# cooling the grow room in mid summer.



## ruufuus (Mar 18, 2012)

Hey guys, I am preparing for my next grow, which will be in the heat of summer, and I am looking for some ideas on how to keep the room cool during the heat of the day.  I have done one grow in the heat of summer in the past, but it was very small and with a small light, with less heat output than the lights I use now.  I plan to run exhaust through my cooltube to keep it cooler, and anintake to provide fresh air, but I'm afraid my temperatures may reach dangerous levels even still.  I looked at evaporative ac units to stick in the grow room, but they aren't cheap and they humidify the air as the work.  Does anyone have any ideas as to a sufficient method of maintaining healthy temperatures in the heat of summer.

Ps the house the room will be in is not air conditioned.

Thanks in advance guys!


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## Old_SSSC_Guy (Mar 18, 2012)

run the crop at night instead of day, and exhaust the lights more than anything else.  works happy...


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## Hushpuppy (Mar 18, 2012)

I am getting ready to run in to the same problem myself. If the room is in a house that has a crawl space beneath it that is enclosed, you can draw air from there to pull through the grow. Use a strong blower that will exchange the air in the cubic space at least once a minute. The air from under a house is always very cool in the summer. I checked under my house once last summer when it was tapping at 100f and under the house was 73f. I was amazed but the ground is always cool.

If you reall want to do it right, you could dig a large hole under the house that would pool cool air, then exaust all the hot air out as high as possible.

However, if you are in a situation like me where you don't have a cool crawlspace to pull from, you can make your own AC with a couple coolers, 2 auto AC evap coils, a strong pump, hoses, a fan, and some dry ice. You start by setting up one AC coil in the area where you need cooling. Connect the hoses to it and route one of them to one of the water coolers with the pump and lots of water in it. The other hose would go outside the grow area and attach to the other AC coil. One hose would run back from that coil to the cooler with the pump.

You could either seal the system or have it pull from the pool of water in the cooler inside and then dump back into the same cooler. This cooler will be filled with the coolest of water and then have a small amount of dry ice added to it. This will cool the water and release CO2 into your grow room. the cold water will be pumped(with relatively low pressure) into the first coil that has a fan blowing on it so that the air is cooled(this is within the grow space or in the space from which the intake air is being pulled). the water will then continue on to the outside to another coil that is sitting in a cooler of cold water. This will pre cool the water before it is returned to the cold holding cooler with the dryice. 

This is a "red-neck" AC idea that I have recently come up with. It is as yet untried but I feel like it would work for a couple days until the dry ice has evaporated and the cooler water has warmed. For the hottest days the expense for the dry ice might be worth it. I haven't worked out all the details.


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## ruufuus (Mar 18, 2012)

Old_SSSC_Guy said:
			
		

> run the crop at night instead of day, and exhaust the lights more than anything else.  works happy...


thanks for the post.  i plan to exhaust the cooltubes, and i will more than likely run the lights during the night, thanks for the advice.


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## ruufuus (Mar 18, 2012)

Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> I am getting ready to run in to the same problem myself. If the room is in a house that has a crawl space beneath it that is enclosed, you can draw air from there to pull through the grow. Use a strong blower that will exchange the air in the cubic space at least once a minute. The air from under a house is always very cool in the summer. I checked under my house once last summer when it was tapping at 100f and under the house was 73f. I was amazed but the ground is always cool.
> 
> If you reall want to do it right, you could dig a large hole under the house that would pool cool air, then exaust all the hot air out as high as possible.
> 
> ...



good idea with the diy air conditioner, but im not sure if i want to go that route =p.  i thought about running intake from under the house, but im afraid the air would be dusty, and possibly carry mold or something, as the crawl space isnt exactly what i would consider "clean"


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## getnasty (Mar 19, 2012)

I have a $100 window air-conditioner that cools my entire bedroom more than adequately. It's a 5000BTU from Haier, that I purchased at Walmart. How big is your grow space? Is it in or connected to a room that has a window? Or is there enough space to set up the window unit on an end table with a drip pan behind it?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 19, 2012)

ruufuus said:
			
