Vpd controllers
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Mr. Bakerton
Well-Known Member
I don't know the answer.
But I couldn't imagine controlling the environment in a home setup by vpd.
I had tried to target a somewhat consistent range for a while with no luck. What I can't get right is the humidity as it varies the most with lights on/ lights off.
To get the right vpd for me, it means increasing the lung room by 10 plus ideal humidity as lights on drops humidity. Then running the exhaust hard during lights off to keep the humidity low enough but never getting it as the lung humidity is too high, almost like I would need two different air supplies. I don't know and would happy if someone could clear me up.
Getting the temp right had been much easier. Lights on adds 12 degrees. If I want more I can put the driver back in the tent.
But I couldn't imagine controlling the environment in a home setup by vpd.
I had tried to target a somewhat consistent range for a while with no luck. What I can't get right is the humidity as it varies the most with lights on/ lights off.
To get the right vpd for me, it means increasing the lung room by 10 plus ideal humidity as lights on drops humidity. Then running the exhaust hard during lights off to keep the humidity low enough but never getting it as the lung humidity is too high, almost like I would need two different air supplies. I don't know and would happy if someone could clear me up.
Getting the temp right had been much easier. Lights on adds 12 degrees. If I want more I can put the driver back in the tent.
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DeadHeadX
Well-Known Member
I have the ac infinity system with the Controller 69 which gives a vpd measurement that I find useful for trying to dial in various settings. For example, I had recently been dropping humidity during flowering, though I went a little low and this raised the overall vpd, so I adjusted the settings for the exhaust fan to kick in at a slightly higher humidity, which gets me right at 1.5, high end of target. This is working well with temps in the high 70s and humidity at 50%, which seem to be very effective for the current auto crop. Anyway, I love the ac infinity system so far for the ease of adjusting various factors with vpd in mind. I’m pretty new to growing, and this is my first round paying attention to vpd. Perhaps relevant, my grow space is a cool, dry basement, which makes it pretty easy to raise and lower humidity inside the tent. Low light out temps are my main issue, but I don’t sweat it.
Highway61
Well-Known Member
I have two Acinfinity Controller 69 Pros. One to control the climate of my lung room and one for the flower tent. They work pretty well locking in whatever vpd I'm shooting for in the flower tent so long as i maintain the climate of the lung room to be cooler and dryer than the intended conditions in the tent. There might be other controllers that work as well but I'm happy with the way the acinfinity works.
Like you indicate the glaring issue now is light cycle. It's almost if....
The plastic environment needs 2 ecosystems with one set connected to a lights on timer and one set to a lights off timer.
Two ea. sensors, heaters, humidifiers/dehumidifiers, sets of exhaust fans. You know?
But that's a long way from 'just seed and dirt' so it can;t be right, can it?
Highway61
Well-Known Member
The Acinfinity controller allows you to automate changes in your environment for night or day. Different temps or humidity to whatever you want which change automatically at lights on or off. For example, I have the dehumidifier in the lung room set to a lower RH at night than the daytime. And I turn up the exhaust fan at night in the tent. The controller automates those and other changes pretty easily.
But getting back to the original question about the benefits of of a VPD controller - It just is so much easier to let the controller manage humidity, temp and air flow automatically locking in to the target VPD. I don't have to pay attention so much and when temps rise or fall in the tent, the controller adjusts air flow and humidity to stay at the target VPD. I used to use temp and humidity controllers which worked ok but did not adjust automatically so I was often not at my target VPD. I don't have that problem anymore and my plants are more vigorous with VPD locked in than with my older temp/humidity controllers.
Splinter7
Well-Known Member
thinking of techs. you can inline two fans and have one on a rh controller and the other on a temp controller.
you can have another set of fans. each set on a timer so that one is lights on and one is lights off. so, 4 fans per space.
I was in a similar situation. I got a Controller 69 a few months ago and it replaced my PulseOne, an Inkbird temperature controller, and an Inkbird RH controller. In short, the Controller 69 has been a godsend for me.
I have had their tent fan and their inline fan for a year or two but controlling the humidifier was the missing piece of the puzzle. I used to check the Pulse app and, if RH needed to change, I'd open the Inkbird app and change the setting. It was great to have VPD so close to optimal but, since my grow is in an unheated garage in Southern California, where daily temps could range from 68° to the 80's°, it was time consuming to stay on top of it.
My current grow (my first photo grow) is 51 days old and, thanks to the Controller 69, I spend no time fiddling with RH or fans to keep VPD in range.
Drop That Sound
Well-Known Member
Or have less fans, and use motorized duct dampers instead to switch the flow around between areas/equipment. F'ers cost as much as 2-3 inline fans each though (unless you get lucky and score 6" brand new ones like I did for $25 each, and a couple 24v door bell power supplies for a few bucks at the building salvage store), plus you need additional 24 volt transformers to power them...
Splinter7
Well-Known Member
playing with electricity seems scary and it would require a city permit where i am at...fans are about 20 bucks each at the hardware store for 240cfm.
i don't really know anything about dampers, but that might make some stuff difficult. sometimes you don't want any air anywhere....that might be a problem if you are always diverting.y.
Nope_49595933949
Well-Known Member
I also use an ac infinity controller but the 67 version. You can set up different parameters for different times of day.
Mr. Bakerton
Well-Known Member
Maybe my grow area hasn't grown up yet. Can you tell me more about the parts that make up your setup? Do you have a previous post showing any of this?
Are you exhausting the tent outside?
Same here. I just upgraded to sensors and this thread seems like the next leap.
Highway61
Well-Known Member
I have two ACInfinity WiFi 69 Pro controllers. The first controller controls the environment of the room in which I have my tents. It controls an intake fan drawing in air from outside into the room, an exhaust fan from the room to outside, a dehumidifier, and an electric heater. Each controller can connect to four separate things (fans, lights, dehu, heater, etc.) and has a temperature/humidity sensor to set each port independently to time, temp, humidity, or VPD.
The second controller controls the environment inside the flower tent. It controls the tent exhaust fan which just exhausts into the room, a humidifier inside the tent, lights, and a small electric heater inside the tent. I try to keep the environment in the room slightly cooler and dryer than where I want to be inside the tent and then I have the tent controller set up to exhaust and humidify as needed to stay at the target VPD.
And as Nope does, I have different automations for lights on and lights off. And since it's wifi, I can make adjustments as needed pretty easily.