Can I cool a 4k room with 14,000 BTUs?

Sencha

Active Member
Sealed rooms. Air cooled raptor hoods 8", one 8" vortex fan cooling all 4 lights. 4x 1000watts. Yes I'll be using a CO2 generator and a dehumidifier.

I've read that the bare minimum for sealed rooms "BARE BULB" is 14,000 BTUs. I know the recommended is 16,000. I will be cooling my lights.

I'm just trying to decide if I can get buy with a dual zone, 30,000 BTU mini split, for side by side rooms. It's rated for 14,000 BTUs per head unit, 2x head units. One for each room.

I also know that cooling my lights prevents me from running a truly sealed room. I'll be scrubbing the heated air from the lights. That should stop a few trolls.....

Cheers, and
thanks in advance!
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Sealed rooms. Air cooled raptor hoods 8", one 8" vortex fan cooling all 4 lights. 4x 1000watts. Yes I'll be using a CO2 generator and a dehumidifier.

I've read that the bare minimum for sealed rooms "BARE BULB" is 14,000 BTUs. I know the recommended is 16,000. I will be cooling my lights.

I'm just trying to decide if I can get buy with a dual zone, 30,000 BTU mini split, for side by side rooms. It's rated for 14,000 BTUs per head unit, 2x head units. One for each room.

I also know that cooling my lights prevents me from running a truly sealed room. I'll be scrubbing the heated air from the lights. That should stop a few trolls.....

Cheers, and
thanks in advance!
I always figure 4k btu's per 1000w of air-cooled light, just to be safe these days. Now, i've gotten away with a 24k window unit w/ 8000w's(air-cooled) before. Winter was no problem, summer it barely kept up. Out side temps at this location hit 100 degrees regularly in the summer. This room was upstairs, and that didn't help either. Hence why i always figure 4000 btu's. This might not be what you wanted to hear, just adding my real life experiences here.
 

superstoner1

Well-Known Member
I run a 12000btu inverter mini split with 3-1k lights all air cooled and in an extremely sealed room with co2 gen and ballasts and it just does it. An 18000btu would have been better.
 

Sencha

Active Member
Thanks guys. Good to see you SS1.

Couple other things to consider. Basement grow so a little cooler. Plus the rooms are on a flip, only one side running at a time.

I just cant find a unit with 18,000 on both sides. Found one with 18000 one side 12000 the other.
 

kinddiesel

Well-Known Member
what some serious advice. get air cooled lighting and vent the heat out side the room. and a small 10k btu will be more then plenty to cool those lights. if not possible then a 30 thous btu split into 2 zones will cool all that but murder the electric bill. 3000 watts of cooling wasted . I under stand possible better yields open hood more light no light radiation stoped by the glass but have to keep in mind the energy to cool the hotter rooms. it will not pay off. but yes a 30 thous btu is very large will cool 2000to 2500 thousand square feet entire house
 

SnapsProvolone

Well-Known Member
what some serious advice. get air cooled lighting and vent the heat out side the room. and a small 10k btu will be more then plenty to cool those lights. if not possible then a 30 thous btu split into 2 zones will cool all that but murder the electric bill. 3000 watts of cooling wasted . I under stand possible better yields open hood more light no light radiation stoped by the glass but have to keep in mind the energy to cool the hotter rooms. it will not pay off. but yes a 30 thous btu is very large will cool 2000to 2500 thousand square feet entire house
It can pay off. If your going with large trees in rdwc using bare verticals and CO2. Also not venting and going sealed / CO2 has the additional advantage of minimizing odor leakage.

Both ways work. I know, done both.
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Anything other than doing vertical lighting, just makes sense to me to have glass in the hood and air-cooled in a sealed grow room. Sure you lose a little light with that glass, but save some serious power costs from less ac needed. Now, of course this doesn't matter to people who spank it. But i don't!
I've built so many rooms over the years, still do, as that is how i make most of my living nowadays. 4000 btu per 1000w of AIR-COOLED light is the normal here in Norcal period.
Sure less btu's MIGHT work(many factors at play), and if it does, will help keep humidity in check= less dehu when lights are on. MIGHT! 4000 Btu works every single time though, with dehu,burner/s, and ballasts in room.
 

