DIY-Venting Grow Room Lights

Many folks have had questions about controlling temperature in their Grow areas. Sooo.. I thought I would post the process for installing air cooling for the lights.
Here are the parts we will be using. The fan is a 6" Inline Duct Booster, less that $30.00, a vent that mounts on the outside wall, an elbow, and a couple of pieces of solid duct. You will notice the crimped end and the solid end, pay attention to how those fit together.

When you plan where you want the hole to go to the outside, locate your studs first, nothing worse than finding out you have a stud in the middle of your hole.lol Then drill, carefully, from the inside to the outside. Then mark the outside. I use a rotary tool to make the cut so I can set the depth of the cut to the thickness of the siding. Whoever built this one insulated it with Styrofoam type insulation to block air from blowing in, you can see they even taped the joints, cut that out carefully, I used a 'key hole saw'. And this picture shows you why I was careful with the depth of the cut. It would have been a real bummer to find these wires with a saw. Tuck those out of the way!!!!!

nice and clean

We use the same rotary tool to cut the hole on the inside. That is just the kraft paper from the insulation that is covering that hole now. Oh my gosh, it looks like someone has something growing in there. We place our vent in the hole, I am sure you would agree this is too much light leaking out. I used black paint on the inside of the pipes, and put a piece of carbon filter over the opening, big difference. Put the face in place, now it's pretty innocuous, you can see it if your looking for it. It doens't stick out as anything you need to pay attention to.

You have to wire the fan, you do not have to install a work box, you can just put a plug on the end. Then secure your fan and ducting to your wall, put a 'loop' in your cord for safety. I will be using the flexible insulated duct, put the clamps on it before you install it, takes the work out of it.

And the flexible duct goes right in between the 2 lights (soon to be 3) making an exit to the outside. This takes the HID lights out of the equation, now you can work on controlling the rest of the Grow Environment. VV

Looking good man, mines similar but with a carbon filter.

RollingJoints said:

Looking good man, mines similar but with a carbon filter.

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Then you don't understand what this is, this is just for cooling the lights, not for filtering the room. There are three parts to your air handling system, this is not the one the carbon filter goes in.
You need to air cool hid lights separate from you intake and exhaust system. The fan for this system was less than $30.00, it would not be capable of pushing air through a carbon filter, it does a dandy job of cooling the lights. That room is 14' across and I have a 180 degree bend in the duct to block the light from shining outside. This takes the 'hot air' from the lights out of the room. VV

VictorVIcious said:

Then you don't understand what this is, this is just for cooling the lights, not for filtering the room. There are three parts to your air handling system, this is not the one the carbon filter goes in.
You need to air cool hid lights separate from you intake and exhaust system. The fan for this system was less than $30.00, it would not be capable of pushing air through a carbon filter, it does a dandy job of cooling the lights. That room is 14' across and I have a 180 degree bend in the duct to block the light from shining outside. This takes the 'hot air' from the lights out of the room. VV

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haha i dont think he understands. he should now after that brief statement.

your room and garden look great VV. what strains you got going?

well done with the air cooled set up too, and how you managed to bend it and prevent the light from shining out.
whats the T&RH of your room day/night?

i was also curious to see what type of light your gonig to pick up next, and what that light will bring the total lumen output?

crippledguy haha i dont think he understands. he should now after that brief statement.

your room and garden look great VV. what strains you got going?

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Northern Berry, Juicy Fruit, Blueberry, White widow, Big Gurl and GrapePurpleCindy.

well done with the air cooled set up too, and how you managed to bend it and prevent the light from shining out.
whats the T&RH of your room day/night?

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78/82 65night 45-55%, dehumidifier in use, along with 3 wall mounted oscillating fans, two floor fans, and the intake and exhaust fans, its like Dan's Fan City in here.

i was also curious to see what type of light your gonig to pick up next, and what that light will bring the total lumen output?

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Probably another 1000 hps. Facemelter has suggested using the t-5's for side lighting, not sure I want to go there. Around 500,000 total, veg and flower. VV
PS. I think this belong in a journal, may have to start one soon.

Well.... one never knows. I think this is the last of the 1000watt lights I am going to put in there. VV

VictorVIcious said:

Well.... one never knows. I think this is the last of the 1000watt lights I am going to put in there. VV

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you can never tell..

but yeah i actually was speaking with facemelter today and he went in detail abotu how elaborate you air cooled system is, as well as what you wish to do with your next 1000 watt?! yeah! congrats, as i see in your pictures you're a very knowledgable and and skilled......

green thunber!

+ rep

so you'll have (2) 1000 and (1) 600 watt after the purchase?

take care. im out for some venison on the grill!

3 1000 watt in the flowering area, a 400 and an led in the vegging area. took out 2-t-5's. VV

VictorVIcious said:

3 1000 watt in the flowering area, a 400 and an led in the vegging area. took out 2-t-5's. VV

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Nice thread, good instructions.

I have a few questions

Is that one of those 80cfm, 4" inline fans you are using in this DIY?

Does 1 fan cool all 3 1000's?

How loud is the fan?

How far off the canopy are your lights?

Thanks, YGB

YouGrowBoy

Nice thread, good instructions.

I have a few questions

Is that one of those 80cfm, 4" inline fans you are using in this DIY?

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No, that one is a 6", same type of product, higher capacity, 250cfm.

Does 1 fan cool all 3 1000's?

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Yes.

How loud is the fan?

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I cant hear it. I have enough fans that are in the room and open, along with 4 ballasts, etc.

How far off the canopy are your lights?

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Between 1' and 2', depending on the maturity of the plants.

Thanks, YGB

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Your welcome. VV

i'ma try this shit

nice thread VV ..+rep

Thank you all. I am going to start a few new projects soon. VV

vic what about somthing like mine i got 7 t8 and 1 t12 with 2 4 foot 1900 lum cfl total out 9200lums

i need good cheep ex setup that going be cheep i got atic above i can tap into this my house im buying so i can do little more then others rooms about 8 foot tail by 4.2 sideways across with 1.8ft from wall to door
50cf
ideas thanks

trickster said:

vic what about somthing like mine i got 7 t8 and 1 t12 with 2 4 foot 1900 lum cfl total out 9200lums

i need good cheep ex setup that going be cheep i got atic above i can tap into this my house im buying so i can do little more then others rooms about 8 foot tail by 4.2 sideways across with 1.8ft from wall to door
50cf
ideas thanks

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I think you have several things that are going to decrease the yield you will get, being in an attic is one of them. In summer the heat problems you have know will seem like child's play. Garden Knome was able to produce 8oz of bud from three known females with less watts of lights than you have, keep the numbers down, the yield will be better.
Attic spaces are hot or cold, you need to seal and insulate the space, make it like living space. With one difference, you don't want any air escaping that smells like MJ. This will require a balanced air handling system with a CanFan and carbon filter exhaust, an intake with a fan that is rated slightly smaller then the exhaust, creating a slight negative pressure. Its not the square footage its the cubic feet, length x width x hieght. Your calculations will only work if the environment is sealed. 4' floros are not an efficient form of lighting for our purpose here, concentrating a lot of light in a space. They do not produce enough lumens per watt.
I hope this answers your question, not really sure. Its not possible to have a cheap attic setup that will produce enough bud to pay for the trouble? You have to create a special environment. VV