more cooling problems

J

James and Elsie

Member
Hi, everyone.

I've been reading all the problems people are having with cooling their tents, and I've tried some of the solutions, but nothing seems to be working for me. I hope someone can help.

We have a Secret Jardin tent set up in a shower enclosure in a bathroom. The dimensions of the tent are about 2'x2'x6', and the shower enclosure is a little wider, and a foor or two taller. We have a 600 w hps light, but we've damped the ballast down to 50%, and we have a charcoal filter attached to a 4-inch inline fan that's supposed to be drawing 165 cpm - this vents into the bathroom ceiling fan outlet. We also have a small fan sitting on the floor of the tent, and the temperature has reached close to 100F!

We're now at the point where we have opened the front of the tent (which kind of defeats the purpose), opened the bathroom door, raised the light (also sort of defeats the purpose), added a second fan inside the enclosure, have a third fan sitting on the floor outside blowing room air directly into the tent, and the temperature is still 84F.

We thought of putting some ducting into one of the ports at the bottom, just to keep it completely open and allow the most air possible in, but we're concerned about odour escaping when we start flowering. Another idea is to get a second in-line fan, put a coffee filter (or something) over the intake, and run ducting from the output to one of the ports in the tent. We're also having some discussion over having the bathroom door open (more air coming into the room vs privacy concerns).

Does anyone have a solution for us?

Thanks so much.

James and Elsie
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
James and Elsie said:
Hi, everyone.

I've been reading all the problems people are having with cooling their tents, and I've tried some of the solutions, but nothing seems to be working for me. I hope someone can help.

We have a Secret Jardin tent set up in a shower enclosure in a bathroom. The dimensions of the tent are about 2'x2'x6', and the shower enclosure is a little wider, and a foor or two taller. We have a 600 w hps light, but we've damped the ballast down to 50%, and we have a charcoal filter attached to a 4-inch inline fan that's supposed to be drawing 165 cpm - this vents into the bathroom ceiling fan outlet. We also have a small fan sitting on the floor of the tent, and the temperature has reached close to 100F!

We're now at the point where we have opened the front of the tent (which kind of defeats the purpose), opened the bathroom door, raised the light (also sort of defeats the purpose), added a second fan inside the enclosure, have a third fan sitting on the floor outside blowing room air directly into the tent, and the temperature is still 84F.

We thought of putting some ducting into one of the ports at the bottom, just to keep it completely open and allow the most air possible in, but we're concerned about odour escaping when we start flowering. Another idea is to get a second in-line fan, put a coffee filter (or something) over the intake, and run ducting from the output to one of the ports in the tent. We're also having some discussion over having the bathroom door open (more air coming into the room vs privacy concerns).

Does anyone have a solution for us?

Thanks so much.

James and Elsie
Click to expand...
How far are you from an outside window? A dryer line to a window placed near a fan down low would help because you need air exchange. You are getting this heat because it is building with little exchange. There is no cross ventilation for example. You are ventilating from bottom up or vice versa. Increase the fresh air supply.

Also others have accessed their crawl spaces below decks to draw a supply of cool fresh air. But you must move a lot of air in your shower.
 
Warlock1369

Warlock1369

Well-Known Member
2 fans!!! 1 pulling air from the bathroom thru the light and out your vent. And another pulling air from your tent thru a filter and out to another vent. And keeping the bathroom cool. Realy the best way.
 
J

James and Elsie

Member
I should also have mentioned that the exhaust fan is on the same cycle as the lights, so when the lights are off, the fan is off. Someone suggested running the fan 24/7 - is this necessary?

Thx.

J&E
 
Warlock1369

Warlock1369

Well-Known Member
With 1 fan yes.but dosnt change you heat problem. With 2 fans you can have 1 on with your lights and you on a temp switch.
 
J

James and Elsie

Member
Thanks for the response, Hot Rod Harley.