Sencha

Active Member
I will use Magnum XXXL 8" or Blockbuster 8" with a 700+ CFM inline fine cooling 4 lights. Ballasts outside the room.
 

anzohaze

Well-Known Member
I use to run a 12000btu mini split w 2 8 inch block buster hoods both 1000 watts with 1200cfm fan for lights, co2 generator, dehumidi multi fans and if it was not winter I could not grow. The temps would sit at 85-90. Thats lights on during the day amd off at night. Summer ger 100+ and I run lights on during day for I live within a mile of a small airport. The police and coast guard keep there choppers there so I have no heat sig. I have always said 6kbtu is minimum per 1000watt. Your location also makes a difference to that as well.
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
I will use Magnum XXXL 8" or Blockbuster 8" with a 700+ CFM inline fine cooling 4 lights. Ballasts outside the room.
Basement grow, air-cooled good, ballasts outside, I would say, your 3500 btu per would work. You are the exception the 4000 btu rule! Lol :bigjoint: What kinda temps you see in the summer? Cause if you got mild temps to flow through them hoods, the formula Snaps displayed shows it'll work.
 

kinddiesel

Well-Known Member
I suggest min 500 cfl fan per 1k light to vent out side. those 1 k lights are stupid hot. glad I switched all to 600.
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
700cfm and 4 1000 watts would build to much heat even if he only reached 80s outside
Naturally, we are all talking about using a seperate outside source/destination to cool the hoods with rite? Cause if someone is using air from inside the room, to push through the lights, then out, this is not remotely even close to a "sealed growroom". It doesn't allow the ac to do an efficient pulldown. And everything i've been saying, does not apply
 

Sencha

Active Member
Air from outside the room, cool ambient basement air will cool the lights. High of 100 for a few weeks in the summer. Nothing crazy. Mid west.

These will be two side by side rooms on a flip. I can run the 8" duct work continuous, through both rooms. That way I can put one 750 CFM fan in each room, both fans can stay on 24 hrs, while only one room will be on at a time.

Confused yet?
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Air from outside the room, cool ambient basement air will cool the lights.

Confused yet?
I'm only confused by this part^^^
You aren't going to be bringing any "fresh" air into this room rite? Your going to air cool the hoods with air seperate from the grow room rite?
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Right and right
Ok, yeah dude, 3500btu's should do it considering those other conditions you mentioned earlier. The ONLY concern is with the room that will be on during the day, and hoods being air cooled with those hot summer day temps. For that reason alone, i cannot say for sure that 3500btu per will work for sure. Cool them at all times with mild/cool temps, and yes! Can you not pull enough juice to run both at night? I really can't explain the people having problems cooling there sealed rooms with at least 4000 btu per 1k of air-cooled lights though.
 

superstoner1

Well-Known Member
Ok, yeah dude, 3500btu's should do it considering those other conditions you mentioned earlier. The ONLY concern is with the room that will be on during the day, and hoods being air cooled with those hot summer day temps. For that reason alone, i cannot say for sure that 3500btu per will work for sure. Cool them at all times with mild/cool temps, and yes! Can you not pull enough juice to run both at night? I really can't explain the people having problems cooling there sealed rooms with at least 4000 btu per 1k of air-cooled lights though.
Lay out your personal experience with this set up for us please. I do have a very sealed, very well built, basement room with excellent air flow on the lights but anything less than 4000btu per light is going the put tremendous stress on a crucial system. This is the 4th different cooling system I have had, including water cooling, and minis are definitely the way to go and the inverters are worth it, but a few hundred more for a better system that doesn't struggle is worth it many times over.
 
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