4x4 tent trouble

JCave

JCave

Well-Known Member
nsb823 said:
Hello everyone,

I setup my new 4x4 grow tent earlier this week and powered it up to dial in my temp before I start my grow. Well turns out originally I was getting temperatures of 85 to 87. I spoke to a local grown shop and he told me it was cause of my in line fan being subpar so I replaced my active air 6 inch with a max fan pro series 6 inch which in turn only helped by 1 to 2 degrees at then most. So I decided maybe I should buy new ducting rather them the crap I had from lowes that was 6 years old but never used. Luckily it lowered my temp I had a steady 77 on top of my hood and 79.1 on the floor 3 hours later the tent climbed over 80 it's currently been on almost 5 hours I got 82.9 on top of hood 84.9 floor.

So here's a break down the room that the tent is in was 65 before the tent came on the setup is

4x4x72 lighthouse hydroponic tent
600w hps
6 inch max fan pro series

Ventilation setup
Carbon filter - (pull) fan (push) - duct - light - exhaust out door (door cracked just enough for vent to go into hall)
Currently the carbon filter is disconnected since it is a 4 inch carbon filter with a 6 to 4 flange I figured at first that may have have been the cause.


So I think I may know what my problem is but would like some insight to see if anyone comes up with something different.

I am thinking I may have to run a active intake instead of the passive vents on the bottom I believe the vents that are open on the tent are reflecting off my white walls and heating up the room the tent is in thus raising my Temps any ideas?
And if this is what I need can I get away with a 4 inch intake and how much come would I need?

Please help thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Is your ballast dimmable?
Can you use a lower power bulb on that ballast?

I have a 600w hps but growing indoors it makes way to much heat, so I always ran it dimmed at 75% power. Then my temps were a lot more manageable and I didn't have to run the A/C 24/7.
 
astronautrob

astronautrob

Well-Known Member
With fans, blowing or sucking doesn't effect or change the efficiency. A lot would argue blowing is actually better but who knows. You'll have to break out that other fan unless you can vent cold air in to the tent like skyrocket said, that would be your best option
 
CommercialGrow

CommercialGrow

Member
Not sure what your current situation is but tents are a bit tricky to use. Haven't used one in years myself. Your options to control environment are limited.

Typically what I did in the past was to leave the doors open on the tent during lights on. This will dramatically lower your temps. Keep your can fan going to cool your lights at the same time. You need to crack that bedroom window to regulate the entire room temperature or hook up an intake from another cold air source. Close your tent door during lights off but still keep that can fan going to regulate humidity in the tent. You could also throw a dehumidifier in that room for night time use if needed. Just monitor your room temp and RH and act accordingly. Chances are the cold air from outside coming thru the window will keep you in a tolerable range without need for a dehumidifier. Your might even need a humidifier if RH gets to low.

Good luck
 
K

kermit2692

Well-Known Member
rickymac21 said:
Well I see you already purchased the fan, but if you haven't plugged it in yet I would simply change the placement of your fan. Instead just have the ducting run from your carbon filter, straight into the light/hood, and your fan pulling air directly from the hood. In line fans work much more efficiently when pulling air than pushing. And if you didn't already buy the 6 inch fan, I would say another 4inch fan would do the trick, if placed where your current fan is along with the setup I described.
Ambient temperature is the biggest factor here. You can try to pull air in faster by adding a fan used exclusively for that purpose. But the rate at which your removing heat hasn't increased. It's better to eliminate the issue than to constantly fight it. Make sense. The faster you can pull that air past the light, the cooler the room will be. At the same time you want to make sure your carbon filter is rated to handle the cfm rating, other wise your filter will not be doing its job effectively. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
This. Your room will cool when your fan is at the end of your run after everything. You also are pulling air through your carbon filter too fast with your current set up
 
K

kermit2692

Well-Known Member
astronautrob said:
With fans, blowing or sucking doesn't effect or change the efficiency. A lot would argue blowing is actually better but who knows. You'll have to break out that other fan unless you can vent cold air in to the tent like skyrocket said, that would be your best option
Click to expand...
Lmao... This is absolutely wrong. Go to a physics class.
 
astronautrob

astronautrob

Well-Known Member
kermit2692 said:
Lmao... This is absolutely wrong. Go to a physics class.
Click to expand...
Read some more buddy, or better yet try it out for yourself, if you did you'd see that blowing or sucking the air generally doesn't make a difference in temp of your tent. Here, I did a little research for you to show you that, as I said, a lot of people would say blowing air is better....
https://www.rollitup.org/t/inline-fans-push-or-pull-air.199672/
http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/6379/fans-suck-or-blow
https://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-medical-marijuana-growing/546921-carbon-filters-better-push-air-through-draw.html
http://www.just4growers.com/blog/10-tips-for-setting-up-air-cooled-grow-lights.aspx
You don't have to be enrolled in a physics class to understand something like ventilation in a small tent
 
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JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
I noticed that when my probe was in direct light. it reported much higher readings. I think the light warms up the probe. Taking temps from the top of the hood will throw off the temps as well.

