Very Big Room - Do I Have to Vent Outside?

[Ammastor]

Shamrock,
With a new house, your basement should seal good and hopefully not too humid. It's old basements with cracks and such that tend to leak in high water season.

Darkroom vents are made for old school photographers who develop and print pictures on film and paper. Soon to be a thing of the past I suspect. They are lightproof vents...perhaps 15" square with louvers designed to block light yet allow ventilation. Just passive...no fan. I don't think you'll need any, but Adorama, a NYC mail order place, might still sell them. Cheers,
JD

Funny you mention Adorama. I buy stuff from them all the time. Bought one of my printers from them. Super fast shipping and loads of stuff there. I remember seeing those tents on there. Not sure what they cost though.

 

[shamrockceo]

i think you will get away with it, if they are 20 medium sized plants few oz each and there is plently
of room space left without plants in it

since you say air is going to leak out of doors n such, you should just vent it

when you do not control the air it will just sit there and become humid/stale
air does not move unless you direct it and cause a flow due to presure change
air just leaking out of doors will cause wafts of smell to escape, its much better to control airflow in 1 direction

I'm not quite sure what you mean. I will have tents that I will set filters and vents up in, so I'll be growing the plants inside of tents, then venting the air out of the tents into the very large room. From there, the air inside the large room (which shouldn't smell if my carbon filters are working properly) will "leak" out of the door as the heat rises, essentially allowing the heat to gradually escape the large room. Is that what you were understanding, and still think I will have problems with smell, humidity, and CO2? I was thinking that with the large room's door open, and the AC pumping in air, it would force the heat to leave the room periodically.

Would it help if I got a powerful fan and set it in the very back of the room and slightly angled it upward toward the ceiling, and pointed it toward the door? My thinking is that it would pull the cool air from below and blow it slightly upward toward the door, essentially blowing the hot air toward and out the door of the large room as it flows out of the tents. A powerful fan like something like this:
http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/hvac/fans/pedestal/24-tpi-pedestal-fan-non-oscillating-4

The large room my tents will be in is about 3700 cubic feet, and that fan can move 4300 cubic feet of air per minute. Would this be a good way to flush out the heat and let it disperse into the rest of the basement? Would this help humidity and temps? Also, is it a good idea to move that much air inside that space, would it effect CO2 levels too much unless I had the AC pumping new air into the room 100% of the time? Perhaps a weaker fan could get the job done just as nicely and not cause any issues?

Appreciate your thoughts, thanks.

Shamrock,
With a new house, your basement should seal good and hopefully not too humid. It's old basements with cracks and such that tend to leak in high water season.

Darkroom vents are made for old school photographers who develop and print pictures on film and paper. Soon to be a thing of the past I suspect. They are lightproof vents...perhaps 15" square with louvers designed to block light yet allow ventilation. Just passive...no fan. I don't think you'll need any, but Adorama, a NYC mail order place, might still sell them. Cheers,
JD

PS: Dodad, didn't mean to besmirch you...just have no knowledge of those issues.

Ok, that's good to hear. I'm in an area of the country that gets slightly humid outside in the summer months and when it rains, but not too bad. I had another house in the same city and the basement didn't seem humid at all, but I didn't have a meter or anything to know for sure. Lol, I had chapped lips a lot, which people would tell me is because of low humidity?

Good to know about darkroom vents and Adorama, thanks!

 

[JohnDee]

Shamrock,
Sounds like you have enough info to make a decision. Personally I'd go for it...though my choice might be to actually build a small dedicated grow room. Regarding fans, sure anything to increase airflow can only help.

And Ammastor, yes Adorama has a great rep and has been in business forever. My little brother and I were photographers and had our own basement darkroom back when we were in High School. Talkin' the 60s here. Bought from Adorama then.
Cheers guys,
JD

 

[Ammastor]

Shamrock,
Sounds like you have enough info to make a decision. Personally I'd go for it...though my choice might be to actually build a small dedicated grow room. Regarding fans, sure anything to increase airflow can only help.

And Ammastor, yes Adorama has a great rep and has been in business forever. My little brother and I were photographers and had our own basement darkroom back when we were in High School. Talkin' the 60s here. Bought from Adorama then.
Cheers guys,
JD

Didnt know they have been in business that long.

One time I ordered from them. Was on a Thursday. Received my packaged the next day. Friday. I was surprised. Tracking said Monday. Then again there NY and im in PA.

So short distance. But I highly recommend Adorama.




Go for it man. Get what you need and get rollin.

 

[Red1966]

Central Air Conditioners don't pull in outside air. If there are any people or pets in the house, they will produce enough co2 to supply the plants. Houses leak air anyway. Just leave your blower fan on "manual" or "on" to circulate the air in the basement with the rest of the house so it doesn't build up humidity or get stale. I'm assuming the thermostat for the A/C is upstairs? If you were running HID, you would have to vent those separately. 2000w of LEDs will produce a lot of heat, so expect your A/C to run a lot.

 

[JohnDee]

I looked up Adorama and they were founded in 1976 so my above post was in error. Memories going that far back can get vague...especially with that many joints under my belt! lol

Shamrock, I've grown since early 70s in many different environments. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to grow there w/o outside venting. The stairway will provide plenty of fresh air and your grow isn't large enough to deplete CO2.

You could, however, supplement CO2 using yeast slurry...or keep your sex slave locked in your grow room. Cheers...
JD

 

[shamrockceo]

Central Air Conditioners don't pull in outside air. If there are any people or pets in the house, they will produce enough co2 to supply the plants. Houses leak air anyway. Just leave your blower fan on "manual" or "on" to circulate the air in the basement with the rest of the house so it doesn't build up humidity or get stale. I'm assuming the thermostat for the A/C is upstairs? If you were running HID, you would have to vent those separately. 2000w of LEDs will produce a lot of heat, so expect your A/C to run a lot.

