Venting tent exhaust air into furnace possible?

[curious2garden]

Thats exactly how I used to do it prior to installing a mini-split. I even planted some shrubs and roses around the vents to disguise them a little better.

I'm switching to LED and adding a mini-split. I could control the heat with air cooled hoods but not with LED. That's a disappointment

 

[Hook Daddy]

Don’t dump your humidity into the attic, or anywhere else, put it outside or somewhere able to handle it. Trust me, not a good idea at all ever. There is always somewhere to run it, just take the time and do it right.

 

[Three Berries]

It doesn't matter. If you shoot hot air into a cold attic in the winter it can form condensation which can make things wet which can cause mold regardless of ventilation. There is a reason kitchen and bathroom fans are vented outside through ducting and not straight into the attic.

Just don't aim it at the roof. This is not a problem in my house. I just upped the vent size this summer from 3 to 4 inch. It pulls the CO2 rich interior air though and out. Winter time it gets pretty high.

And it's not unusual here for average humidity to be higher outside (in the attic) than in the house. 90% at night and 70% during the day is normal.

 

[Corso312]

Don’t dump your humidity into the attic, or anywhere else, put it outside or somewhere able to handle it. Trust me, not a good idea at all ever. There is always somewhere to run it, just take the time and do it right.

You can put it in attic if you run it to a mushroom vent or ridge vent.

 

[stawawager]

Better off teeing off to your bathroom vent in attic. Use insulated ducting

...with a check valve lol.

 

[stawawager]

Ok I will prob just do this to the 3 of 5 tents and push the air outside... If I put a dryer vent by my outside air conditioner say 5 feet away will that be ok? The air will prob have to run about 15 feet to the outside of the house using a fan of 400 CFM.

...and anyone walking by with smell the stinky.

 

[stawawager]

It doesn't matter. If you shoot hot air into a cold attic in the winter it can form condensation which can make things wet which can cause mold regardless of ventilation. There is a reason kitchen and bathroom fans are vented outside through ducting and not straight into the attic.

WOA! Now there's a big problem.

 

[pain4life]

Basement gets hot in the summer, I basically have to have central air on all day (when AC is on air gets into basement with 3 vents off the furnace). My friend/hvac guy said I could take the warm air from the exhaust of the tents and instead of the hot air just getting thrown back into the basement he said it could go back into the furnace with extentsions of the ducting off the tent directly into the furnace? Does anyone do this?? .... In the winter I need the warm air down there bc my basement will get down to 67 degrees so I would just un-hook it then let the air kick into the basement.

Sounds like he is referring to taking the tent exhaust and running it to the return air duct of the furnace. I do this at my house for 3 years now with no issues. I highly doubt a qualified HVAC guy would ever talked about tying into the furnace flue.

 

[Meast21]

Sounds like he is referring to taking the tent exhaust and running it to the return air duct of the furnace. I do this at my house for 3 years now with no issues. I highly doubt a qualified HVAC guy would ever talked about tying into the furnace flue.

@pain4life So where does the air go if you run it to the return air duct, but the furnace isn't on?? Does the air just sit in the return air ducts???


Also what if I just put a dryer vent it and run the air to the outside, that would be fine... However the dryer vent would be next to my outside AC unit (tents in the basement are in that location) would that cause a problem?? Would the exhausted outside air be sucked back into the outside AC unit then back into my house I guess??

 

[Three Berries]

@pain4life So where does the air go if you run it to the return air duct, but the furnace isn't on?? Does the air just sit in the return air ducts???


Also what if I just put a dryer vent it and run the air to the outside, that would be fine... However the dryer vent would be next to my outside AC unit (tents in the basement are in that location) would that cause a problem?? Would the exhausted outside air be sucked back into the outside AC unit then back into my house I guess??

Your outside AC is probably just a compressor and does not bring in outside air?

 

[rmax]

I highly doubt a qualified HVAC guy would ever talked about tying into the furnace flue.

This past summer I get CA installed. The installers saw my outdoor miracle plant so this got grow dialog started. At one point the "licensed and insured" installer told me he knew how to setup a grow op. He then offered assistance if needed.

