# can i just bring in cold air from outside  rather then running an ac unit?



## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

thanks in advance for any help you can supply me.i havent seen the ? asked b-4 so i figured i'd go ahead and ask.

im up here in michigan and the temps are gonna be going down soon and i was thinking of a way i could get out of running a window ac unit.due to the added electricity,as well as it being obvious running ac when its chilly/cold outdoors. i dont have any fresh air coming in or going out in my room at the moment due to the fact that im growing in a rather large bedroom and i didnt see any need.but now my temps are getting to be 90-95 after my light has been on a few hours... is there any way i could just bring in cold air from outdoors to cool my room or would this not be a wise decision? do you think it'd be enough to cool the room? i believe the rooms like 9 ft x 15 ft. Thanks again for any advise. -Peace


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## ALLWaYsHiGh (Sep 4, 2008)

yea man mother nature was the first a/c just build a filter box around the window so u can crack the window and screw it in place then cut a hole in the top of the backside add a flange then connect your intake duct and pull air in from there u should be good . BTW u might want to put up a black mesh first on the window to help from seenig the filter bow from the outside


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 4, 2008)

That's what I do...seems silly not to use what mother nature gives us free.  I bring cold air in from my crawl space to cool the light and the grow space (almost 20 sq ft).  I have 3 different intakes--2 of them have fans, one is passive.  In the winter, I exhaust the hot air from the light into the master bathroom to help heat it.  

However you need to set it up, make sure that the frigid air is not blowing directly on the plants.


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## choking_victim (Sep 4, 2008)

:yeahthat:


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## clanchattan (Sep 4, 2008)

plus in yer townhouse id hate to see the bill with your a.c. and your heat pump running at the same time


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

This would save me a tremendous amount of time and money.ive kinda held off most of my strains due to my heat factor.heres a pic of my window,theres actually a sill on the other side of my window cover (black plastic and then foil and foil tape) and the window has blinds so theres no way you can see the black plastic from outdoors..plus its in the upstairs of my house. i was thinking about just hooking a fan to a duct and having the fan bring the cold air in.since i wont have to cool the room at night (since my lights will be off) i'll put a towel over the fan at night to avoid  a cold draft coming in.then at 9am when my lights come on,ill go pull the towel off and fire up the fan.does this sound about right or does somebody have a better idea? -Thanks again for all the help..i really apreciate it


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## clanchattan (Sep 4, 2008)

there you go, sounds good pard.


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

clanchattan said:
			
		

> plus in yer townhouse id hate to see the bill with your a.c. and your heat pump running at the same time


 
i mean..itd be fine if i made more then minimum wage,had 2 incomes coming in and didnt have to buy my smoke.i grew up rather poor so i was never pampered with all that warm of a house so i can manage in a rather cool house.

 i cant wait til the day that i dont have to buy smoke anymore.ive grown outdoors in the past so i never had to deal with all these problems indoor growers face. ive always just planted the beans,watered them and topped them when they were ready,pulled them and put them in trash bags to take home when they were done and that was it....you go through alotta stuff growin indoors as to growing outdoors.i personally think getting your temp in order has to be one of the biggest problems we face while growing indoors.once you get it in order,everything else is rather easy to deal with.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 4, 2008)

Looks like a good set up Dad.  However, I would recommend getting a damper rather than using the towel and setting the fan on a timer.


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

yea,ill probably end up putting the fan on a timer just in case for some odd reason im unable to remove the towel/damper...this may be a dumb ? but what exactly is a damper =)


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## choking_victim (Sep 4, 2008)

Keep em' growin' bro.
 What's on the menu this go-round.?


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

or actually,ill google it..


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## clanchattan (Sep 4, 2008)

an inline flap that goes in your pipe. serves the sae purpose as a chiminy flue.


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

choking_victim said:
			
		

> Keep em' growin' bro.
> What's on the menu this go-round.?


i have my sam the skunk man skunk 1 x haze plants flowering right now (link to journals on my sig., i got ALOT of pics in it)
as for my main event,i just started my aurora indica,i have my jock horror beans sittin next to me right now just waiting to get the other 3 packs of seeds in. im doin wonder diesel,hashplant,and big blue (nl#5 x blueberry)  I actually let MP choose one of my strains and big blue won my poll.i narrowed it down to like 6 or so and everybody voted for what they wanted to see grown. as for whats on my "to do list" i wanna give bonkers,strawberry cough,blockhead,g13,white widow,couple of the lowrider strains,kalichokra,white russian,and thats just part of my list.
but if you wanna see whats goin on with me and my grow room and what not,check out my journals. -peace


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

ohhh ok,i got you,do they make them for 6inch duct like you see in the pic?


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## Funkfarmer (Sep 4, 2008)

Sure you can get one at homo depot or lowes.


