20,000 Watt Medical Grow Op Construction
- Thread starter collective gardener
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TheLastWood
Well-Known Member
Honestly gardener, I ran my co2 till the end, only recently I heard that it can hinder ripening. I can't remember the exact "scientific reasoning" behind it, but its a very well known/believed theory.
apparantly ripening fruits/plants put off co2, and a high ambient co2 level interferes. Ripening is actualy a form of fermentation aka alchohol production.
Yes, your plants do create alchohol, no you can not get drunk from them.
From google:
The least understood component of fruit ripening, is carbon dioxide. (CO2 We have seen CO2 at as high as 10%, in ripening rooms set to 67-degrees-F.* We are amazed that there has never been a reported incident of ripener CO2 asphyxiation, maybe it has happened, and no one knows why…maybe not.
When CO2 is at 10%, oxygen is at 11%…you cannot light a match in that ripening room, there is not enough oxygen to support the flame The question for ripeners is:* do high CO2 levels affect the ripening process?* The answer is: Yes, they do Respiration, or ripening, can be shown in a word equation:* glucose + oxygen -» carbon dioxide + water. (C 6 H 12 O 6 +6O 2 → 6CO 2 +6H 2 O)
what level of CO2 does it start to affect the ripening process?* Many say that 1% is the level at which to control Another question: is ripening faster better? If you want to hold back bananas, either green or yellow set your temperatures for 56F fruit, and y0ur CO2 control t0 3%.* (If CO2 gets much higher, off-tastes can be developed, and a grayish “false chill” can occur. The fruit will not make any more CO2, so you have stopped the ripening process
apparantly ripening fruits/plants put off co2, and a high ambient co2 level interferes. Ripening is actualy a form of fermentation aka alchohol production.
Yes, your plants do create alchohol, no you can not get drunk from them.
From google:
The least understood component of fruit ripening, is carbon dioxide. (CO2 We have seen CO2 at as high as 10%, in ripening rooms set to 67-degrees-F.* We are amazed that there has never been a reported incident of ripener CO2 asphyxiation, maybe it has happened, and no one knows why…maybe not.
When CO2 is at 10%, oxygen is at 11%…you cannot light a match in that ripening room, there is not enough oxygen to support the flame The question for ripeners is:* do high CO2 levels affect the ripening process?* The answer is: Yes, they do Respiration, or ripening, can be shown in a word equation:* glucose + oxygen -» carbon dioxide + water. (C 6 H 12 O 6 +6O 2 → 6CO 2 +6H 2 O)
what level of CO2 does it start to affect the ripening process?* Many say that 1% is the level at which to control Another question: is ripening faster better? If you want to hold back bananas, either green or yellow set your temperatures for 56F fruit, and y0ur CO2 control t0 3%.* (If CO2 gets much higher, off-tastes can be developed, and a grayish “false chill” can occur. The fruit will not make any more CO2, so you have stopped the ripening process
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
Need I list all the things wrong with this post? Wrong place, my man. So, is this your website? A friends? I think I've made my feelings on mail ordering hydro gear quite clear. I have similar feelings for spam posts...which this cleary is, my friend. Please remove it from this thread. It's clogging up traffic.
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
What do you mean by don't have the patience to try out new tactics?
That's the whole point of growing this stuff.
Well, that's SOME people's reason for growing the stuff. Actually, their original reason was to have all the weed they could smoke. They were comitted to smoking it all, too. Well, 2 lights became 4, and a garage grow became a warehouse...and a 4 light show became a 15 light show. These guys are great. They are just having fun all the way to the bank. They don't make alot of $$$, but their coists are covered and their bills are paid. They ended up with a show this big on accident. Now, I'm just helping them keep the beast under control without spoiling their fun. They may wake up tomorrow and decide to kief out the entire crop. Ah...to be young again.
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
Excessive co2 inhibits ethylene production in plants, which is the ripening hormone. I try to back my levels down to around 500ppm during the final three weeks. I also don't really recommend running higher than 1000ppm throughout bloom phase at all, because the plants develop a reliance on it and any sudden drops to ambient levels will virtually halt growth.
