please help with heat problem, + rep for all answers

[10mm fan boy]

I am growing in a closet that is stealth and I am having BIG heat problems.

I have a big oversided portable AC and vented hoods but they pull from the closet so they end up pulling all the cold air out. Duh!

I didn't really have a choice, being stealth and all. I tried it a few different ways and can't get it to work, so what I am looking at doing is setting up the vented hoods like "cool tubes" but being stealth I can't vent them properly. The only place I can draw air from is the attic.

Say the air up there is 150 degrees during summer, will it even be worth my time to set it up or will it actually make a difference?

Maybe it would make it hotter?

To avoid any confusion it would be setup to draw air from the attic, into my vented hoods and back into the attic.
I would be using air that is already very hot...

If it doesn't work I might be out of the game this summer.

 

[jrh72582]

If the air conditioning method doesn't work, then I cannot conceive of any other way to grow. In the summer, the only feasible way to conduct an indoor grow is in an air conditioned (cooled) environment where the temperature can be easily controlled.

Attics are tough environments to grow in, so unless you can get fresh exterior air (either outside or from a conditioned room) into the grow room, then you might be screwed. Sorry.

 

[10mm fan boy]

If the air conditioning method doesn't work, then I cannot conceive of any other way to grow. In the summer, the only feasible way to conduct an indoor grow is in an air conditioned (cooled) environment where the temperature can be easily controlled.

Attics are tough environments to grow in, so unless you can get fresh exterior air (either outside or from a conditioned room) into the grow room, then you might be screwed. Sorry.

I can run my AC and duct cold air into my closet.

I am just talking about drawing air for my cool tubes. They would be in a different system than the air that enters my grow room.

What I want to know is would it be worth the cool tubes, or just let my lights get hot and rely strictly on my AC

My AC exhause its own hot air outside, that is not a problem.

 

[jrh72582]

What type of lights?

Running cold air straight into the room may be better than cool tubes. Fresh air on the leaves may mitigate heat better.

 

[XxNinjaxX]

So im guessing ur heat issues are coming from ur lights. Wat lighting system r u using?
If its a HID light, try using a CFL, they give off low heat. Y stop @ drawing air from the attic? Make the ducting alot longer and draw from straight outside ur attic.. You will require a larger fan for it, but on the plus side, a bigger fan will cool more air more rapidly.
If you can include a picture of ur grow space and you will get more responses on setup ideas..
Good Luck.

 

[10mm fan boy]

What type of lights?

Running cold air straight into the room may be better than cool tubes. Fresh air on the leaves may mitigate heat better.

My closet is broken up into a veg. and a flowering room

400 HPS
600 HPS

Right now I am ducting cold air into my closet. I ran my AC all day and when I got home it was still 83 in the closet.
My bedroom heats up to 90 or so. (this time of the year)

The fact my vented hoods draw air from my closet means two things:

1. 90 degree air is always being drawn into my closet from my bedroom.

2. Air gets sucked out before my AC can cool it down.


Maybe I should try turning off my vented hoods and let my AC do all the work?

If I set up my vented hood to draw air from my attic the air going threw my lights would be hot but it would be seperate from the air in the grow room itself.

I just don't know if using hot air to cool down hot lights (in the cool tubes) will be any better than just leaving them unducted.

 

[Montykoolaid]

These are the babies I use. Trust me, they are badass.

http://www.thegrowstore.com/detail.asp?itemnumber=1248

They come in both spectrum (red for flowering and blue for vegging) and each one is UNDER 50 bucks. You are getting about 12,000 lumen rating per CFL and 125w draw. You can get even BIGGER ones, but these are fairly cheap. There is some pics of my stealth setup using the 125w and I have no heat issues.

 

[XxNinjaxX]

Hook ur cool tubes up to another small a/c, fuk around, but wil work nicely.
Alternitavely set up a thermostat so that ur air is not sucked out til it is cooled..

 

[10mm fan boy]

So im guessing ur heat issues are coming from ur lights. Wat lighting system r u using?
If its a HID light, try using a CFL, they give off low heat. Y stop @ drawing air from the attic? Make the ducting alot longer and draw from straight outside ur attic.. You will require a larger fan for it, but on the plus side, a bigger fan will cool more air more rapidly.
If you can include a picture of ur grow space and you will get more responses on setup ideas..
Good Luck.

