Where do you pull your intake air from?

[Hackerman]

I really have no place to draw air from.

I have a nice setup for pulling air OUT of the room but the air that will be coming in is nothing special.

The room is 6x4 with a HF Active Air 6" 400CFM fan pulling through a 6x24 carbon filter and an air cooled 1000w HPS.

So, I think I am pulling pretty close to spec.

However, the air that is replacing what I pull is just dead air coming from the open door and the room next to my grow room. It's OK air but it's not fresh and it's not from a used part of the house. I would think that I would prefer to pull air from a part of the house that is used a lot and full of CO2 from the people in the room. Rather than a still and unused part of the basement.

Pulling from the outside is difficult at best and probably not something I'm going to do right now.

I can pull from a stud space that goes the height of the house. Not great. I can also tap into the laundry chute. That's about the best I have. At lease it comes from an active part of the house. It's a nice, clean stud space, lined with aluminum. It's about all I have.

The option is to leave it the way it is and use the dead air from the basement room next to the grow room. I think the laundry chute is better.

Love to hear opinions.

 

[orangesunshine]

where ever u find the freshest air will be best

my only 2 cents on this is you put a womans nylon sock over the intake duct to prevent sucking in any bugs---it will cut down on the dust and keep the air as clean as possible---it will also protect ur eqipment---think of it as preventative maintaince---when u clean the sock in about 6 months u will be shocked at the dirt and other gifts u will find

 

[Hackerman]

I thought about the nylon stocking but, I felt that it might impede air flow. I was just going to use standard insect screen.

Maybe nylon would be better.

Also, I discovered that I have reasonable access to my heat and cold air returns. However, I don't believe the heat duct would be good. Maybe in the summer when it's running cold air but not in the Winter. I would be pulling hot air into the room.

And, the cold air return???? Hmmmm? Any comments on using the air in my cold air return for intake air for the grow room?

 

[orangesunshine]

cold air intake duct sounds like a winner---wish i had one

 

[MR1]

Cold air duct is fine if your furnace is not running.

 

[DrFever]

If i was in your shoes???? I would seal that room up big time , everyone talks about how great fresh air is , everyones room is different in many ways right ... Maybe you should look into sealed room even tho you got 25 sq feet of grow space your only going to grow maybe 3 - 4 larger plants or 6 - 8 smaller plants and your space is going to be extremely packed
IMO i would grow 3 - 4 max easier to water and maintain.
But having fresh air coming also brings in tons of unwanted Bugs, spores,Humidity...
So by having your room sealed puts you in total control of your environment.
also this way gets rid of odours, light leaks, sound leaks etc

So how would i go about this ???? first of all i would seal everything up run my air cooled lights vented like you got and see actual room temps after 24 hrs of being on, .secondly i would invest in a c02 set up there is no substitute for getting your plants in the ideal temperature range and c02 uptake end result is faster everything.. and that is what you want
Your growing small amounts so you want to get the most yield c02 can boost your yields 30 - 50 percent that is huge my friend
Now pending on your strain , training techniques you should easily pull 2 + pounds in your room

 

[Hackerman]

Cold air duct is fine if your furnace is not running.

Why do you say that?

It's almost always running. Whether in the Summer for the A/C or in the Winter for the heat.

I am wondering if the flow in the cold air return would end up sucking the air out of the room, rather than allowing it to flow in.

The temp was up to 81 and I added another fan and opened the door. It's down to 78. I like to keep it just under 80 degrees.

The room is currently 78 degrees and 42% humidity. Just about perfect. However, when I close the door, I think I'm going to need more intake air.

The fan (Active Air 400 CFM) is running at just over MEDIUM on the speed control. I really don't want to run it at full speed. It's a little too loud. That giant Can-Lite filter is what's slowing everything down. The air just doesn't move as fast when it all has to be pulled through a filter.

 

[MR1]

That is what I mean , if your furnace fan is running it will probably overpower your intake fan.

 

[Hackerman]

OK, that's what I thought. Thanks. Back to the drawing board. LOL

 

[skullcandy]

i would use the basement if there a window i could open for fresh air flow, if no window the the stud wall for its own air flow.JMO

 

[Hackerman]

I have another question.... why would I want air from outside?

In the Summer, I'll be pulling in 90 degree air. In the Winter, it's often below zero.

And, all the bugs, contaminants and pollen. I would think it would be much better to pull nice 73 degree air from the living area of the house.

 

[orangesunshine]

cool fresh air is ur ticket---get it where u can---at night when most peeps run their lights pulling from outside will likely be the cooler air supply---if u pull from inside and are running an a/c---all the better from the inside---key is to get the coolest air at the peak of the heat while ur lights are running---i pull from outside and dial down the exchange rate when temps are 80's/90's---turn it back up when temps begin to drop---fans moving the air around are just as important as the fans bringing in the fresh air