Anyone have tips for cooling?

powerpig

Member
Hey folks, Im giving my box a test run tonight after I sealed everything up and ran all the wires but so far Im running into a problem. My temp went up to 95 where it is sitting now.

From what I have read, I want to keep the temp somewhere between 80-85 so I am a bit above where I want to be at. I know I could run some ducting to keep temps down, but during the dark periods the temps in the box will drop way too much. Anyone have any suggestions? Should I just scrap my current fans and get some higher CFM fans or is there something else I can do?

Pics coming in the next few days!
 

Kerovan

Well-Known Member
how big a box? where is it located? what is the temp of the air surrounding it? what kind of lighting? You left a lot of info out. You say the temp will drop too much, how much is too much?
 

powerpig

Member
Sorry, the box is approx 17x18x30. Pretty close to that. Don't remember exactly offhand.

CFL's
Veg
4x 32w 6500k
2x 23w 2700k

Flower
1x 32w 6500k
4x 23w 2700k
2x 50w 6500k

I only tested the temp with the Veg setup due to less lights running at once. I figured with more lights comes more heat. That and I wont be able to get the Y splitter fixture dealies till monday / tuesday.


2 80mm fans, not sure on CFM, but it is blowing quite a bit of air.
Also a 5" desk fan sitting in there just blowing around air.

Avg room temp is low - mid 60's outside the box.

If I ran a duct for outside air, the UP winter would probably stress it too much I'd assume. Should I just blow a few more holes in this box and mount more fans?

Thanks for the quick reply :).
 

Kerovan

Well-Known Member
yup, more exhaust fans. Put them on a timer to go on and off with the lights, should help a bit. Mid 60's isn't too low really as long as it gets up in the mid 70's close to 80 during the "daylight" hours. Some people say it's a good thing to have dark temps about 15º lower than the daylight temps.
 

powerpig

Member
+rep kerovan for the quick replys, thanks much man.

Really wish I didn't have to drill more holes due to only having a dremel to work with lol. We just moved from apartment to house so I'm working with limited tools.

Looks like I'm taking a trip to the computer shop tomorrow...

Also, would it be too much to have 2 plants considering the size of this box? I would like to go with 2 due to the face that I'm using some decent bagseed for my first grow and would like to have a better chance at a female without having to scrap it and start over.
 

Kerovan

Well-Known Member
you should order feminized seeds of a short indica variety. You are only going to be able to veg for a week or two in a box that size before you have to flower. Make the most of it.

You could just get some stronger fans and see if it helps. Also, are both of your fans sucking the air out of the top part of the box? And do you have decent size intake holes in the bottom for fresh air in?
 

warfey

Active Member
With your height restrictions,you need to flower early.you should be able to do 2 plants.After a week or so in flowering,they should start showing gender.If you have a male,pull it.If you are using bagseed,you will need to watch your height.Might want to look into Lst.It sucks having bad ass looking plants that no longer fit into your space.
 

powerpig

Member
Kerovan - I would love to order some fem'd seeds, and I probably will in a few months :). The fans are mounted pretty much in line with the lights. They 1 is intake and 1 is exhaust.

warfey - I am planning on throwing them into flower at about 1/3rd the height I can handle. Sadly, they are not going to be big beautiful trees. Im just hoping we get some good smoke. I already have the box set up to do some LST.

Thanks again for the replys folks.
 

Kerovan

Well-Known Member
remove the intake fan and make it another exhaust on top. All you need are holes for passive intake. What matters is the air being drawn out.
 

powerpig

Member
Kerovan- Maybe ill just make another hole below the exhaust fan and mount that fan over there and cover up the first hole with nylons or something just to keep light out.
 

withoutAchance

Active Member
I would keep it closer to 76* when lights on and let it drop to 60 or somewher about would be perfect 85 is too high with out add c02. My .02 but its a good .02
 
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