I understand what you are saying, but the air outside will still be 100 and over during the summer.
Again this air is ONLY for the cool tubes.

 

[jrh72582]

I wouldn't switch to full CFL's, but 1,000 watts of HID lighting is HOT. Perhaps you can switch the veg room to 100 watt CFL's (blue spectrum) and keep only the 400 watt for flowering (or the 600 watt depending on how many plants). And let the air conditioner do the work and see how that goes.

It is a good idea to run ducting all the way up the attic and to the outside of the house. Are there grates in the side of the house for venting the attic or do you have ridgeline vents?

 

[10mm fan boy]

I wouldn't switch to full CFL's, but 1,000 watts of HID lighting is HOT. Perhaps you can switch the veg room to 100 watt CFL's (blue spectrum) and keep only the 400 watt for flowering (or the 600 watt depending on how many plants). And let the air conditioner do the work and see how that goes.

It is a good idea to run ducting all the way up the attic and to the outside of the house. Are there grates in the side of the house for venting the attic or do you have ridgeline vents?

grates in the side and maybe one or two sticking through the roof.

 

[danke]

I am growing in a closet that is stealth and I am having BIG heat problems.

I have a big oversided portable AC and vented hoods but they pull from the closet so they end up pulling all the cold air out. Duh!

I didn't really have a choice, being stealth and all. I tried it a few different ways and can't get it to work, so what I am looking at doing is setting up the vented hoods like "cool tubes" but being stealth I can't vent them properly. The only place I can draw air from is the attic.

Say the air up there is 150 degrees during summer, will it even be worth my time to set it up or will it actually make a difference?

Maybe it would make it hotter?

To avoid any confusion it would be setup to draw air from the attic, into my vented hoods and back into the attic.
I would be using air that is already very hot...

If it doesn't work I might be out of the game this summer.

They do sell small air conditioners with a thermostat on them that you could put into the room. You would need some way to exhaust though and the attic sounds like the perfect place!

 

[velaur]

Split the a/c vent into two, use one ducting for the lights, the other for the room. Either that or buy another a/c unit to go into your grow room or bedroom. I'd think the bedroom would be fine.

 

[mygirls]

I am growing in a closet that is stealth and I am having BIG heat problems.

I have a big oversided portable AC and vented hoods but they pull from the closet so they end up pulling all the cold air out. Duh!

I didn't really have a choice, being stealth and all. I tried it a few different ways and can't get it to work, so what I am looking at doing is setting up the vented hoods like "cool tubes" but being stealth I can't vent them properly. The only place I can draw air from is the attic.

Say the air up there is 150 degrees during summer, will it even be worth my time to set it up or will it actually make a difference?

Maybe it would make it hotter?

To avoid any confusion it would be setup to draw air from the attic, into my vented hoods and back into the attic.
I would be using air that is already very hot...

If it doesn't work I might be out of the game this summer.

if the attic is the omly place then your going to have to cut an intake and exhaust. your attic is vented as wellso what you have to do is bring your intake air in from right at the attic ventand just exhaust right in the atic.

 

[10mm fan boy]

if the attic is the omly place then your going to have to cut an intake and exhaust. your attic is vented as wellso what you have to do is bring your intake air in from right at the attic ventand just exhaust right in the atic.

logical and simple

thank you

 

[marni3d]

use the air con in ur room, get the temps really low so ur room is freezing then extract the air into the closet? - im using an aircon with no probs but minez is in the growarea!

 

[pinner420]

Get an icebox with a chiller one light go with a 1/4 horsepower. Rig an Ice box and a fan. Hook to the chiller walla water cooled light. http://www.hydroinovations.com also get a liquid cooled hydrogen co2 burner while your at it. I have one and I love it..... Much Succes hope you have about 1200 bucks in your pocket.

 

[DR growgood]

if u say ur using a portable a/c then put the ac in the closet and vent the ac into the attic very simple the ac sucks in the hot air in the closet then run a dryer vent to the attic and vent the hot air out too the attic i think the portable ac's use a 4 inch dryer vent right