Exhaust ventilation in an apartment - is this viable?

I'm planning on growing a single plant in a mini tent (40cm x 40cm x 120cm) in my cupboard and had an idea. Above where I want to put my tent is a hatch in the roof that opens up to a void inbetween my apartment and the apartment above me. In this void is the piping for my apartments ventilation and some wiring etc. It's a brand new building and the floor above has concrete floors.

Would it be viable to have my tent venting out into this area? Of course I'll have a carbon filter inside the tent, so the air being exhausted would be scrubbed. But would the smell somehow seep through into the apartment above?

Also keen to hear your thoughts on growing in apartments... landlord won't be an issue for me, so I'm not concerned about that.

Gresus420 said:

I'm planning on growing a single plant in a mini tent (40cm x 40cm x 120cm) in my cupboard and had an idea. Above where I want to put my tent is a hatch in the roof that opens up to a void inbetween my apartment and the apartment above me. In this void is the piping for my apartments ventilation and some wiring etc. It's a brand new building and the floor above has concrete floors.

Would it be viable to have my tent venting out into this area? Of course I'll have a carbon filter inside the tent, so the air being exhausted would be scrubbed. But would the smell somehow seep through into the apartment above?

Also keen to hear your thoughts on growing in apartments... landlord won't be an issue for me, so I'm not concerned about that.
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I can't see a problem there.

Gresus420 said:

I'm planning on growing a single plant in a mini tent (40cm x 40cm x 120cm) in my cupboard and had an idea. Above where I want to put my tent is a hatch in the roof that opens up to a void inbetween my apartment and the apartment above me. In this void is the piping for my apartments ventilation and some wiring etc. It's a brand new building and the floor above has concrete floors.

Would it be viable to have my tent venting out into this area? Of course I'll have a carbon filter inside the tent, so the air being exhausted would be scrubbed. But would the smell somehow seep through into the apartment above?

Also keen to hear your thoughts on growing in apartments... landlord won't be an issue for me, so I'm not concerned about that.
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Black mould will eventually be a problem

KrazyG said:

Black mould will eventually be a problem

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Thanks @KrazyG. Could you please elaborate a bit? What would cause the black mold? The moisture being pumped out in the exhaust?

If it makes any difference the void seems to be really dry and there's a thick insulation / acoustic foam that line's the roof.

Yeah moisture/humidity build up will eventually cause the black mould. The rockwool insulation is a breeding ground once the moisture sets in.

There's really no way to tell.
There could be spaces between the pipes and the bricks that make up the partition walls between apartments.
Odor can seep into electrical wiring pipes and out in another apartment.
Exhausting up there means you won't know right away when your carbon filter has hit saturation and started venting odor.
The odor from one plant can still be detectable in an urban environment.

But black mold would be the more important issue. Maybe run lots of UVC up there?

yeah that will be okay i exhausted my closet grow into a kind of void like that and it was fine

It has to go somewhere from the void. Where?

Gresus420 said:

I'm planning on growing a single plant in a mini tent (40cm x 40cm x 120cm) in my cupboard and had an idea. Above where I want to put my tent is a hatch in the roof that opens up to a void inbetween my apartment and the apartment above me. In this void is the piping for my apartments ventilation and some wiring etc. It's a brand new building and the floor above has concrete floors.

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That "in-between void" is a common space for the entire floor, as such your grow room exhaust will be in dissipated above everyone's apartment.

This void space is not isolated, as there is openings such as fire sprinklers and hatches allowing access to water & vent pipes and electrical

On a windy day, I can feel the air coming out of these portals, as such your neighbours will likely be exposed to your venting.

I live in a highrise and grow in a spare bedroom. I vent my exhaust out the window....not ideal but it works

I would also be worried about black mold over time. You won't be generating enough air flow from the out-take (5 inch I guess?) and all the moisture will settle within 3 to 5 foot of the ducting. More over, if you upgrade later to a bigger space with the same vent void, you will more likely run the risk of creating some positive pressure up there and that could carry fiber/dust and mold into yours or other peoples property.

I've recently seen company's that put UV-C lighting in dark damp locations to deal with mold, but not so sure that would be applicable to this, you'd end up using more UV watts than growing watts. Can't you just vent into the room? with a out-take that small+filter and air fresheners in the lung room I can't see smell or some of the recirculating air/heat being a problem.

Do you have an exhaust fan in your bathroom or kitchen? If so see if you can tie into the ducting from that. Looks like you have enough space to get up there and crawl around. The ducting should be connected to the exhaust fan with one of those ring type worm clamps. Get a Y splitter and connect the ducting to that then use more ducting to reconnect one branch of the Y back to the exhaust fan and the other to the exhaust from your tent. You can get a backdraft blocker to prevent the exhaust from the tent from flowing back into the apartment through the bathroom or kitchen fan.

This is assuming you have exhaust fans and are able to crawl around in that space. But you don't want to just send moist air into that space.

If you decide to vent into an exhaust duct from the kitchen or bathroom, be absolutely certain that it vents outdoors. Sometimes builders vent these into attics or voids.