		

> good idea with the diy air conditioner, but im not sure if i want to go that route =p.  i thought about running intake from under the house, but im afraid the air would be dusty, and possibly carry mold or something, as the crawl space isnt exactly what i would consider "clean"



I pull air from my crawl space all year round.  In the winter, it doesn't get too cold and in the summer, it is substantially cooler than outside air.  I am a plumber and am in crawl spaces all the time.  Put something on your intake to help filter the air.  If you have mold in your crawl space, you have it in the rest of your home--spores do not stay in one place.  In addition, unless you have a very new home, you have places all over your home where air from the crawl space enters your living space.  Also, like also mentioned, in the summer, I always run my flowering lights at night.  Dry ice does not work well and does not last long enough to really be something you want to use--you would be better off buying a small window A/C like nasty mentioned.  The cost of dry ice would most likely be greater than the cost of the electricity to run the cooler and there would be no real controls on the dry ice system.


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## ruufuus (Mar 19, 2012)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> I pull air from my crawl space all year round.  In the winter, it doesn't get too cold and in the summer, it is substantially cooler than outside air.  I am a plumber and am in crawl spaces all the time.  Put something on your intake to help filter the air.  If you have mold in your crawl space, you have it in the rest of your home--spores do not stay in one place.  In addition, unless you have a very new home, you have places all over your home where air from the crawl space enters your living space.  Also, like also mentioned, in the summer, I always run my flowering lights at night.  Dry ice does not work well and does not last long enough to really be something you want to use--you would be better off buying a small window A/C like nasty mentioned.  The cost of dry ice would most likely be greater than the cost of the electricity to run the cooler and there would be no real controls on the dry ice system.


good info thanks for your post.  in light of the information provided i will most likely run intake from the crawlspace, and set my timers to run the lights during the night time, and hopefully this will be enough to keep the ladies cool and happy =]


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## Jericho (Mar 19, 2012)

I get this problem as well. Ac is the only way i can go. It goes up to about 100f easy over there in mid summer time, also humidity sky rockets. That plus a 600w in a tent can make temps hit 120. 

Not sure if it was mentioned but might be handy to get some white thick curtains. They block out allot of heat from windows, that plus my ac does the trick. Also blocking out as much heat from coming into the room from outside helps reduce how much the ac works.


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## PuffinNugs (Mar 19, 2012)

hxxp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16896741555

i just got one of these, had a coupon in my email and got it for $170 including shipping 

perfect for rooms without windows, just have to add another vent output to the grow 

this size is good for the romm im building, they come in smaller and bigger "btu"

also..."allow you to use this model as a cooling unit, dehumidifier, or a fan to circulate air" so works like the window ones and is multipurpose


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## Hushpuppy (Mar 19, 2012)

That is a capitol idea  That only draws about 8amps, probably 10amp start up. Having it not in a window or wall will keep it quiet on the outside too


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## PuffinNugs (Mar 19, 2012)

i dont know how ruufus setup is. involving how many outlets and the like in his room. i didnt really look at amps when i boughtjsut saw the price was a steal and was perfect for my new design. that 10 amp start up could casue some problems to some people if they have it on the same cuircut as ballasts and such. but after many years of growing now, i find it is a must for summers in my area unless i want to blast the central a/c and raise my electric $100s of dollars.



but im building a room from the ground up once i move in a couple months. goign to wire multiple dedicated circuts so not too worryed about amps. like ill have flower room lights on one, veg room lights on another. one for the a/c and other fans in flower, and another for veg fans and other random things. 
my current house is wired so screwed up i doubt it would past todays inspections. i blow fuses constantly if i try to vaccum or anything. one ballast is on the same circut as my home theather  not good at all.

a couple more months i keep telling myself lol. i cant wait have so many plans i hope they all come together, the equipment is there but no where to build lol


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## Hushpuppy (Mar 19, 2012)

I know what yu mean, I am in about the same boat with not having enough power to do what I want. I told my brother I wish I had a warehouse to work with and legal rights to do as I want. But for now I have to stick with my little cabinets


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## unlimitedblackx (Mar 20, 2012)

PuffinNugs said:
			
		

> hxxp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16896741555
> 
> i just got one of these, had a coupon in my email and got it for $170 including shipping
> 
> ...