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## andy52 (Sep 4, 2008)

not to cut in on your thread dad,but i have a somiliar prob.my windows are the crank out kind,(anderson windows).at the moment i have the 1 window cranked out about 4 inches with cardboard covering the screen,which is on the inside of the room.with a cut-out for the portable ac exhaust.how can i rig up something to bring in cool air without it being so obvious.having the window ajar during the winter is gonna look suspicious.i also live not far from aurora indicas dad.20--25 miles. i wanted to put a dryer vent in,but girlfriend says no.her house.all idea appreciated.sorry dad


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

no your good bud.you know me and you are better then that...im tryin to draw up somethin right now for you,so she wont let you keep the window open at all?


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

do you have blinds on the window?


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

will that damper open  with me pullin the cold air in rather then pushing it? how far from the fan will i want it?


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

andy52 said:
			
		

> not to cut in on your thread dad,but i have a somiliar prob.my windows are the crank out kind,(anderson windows).at the moment i have the 1 window cranked out about 4 inches with cardboard covering the screen,which is on the inside of the room.with a cut-out for the portable ac exhaust.how can i rig up something to bring in cool air without it being so obvious.having the window ajar during the winter is gonna look suspicious.i also live not far from aurora indicas dad.20--25 miles. i wanted to put a dryer vent in,but girlfriend says no.her house.all idea appreciated.sorry dad


 
i was thinkin you could tint the windows ,and then still have your cardboard up without anybody seeing it from the outside...you think that would work or what? i honestly dont think theres any way around not havin the window open...maybe im wrong though....hmmm


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## clanchattan (Sep 4, 2008)

you can get manual ones hat you have to open and close your self, gimmie a lil bit, i gotta look around for one on a timer i saw somewhere i think i bookmarked it.........


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## TURKEYNECK (Sep 4, 2008)

andy52 said:
			
		

> not to cut in on your thread dad,but i have a somiliar prob.my windows are the crank out kind,(anderson windows).at the moment i have the 1 window cranked out about 4 inches with cardboard covering the screen,which is on the inside of the room.with a cut-out for the portable ac exhaust.how can i rig up something to bring in cool air without it being so obvious.having the window ajar during the winter is gonna look suspicious.i also live not far from aurora indicas dad.20--25 miles. i wanted to put a dryer vent in,but girlfriend says no.her house.all idea appreciated.sorry dad


 
man I have the same old arss windows...untill TOMMOROW! 
which Im replacing with the help of my uncle-in-laws.. my clones are gettin huge and I cant put my ebb&flow system back 'till the windows are done.. Im so stressed about people being in my grow room, My veg cab is pretty stealthy so as long as the stink dont give me away I'll be budding again next week...so siked.


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## TURKEYNECK (Sep 4, 2008)

oh and DAD..that looks right man! watchin yer grow!


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## clanchattan (Sep 4, 2008)

hxxp://www.iaqsource.com/category.php/fantech-backdraft-dampers/?category=1068&OVRAW=6%22%20dampers&OVKEY=fantech%20damper&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=4513405521&OVKWID=46054635021


check these out. i gotta look round for the timer model. but you can get these at h.d. or lowes or wherever


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

clanchattan said:
			
		

> hxxp://www.iaqsource.com/category.php/fantech-backdraft-dampers/?category=1068&OVRAW=6%22%20dampers&OVKEY=fantech%20damper&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=4513405521&OVKWID=46054635021
> 
> 
> check these out. i gotta look round for the timer model. but you can get these at h.d. or lowes or wherever


 
yea,thats exactly what i need,do you think since ill be pulling air into the room that once i turn the fan on it'll open this mechanism up and allow fresh air in? heres a pic i made up right quick on paint to show you what im thinking. thanks again for the help and also thanks turkey for following my grows,it makes me feel like im actually doing all this work as far as posting pics and whatnot for a reason,besides the fact that i hope i can help a "newbie" out along the way. 

View attachment pic.bmp


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## clanchattan (Sep 4, 2008)

i think as long as the spring in the damper is pointed in the right direction, and the fan moves enough air it'll work pretty sweet. and thanks for the thanks. my ol lady calls me mr watchamajig cause i allways know the name of the doohicky she's talkin about. it's my gig i guess.............


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## BuddyLuv (Sep 4, 2008)

If you want one to open when your lights come on you need a magnetic dampener You just wire it up to a plug and plug it into the same timer as your lights. When the timer powers on the mechanism in the dampener opens.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HVAC-MOTORIZED-...ryZ42911QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem


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## time4tokin20s (Sep 4, 2008)

Use one of these thermostat outlets to plug your intake fan into so you can have the perfect temp all the time.
That way you won't have to keep guessing with a timer when the temp outside changes.* ----->  http://tinyurl.com/5lvrld*


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## ugmjfarmer (Sep 9, 2008)

I'm using a Dryer vent damper for my exhaust in the closet. It opens whenever air flows through the pipe (substantial air anyways) without needing my intervention. It does its job of keeping stuff from coming in the exhaust while still letting the air out.