Unfortunately, the nearest window is down the hall and out onto the condo's common area, and our place is built on a slab (no crawl space). We have the shower door open, so keeping the bathroom door open should help (a bit of a point of contention in our household!). Do you think the idea of running ducting from a fan into the tent would help

Thanks.
 
J

James and Elsie

Member
Thanks, Warlock 1369.

The light isn't an aircooled one, so a fan won't work on it. Maybe that's what we need to do - just rejig the whole swetup and have a cooled light?

Thanks again.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
ANYTHING that promotes air exchange. The more cubic feet per minute that you swap the better. You simply cannot oversupply fresh air or exchange too much air. Then the problem becomes where to get the incoming supply and where to dump the exhaust air.

Your fart fan is a given in a bathroom. Generally ducted outside and weird smells are common. Run that 24/7. Replacing them is usually pretty straight forward. If you plan on repeating all this I would check my opening size and see if a bigger fan might not fit.

Go big to grow big. Now, consider SCROG in there to keep the canopy lower than the highest heat. Easier to zone cool. And a watercooled reflector or air cooled is almost a necessity for such setups in closets and showers etc.
 
S

SmokenMoose

Member
A pic. of the space might help. Its hard to imagine an solution without seeing the space. Is it a stand up shower? Is there a door on the shower? I know you said the bathroom need to be accessible to use, what about the shower? Could you ditch the tent but still have it confined to your shower?

Smoken M.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
A window opened slightly will allow fresh air in if your exhaust is working well enough. Work with the size of opening (use smoke of some type) to determine how far it can open and still flow in and not out.
 
B166ER420

B166ER420

Well-Known Member
Hey guys I have the exact same issue ,grobox in closet ,1 vent fan, fan inside box,fan outside box,closet door open.My lights off temps r 77f, lights on 91f(doors closed 101).anyway I was thinking about buying a portable a/c unit,with ur fan ducting an such this could b a good for ya'll.I would like to hear ur opinion.good growing God bless.by the way I'm using 361w=1410w cfl's and flourescents.
 
J

James and Elsie

Member
Thanks Smoken M - we'll try to get a picture and post it. Until then, yes, it's a (small) standup shower with a door that one of the household would like to keep closed, but is coming around to having open. The plan was to keep the tent in the shower, but still use the bathroom for guests as a powder room. We could ditch the tent and just grow in the shower (the first idea before the tent came into our lives), but then, because the bathroom would still be used and the top of the shower is open, we'd be running the risk of outside contaminants, and we wouldn't have a way to capture, and filter the smell. Unless there's some way to manage this?

Thanks again.
 
J

James and Elsie

Member
Love to, but no window. Everyone's coming up with such great ideas that just don't work in our space! We really appreciate all the minds bending to this one.
 
J

James and Elsie

Member
Yay! We're not alone in this one! I'd read about the portable a/c somewhere else, and it sounds as if it's worked well for some people. Our problem with them is space and expense, but we're planning a day trip to the States this week, so maybe we'll be able to find something.

We're kind of wondering if the fan is really pulling as much air as we were told (the danger of buying online) - is there some way to measure this?

Once again - thanks everyone!
 
B166ER420

B166ER420

Well-Known Member
U can get a pre-paid visa and look on Amazon type n portable a/c u will b surprised.I thought u could vent the unit to ur bathroom exhaust?I've had 2 good single plant organic soil grows w/heat issues, good luck hope I helped.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
James and Elsie said:
Yay! We're not alone in this one! I'd read about the portable a/c somewhere else, and it sounds as if it's worked well for some people. Our problem with them is space and expense, but we're planning a day trip to the States this week, so maybe we'll be able to find something.

We're kind of wondering if the fan is really pulling as much air as we were told (the danger of buying online) - is there some way to measure this?

Once again - thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
You'll have to deal with the exhaust of the A/C if you don't mount it in a window. Feel the heat from behind a refrigerated A/C unit. That's how they work is absorbing heat and using it to "boil" off the freon in simple terms.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top