for starting this off, lights i have all 1k air cooled with digital ballasts,(sun sys xxxl and blockbusters/w quantum's ) but have no problem going to a more efficient straight reflector, bat-wing, parabolic, if its a better set up for a sealed room cool the whole thing vs air cooling the hoods. i have everything for a air cooled sealed room right now but i have been reading its better to completely seal it. I not sure. what exactly do you mean ventilated? scrubbed exhaust ? i plan on running co2, they say its more ac but you avoid all the ducting and fans by cooling whole room.
 

Deusracing

Well-Known Member
thanks aero for starting this off, lights i have all 1k air cooled with digital ballasts,(sun sys xxxl and blockbusters/w quantum's ) but have no problem going to a more efficient straight reflector, bat-wing, parabolic, if its a better set up for a sealed room cool the whole thing vs air cooling the hoods. i have everything for a air cooled sealed room right now but i have been reading its better to completely seal it. I not sure. what exactly do you mean ventilated? scrubbed exhaust ? i plan on running co2, they say its more ac but you avoid all the ducting and fans by cooling whole room.
can't wait to see what you come up with... sometimes its hard to get the best advice without actually being in your room..
 

pinkjackyle

Well-Known Member
if you had the money go with induction lighting i purchased mine from suzhou jolighting co. 320$ for a 500 watt fixture looks just like the igrow units at 1/4 the price , prob solved for summer . i understand a lot of people dont want to buy from chinese manufactures but i aint paying 12-1500$ for 1 light . best of luck.
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
thanks aero for starting this off, lights i have all 1k air cooled with digital ballasts,(sun sys xxxl and blockbusters/w quantum's ) but have no problem going to a more efficient straight reflector, bat-wing, parabolic, if its a better set up for a sealed room cool the whole thing vs air cooling the hoods. i have everything for a air cooled sealed room right now but i have been reading its better to completely seal it. I not sure. what exactly do you mean ventilated? scrubbed exhaust ? i plan on running co2, they say its more ac but you avoid all the ducting and fans by cooling whole room.
sorry I didn't get back earlier, I was putting wire around some of our outdoor plants today:bigjoint: I'm beat lol

Ok, so air-cooling your hoods in a sealed growroom(again, with air seperate from the growroom)=less btu's of Ac needed to combat the heat put off by the lights(smaller power bill). Only downfall for having a lens in your hoods, is a very Minute amount of light loss, compared to a hood without a lens.
If your paying for power, I recomend that you utilize the air-cooling ability of the hoods you already own;-) IMO

And yes, by ventilated grow room, i mean non-sealed growroom. Air in, air out. So maybe now re-read what i posted earlier? Lol

So basically, we need to know if your going to be running air-cooled lights in that sealed growroom, or if you NOT gonna run
Air-cooled in their. It matters bigtime for the sizing of Ac, for that room.
 
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jmack1965

Member
looks like if it doesnt make that much difference i will just go back to my xxxl's probably 6' and might just try out 4 4x8 trays indoor in my extra room.
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
looks like if it doesnt make that much difference i will just go back to my xxxl's probably 6' and might just try out 4 4x8 trays indoor in my extra room.
You had said you got property management rite? Keep in mind, you can dam near count on them doing a walk-through once a year. Between me and my pals, we've experienced this many times. It sucks having to tear your setup out on short notice. Keep it simple. Good luck;-)
 
if you had the money go with induction lighting i purchased mine from suzhou jolighting co. 320$ for a 500 watt fixture looks just like the igrow units at 1/4 the price , prob solved for summer . i understand a lot of people dont want to buy from chinese manufactures but i aint paying 12-1500$ for 1 light . best of luck.
Dude I've been battling MOFOS trying to tell them about inductions. People think I'm full of ish. Some of the largest grows here in Colorado are switching because of the energy pull. Especially when you are talking about 10,000 lights.
 

jijiandfarmgang

Well-Known Member
I think you might run into a little trouble if you want to air cool reflectors, and us CO2. My climate is much colder, but if you vented the lights inside to a garage without a ceiling and a metal roof you could literally make it rain with all the condensation. You could pipe it directly outside, but I don't know if this ruins stealth.

Also if it gets pretty cold you don't want that air directly touching the bulbs.

- Jiji
 
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