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
This seems to apply to fruit off the vine. Anyone have any good data on cannabis ripening on the vine with CO2 enrichment? Not that it really matters. I'm moving ahead with reckless abandon. I'll find out soon enough if there's a negative effect on the ripening process. I have a feeling that there won't be. Plants have the amazing ability to just "not use" whatever is in too much concentration...to a point. As I said, I'm not a fan of maxing out anything in the grow op. I keep my nute ppm under 1300ppm...usually 1000ppm. I like the CO2 at 700ppm - 1000ppm. However, the effect on the plant is very strain dependant. I'll play with the CO2 concentrations to find the sweet spot. I've also found that plants get "addicted" to CO2 enrichment. One more reason to keep levels reasonable.
TheLastWood
Well-Known Member
Yeah the addiction to the co2 is the main reason I stopped using it. Well it goes hand in hand with it being a pain in the ass to refill the tank all the time. When the plants are addicted and your tank runs out u gotta go, doesn't matter if you had a long day at work.
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
Wolverine and Wood,
I, too, am all to familiar with CO2 addiction. This is why I am opposed to running CO2 in anything but a totally sealed grow room with state of the art CO2 monnitoring and controls. It's another reason why I wanted to wait until the rest of the grow was totally dialed in before starting with the CO2. In past grows I've shut down the CO2 for a week or so to move walls, expand, etc...Back then I was running 1500ppm (23 years old..."max out EVERYTHING!!!") When the CO2 stopped, so did the whole crop. I saw 99 plants just sit there for 10 days while we expanded the grow. This was pre internet, so I didn't know what was going on. In time I figured it out. That's when I ran tests to determine where the diminishing returns curve was in relation to ppm.
I wouldn't be suprised if the CO2 in my room is 50 ppm or so below the levels outside. I have a buttload of incoming air, but it's never enough. I'm betting on huge increases by just bringing it up to 500ppm while I get the A/C installed and running. I'm totally stoked about this. This is the year we out-grow Commercial J light for light. If I can do that, it will be the first time in over 10 years of dueling grow rooms. He's running 600's in his warehouse grow and 1000's dimmed to 750 in his home grow. This, I hope, will be his downfall. He's also still burning Hortis, while we burn Digilux's. Then, there's the all too dangerous topic of me trying Advanced Nutrients. I don't even want to go there right now. My wife even noticed today while she watered how tight the node spacing is on this run. FUCK.....again.
supafly@69
Member
many apologies gardener. post removed. but i used that site to purchase that tent setup. was simply recommend it to the gentleman that requested info. no offence intended.
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
Oh shit. It is I who apologize. I didn't see the post where someone was asking questions about where to get the tent. Now I feel like a dick. Very sorry. I thought it was just a random post saying "check this place out".
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
I started on the new electrical sub panel for the new A/C unit. While doing this I discovered some fuck ups Helper D made while wiring up the existing sub panels. I was very specific on wire sizing, and he somehow got it wrong. I have a massive under voltage at my lighting sub panels. I worked on it till 11:30 tonight just to get things safe. It needs another 10 hrs work to get it 100% right. I'm pissed, but glad I discovered it before I burned the place down, or started cooking ballasts.
I decided to oversize the A/C sub panel to give me another 80 amps in the bloom room. I'm thinking some extra lighting. Maybe some induction lights in between the HPS's. It would all be down the road, but having the power in place gives me some options. The new A/C is a 19 seer, meaning it's extremely efficient. I'm not anticipating too much an increase in the power bill. In fact, I qualify for a rebate from the power company! My new total A/C BTU's will be 64,000! Finally, I'll have complete environmental control. I'll be able to crank the temp down to whatever I want. Commercial J runs these A/C units. They dehumidify so well that he has to use a humidifier to bring the RH up to 40%. The unit also has a "dehumidify only" setting that can be used at night. I've ran some nice grow ops before, but this will be the best one.
It seems like many newer growers get all exited about nutrients, aero systems, LED's, and the like. I get exited about perfect atmosphere. With perfect temp, RH, and CO2, anything is possible. Can you imagine growing a purple strain and being able to crank down the night time temps to 55 degrees? That shit would turn black! The best thing is that the big clunky units are on the roof. The only thing in the room are 2 small wall mounted fan coils.
I'm probably sleep deprived and a little spacey. It could've been those 3 Tahoe OG kief hits I took before driving home. I need a new helper.
