cooling grow tent

EmptyWords

Active Member
hi, i have a 8x8 grow tent and i am running 1000w hps and my average temps while the light is on is in the 90's, so i bought a vortex 750 cfm exhaust fan and a fan speed controller and i run it through the reflector which is a radiant 8 reflector. with the fan running temps are at about 80 to 87 degrees. can anyone help me to figure out how to get my temps in the 70s without buying an a/c? should i get an intake fan and try running the ducting through the wall and pull cooler air from a different part of the house? if so do how big of an inline fan would i need for this? would something around 100 cfm work? or would i need to try to match what the exhaust is running? I am open to any ideas.
 

EmptyWords

Active Member
it seems all the heat in the room is from under the light, when i stick my hand under it, it is pretty warm. i have the fan running 24/7 pulling out hot air and going under the house but it isnt enough.
 

EmptyWords

Active Member
also would an osilating fan help with temps by moving air around? and is it good to run the exhaust fan 24/7 even during lights off?
 

joebaze

Well-Known Member
an oscilating fan would really help... dropped my temps in my cab from high 80s to high 70's...
getting cold air from another room will also do the trick.
 

EmptyWords

Active Member
an oscilating fan would really help... dropped my temps in my cab from high 80s to high 70's...
getting cold air from another room will also do the trick.
Thanks for your input. +rep to you.
well looks like i will try both, first i will go with the osilating fan because it is easier to try instead of cutting more holes in the wall etc lol. do you know if running my fan 24/7 is a good idea though, even when lights are off? if not can anyone tell me?
 
I always run my fans 24 hrs why wouldn't you want to? the plants breath 24hrs. And fans strengthen their stems. My temps were always high so I switched my lights to be on at night and off during the day...servilely cut my temps down 15-20 degrees! because my intake air from outside was much cooler at night. IMO It is important when ventilating to be bringing FRESH OUTSIDE air into the room not attic air or room/house air.
 

EmptyWords

Active Member
I always run my fans 24 hrs why wouldn't you want to? the plants breath 24hrs. And fans strengthen their stems. My temps were always high so I switched my lights to be on at night and off during the day...servilely cut my temps down 15-20 degrees! because my intake air from outside was much cooler at night. IMO It is important when ventilating to be bringing FRESH OUTSIDE air into the room not attic air or room/house air.
I also run lights at night due to heat but it is still hot at night where i live so the temps in the grow room still stay in the 80's. I could pull fresh air from under my house with another fan but it will still be hot so i wanted to pull air from a cooler room in the house but i want the fresh outside air. would cracking a window in the grow room and letting the intakes on the tent pull air from the room be sufficient? it would pobably be best to pull it from under the house i guess. It just sucks because i cant afford another inline fan right now. if i can get another inline fan to pull fresh air to the grow room would i need to match the cfm of my exhaust? im running an 8 in 750 cfm exhaust fan with a fan controller. would running like a 100 cfm intake be ok or no?
 

EmptyWords

Active Member
also if im pulling air from outside, during the day when the lights are off, i would be pulling in 100 degree air. that is probably not good so maybe i should only pull air from outside at night when lights are on? and during the day "lights off" let the intakes on the tent pull air from the room while running the exhaust fan?
 

Creek

Active Member
You will never cool your tent down below your intake air temp. What is the temp in the room your are taking your intake air from? I keep my house a 18c year round and my tent with air cooled hoods is about 22c with the lights on. Thats a 4 degree difference over ambiant.

If your outside temps are in the 100s you will need an AC for sure. What temp is your house at? can you intake from a cool basement or anything?
 

EmptyWords

Active Member
You will never cool your tent down below your intake air temp. What is the temp in the room your are taking your intake air from? I keep my house a 18c year round and my tent with air cooled hoods is about 22c with the lights on. Thats a 4 degree difference over ambiant.

If your outside temps are in the 100s you will need an AC for sure. What temp is your house at? can you intake from a cool basement or anything?
I can intake from the room next to the grow room by making a hole in the wall. i keep my house about 75F year round. is it important to pull fresh air from outside or is the air from inside my house good enough? I might be able to bring temps down without needing an intake. i will do some testing tonight but i still would like some input.
 
Pants do use less air at night. Pulling the cool air out of another temperature controlled room will kinda work like an a/c because your house air, central air, is recirculated. If you have a window open at lights on (night time) then you should be fine temp is more important than fresh air but fresh air is still important... and for every intake you dont really need a expensive in-line fan a regular one will work fine if you set it up right. I put my fan in a box, seal up the box with duct tape and a stretchy air duct tube coming out of one side and put the fan where I want it to suck air from and use the duct to direct the air through the wall or where you need it. Good lucK! AND SMOKE ON!
 

1itsme

Well-Known Member
is the intake for the fan the light hood, or are you running if to the top of the tent? what i mean is do you have a duct going to the top of the tent fron the other side of the hood?
 
getting a 5k btu analog ac and a outlet thermometer is the easiest, costs 150 bucks, you put the ac inside the tent because they recirculate the same air cooling it over and over and the thermostat shuts it off so it never goes below what you want, digital acs are always on btw, pulling 300w or so that's why I say analog, the kind with nobs, thermostat can shut that off when its not on, also remember with duct fans pushing air is always better than pulling, you get like half the cfm pulling air.
 
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