I have a single hose unit almost like this one and the thing is, there is 2 blower's in the unit and when it is blowing cold air in your room it is actually exhausting air from the grow room to outside the grow room at the same time, so you almost need to connect a filter to the exhaust part of the unit !! or you can have the unit sitting outside your room and duct the cold air in the room !! you cannot have a sealed room with these unit's !! and are not very efficient, very poor design if you ask me !!


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## Roddy (Mar 20, 2012)

getnasty said:
			
		

> I have a $100 window air-conditioner that cools my entire bedroom more than adequately. It's a 5000BTU from Haier, that I purchased at Walmart. How big is your grow space? Is it in or connected to a room that has a window? Or is there enough space to set up the window unit on an end table with a drip pan behind it?



If the A/C is blowing it's exhaust air back into the room, you're warming the air you're cooling in one shot! 

I've seen several DIY A/C examples, the one posted above is as good as any. If you have a cool basement to set the cold cooler up in, it would probably work even better. I've seen the suggestion of digging deeper in crawlspaces (or in my case, MI basement), the deeper down, the cooler the ground air. I have both, really, a crawlspace and a MI basement. The crawlspace is directly connected to the MI with an access hole...lots of cool air in there that can be tapped with a simple house fan sucking into the grow space (fan needs to be strong enough so as not to limit the pull already made with the ventilation set-up).


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## Roddy (Mar 20, 2012)

*Dry ice does not work well and does not last long enough to really be something you want to use--you would be better off buying a small window A/C like nasty mentioned.*

Yep, why I've never bothered with the DIY. Seems a wash in cost from elec to ice and I know my time/effort is worth more than any measly savings one could make! I would add that you want to make sure the A/C is of size it's not being overworked and running constantly!


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## Irish (Mar 20, 2012)

under the house is where all the creepy crawlers live...i've always heard if you use bombs in crawl space, and if you use gas appliances, you should turn off your gas first... 

i treat under my home with diatomaceous earth every year. i go under there with a head light and a duster every spring. just started throwing cedar mulch under and around the grow area as well to control bugs...

i have a hate/hate relationship with spiders. 

you just don't want to give them free access to your girls, so something to think about too when drawing cool air from crawlspaces...peace...


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## PuffinNugs (Mar 20, 2012)

unlimitedblackx said:
			
		

> I have a single hose unit almost like this one and the thing is, there is 2 blower's in the unit and when it is blowing cold air in your room it is actually exhausting air from the grow room to outside the grow room at the same time,
> and are not very efficient, very poor design if you ask me !!View attachment 186947


 
thats what i want it to do though. i didnt want the one with the second hose pulling in outdoor air. so it all depends on the user and thier needs.

this is for the 100+ degree weeks, wont be using it all the time. my hoods are pretty good at keeping my temps under control. well built hoods make a huge difference. probably mostly be used as a dehumdifier/fan.

if i was running co2 i woulnt need the a/c at the same time, so really dont matter if it was sealed or not for me.

you have a hose for water on yours or is it a tank? they look similar but are differnt. does that one only take in air from the sides or something, i see no intake in the front.


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## dman1234 (Mar 20, 2012)

Its not a direct answer to the question but.....I gave up, it became alot of work and in summer there are things to do outside, I just wanna grow like mad Sept-May and shut it down, but thats just me.