With what you have, a single 6-inch fan should work. Taking the fan out of the tent will remove some of the heat too.

You can buy a fan muffler and use insulated ducting to reduce the noise. Also, insulate any post-light ducting. Feel how much heat comes off that part of the duct. Gets pretty warm.

Use a small fan pointed right under the hood. Heat will accumulate there.

I didn't recall seeing any oscillating fans running. Maybe I missed them. But they are essential to circulation, which will dissipate standing heat.

The other option is to run a dedicated fan and ducting for your hood. The way I did it was to have ducting draw cool air from under the house, then exhaust it with the shortest duct possible. Both the intake and exhaust are external air and will help remove much of the heat caused by the light. Then you could probably just use a 4" inline fan to draw in ambient room air and exhaust it outside or even right back into the same room if its air conditioned.

I'm rambling now after a big vape, but I hope you find some help in what I wrote. I've fought high temps in some rough situations. Much worse than what you have available. With that cool of a room, there's no reason you can't keep a 600w cool.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
If you hold the back of your hand under the hood, how much distance is there when you stop feeling that direct heat?
 
K

kermit2692

Well-Known Member
astronautrob said:
Read some more buddy, or better yet try it out for yourself, if you did you'd see that blowing or sucking the air generally doesn't make a difference in temp of your tent. Here, I did a little research for you to show you that, as I said, a lot of people would say blowing air is better....
https://www.rollitup.org/t/inline-fans-push-or-pull-air.199672/
http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/6379/fans-suck-or-blow
https://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-medical-marijuana-growing/546921-carbon-filters-better-push-air-through-draw.html
http://www.just4growers.com/blog/10-tips-for-setting-up-air-cooled-grow-lights.aspx
You don't have to be enrolled in a physics class to understand something like ventilation in a small tent
Click to expand...

Lol..i can find a bunch of links in my favor as well. The bottom line is that there are benefits in growing to both configurations however you said "blowing or sucking doesn't change the efficiency" and that is simply not true. Blowing is more efficient in a small run or at lower speeds. Sucking is more efficient at higher speeds or anytime a drag will be added to the airflow, equipment, bends, etc.. Think of it like sound. Depending on your setup the efficiency does vary method to method. In most cases it is more efficient to pull if you have a single fan setup. Carbon filters are made to be pulled through because pulling is the better option, ok ok and maybe it also has to do with possibility of mess ;)
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
kermit2692 said:
Lol..i can find a bunch of links in my favor as well. The bottom line is that there are benefits in growing to both configurations however you said "blowing or sucking doesn't change the efficiency" and that is simply not true. Blowing is more efficient in a small run or at lower speeds. Sucking is more efficient at higher speeds or anytime a drag will be added to the airflow, equipment, bends, etc.. Think of it like sound. Depending on your setup the efficiency does vary method to method. In most cases it is more efficient to pull if you have a single fan setup. Carbon filters are made to be pulled through because pulling is the better option, ok ok and maybe it also has to do with possibility of mess ;)
Click to expand...
As well as the fabric filter that goes on the outside of the scrubber. It's supposed to catch larger dust and debris before hitting the carbon filter. Blowing out would do the opposite and may end up blowing little fibers from the pre-filter around your tent.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
What I plan on doing in the Winter is exhausting my tent directly into the room. When the room gets too warm, I will use thermo-controlled vents and booster fans to bring in cold outside air until the room is cool enough.

Here's a thermo controlled vent:
http://www.amazon.com/Activent-Vent-Remote-Temperature-Control/dp/B002RN0YDG/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455210535&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=thermosthat+controlled+vent

I'll wire the booster fan to the vent, or use a cheap thermosthat to power it on and off when the room gets warm and the vent opens.
 
kalu08

kalu08

Well-Known Member
If you have been running your lights during the day, try running them at night instead. The ambient air is a lot cooler at night, and it helped me in my 4 x 8 tent tremendously
 
kalu08

kalu08

Well-Known Member
sky rocket said:
What about bringing in cold air from outside into the tent?
Click to expand...
Also do this. I draw in 20 degree colorado nightime air in from outside. I use a 6 inch fan with a power reducing controller, set it to medium fan power and point the air to pass right underneath the hoods. Stays 68 to 72 in my grow.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
kalu08 said:
Also do this. I draw in 20 degree colorado nightime air in from outside. I use a 6 inch fan with a power reducing controller, set it to medium fan power and point the air to pass right underneath the hoods. Stays 68 to 72 in my grow.
Click to expand...
Absolutely! This is what I was referring to when I mentioned using a small fan to remove the standing heat under the hood. If that heat isn't constantly removed, it will sit there like a hot pocket of air, accumulating.
 
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