AIR temp

[merahoon]

I'm building a 4x4 grow room with a 1000w hps for flowering and a 400w MH for veg. The grow room will be located in the garage, and temps outside get around 35-40 degrees at night. I'm assuming the garage will be fairly close to that. I'm building my grow room out of wood planks and plywood. I'm trying to make everything inexpensive due to my budget.

So here's my question. Should i vent my light to direct the heat outside or just let it heat up the room like a space heater would? I want to be able to get the best light because I guess every foot you back off, you loose A LOT of lumens. If you guys could give me in a hand on how I should exhaust my room and control the temps I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

 

[a dog named chico]

i went throught the same same thing your probably gona haved to vent to the out side of the box other wise the residual heat inside ill get too hot

 

[funkdocKT]

it depends...

if you can vent out of the grow room and into the garage...it may work to help keep your temps up naturally...if you vent directly outside (what im doing right now) its gonna get pretty cold inside your grow room when the lights are off...my temps at night outside hit about 45F and it makes the interior of my grow tent fall to around 56-58F with lights off

tinker with it and see which works best...good luck

 

[Keenly]

if you vent outside your gonna have a steady stream of... well you know water vapor

its gonna look like your exhaling in the cold you know

 

[NoDrama]

Get a thermostatically controlled exhaust fan, that way you get the best of both worlds, when temps get too high it vents to the outside, when temps are too low it lets the light warm things up.

 

[funkdocKT]

Get a thermostatically controlled exhaust fan, that way you get the best of both worlds, when temps get too high it vents to the outside, when temps are too low it lets the light warm things up.

smart solution...but like he said...he's on a budget

 

[desertrat]

and you are going to need a small space heater for when the lights are off.

 

[merahoon]

Get a thermostatically controlled exhaust fan, that way you get the best of both worlds, when temps get too high it vents to the outside, when temps are too low it lets the light warm things up.

just like funkdoct said, I'm on a budget. That's a good idea though. Would everyone else agree that I need a space heater in there when the lights are off? IF theres a way around that let me know please.

 

[freddiemoney]

I would run a space heater at night with those temps. Another idea would be trying to work some extra pails/containers of water around, or even under your pots. Water will retain a lot of heat from the light cycle. It won't be enough to warm a space in a cold garage but, if you can keep your root temps up during lights off, the rest of the plant can sustain some pretty cold temps. (As long as they don't freeze.)

 

[merahoon]

oo thats a good idea. Lets say i just use the water idea... would that stunt my plants growth since the roots and soil will most likely be cold? Also, can you water the plants with lukewarm water to warm em up or what. I really don't want to go and have to get a space heater. Not to mention that the light it will put off from the heat would not be good to have while plants are sleeping, right?

 

[freddiemoney]

oo thats a good idea. Lets say i just use the water idea... would that stunt my plants growth since the roots and soil will most likely be cold? Also, can you water the plants with lukewarm water to warm em up or what. I really don't want to go and have to get a space heater. Not to mention that the light it will put off from the heat would not be good to have while plants are sleeping, right?

No matter what, in a room that chilly your roots will be getting cold by the end of 12 hrs of darkness. I was thinking that by making almost a bed of water (contained) underneath you might be able to hang on to whatever heat the water can absorb for a little longer, enough to keep them satisfied til the lights come back on. I'd water with lukewarm as usual, as soon as you do it the container's back up to ideal temps. If you're going to use warm/hot water for anything, make it the "temperature buffer" containers.
If you do end up needing a space heater, there are lots without any sort of light that comes off them. I used to use one that looked like an old-fashioned radiator in my bedroom that put out no heat or sound.

 

[WWgrower]

Their called" Oil filled space heaters" and it is the only heat source or small heat source that doesn't emit red light. E-bay has them for real cheap or craigslist.

 

[topfuel29]

The only way you could get around not having to have a space heater
is to be Vegging, and Flowering in the same room (seperated of course)
you allways have a light on, you allways have some heat.
Like Nodrama said you need to vent with a thermostat. You might
be able to make one, try and google a diy for it.

If your just Vegging, unless you wanna keep the lights on 24/7 for the heat.
your gonna need a space heater. Even if you get an electric one, you can make a shroud or something to block the light thats emitted from it.

 

[NoDrama]

A thermostat is $3, I am sure your not on that much of a budget. All you need is a fan and some electrical knowledge to wire it up.

 

[topfuel29]

another thing I would do is use CO2, it would have a few advantages
in your situation. You could have a higher air temp with CO2
you could also get away from having to exchange fresh air in your
grow room. Plants breath CO2, just like in a submarine they go for 6 months with the same air. If you can keep the CO2 levels up you don't need to exchange the air. Plus when you vented the heat your going to be exchanging
the air in the room.

 

[keyman]

menards has the oil filled space heaters on sale for 40.00.
Thats pretty cheap and you can always use one of those some place in the house if not for plants. the one they got has a timer and auto stat so it kicks on when you drop below the desired temp.

 

[merahoon]

I like the idea of CO2 but why wouldn't I need to exchange air. Wouldn't some air need to be replaced. And yeah I found out space heaters aren't that bad. What I really don't want to have to buy is the climate controllers. I have a feeling I'll need one if I have a space heater and a fan. I can't be running to the grow room every half hour checkin the temps. Or is that what you do the first time around so you know when to turn it on and off??

 

[keyman]

The space heater I am talking about not only has a timer but a thermostat built right in so you set it to low and your desired temp and it turns on when the temp falls. Pretty straight forward.

 

[merahoon]

k thanks everyone

 

[topfuel29]

I like the idea of CO2 but why wouldn't I need to exchange air. Wouldn't some air need to be replaced. And yeah I found out space heaters aren't that bad. What I really don't want to have to buy is the climate controllers. I have a feeling I'll need one if I have a space heater and a fan. I can't be running to the grow room every half hour checkin the temps. Or is that what you do the first time around so you know when to turn it on and off??

If you can keep the CO2 in range, and the Temp. You wouldn't need
to exchange any air.
You exchange air say if you don't have any CO2 you need to replenish the air with CO2 for your plants. You would exchange air if the temp got to high. See where I'm coming from? I doubt if it will work out perfect but you never know.