This Ain't Cool. How Much Cool Do I Need?

Cowboy Kahlil

Cowboy Kahlil

Well-Known Member
Getting ready to flip to a room I'm setting up that's 210 sq ft with 6- 1000W DEs and two 8-bulb T5s. I'll be drawing air from an adjoining room then ducting back into an unused bathroom where a more powerful fan will push it up through the existing bath vent duct.

So I have to cool the grow room. I suspect a 2 vent AC is needed but what BTU? Different sources are saying anything from 6000 to 27000 BTU. If it's the latter, it sounds like I need something that costs thousands of dollars, which is above my pay scale.

What exactly do I need and what's the ideal temp ?
 
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Big dog11

Member
You need a 3 ton system for 6 DE lights.........I have a pro designing my room and he said 5500-6000 BTU per lights.......more for a C02 burner

If you use the whole room don't expect much at less at 28 watts per sq ft
 
justugh

justugh

Well-Known Member
Cowboy Kahlil said:
Getting ready to flip to a room I'm setting up that's 210 sq ft with 6- 1000W DEs and two 8-bulb T5s. I'll be drawing air from an adjoining room then ducting back into an unused bathroom where a more powerful fan will push it up through the existing bath vent duct.

So I have to cool the grow room. I suspect a 2 vent AC is needed but what BTU? Different sources are saying anything from 6000 to 27000 BTU. If it's the latter, it sounds like I need something that costs thousands of dollars, which is above my pay scale.

What exactly do I need and what's the ideal temp ?
Click to expand...
the temp u want is under 80F at 80 thc degrades faster into other chemicals
if u are running Co2 it can be higher but try to keep under 90 f

u want to make sure u have good wind movement tho the branches.........the wind will keep the IR heat from the lamps from stressing the plants


i set my AC at 68 f for my area .........the tents and lights i am exhausting at about 10 degrees diff then my intake (LED 5x5x6 1200w total 600w 2 300w ) ........when i was on HIDs i was running 15 to 18 degree diff with a cool tube and cfm rating of 380
 
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patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
You should get at least a 2 ton unit.. If your going to seal up and use co2 ever I would sugguest a 36000 3'ton unit. Not to be an asshole.. But if you haven't started your run yet and your worried about a couple thousand dollars, your in for a real shock on what that setup is going to cost to run per batch. Good luck. Ideal temp is 76-78 degrees and 45-50% humidity
 
Cowboy Kahlil

Cowboy Kahlil

Well-Known Member
Wa'all, I reckon it's more than just the money. It's mmore like a series of little price shocks keep stretching the budget out and I just need to make a choice whether to scale back my ambition some to find a good comfort level as I enter the phase of big electricity bills. In otherwords, I just have a mild case of the jitters.

So, I gather I need something more than a couple of portable 12,000 BTU units, like a split and I'm looking at a couple of grand for that?
 
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patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
Cowboy Kahlil said:
Wa'all, I reckon it's more than just the money. It's mmore like a series of little price shocks keep stretching the budget out and I just need to make a choice whether to scale back my ambition some to find a good comfort level as I enter the phase of big electricity bills. In otherwords, I just have a mild case of the jitters.

So, I gather I need something more than a couple of portable 12,000 BTU units, like a split and I'm looking at a couple of grand for that?
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If your Doing this to make paper you need to seal up and use co2 , forget the fresh air exchange . A 3 ton minisplit will run you anywhere from 2-4 thousand bucks . Then you need to have someone install it . Or you can use a bunch of those portible acs , probably use more amps, Have to use fresh air.. And couple runs down the line your going to want to buy that mini split anyways. Those double ended bulbs get hot as fuck too so idk If that's going to pull it. Growing is a lot more expensive than people think.
 
a mongo frog

a mongo frog

Well-Known Member
Cowboy Kahlil said:
Wa'all, I reckon it's more than just the money. It's mmore like a series of little price shocks keep stretching the budget out and I just need to make a choice whether to scale back my ambition some to find a good comfort level as I enter the phase of big electricity bills. In otherwords, I just have a mild case of the jitters.

So, I gather I need something more than a couple of portable 12,000 BTU units, like a split and I'm looking at a couple of grand for that?
Click to expand...
like around 5 grand. maybe a little less.
 