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## andy52 (Sep 9, 2008)

sorry it took me so long.no she doesn't mind me opening the window.its that the windows crank out.i have my portable ac vrnted out a window now,but i had to put cardboard over the screen and cut a hole for the exhaust from the ac unit.but in the winter it would look suspicious having the window cracked open.she might let me put a dryer vent thru the wall.if so,i guess i could stick something thru it to keep the flaps open on the outside to draw cold air in from outside.since i vent my heat to the basement right now.so many what ifs.she wants me to move it all to the basement.but i will have to get an electrician out first.i do not mess with electricity.and theres only 1 outlet down there to use.the water softener has the other outlet,with the sump pump.do you know a good cheap electrician.i really want to go to the basement.be a lot cooler in the summer time.any help here appreciated.


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## ugmjfarmer (Sep 9, 2008)

Ok Andy-

If your going to hire an electrician to wire your grow room, I would have the following installed:

240v Dryer plug, 30 amp.
2) 120v 15 amp plugs, 4 plug boxes

That way you can run up to 8 lights, have power for AC, cooling, pumps, dehumidifier, heaters.. anything you need in the future. Future proofing now before any huge setup is in place will make future upgrades as easy as buying the gear and plugging it in.

As for taking air from outside, thanks for asking the question AI Dad. I'm going to be doing the same. I was going to convert my closet into a sealed room using an IceQube 1300BTU a/c, but after calculating the costs associated with it, I'm going to have to use a temperature controller and in/out vents. I might even need a small space heater, but i hope not.

AI likes colder weather sometimes.


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## andy52 (Sep 9, 2008)

thanks ugmjfarmer,i appreciate that.i will write it all down and get an estimate on it.any idea on the cost?what kind of temp. controller are you talking about.i bought a thermo cube and it does not work for me.cheapo,20 bucks.bought 5 of them and does not work as they stated.i really need to have something to control the temp in my frow area as my portable ac unit is outside the grow area and vented into the grow area. anyhelp there appreciated.


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 10, 2008)

I have had no problem with heat since i installed my intake (duct and fan) im just running it in 15 minute intervals.ive noticed alot quicker growth with my temps not being as high.


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## andy52 (Sep 10, 2008)

no,i have no heat problems,just want something to put inside the grow area to control the on and off of the ac unit.the ac being outsude and the cold air blowing inside the grow.the ac goes by the room temp before cutting on or off.hell i have a hard time keeping it above 65 degrees now,with the ac unit.even on the hot days.even on the 12 hrs off,i still have my timer set to run for 15 mins every hour.exhaust and fresh air in and out 24 hrs.plants are growing like crazy.my prob;em now is i have too many plants.bad as i hate it,i am going to have to cull my girls to just keep 6 plants in the tent.i have 9 now,and they all turned out to be girls.


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## andy52 (Sep 10, 2008)

oops


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## ALLWaYsHiGh (Sep 10, 2008)

for an experiment i flowered a clone till it showed sex then put it back in my veg room to see what would happen and it stuntted and stop growing for about 10 days then it started growing back in veg (no hermie) but i only fed it water for those ten days cause i had it setting in a clear container.


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## NorCalHal (Sep 10, 2008)

Aurora, after reading your thread here, I read no mention of an Exhaust?

Do you have an exhaust fan set up in the room at all?

I run exclusivly in bedrooms and have set up mant different configs for all kinds of different issues.

If you do not have an exhaust then when fresh air is being pulled in, it will create a positive pressure and force air(stinky air) out of your room and into the rest of the house.

Maybe I missed the part of your exhaust??


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 10, 2008)

norcalhal,howve you been bud?  as far as an exhaust,no i dont as of yet.i run one of them odor neutralizers though,so maybe this is why.as for smell,none whatso ever throughout the whole house. (only when i toke) but my buds have really swelled up alot since i got my temps around them high 70's low 80's.but luckly my soon 2 be ex-wife doesnt smoke and has a good sense of smell,so everytime she comes over i ask her if she smells anything and she says no.and ive grew in the house with her b-4 so i trust her judgement since i know she does know the smell.i have only got the fan runnin a few times throughout the night when my lights are off though.it stays on for 15 minutes each time.


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## andy52 (Sep 10, 2008)

would this timer work on an ac unit.


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## ALLWaYsHiGh (Sep 10, 2008)

a timer would work if it matches the load settings of the a/c if not it will just burn out the timer or maybe worse fire so be sure to use a neavy dutty timer like the one on your hps light.


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 11, 2008)

its just a timer that has a thermostat on it.i would think that it would work fine with an a.c. unit. im just using a normal timer 4 now,but b-4 winter hits,ill be using one with a thermostat on it. (andy) you get them thermostat timers right by the duct fans and stuff at home depot or menards.theyre like 30 bucks.the same one Timefortokin posted.


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## andy52 (Sep 11, 2008)

where do you get one with a thermostat?i tried the thermo cube and it does not work.suppossed to turn the ac on at 78 degrees and off at 70 degrees.dud


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## The Toker (Sep 14, 2008)

I'm in MI also and this is my build!

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30534


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