I decided to oversize the A/C sub panel to give me another 80 amps in the bloom room. I'm thinking some extra lighting. Maybe some induction lights in between the HPS's. It would all be down the road, but having the power in place gives me some options. The new A/C is a 19 seer, meaning it's extremely efficient. I'm not anticipating too much an increase in the power bill. In fact, I qualify for a rebate from the power company! My new total A/C BTU's will be 64,000! Finally, I'll have complete environmental control. I'll be able to crank the temp down to whatever I want. Commercial J runs these A/C units. They dehumidify so well that he has to use a humidifier to bring the RH up to 40%. The unit also has a "dehumidify only" setting that can be used at night. I've ran some nice grow ops before, but this will be the best one.
It seems like many newer growers get all exited about nutrients, aero systems, LED's, and the like. I get exited about perfect atmosphere. With perfect temp, RH, and CO2, anything is possible. Can you imagine growing a purple strain and being able to crank down the night time temps to 55 degrees? That shit would turn black! The best thing is that the big clunky units are on the roof. The only thing in the room are 2 small wall mounted fan coils.
I'm probably sleep deprived and a little spacey. It could've been those 3 Tahoe OG kief hits I took before driving home. I need a new helper.
Puanatat
Member
Glad to hear you're ontop of everything. I've been thinking about putting a few smoke detectors and things in my cabinet for quite some time. Maybe even hook it up to one of those car alarm circuits that messages you when your alarm goes off. It wouldn't be too hard. Do you have many safety devices (eg smoke detectors) in place? And I thought you were going to mount the AC unit (compressors and what not) inside the factory but outside the grow room - to avoid suspicion?
asublimeutopia
Well-Known Member
O my word, I just finished reading 152 pages of documented gloriousness! Took me most of last night while watchin meet the parents and today at work. I truly enjoyed your professional and scientific style of documentation and explanations CG. I truly appreciate someone who is trying to grow quantity for many needy people but is unwilling to sacrifice quality while doing it. Even though never plan on growing something to this scale your setup and habits are so refined that even someone growing one plant could benefit from your example of attention to detail. Thank you much for keeping up with this I will most definitely continue reading and I am excited to see how your remodeling efforts turn out. I can't grow (or smoke : (... ) right now cuz I'm in the military but I constantly try to learn from others so when my enlistment is up in 2013 I can jump back into hobby growing some tasty dank for me and my wife. Thanks for the inspiration and lessons, keep it up brotha! Peace from Iraq!!!
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
Nice CG, if you do end up running the Casey Jones you'll love how she turns out with temperature/humidity in the ideal range. That's the one thing I think I forgot to mention about that strain in particular; she's very temperature sensitive. If you run anywhere in the 80's, even with co2 she gets a little fluffy. Keep those temps in the 70's and she spits out some beautiful crystallized nuggets reeking of mentholated roadkill. Mmmmm, drivin that train...
TheLastWood
Well-Known Member
If u don't wanna answer its cool gardener, but for informational purposes, how much $ do various positions pay? Like ur full time helper (ex helper d's job) or just a trimmer? Most of your trimmings done by collective members I'm sure.
Just wondering if you could live off being just a 20k watt op helper.
For me, ird be just like anything, the experience gained being the most valuable thing
I framed houses for 5 years then decided I missed being a laborer so much I switched to electircal (actually it was thr rconomy I hate bein a laborer) 2 years ago, I'm already running guys at my job. Eye lurn fast
Just wondering if you could live off being just a 20k watt op helper.
For me, ird be just like anything, the experience gained being the most valuable thing
I framed houses for 5 years then decided I missed being a laborer so much I switched to electircal (actually it was thr rconomy I hate bein a laborer) 2 years ago, I'm already running guys at my job. Eye lurn fast
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
I really wanted to keep any equipment off of the roof. But, there's just no way to do that. These A/C units just generate way too much heat. They're going on the roof. Commercial J has one on the roof and he's in the same complex as I am. It's where the thing should be installed. I'm getting less and less fearful as we spend more time in this location. My neighbors love us. I give business to most of them. Commercial J has been in the complex for over 3 years without a hitch. So, a unit on the roof doesn't cause me the concern it did several months ago.
mellokitty
Moderatrix of Journals
i wear high heels around the Room..... just sayin'
collective gardener
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the kind words. I can't believe my grow is being seen in Iraq! We all look forward to having you guys back home...safe and sound. . Until then, be careful out there.
What kind of grow are you thinking about when you get back? If you're in So Cal, give me a shout and I'll get you a start up package.