funny story and a ? about air conditioners

[LassChance]

O dear...so, trying to offest the power used by my HPS, I decided to not use the central AC unless I was REALLY suffering.
So, yesterday was the first time I switched on the AC.

Within five minutes my whole house STANK of MJ!

Duh...didnt occur to me the AC air exchange thingy is in the garage...where my grow table is! Natch...the very air the machine sucked in to cool and spread thru the vents is loaded with stinkeroos!

So...I tunred it OFF. I mean...jeeez. Cant really have the house smelling like, well, like I have pot growing in the garage.

So...here we are in an early summer heat wave of temps above 95....
So, I went to Lowes and bought a portable AC unit just to cool the living room in the hottest part of the day.

My question is...does a portable AC use as much, more or less electricity than the central AC? it is 9000 BTU.

Lassie

 

[HippyInEngland]

Hello Lass

That is a very funny story

Does the unit have an energy efficiency rating on it?

eace:

 

[crozar]

portable a/c will be around 150 watts - 500 watts

but that stink you got to clean your A/C filters around your house , clean them and use vinegar when wiping the surface of the ac and inside the boxes and around the filter , the house will smell fresh within 2hours fully fresh

 

[PencilHead]

Lass, my 8000BTU is like 800 watts. I'm sure you could multiply that times 120v and it might mean something to someone smarter than I, but... No way a stand alone is going to come close to your central in effiecincy. You've probably figured out by now that the 9000BTUs ain't gonna cut it anyway. I've got mine in an 4.5'x8' room with 2 600w and it barely keeps me below eighty.

Lemme ask--by air exchange thingy, you mean the air handler? That would be the thing by the filter, right? Where you change your filter is where your return air comes from, not your garage. If you're getting garage fumes in your house, do not, repeat do not park your car in there idling. Think about it, what would happen if you cranked your car in the garage? Your house would get car fumes every time. Even if your garage is heated and cooled, the intake will not be in the garage--codes.

You may have an intake leak on your central unit.

Luck and peace.

 

[LassChance]

Lass, my 8000BTU is like 800 watts. I'm sure you could multiply that times 120v and it might mean something to someone smarter than I, but... No way a stand alone is going to come close to your central in effiecincy. You've probably figured out by now that the 9000BTUs ain't gonna cut it anyway. I've got mine in an 4.5'x8' room with 2 600w and it barely keeps me below eighty.

Lemme ask--by air exchange thingy, you mean the air handler? That would be the thing by the filter, right? Where you change your filter is where your return air comes from, not your garage. If you're getting garage fumes in your house, do not, repeat do not park your car in there idling. Think about it, what would happen if you cranked your car in the garage? Your house would get car fumes every time. Even if your garage is heated and cooled, the intake will not be in the garage--codes.

You may have an intake leak on your central unit.

Luck and peace.

OK...uh, I dont know what you call it. There's two parts. In the garage is this big box kinda thing that has a fan in it. Then OUTSIDE there is this other part and it also has a fan in it. There is also a long piece of clear tubing that carries water from condensation out. Perhaps that part is the condenser? The only other thing I know is, my unit is for both heat and AC.
Obviously I dont know crap about air conditioner/heat systems!

I do know how to change the filters in the air intake thingies in the living room and bedroom, tho. Yes, they do need changing and they're mon the shopping list.

I know that in past summers using the central AC, my bill wouold go from around 100 a month to 200 or MORE.

Im hoping the prtable AC I just bought will be less costly.

Im going to read over the pamphlet again and look for it's efficiency rating. Must be there, somewhere.

Good grief.If it isnt one thing...it's another.

Thanks,

Lassie

 

[nvthis]

O dear...so, trying to offest the power used by my HPS, I decided to not use the central AC unless I was REALLY suffering.
So, yesterday was the first time I switched on the AC.

Within five minutes my whole house STANK of MJ!

Duh...didnt occur to me the AC air exchange thingy is in the garage...where my grow table is! Natch...the very air the machine sucked in to cool and spread thru the vents is loaded with stinkeroos!