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## unlimitedblackx (Mar 20, 2012)

PuffinNugs said:
			
		

> thats what i want it to do though. i didnt want the one with the second hose pulling in outdoor air. so it all depends on the user and thier needs.
> 
> this is for the 100+ degree weeks, wont be using it all the time. my hoods are pretty good at keeping my temps under control. well built hoods make a huge difference. probably mostly be used as a dehumdifier/fan.
> 
> ...


There is only one hose on mine and it is an exhause hose hooked to the hot side of the unit to outside, its tuck in behind the unit in the pic you caint see it. 

it does not have a water tube neither does it have a tank, my unit evaporates the water as it builds up !! You could actually use it as an exhaust for the room but you would need to DIY a duck to a air filter somehow, witch im really thinking of doing as it is a really strong fan, must be at least 500 cfm, when my unit is on i have a real hard time shutting the door, it want to suck it open again !!

There's an intake on the side witch blows air in the hot side of the unit to outside,that's the part that would need a filter to it if you would want to use it as an exhaust, that's the strong one. And there is one in the back of the unit blowing air through the cold side of the unit back into the room !!


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## hamholfarm (Mar 20, 2012)

I own a very old farmhouse - there was no A/C when I first moved in. I'm still putting new walls in the main floor. Anyway I have one of the "spot coolers" on this floor and it works very well. There are two hoses that have to go to a window - one is the intake and the other is the exhaust. The A/C unit comes with a plastic slide to fit the hoses to a window. I made a better sealing rig out of two inch insulation board. I used the same insulation board to exhaust my tent grow out a window - I also added a dryer vent to help prevent back-flow when the fan is off. 
1st pic is of A/C unit
2nd pic is of the intake and exhaust hoses - the expand like an accordion
3rd pic is the insulation board for intake and exhaust hoses
4th pic is my tent exhaust with dryer vent - need to paint it white to match the window
Hope this helps.
Chip  :farm:


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## PuffinNugs (Mar 20, 2012)

@Unlimitedblackx
i see.

are you venting it into your house or is that wall going outside? i dont use my filter much, i used it mostly so dust didnt collect in the hoods more than i did for smells.

how big are the exhaust tubes, im guessing 6"? wonder if those new K&N filter looking things would work for a filter, not sure if you can blow out of them though and not sure how you could filter the intake side, also the unit i got dont stat the CFM like some do in the description, so not sure if it would have enough power to blow through a normal carbon filter. im guessing its around 235cfm or so since they say rooms up to 200sqft.

mine is going to be vented through the celing of a basement and to the outside of the house like a dryer/furnace/water heater vent (instead of out a window), going to do the same thing with main room/light exhaust. not to worried about smells personally, but i can see how that effects some people when using the one tube a/c


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## unlimitedblackx (Mar 20, 2012)

PuffinNugs said:
			
		

> @Unlimitedblackx
> i see.
> 
> are you venting it into your house or is that wall going outside? i dont use my filter much, i used it mostly so dust didnt collect in the hoods more than i did for smells.
> ...


Behind the wall you see is attic space, i vent in there !! both my room's are in the attic of my small A frame house. I really wish i had a basement. I believe it's 5" hoses.....on mine anyways !! Not to sure about the filter's your talking about, all i know is that there not for smell !!


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## PuffinNugs (Mar 20, 2012)

unlimitedblackx said:
			
		

> Behind the wall you see is attic space, i vent in there !! both my room's are in the attic of my small A frame house. I really wish i had a basement. I believe it's 5" hoses.....on mine anyways !! Not to sure about the filter's your talking about, all i know is that there not for smell !!


 
yeah the filters im talking about are for smell, they are relativly new. i think novellechef and others have a thread going somewhere on here about them.

attic has to suck in the summer, i couldnt even imagine growing in mine, i can see how the single vent a/c isnt enough for you.

edit: i found it http://marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55096&highlight=filter+test


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## unlimitedblackx (Mar 20, 2012)