I didn't have the heart to tell him the big black box with green trim off to the side is a grow tent. He and the assistant didn't even see the tent. I did remove all the power cables, venting and had it all turned off at the time.... but still.

 

[pain4life]

@pain4life So where does the air go if you run it to the return air duct, but the furnace isn't on?? Does the air just sit in the return air ducts???

In winter we run the furnace on low speed 24x7. we have an hrv which continuously brings fresh air into the house and exhaust stale air. The furnace also uses 5 inch thick carbon coated merv 16 filters. This is not a typical system for most homes, it was done to try and help with our allergies to the herd of cats we have. On the days that I turn the furnace off the exhaust just blows into the cold air return. It can cause the temperature in the tent to increase slightly with the furnace off.

Also what if I just put a dryer vent it and run the air to the outside, that would be fine... However the dryer vent would be next to my outside AC unit (tents in the basement are in that location) would that cause a problem?? Would the exhausted outside air be sucked back into the outside AC unit then back into my house I guess??

I would be cautious venting your tent outside. Be aware the causing a negative pressure in the house might cause combustion gases from your furnace or water heater to flow into the house rather than up the flue. It really depends on the type of furnace/water heater. Lots of people vent as you describe so its very doable, just be aware of the potential problems.

Good luck and happy growing.

 

[pain4life]

This past summer I get CA installed. The installers saw my outdoor miracle plant so this got grow dialog started. At one point the "licensed and insured" installer told me he knew how to setup a grow op. He then offered assistance if needed.

I didn't have the heart to tell him the big black box with green trim off to the side is a grow tent. He and the assistant didn't even see the tent. I did remove all the power cables, venting and had it all turned off at the time.... but still.

so did he talk about tying into the flue or just that he didnt comment on your tent?

 

[Meast21]

In winter we run the furnace on low speed 24x7. we have an hrv which continuously brings fresh air into the house and exhaust stale air. The furnace also uses 5 inch thick carbon coated merv 16 filters. This is not a typical system for most homes, it was done to try and help with our allergies to the herd of cats we have. On the days that I turn the furnace off the exhaust just blows into the cold air return. It can cause the temperature in the tent to increase slightly with the furnace off.




I would be cautious venting your tent outside. Be aware the causing a negative pressure in the house might cause combustion gases from your furnace or water heater to flow into the house rather than up the flue. It really depends on the type of furnace/water heater. Lots of people vent as you describe so its very doable, just be aware of the potential problems.

Good luck and happy growing.

You're scaring me now... Why couldn't I just vent a tent through the drier vent that's already in my basement.... What kind of furnace/water heater is this okay with?? The drier vent has been there for years now and its not a problem.

 

[Syntax747]

You're scaring me now... Why couldn't I just vent a tent through the drier vent that's already in my basement.... What kind of furnace/water heater is this okay with?? The drier vent has been there for years now and its not a problem.

I would think if you're scrubbing the air before the dryer vent it wouldn't matter if it's sucked back in thru the ac unit.

 

[Three Berries]

Put a inline backdraft flap in for connecting to the dryer.

 

[Lenin1917]

No I'm talking about just boring a hole through wall to the outside, like a dryer exhaust vent.. that's what I did, 6" hole and it looks like a dryer vent from the outside but I run it through a charcoal filter first.

I’ve been thinking about doing something similar except just using the existing dryer vent since I don’t have a dryer. Though now that I’m running led it’s not such a concern.

 

[Meast21]

I’ve been thinking about doing something similar except just using the existing dryer vent since I don’t have a dryer. Though now that I’m running led it’s not such a concern.

Are you running LED's that give off no heat compared to hps?? What is the LED brand??

 

[Meast21]

Put a inline backdraft flap in for connecting to the dryer.

Send a link please of this backdraft flap.

 

[Lenin1917]

Are you running LED's that give off no heat compared to hps?? What is the LED brand??

marshydro fce4800 wouldn’t say it gives of no heat, but a whole lot less than an open 1000w hps. I’ve also got a pretty heavy duty ac in the tents room.