It will just be me and a 50 pound dog there consistently. Other than that, the occasional friend or 2 visiting. What would need to be done differently if I wanted to use hps instead of led? I've been reading a lot of people saying LED are decent in flowering, but HPS is far better for yield and tight buds. Is this true for the very top end LED lights, or just the cheaper ones? I had my mind set on LED for the reduced heat, but now I'm flip flopping again between LED and HPS. I want to grow the best buds I can, don't want the lights to hold me back any, especially significantly more expensive lights, haha.

Yes, the thermostat for the AC will be upstairs. Usually the upstairs get hotter faster than the basement, so it should run pretty often. I'll keep the blower fan on, though, if I start to detect humidity or stale air. Thanks.

Shamrock, I've grown since early 70s in many different environments. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to grow there w/o outside venting. The stairway will provide plenty of fresh air and your grow isn't large enough to deplete CO2.

You could, however, supplement CO2 using yeast slurry...or keep your sex slave locked in your grow room. Cheers...
JD

Alright, good deal. Seems like you have a ton of experience, so thank you. I'll look into yeast slurry, also. I wasn't really planning to supplement any CO2, since I've read it's pointless to do unless you have a closed room with no ventilation. But maybe that's not the case?

Thanks.

 

[JohnDee]

Shamrock,
Many of my grows were stealth and often impromptu but I always learned something from each one. I've never used CO2, but have considered it as an option. It's common to turn fans off during the enhancement period so unless that's done...it may be pointless. But read up and keep an open mind. My best timed grow came while I was living in a small trailer park in San Diego. Harvested just as Bob Marley was scheduled to play at the outdoor stadium at San Diego State, Great music and ganja in the wind. A great day that was...JD

 

[shamrockceo]

Thanks JohnDee!

 

[Red1966]

It will just be me and a 50 pound dog there consistently. Other than that, the occasional friend or 2 visiting. What would need to be done differently if I wanted to use hps instead of led? I've been reading a lot of people saying LED are decent in flowering, but HPS is far better for yield and tight buds. Is this true for the very top end LED lights, or just the cheaper ones? I had my mind set on LED for the reduced heat, but now I'm flip flopping again between LED and HPS. I want to grow the best buds I can, don't want the lights to hold me back any, especially significantly more expensive lights, haha. Yes, the thermostat for the AC will be upstairs. Usually the upstairs get hotter faster than the basement, so it should run pretty often. I'll keep the blower fan on, though, if I start to detect humidity or stale air. Thanks. Alright, good deal. Seems like you have a ton of experience, so thank you. I'll look into yeast slurry, also. I wasn't really planning to supplement any CO2, since I've read it's pointless to do unless you have a closed room with no ventilation. But maybe that's not the case? Thanks.

You would need to run HPS or MH lamps inside cooled hoods and vent them to and from the outdoors. Some run bare bulbs but I have found heat issues become too difficult that way. HID will get you better results than LED, even the best LED, at much lower initial cost. They do produce more heat and use more electric. If it was impossible to run vents for the HID would be the only way I would choose LED over HID, at least until the price on them comes down and the output goes up. Your dog alone will produce sufficient co2 to supply your plants.

 

[shamrockceo]

Thanks Red, much appreciated!

 

[Benchpresser]

Hi all sorry for jumping in as I'm new here I used to grow in my shed with a self build of 4x8 OSB lined it with myler ran a hps lamp had 4 photos in there and turned out great yield.i had an osolating fan in there and dehumidifier I opened the door a few times a day to let fresh oxygen in worked out great ,I had fan or carbon filter ,but it was in a shed so didn worry bout smell as plenty ventilation in there.

So my problem now is after spending 4 years away I'm back to a grow ,the built in wardrobe is in my bedroom and only one plant in veg is giving a nice aroma to me ,but maybe not to others,so I'm happy with everything ,temps air circulation and humidity ,so sitting here scratching my head wandering what to do about smell,I have an inline fan and carbon filter but I definitely cannot let anyone see ducting so do I have to put ducting out to exterior or can I just make ducting size hole in top of wardrobe ,run the ducting up to that with filter and fan inside wardrobe and just let the air flow into my bedroom ,is the air toxic or is that ok to do ,I really need to b stealthy.
Sorry bout the long post but I'm hoping I can leave the air from ducting blow around my room is this an option as only problem is smell ,
Thanks everyone and spend my days reading ur invalidate posts

 

[Herb & Suds]

Hi all sorry for jumping in as I'm new here I used to grow in my shed with a self build of 4x8 OSB lined it with myler ran a hps lamp had 4 photos in there and turned out great yield.i had an osolating fan in there and dehumidifier I opened the door a few times a day to let fresh oxygen in worked out great ,I had fan or carbon filter ,but it was in a shed so didn worry bout smell as plenty ventilation in there.

So my problem now is after spending 4 years away I'm back to a grow ,the built in wardrobe is in my bedroom and only one plant in veg is giving a nice aroma to me ,but maybe not to others,so I'm happy with everything ,temps air circulation and humidity ,so sitting here scratching my head wandering what to do about smell,I have an inline fan and carbon filter but I definitely cannot let anyone see ducting so do I have to put ducting out to exterior or can I just make ducting size hole in top of wardrobe ,run the ducting up to that with filter and fan inside wardrobe and just let the air flow into my bedroom ,is the air toxic or is that ok to do ,I really need to b stealthy.
Sorry bout the long post but I'm hoping I can leave the air from ducting blow around my room is this an option as only problem is smell ,
Thanks everyone and spend my days reading ur invalidate posts

Ahem
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