A novice's attepmt with Big Bud

[BuddyLuv]

You are cooling it in the wrong fashion. You want to cool the light with air from outside the box and suck it right out the other side. You intake and exhaust should be completely seperate. You should not use your exhaust to cool your hood. All you are doing is cooling the bulb with air that it hot. You want fresh cool air from out and pull it straight through. Your intake should be down low and your exhaust up high on the opposite side.

 

[BuddyLuv]

sorry I am really stoned or I would draw you something up in paint. I promise I will work on it in an hour but right now it is out of the question.lol

 

[andy52]

i feel you.i had major temp problems when i started.i bought a portable ac unit.because my windows are the crank out style and a window unit would not help.getting the cold air from the central unit did not work either.as the unit kicks off and on too much.since the ac i can keep it where i want it.i keep it at about 73-75 degrees.i will not have to worry about that soon tho.as for myself i will not grow during the summer months again.unless its strictly outside in the soil.
hope you get your temps down.i know its a b. good luck

 

[FrayedKnott]

You are cooling it in the wrong fashion. You want to cool the light with air from outside the box and suck it right out the other side. You intake and exhaust should be completely seperate. You should not use your exhaust to cool your hood. All you are doing is cooling the bulb with air that it hot. You want fresh cool air from out and pull it straight through. Your intake should be down low and your exhaust up high on the opposite side.

Ya, thanks. That's what I was figuring. Tomorrow I'm going to Home Depot for two 6" 250 cfm fans just for cooling the light.

 

[TokeWithHope]

ya bro just read th thread ur plants are looking good i just started my box yesterday and its going to be some what similar to yours so u got me excited

 

[FrayedKnott]

I've installed two 6" 250 cfm fans to cool the light. Disconnected the exhaust that was cooling the light. Temps are down to 86F. I hope this is ok. For the money I spent on the 6" 424 cfm fan/filter and the two 6" 250 cfm inline fans, I could have bought a portable A/C unit.

I fertilized yesterday for the first time. Gave the plants a 1/4 dose of Fox Farms Grow Big fertilizer. They seemed to love it, they're bigger, greener and lush. They are starting to grow 5th node. I may have to take them off the tray they're sitting on to give them more room, they are becoming quite bushey.

 

[4u2sm0ke]

Hello my friend...you have plenty of cfm..IMO...I think some thing is hooked wrong...with that much cfm as exhaust you should not have heat issues..let me ask a few questions...is there a inline fan drawing fresh air in and threw the light? also where are you discharging this heat? ouside of box I hope...also if the temps of the ambient air is high 80 you wont get box any cooler then the air you bring in...I seen a grow on here where a guy used an ac unit in a built box to cool the air beeing braught into box..clever I thaught..will wait for the reply...


420

 

[That crazy vancouver guy]

I was thinking the same thing... something is fundamentally wrong here.

what is the ambient temp of the air you are using for intake?
and... where is your exhaust going?... into the ambient air being used for intake?

I draw my intake from the ambient air that the box is in, but I exhaust it to outside. how is yers done?

 

[FrayedKnott]

Ok, I've labeled a front and back photo with my setup. If anything, the runs to cool the light might be too long. I've also put another temp sensor in the box to verify the actual temp. The initial sensor is with the plants under the light. The ambient room temp in my basement is about 75F.

Thanks for your help.

 

[TokeWithHope]

you see your intake fans are sucking in your exhaust air, meaning the hot air ur getting from inside the box and the runoff from your light is the same air being sucked into the box via intake, you should exhaust the air outside or a different room, somewhere away from your intake

 

[FrayedKnott]

The setup is in my basement. Trying to keep it inconspicuous. I did move the intakes a bit away from the exhausts, put a fan in the back to circulate the air and left a wider gap between the wall and box allowing for more air to get back there. The temps in the box now are 81F and 83F under the lights.

When I get some time, I'm going to shorten the runs for cooling the light. That should get the light exhaust further away from the intakes and allow for more air thru to cool the light.

As for the plants, they're getting bigger, bushier and lush.

Thanks for the help!

 

[BuddyLuv]

The only thing I see wrong is that you are exhaust for the room and you light is right by your intakes for the room and the lights. You are going to be just circulating that hot air back into your intakes. However 83 is not the best temp but you can make it work it would be considered border line.

 

[TokeWithHope]

83 is decent i would prefer a steady 75 but u can deff grow in 83 plus ur plants are lookin pretty good bro. and its a nice box. good luck with the grow

 

[FrayedKnott]

I shortened up the light runs and aimed all the exhaust vent tubes straight up away from the intakes. I now have 76.5F under the light.

I need to caulk all the cracks and vent seems. I have a slight skunky odor in my basement that people are commenting about.

Thanks for everyone's pointers and advice. Keep 'em coming!

 

[BuddyLuv]

That is a good temp to work with. You will have a much faster growth rate and better plant respiration.

 

[TokeWithHope]

after u caulk all the cracks do u expect the smell to still be there? because in my grow i cant have any smell

 

[FrayedKnott]

Still haven't caulked yet, but I did turn off the two 6" 250cfm fans and left the 4" 80cfm fan running. The temps didn't change at all and the odor became less noticeable. I think there was more air going in than being exhausted and was coming out every possible place. Now there is more exhaust and it's pulling the air in.

I also ordered an ozone generator JR for outside the growbox and I'm investigating how to go about possibly venting the exhaust outside with my dryer vent.

My plants are 3 1/2 weeks old. They are growing like weeds. They're 8 inches tall on average and very bushy. Even the nodes have nodes. I can't believe how fast they're growing. I hope I don't run out of room. Hopefully in a couple of weeks they'll show their sex so I can get rid of the males to make for more room.

 

[TokeWithHope]

looking good bro! im getting excited for my grow

 

[4u2sm0ke]

yeah glad to hear the temps are down...sometimes its just takes another set of eyes to catch something....you can push your exhaust threw the dryer vent...get youself a "Y" fitting and conect an inline fan.Plants look great...KEEP M GREEN

 

[FrayedKnott]

Got the temp problems resolved. Put an ozone generator JR for odor, still need to vent the exhaust out with the dryer vent yet. Plants are getting bigger and the smell more noticeable.

I started giving Fox Farms Grow Big a week ago with a 1/4 dose and the a 1/2 dose. Just watered yesterday with no nutes. But after researching I'm thinking I'm not giving enough because the bottom leaves are yellow. I'm only watering about 3 times a week.

Also the tips of the tops are turning yellow, is this from the light being to close or the start of root bind? the lights were 18 inches and I moved them 4 inches further away. Doesn't seem too hot anywhere under the light. These plants are growing fast, after 4 weeks now they are 11-12 inches.

The photos show the symptoms. Any help or diagnoses would be great! thanks.