Do I need more fans?

[bono]

Hey guys,

So I moved into a new place and am setting up a new grow space. I decided to section of 1/2 of a walk in closet. The space is 4'X4'X8', I used the 3 walls in the back and made the 4th out of plywood(bottom 30" and then used panda film the rest of the way up. The plan is to run the exhaust out through a vent in the closet door and then run intakes at the bottom with vents. I'm having such an issue with heat and I can't get it under control. I'm using a 6" vortex fan to pull air through my air cooled hood. I then have 2 6" inline fans to push air in. Then inside there are two 10" fans to swirl the air around. The temps are still in the mid 90s. I had a setup similar to this but in a smaller box and I didn't seem to have a problem. Looking for any help, thanks guys.

 

[Bubby]

It could be that the room that you're exchanging air in is not as big or as well ventilated as the room in your previous house.

Maybe try reinstalling one of the 6-inch intake fans, so that it intakes directly to the light.

Don't forget to continue the duct tape around all the exhaust holes, like you did next to the vortex fan.

The intake fans seem to be taking air from the room right next to it.. what are the temps in that room?

 

[bono]

I sealed everything up after I took those pictures. The temps in the adjacent room level out at 80, unfortunately while summer is here that’s as low as it'll get. I was still under the impression that with adequate ventilation you could keep your temps within 5-7 degrees of the outside temp. I know that I could manage to keep them within that frame in my last place (I had more passive intakes though, wonder if that could help.) I'm thinking of upgrading to an 8" fan. I'm pulling air out at 499cfm and putting air in at 500cfm (250 each fan), maybe pulling out at 749 will help more.

 

[Dewayne]

Well 749 would, but it's not really needed. It should be fine. And i've always heard keep the temps from 70-80 degrees. I don't see why it's not ventilating fine. I don't know what to tell you, sorry i can't help but i hope your problem is solved soon, good luck man.

~Burn One~
Dewayne

 

[bono]

Yea, 70-80 would be nice but I'm just shooting more mid 80s. Its always been fine, the roots stay at the perfect temp, easy to control that with the water.

 

[Bubby]

The temps in the adjacent room level out at 80

That's your problem.. I don't think it's worth trying more fans.

Are there any other (cooler) rooms you could use for air exchange?

If not, I think your best option is to place a small a/c unit in there. Find a switch that'll turn it on/off when it reaches a certain temperature.

Unfortunately, you have so much air exchange right now, that a/c might be ineffective. Maybe you could use one of the 6inch fans to push air through the hood with the vortex still attached to it. The idea would be to use air from outside to cool the light, so you're not wasting a/c air.

Just brainstorming here..

 

[booradley]

Have you checked the temp where your plants will actually be growing? In my cab, the top gets pretty warm, but down where the plants actually are growing, the temp stays nice and cool. Easily 10 degrees cooler. Never used a thermometer to confirm this though.

 

[bono]

Bubby, no where to vent the AC... I think the neighbors would start to wonder why in the hell I'm running a window AC when I have central air... I think pulling the air through the hood is my best option right now. I'll just need to add another exhaust to get the rest of the heat out of the cab... an inline 8" might to the trick or another 4" inline fan.

Booradley, yea the thermometer i use doesn't seem to be effected by the light itself. The temp 10" below the light is only 2 degrees warmer then if I lay in the thermometer on top of the hydroton.