Carolina Dream'n

Carolina Dream'n

Well-Known Member
Atleast a 3 ton. The DE run a lot hotter than a standard bulb. I would not even try to pull fresh air, you're simply making too much heat to cool it. Id go with 2 2 tons, across the room from each other. This gives you a chance if you have a A/c failure, because the other will keep the room "decent" until problem is solved. Redundancy and pre planned backup is beyond important for an operation of this size.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Carolina Dream'n said:
Atleast a 3 ton. The DE run a lot hotter than a standard bulb. I would not even try to pull fresh air, you're simply making too much heat to cool it. Id go with 2 2 tons, across the room from each other. This gives you a chance if you have a A/c failure, because the other will keep the room "decent" until problem is solved. Redundancy and pre planned backup is beyond important for an operation of this size.
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Confronted with this same problem, I built a water chilling system with multiple chillers. Redundancy is key; every room still has emergency ventilation.

Is this the OP's only space? The benefits of splitting up and timing two sides of a big room on an opposing 'flip' schedule are hard to ignore.
 
Cowboy Kahlil

Cowboy Kahlil

Well-Known Member
I have a 5x5 tent I'm vegging in at a different location, with T-5s. I'm setting up a second tent there for some mother plants to clone from.

At this new locale, it'll only be 12/12s., plus a small side closet for some T-5 seedlings in veg. Of all the little expenses, only two were a shock. The electrical bill will likely be triple what I budgeted, then this. I knew the heat a single-ended could put out. Didn't realize the DE added more.

C'est la vie and que sera sera. Yippie-yi-yo and onward.
 
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patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
Cowboy Kahlil said:
I have a 5x5 tent I'm vegging in at a different location, with T-5s. I'm setting up a second tent there for some mother plants to clone from.

At this new locale, it'll only be 12/12s., plus a small side closet for some T-5 seedlings in veg. Of all the little expenses, only two were a shock. The electrical bill will likely be triple what I budgeted, then this. I knew the heat a single-ended could put out. Didn't realize the DE added more.

C'est la vie and que sera sera. Yippie-yi-yo and onward.
Click to expand...
IF you believe in yourself ... Get a credit card or two to pay for the elextricity other expenses and pay it off when the run is done. Welcome to starting a business, it is always tough the first couple runs
 
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adower

Well-Known Member
Im going to go against the grain. I like a passive system. If you find the ac cant keep up then just cut a light or two in the summer and go back at it full power in tbe colder months. During the winter I didn't use my ac once since I was bringing in the cold outside air.
 
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adower

Well-Known Member
Carolina Dream'n said:
Atleast a 3 ton. The DE run a lot hotter than a standard bulb. I would not even try to pull fresh air, you're simply making too much heat to cool it. Id go with 2 2 tons, across the room from each other. This gives you a chance if you have a A/c failure, because the other will keep the room "decent" until problem is solved. Redundancy and pre planned backup is beyond important for an operation of this size.
Click to expand...
I dont think de bulbs put out more heat than se. Other way around I think. I used to run adjust a wings and now I run gavitas. The ac doesnt kick on as much from what I can tell.
 
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patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
adower said:
I dont think de bulbs put out more heat than se. Other way around I think. I used to run adjust a wings and now I run gavitas. The ac doesnt kick on as much from what I can tell.
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I have 3 adjusta wings for my isle rows. 5x7 footprint per. Do you think 3 gavitas would work as well or better and not cause more heat?
 
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adower

Well-Known Member
patrickkawi37 said:
I have 3 adjusta wings for my isle rows. 5x7 footprint per. Do you think 3 gavitas would work as well or better and not cause more heat?
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Gavitas are hands down 100% better than adjust a wings. you just have to watch your canopy height. Need 3ft minimum between the canopy and light. The par rating is insane.
 
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patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
adower said:
Gavitas are hands down 100% better than adjust a wings. you just have to watch your canopy height. Need 3ft minimum between the canopy and light. The par rating is insane.
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I am worried I can't maintain that with 8.5 foot ceilings . I might buy one this next round and give it a try. Sorry to thread jack OP. I have been curious on those gavitas
 
Carolina Dream'n

Carolina Dream'n

Well-Known Member
adower said:
I dont think de bulbs put out more heat than se. Other way around I think. I used to run adjust a wings and now I run gavitas. The ac doesnt kick on as much from what I can tell.
Click to expand...
I have to disagree with you. I have ran standard bulb for years, just changed to DE an they run substantially hotter in my opinion.
 
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