So...I tunred it OFF. I mean...jeeez. Cant really have the house smelling like, well, like I have pot growing in the garage.

So...here we are in an early summer heat wave of temps above 95....
So, I went to Lowes and bought a portable AC unit just to cool the living room in the hottest part of the day.

My question is...does a portable AC use as much, more or less electricity than the central AC? it is 9000 BTU.

Lassie

My exhaust dumps right into my central ac intake. Couldn't be done any other way. I use a filter, though, and have had no problems except for an occasional weak whiff of herb. Any chance you might be able to scrub the air at your intake? I think a good filter would run... Oh, I don't know, 0.0 watts? Be worth a try.

 

[BBFan]

Hello LassChance:
Is your garage air conditioned/heated?
From what you describe, the unit in the garage sounds like an air handler for a forced air system. Throughout your house you should have 2 types of vents- larger "return" vents and smaller output vents (where the cold or hot air comes from). Do you have any vents in the garage? You should only have an output in the garage, not a return. Your garage should also be insulated if this is the case.
If you don't have these vents in the garage, then you really should have the air handler serviced as it is drawing air from the garage. And if the garage isn't insulated, you're talking about a terrible waste of energy. I know this is out of the question with your grow there now, but maybe have it done between grows?
The efficiency of the window unit entirely depends on the area you are trying to cool. If you're trying to cool your entire house, the unit will be running constantly and not achieving much.
Good luck to you.

 

[LassChance]

Hello LassChance:
Is your garage air conditioned/heated?
From what you describe, the unit in the garage sounds like an air handler for a forced air system. Throughout your house you should have 2 types of vents- larger "return" vents and smaller output vents (where the cold or hot air comes from). Do you have any vents in the garage? You should only have an output in the garage, not a return. Your garage should also be insulated if this is the case.
If you don't have these vents in the garage, then you really should have the air handler serviced as it is drawing air from the garage. And if the garage isn't insulated, you're talking about a terrible waste of energy. I know this is out of the question with your grow there now, but maybe have it done between grows?
The efficiency of the window unit entirely depends on the area you are trying to cool. If you're trying to cool your entire house, the unit will be running constantly and not achieving much.
Good luck to you.

Yes, that describes it exactly.
The garage is more or less underground, as the house sits on a sort of hill. It's walls are concrete blocks, so I doubt it is insulated on the side that faces the great outdoors. The opposite wall, which has a door opening into a small foyer, then the ddownstairs bedroom, is undoubtedly insulated, as it is also, essentially, the wall of the living space.

Yes...I will have to wait til between grows, for sure.

Oh, the garage is not heated or cooled. Because of it's being more or less underground on three sides, I expect the earth itself acts as insulation, because in the winter the garage is warmer than the outside air and in the summer, it's cooler. This is one thing that makes it such a perfect grow room, along with the fact that the garage door (the big one that goes up and down so you can drive your car in) is obscred to neighbors by my 8' tall privacy fence. Plus, the only neighbor I have is another 3/4 of an acre behind the fence...and the house is empty, been on the market over a year now.

By leaving the garage door open a crack and putting a big square fan in front of it, my MJ smells are blown into the back yard, which, as I said, almost an acre on my side and another 3/4 on the neighbor's side. Pretty discreet!

I'll get thru this grow fine with the portable AC, which only has to cool my living room.

My bedroom, downstairs ajacent to the garage is also mostly underground, so it's never too hot.

LOL! Which is why it struck me so funny when I turned on the AC and the whole house smelled up. I mean...here I am thinking, "nobody could possibly smell my grow!"

IF somebody had hjappened to drop by during that few minutes, they woulda said, "Jesus Christ, Lass! What are you doing, growing pot in yer garage or something?"

Sometimes ya just gotta laugh.

Lassie

 

[BBFan]

Hey Lass-
It sounds like your air handler is sucking in air from your garage. Hold a cigarette or candle near it when it's running and see if the smoke or flame is drawn towards the unit (don't get too close). That will show you where your leak is- and mabe you could plug it temporarily.
Good luck to you.

 

[Lemmongrass]

^this is how i mapped the air currents and air exchange in and around my growroom.