Having issues setting up my new Sentinel CHHC-4. PLEASE HELP!!!!

I am getting my flowering tent setup and am havibg a couple of issues. I am flowering in a Secret Jardin dr120t a twin tent with a clone/veg tent above an a lower flower tent. Tent dimensions in the bottom flower tent are 4x4x5. I am lighting it with 2 430 watt hps hortilux bulbs powered by one hydrofarm and one sunsystem ballast. I have one 400cfm inline fan to exhaust my tent if temps go above 85. I also have a 400 cfm fan that runs only through my dual cooltube to help with tent temps. My co2 setup consists of a Titan co2 regulator 15lb. Co2 tank and a sentinel Chhc-4 to regulate the flower tents temps/humidity/co2 level.
with my new sentinel Chhc-4 controller and I got most of it set up, Only thing that is confusing me is the co2. I calibrate the co2 sensor as per instructions in the chhc-4 manual because when i first set it up the reading said co2 2617 ppm with no co2 on! I knew my room could not be this concentrated so that's why I calibrated it. I set the co2 to 1500 ppm after I calibrated it and before I even plugged the regulator into the Chhc it was climbing from the calibrated 380ppm to above 500... When the regulator was plugged in I had the flow set at 5 on the regulator and the co2 came on for about a minute or so and went off... The co2 reading kept climbing and got to over 2000 ppm. I continued to monitor it lastnight and it seemed to keep going well above the specified 1500ppm setting. I turned my regulator down as lowago a little lower than 1 ... Cant go any lower without stopping the co2 flow...the fan comes on at 85 just like its supposed to, shuts off when it's supposed too, I got the co2 and fans set so only one or the other is on at a time... Every other setting seems to work flawlessly like I want it too, but the main feature I bought the unit for isn't working right... Am I missing something? The dead stop on the co2 ppm is 25 so it shouldn't go above or below 1500 by more than that unless I am venting to lower temp. I am confused at why the unit cannot fill my tent to 1500ppm and stop. Maybe I have something set wrong although it's pretty straight forward so maybe I have a defective unit. Any help from other Chhc-4 users or sentinel controller users or anyone with info that could help is most definitely appreciated.

Hi, nice setup. Do you have your controller set to fuzzy logic or generator? Make sure it is set to fuzzy logic if you are using bottled gas. Also, when you were calibrating your unit and the ppm climbed from 300-500ppm with the gas off were you (or your breath) near the sensor? The 1 cfm setting on your Titan regulator should be right, but Titan says it goes from .5 to 15 cfm. Sounds like you have it set there. I don't have this particular controller, but it sounds like the calibration part may still be a factor in your issue. Hopefully someone with experience calibrating this one can chime in. Hope this helps.

Thanks, everybodydoesit, I appreciate the feedback. The unit is set to fuzzy logic mode so that is not the issue. When i calibrated the unit it was in the lower tent with lights out and no plants, just closed off in the tent. The instruction manual says to have the sensor outside for calibration, so I guess I could try that. I am glad to hear that 1 cfm is the proper setting on my regulator. That is where mine is set at. The ppm was doing its climb when I first powered it up... once it warmed up the ppm was at 575 with no co2 enrichment just had the sensor alone in the lower tent like I said. The ppms kept climbing and got all the way to 2617 ppm. With nothing plugged into the unit at all. That was why I calibrated the controllers co2 reading. I will take take the unit outside and calibrate it as per the instructions and try that. If that doesnt work I will try and move the ballasts as far away as possible from the unit and sensor and see what that does. I hope this is just a setting or something easy I am missing and figuraulte it out soon. I hope my unit isnt at fault or defective.

Anyone? Fuzzy Logic is on... I took the unit outside and booted her up, let it sit by itself for 20 minutes and then followed the instructions to calibrate it again to the 380ppm setting. I then let it sit for 20 more minutes and the reading between 374-376 but at one point it did drop to 370ppm. I then shut down the unit and reinstalled it on the wall and plugged my cooling fan and co2 regulator up to it and booted her up again... After booting I reset the co2 deadband to 50, confirmed fuzzy logic was selected and the unit then kicked on the co2 function and started to my tent...It turned off when the reading said 1478 and then kicked back on for a second or two and then shut off when the reading was 1496. However the reading kept climbing still to 1770 over the next minute or two.Fuzzy logic is blinking while filling and after filling until if and when my fan needs to come on to lower the temps. Then only the cooling device light is on. Still having issues.Still haven't figured out what is going on with my controller. I am upset that such an expensive unit cannot do what it is supposed to do. Other postings about this unit boast of a + or - of 15-25 off of what there settings are for co2 ppm. Should I contact sentinel? Is it possible my unit is defective or something? Or is it simply the small size of my tent and the 1 cfm flow setting on my regulator too fast? Should I go down to half a cfm? I t

