4x8 Tent with A/C

I have a 4x4 tent that I started to grow in and during the summer the temps were/are so high that even with a portable a/c venting in, I cannot get my tent to the below 80 degrees recommended for bloom. Instead temps range from 85-90. Not to mention the A/c runs constantly. Yes I added an in-line fan to try and boost the airflow, no it didn’t work.

Next summer I plan on getting a 4x8(or6) tent and putting the portable a/c in one half and using the other half to grow. Venting the a/c exhaust outside.

I grow in a rented garage and cannot add a mini split.

Am I on the right track or would you guys suggest something else?

assessment. More info needed. Lights, ac type etc..

Currently Running 4 shitty 300w equivalent (~140w actual) 2017 blurple leds. Heats up tent slightly but ambient temp is the real issue
Ac is a 10,000 btu unit I believe.

Damn man where you at your dealing with that kinda heat?

The blurples aint makin too much heat, what size fans etc. Tell me about your ventilation??

Southern California desert. Temps will stay above 100 for weeks at a time. Garage has very shitty insulation heats up quickly.

I got an 8 inch ac infinity inline exhaust. Turned on it’s lowest setting (Overkill) but also hooked up to a temp controller so it cuts off when cooled enough. Same for air conditioner. No intake fan just a bit of 4 in ducting for passive air intake.

FunkyPunk420 said:

Southern California desert. Temps will stay above 100 for weeks at a time. Garage has very shitty insulation heats up quickly.

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So your lung room(the room tent is in) is too hot. Are you using ac on it or tent directly?

Tent directly. I had it hooked up with ducting venting into the bottom duct opening, but now I’ve jimmy Rigged it to enter directly in the side door by unzipping it, insulating and duct taping around where the cold air comes out

So you have an AC with an exhaust fan and passive intake?

You’re just going to be wasting your cool air.

Is your passive intake duct bringing in air from outside or the garage?

Put the whole ac unit in the tent and draw air from outside the tent. The way you have it now is not even worth the power wasted. Has to be inside the tent. Lower plant count if needs be.

Yeah that’s why I was planning on getting the 4x8. I just was asking if there was a better way than that. Question should have been clearer I guess

NukaKola said:

So you have an AC with an exhaust fan and passive intake?

You’re just going to be wasting your cool air.

Is your passive intake duct bringing in air from outside or the garage?

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It’s taking it in from the garage

Is there any way to rig a carboard box on the face of the AC and fabricate yourself a reducer to tape up to your intake duct? If that's possible you can zip the tent back up. Unless the seal around the opening in the tent is tight.. then my question is useless.
I know you mentioned an inline booster, but is it on the intake or the exhaust?

FunkyPunk420 said:

It’s taking it in from the garage

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So how are you replenishing CO2?

Currently the cool AC air is going into the tent and then being sucked out by your exhaust fan. So basically your AC is trying to cool your entire garage instead of just cooling your tent.

It would make more sense to just get rid of the intake and exhaust. Add a CO2 tank, seal up the tent and just run the AC.

Or run an intake from outside set on a cycle timer to run for say 1 minute every 5 minutes. This will replenish CO2 but make it much easier for your AC to cool just your tent.

Running an AC is best suited for using a sealed room/tent and supplementing CO2. If you don’t want to use a CO2 tank, then you need a fresh intake pulling in outside air on a timer so it will replenish CO2 levels but not bring in so much hot outside air that your AC is struggling to keep things cool.

Running an intake & exhaust simultaneously with an AC defeats the purpose. The only time that is a good idea is if you have your AC cooling a lung room, in your case would be your garage, and then having the intake/exhaust connected to a thermostat to keep the tent at a desired temp. This works best if you have multiple tents inside one room. But since you are running one tent and your AC doesn’t seem to be adequate to cool the entire lung room (garage) this isn’t the best method.

Sorry again guys but I know my current setup is inefficient and crap. I wasn’t really looking for ways to improve it.

The thread was supposed to be more about the new setup in a 4x8. I just was wondering more about putting the ac inside the tent. I know it will work infinitely better then my current setup but I was just thinking if there was some aspect I was overlooking.

the idea of introducing co2 and sealing the tent is interesting but I would want to upgrade my lights first to really make sure I’m getting the added benefit.

NukaKola said:

So how are you replenishing CO2?

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My garage has a frequent air exchange between us going in and out, I also leave the doors cracked often, and I also do cardio in there for about 35 mins each morning so I think it charges the room with a good amount of co2 lol

Stoner logic.

i live in socal. when i used to grow in my garage i would shut down for the summer and grow extra in winter, the garage just gets too hot for the summer.

NukaKola said:

Running an AC is best suited for using a sealed room/tent and supplementing CO2.

Running an intake & exhaust simultaneously with an AC defeats the purpose. The only time that is a good idea is if you have your AC cooling a lung room, in your case would be your garage, and then having the intake/exhaust connected to a thermostat to keep the tent at a desired temp. This works best if you have multiple tents inside one room. But since you are running one tent and your AC doesn’t seem to be adequate to cool the entire lung room (garage) this isn’t the best method.

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FunkyPunk420 said:

Sorry again guys but I know my current setup is inefficient and crap. I wasn’t really looking for ways to improve it.

The thread was supposed to be more about the new setup in a 4x8. I just was wondering more about putting the ac inside the tent. I know it will work infinitely better then my current setup but I was just thinking if there was some aspect I was overlooking.

the idea of introducing co2 and sealing the tent is interesting but I would want to upgrade my lights first to really make sure I’m getting the added benefit.

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you got some good help here.. his concern is that if you have an exhaust, your AC will do nothing. You have to cool the whole garage. And keep it cool with fresh air from outside (which does nothing if its 100 degrees outside). OR run a sealed environment, no exhaust, with AC and CO2

NukaKola said:

It would make more sense to just get rid of the intake and exhaust. Add a CO2 tank, seal up the tent and just run the AC.

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+1

If it’s possible in your situation why not build permanent walls (skip tent) insulate the walls and put the business end of the AC into grow room by mounting it on a fixed wall.
In this scenario you could insulate your walls too.
All that being said, I think your best advice might be as someone said above, shut down in the summer.

Good luck!