Bigger AC or bigger dehumidifier?

cheetoh

Member
I have a 16x16x8 well-insulated room with an ATMOS-B2 Basic Digital Atmosphere Controller, 20 gal co2 tank (used occasionally), a 780 cfm inline fan for 3 vented/insulated 600w well-sealed hps fixtures. I also have a 30,000 BTU nat. gas space heater for winter, an 8000 BTU a/c through the wall, a 30 pint dehumidifier, and two pedestal fans directly on the girls at all times. With the a/c set at 80 degrees, the temp stays around 80-85 degrees. The dehumidifier is set at 45 and keeps the room around 47-55 %. Some times the humidity creeps up to 60 after watering but not for long. And when it's really hot outside the room temps hover @90 degrees for several hours. It seems when the outside environment gets more severe, both appliance are working overtime to keep up and keep the room normalized. Botrytis mold crept up during last rotation but only at the very end, thank god. I used a very expensive botrytis-specific fogger, lots of Physan 20, and lots of soap/water to sterilize the room and equipment. The botrytis crept back again with the current crop but very nominally & thankfully with no damage (diligent monitoring). Obviously, I will have to sterilize the room room again after these affie kush ryders finish.


My question is if I want to keep the room relatively normalized constantly, should I use a bigger a/c unit (12,000) and perhaps more fans or just get a larger dehumidifier like a 70 pint? Also any room scheme advice is welcome. Money is not a big concern either.

TIA
 

cheetoh

Member
Does an a/c unit remove a comparable amount of moisture as a dehumidifier? I wonder if a giant a/c window unit such as a 25,000 BTU would draw as much moisture out as a 30 pint dehumidifier?
 

computergroove

Active Member
I purchased 2" Styrofoam insulation and screwed it to the ceiling walls and floor. On the floor I added a 1/2" particle board and painted it. I silicon calked all the seams on the ceilings and walls and I calked the larger seams on the floor boards (where they didn't come together just right. I then purchased a ductless minisplit with 3 zones and I put 9k btu in my veg and 2 - 18k units in my flower. The insulation will greatly reduce the heat penetrating from the outside. More is obviously better. It will run about $13 for every 4x8 sheet of Styrofoam from Menards.
 

cheetoh

Member
Cool. Thanks all for the advice. I'd really love to get that "flir-proof" foil to finish off over the Styrofoam. I wonder if you can put like 5 inches of Styrofoam to limit the heat signature?
 
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