Can't really hurt to try the .5 cfm setting. You paid real cash money for high quality hardware, I don't think you need to hesitate calling or e-mailing the manufacturer. Hey they should be experts, they made it, right? And you'll be way stoked when your problems are solved. And not to suggest buying other stuff, but Control Wizard (and others I am sure) makes a regulator that adjusts from .1cfm to 1cfm (if that turns out to be your issue). I'm no guru, just tryin to help you talk it out.

Am I reading correctly that your tent is only 4x4x5? If so I would imagine the small size is your problem. Turn the reg as low as it goes like a half cfm or something. Sounds like a few misplaced breaths could fill that tent.
even with fuzzy logic on its going to take a while for the controller to adjust to the small tent size, hell it may always overshoot your target. Be glad you didn't get a non fuzzy logic controller, your co2 would be all over the place in that tent.

I had the same problem with the same controller. It would never readte co2 right it would have some outrageous ppmwith no co2 supplementation. I continued using it until 2 weeks later some error sign popped up and I couldn't use it anymore. Had to send the controller back to the manufacturer, with my money and pay to ge it shipped back while it was under warrenty. Didn't have the controller for over a month and it didn't work right from the start. I'm saying all this to say maybe you have a defective unit and if you call customer they tell yu some nonsense about opening it up I didn't trust it cause it say warrenty void if you open the unit.

Interesting, I sure hope my unit isn't defective. I must also say I am upset that such an expensive unit isnt able to keep a rooms co2 ppm in check which is the main purpose of the unit. Or at least why I purchased it. So defective or just due to the fact that my tent is small...both answers kinda suck...lol

Your tent is too small. I know you probably didn't want to here that but co2 control in such a small is environment is going to be an uphill battle. I've used a few different co2 controllers and personally find the sentinel unit performs best. That said my environment is nearly 1k sq ft.
sounds like you did calibrate correctly, all the more reason why I think your environment is too small. I would barely open the flow valve on the regulator, literally as low as it goes whilst remaining open. Then give the controller a few days to learn the room. You simply want to minimize the amount it overshoots. May however be easier said than done. Good luck!

I have the same unit..... same problem, once in a while it will work for 3 or 4 days. LOL

I sent it back to the manufacturer, they sent it back postage paid, and told me all was fine

co2 is the only function that will not work properly......unfortunately, this is the main function we want it's not you, and it not ur room.....it's the controller.

I got a few of the days when this unit was working, and I used it to dial in my co2 with a $7.00 timer,LOL. I do use it for the other functions as I could not return it because I bought it off some asshole that must have had the same problem on "E-bay"

I could not bring myself to resell it and 8 ball someone else.

I contacted the seller with no responds LOL. live and learn.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of people that use the sentinel with no problems including myself.
Your environment is less than 100 sq ft. As I said before, a few misplaced breaths will fill it with more co2 than you need!
If you took the controller outside and it calibrated to 3-400 ppm there is nothing wrong with it! It is obviously functioning properly.
Id be willing to bet its not the controller at fault here.

ya lookin for a good deal on another?? LOL

I dont have the same controller as you but did have the same problem with my controller. Did you say you where setup in the basement? what do you use for heat in your house? Where I live I have natural gas and when this is burned it releases Co2, If you also burn natural gas/propane to heat your house this may contribute to the high level readings your getting. Gas stove/dryers will only increase the co2 even more. I get readings around 1800 with no co2 gas being released from my tank. In my situation this turned out to be the cause. It isint a bad thing if you are in the same boat. Instead of spending money to fill tanks to get the desired co2, I only have to draw my intake air from the room my closet is in to bring the co2 levels up. I can make it through a complete grow on less then a tank. Don't know how much the co2 will decrease once warmer weather hits and the gas furnace is used less but loving it up while it last. I would sugest to re-calerbrate your controller out side like it suggest, then bring back in your grow room for reading then test it again back out side. If it reads 400-500 outside but high inside I would think you also are burning something that gives co2 as its by product. Hope this helps

Thanks R.C. I have taken that into consideration, but after talking with numerous people, I find that it is the unit