I have 2 1/2 month to go on this grow then ill take a break t'ill September !! I need to invest in 2 8"XXL air cooled reflector's i think would make a big difference in my room, and a nice big 8" exhaust fan to go with that and an 8" intake fan that blows air from the crawl space i have under my house !! Then bring on the summer month !! let's not forget the can 100 :holysheep: growing is expensive


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## Mamba3164 (Mar 21, 2012)

I actually have a question to add. Ive ben planning on getting an ac unit for the room i use also. my problem is a light leak one. right now the window is covered with only the out exhaust blowing out the window. would it be easier to just sit the unit on a table in the room? or is it possible to avoid the light leak with it in the window? The heat is a pretty serious issue with a 1000w and no other way to bring in cooler air. fyi price is not an issue. im willing to spend to earn.


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## PuffinNugs (Mar 21, 2012)

Mamba3164 said:
			
		

> I actually have a question to add. Ive ben planning on getting an ac unit for the room i use also. my problem is a light leak one. right now the window is covered with only the out exhaust blowing out the window. would it be easier to just sit the unit on a table in the room? or is it possible to avoid the light leak with it in the window? The heat is a pretty serious issue with a 1000w and no other way to bring in cooler air. fyi price is not an issue. im willing to spend to earn.


 
if its a window a/c then i dont see how it would work on a shelf. the portable ones need a place to vent the hot air somewhere, the window adaptor can be blacked out.

also what kind of hood/feflectors do you use and your exhaust fan.

im running 2000watts in a 5x5 atm and with my Hydrofarm Radiant 6 (claim to be the coolest on market, i believe it after using) big hoods they are hardly warm to the touch when properly ventilated.

i think a big oversight people have is thier hood choice. the more expenisve ones are well worth the price. liek HTGsupply gear, while good for starting up, there stuff really does have lower quailty.

heres exact ones im using, ive tried 3 differnt kinds and these blow all them away in terms of quality and cooling. hxxp://www.hydrofarm.com/pb_detail.php?itemid=7685, they even sell heat shield covers to cool them even further, but they really dont need it.


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## Mamba3164 (Mar 21, 2012)

my issue is the room not my tent. there is no ac in the apt at all. and its a second floor so all the heat rises. the temp outside is usually 10 degrees lower than the apt. i want to cool the room. there are non window units but they seem like more work. i use a passive intake so i dont have to change my tents set up at all. if you have a window unit in a blacked out room id love the link. and or a non window unit.


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## PuffinNugs (Mar 21, 2012)

check out Hamolfarms pictures in this thread, those are great. see how the window attachment he has setup, what you would do is paint the insides black, and like he's doing paint the outside part to match your window frame then no light will be getting through.

most of those style portable a/c have around 6' of vent ive read.


also unlimtedblackx's pictures in this thread show how he's venting through the wall, no light leaks there either.


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## dman1234 (Mar 22, 2012)

I made a vent room, I put up a wall about 3 feet from an outside wall with a window, my AC and lights are both pumped into the "Vent Room" i couldnt have the exhaust directly in a window because neighbours could see/hear it, the vent room has a window fan exhausting the vent room.


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## Mamba3164 (Mar 22, 2012)

heres what i was thinking. its alot like yours.


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## Mamba3164 (Mar 22, 2012)

ill put the ac in the window and place a very large box on the inside surrounding it. then ill place a few L shaped vent holes to allow the air to circulate. I can still run the out through the box directly to the window.


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## Wetdog (Mar 22, 2012)

dman1234 said:
			
		

> Its not a direct answer to the question but.....I gave up, it became alot of work and in summer there are things to do outside, I just wanna grow like mad Sept-May and shut it down, but thats just me.


:yeahthat: :goodposting:   +rep

I'm in a basement that _mostly_ stays in the low 70's, except when it gets up around 100 and gets up to 78 or so. I run a adjust-a-wing because the basement is so cool and use the heat to warm the basement.

Sept-May works ok-fine and besides I'm pretty busy with my outdoor garden.

dman is totally correct, too much work and too much $$$$$ to try and deal with those 3 months.

Wet


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