Portable AC in grow room, whats good?

[Tact]

Hey all,

My room is getting to about 85, so I wanted to get a AC unit in there to avoid this escalation as I only have my 1000w MH @ 60% now and its still getting too warm. I googled some units, and just wanted to throw this out to the people on MP and get their feedback on what they have expierenced/heard.

I don't have a window in the room, and I wanted to avoid a hose if possible, I guess I don't have to.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/LG-11-000-BTU-Portable-Refurbished-Air-Conditioner-White/34931710

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Frigidaire-5-000-BTU-Portable-Air-Conditioner-FRA053PU1/16440423

Thoughts?

 

[Hushpuppy]

The key to the portable AC units that I have seen is that they pull in air from the room and cool half of it and spit it back out into the room, but the other half of the air is used to remove the heat from the room. So you still have to have an exhaust point for that air to leave, and you have to have an intake point to allow air to be pulled into the room or else the AC will not cool.

Setting up an AC or other "cooling system" greatly depends on the size off your grow space and where and how it is set up within a stand alone building, within a "spare room" in the home, or housed in a larger building.

The key to any cooling system is understanding that "cooling" isn't simply making the air cooler, but rather "removing" the heat from the air and exhausting that heat somewhere else. Most air conditioning systems remove the heat from the air on an internal space and then push it to an external coil where a fan blows external air across it to pick up that heat and take it away from that coil.

If you have a small space to grow in and don't have a good way to remove the heat with exhausting heated air, you can build your own "mini-split" system or if you have $1800 to spare, you can buy a mini-split AC system.

 

[Rosebud]

It is very tricky. You have to have a window to exhaust the HOT air. Then you need to be careful the exhaust thing doesn't, A. fall out of the window and put the hot air back in the room to a nice 100 degrees, or B the tubing from the back of the AC to the window doesn't fall off either. After much duct tape it is working. Good luck.

 

[ShOrTbUs]

this one is 8,000 btu. it's on wheels so you can move it with ease, has auto evaporation, and comes with 4ft 4" exhaust hose as well as a window adapter. from what i've tested it will cool about 300-400sqft max. depending on how cool you want to keep the room/rooms.

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[ShOrTbUs]

in a grow room setup though, 150 maybe 200 sqft max. hps lights get pretty hot. also propping it up on a table or something so it's conditioning the hottest air in the room will improve efficiency.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I also found that I had to insulate that hose coming out the back as it got very hot and added heat back to the room. Once I wrapped it in insulation, I was able to tell a big difference.

 

[Rosebud]

Thanks HP, what did you insulate the hose with? Thank you.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I initially wanted to use the fiberglass batts but couldn't find the right size so I bought a few rolls of the thin poly-ffoam that is about 6" wide and comes in 25', 50' rolls. I just started at one end and duct taped it in place and then wound it around the hose at enough angle to overlap each time until I got to the other end and then taped it down. then I did a second winding around the hose and taped it in place so that it wouldn't slide around and form gaps. It was a bit of a pain to do but it was worth it as it stopped all the heat that was radiating off the hose.

 

[Rosebud]

Thank you, I think I will C&P and send to Mr rb, sounds like a job for him.

 

[ShOrTbUs]

hxxp://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-6-in-x-25-ft-Insulated-Flexible-Duct-R6-Silver-Jacket-F6IFD6X300/100396935

worth every penny

 

[BillKennedy]

Summer is getting nearer here in my country. I've been looking out for reviews on Portable Air Conditioner. I want to purchase a good one. Thanks for posting infos here.

 

[George228]

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