Attic Setup, need help

Ok, so I completed my first grow... Big Bud, hydro, grown under CFL lights... Came out with 4.7 Oz dry so I'm happy and ready to move on to the next adventure... I need more stealth, and the only way that happens in my house is to move to the attic. This is where I need help, this is a list I've made in my head as to what I'll need to accomplish this...

Grow Tent (what size? I will typically be doing 2-4 plants, at max maybe 6, if the price different between a tent that will do 4 plants compared to 6 is minimal, I'll pay the extra money)
MH and HPS lights
I'm guessing I get an air cooled light?
What type of ventilation will I need? Inline fans, etc
Portable AC unit I know is a must... Summers here can get up to 105, and winters can dip to below freezing

Obviously I'll need more DWC buckets, etc... I guess the main thing I need help with is the type of lighting fixture I should get, inline fans, grow tent, etc... Portable ac, heater, hydro stuff I can handle... I just had no ventilation on my last grow and it was all CFL's so I'm clueless on those things.

And by no means am I asking anybody to find these things for me with the best price... I just need help with the size of the grow tent so I know what to look for and the lighting fixture needed so I can cool the lights properly, etc...

Also, I'm guessing I should do a 600 watt MH and HPS.

Any help is appreciated, you guys all helped me a lot with my first grow (even though I heard constant shit for growing with CFL's, but hey, 4.7 Oz seems like a fucking awesome first grow to me)

If you've got to go attik, I would ditch the tent idea and build a real room out of lumber, drywall and insulate it as much as you can afford to insulate it.

First hand, attik grows are a real bitch and add a level of complexity and expense that is hard to justify.

4'x4' grow tent
400CFM fan
6" cooltube
600W dimmable ballasts
4 plant SCRoG

Harvest 2 lbs, any questions?

regards,

ru4r34l said:

4'x4' grow tent
400CFM fan
6" cooltube
600W dimmable ballasts
4 plant SCRoG

Harvest 2 lbs, any questions?

regards,

Click to expand...

Ok, I stand corrected and always tend to look at things from the perspective of running year round.

I think of a "grow" as running year 'round, too, "Budley". So you're definitely not the only one. I wouldn't ever personally recommend an attic grow (at least not in what I think of as an attic) because the temperature/humidity fluctuations throughout the year (even during the same day) are so extreme here. Not to mention the fact that I have a helluva time keeping the damned ground squirrels out...

If I "had to" grow up there, though, I'd go totally sealed (bottled CO2 in summer, propane CO2 in winter) and insulated like a foam cooler (eg. 2"x4" studs/joists insulated with 3" thick styrene panels). I'd air-cool any HIDs using an in/out sealed run (no exchange of the grow room air) and set up a 4" fan/filter as a "scrubber" (no exhaust) in the peak of the roof. I'd probably step "down" to T8/T5 tubes for rooting/vegging (low heat). Basically, I'd build it like a sheathed-but-not-sided house inside the attic; complete with independent climate control (heat pump). I'd probably want to plumb it, too, but in my own attic that would be a pain. Also, there's no headroom (barely 5'6" at the peak of the roof).

Still, I smile every time I think of setting up a grow in my attic - because I'd totally "disguise" the aforementioned intake/exhaust with 6" passive aluminum roof vents. I have a soft spot for the way the square ones look and I really can't think of a better use for them (because they sure as shit don't let heat out of any attic I've been in - and yes, the soffits were all properly ventilated). Take that little idea and run...

It's hard to imagine a grow tent since I've never seen one in person... If I have a portable AC unit in the tent, that would control the temp and bring the humidity down to about 45-50%... I mean for $200 I can get a decent AC unit that would cool a 4x4 or 5x5 area in no time. The only question is how the grow tent would hold the temp and humidity... Are they not insulated at all? Are the walls paper thin? I know this sounds ghetto, and I'm a bit stoned right now so forgive me. But couldn't I also just put up a tent, and if needed, wrap it in insulation? Again, just a thought... As for space in the attic. Going to look at that right now but I believe it has a good amount of head space... I'll let you guys know.

Ok, here are pics with text on them to help everybody visualize...

First pic is my awesome photoshop skills.

X is obviously where I found the best spot to set up. The blue lines are the AC ducting, just so you can look at pictures and this drawing to completely visualize how my attic is set up.


This is what I see when I climb the stairs to the attic and look LEFT


Follow me on my adventure to the depths of my attic.


This is the best spot I found... I obviously would have to build a floor, not a problem, and running electric is not a problem either.


What I liked about this spot was that it was the complete opposite side of the stairs and the AC handler. I could actually easily put some sort of wall, or curtain up to hide the spot that way if an HVAC guy needs to see the air handler he would be clueless to anything being back there. It's only visible ion these pictures because of the flash on my camera. Without the flash that back corner is not really visible. Although I won't jump the gun on that... It may be visible in the middle of the day if there is light shining through the vents along the overhang of the roof.

With all my measurements I'm confident I could fit in a grow tent that is about 5"x5"x6"... Is that the space I would need to grow 4 plants? Could I fit more plants in that space? Or is that not enough space.

All help is appreciated.

Wow, with all due respect, I am not suprised your houses blow away with a bit of wind, Not alot holding your roof together...

On a constructive note..... A tent is a must for humidity and temp control. All air in and out of the tent must be expelled completely from your attic or temps will build up. use a straight through 600w cool tube (no filters and a 6" fan). 2nd fan and filter for tent air. Run your lights at night when its cooler. You can squeeze 6 plants in a 1.2 x 1.2m tent. Have fun....

Expelling the heat is no issue... That spot in the attic is near roof overhang vents. Air coming into the tent will be from an AC unit... So I guess the main thing I need to figure out is how to maintain the temps in the tent... Insulation is a must, so I need to research that now and see what other people have done... Something else I just thought of is noise... I could easily hear people outside in the street when I was at that spot... I need to see if noise coming from that area is heard outside... Last thing I need is to buy everything and set it up, just to find out that you can hear the AC unit or anything else right outside of the house.

I know this won't be the easiest project, but it has to be possible... And I have no other options really, so... I've tried convincing my wife to let me take the master bedroom closet because it is the perfect size, 4x5x10... but I think we all know how that conversation went...

sudodaemon said:

Ok, so I completed my first grow... Big Bud, hydro, grown under CFL lights... Came out with 4.7 Oz dry so I'm happy and ready to move on to the next adventure... I need more stealth, and the only way that happens in my house is to move to the attic. This is where I need help, this is a list I've made in my head as to what I'll need to accomplish this...

Grow Tent (what size? I will typically be doing 2-4 plants, at max maybe 6, if the price different between a tent that will do 4 plants compared to 6 is minimal, I'll pay the extra money)
MH and HPS lights
I'm guessing I get an air cooled light?
What type of ventilation will I need? Inline fans, etc
Portable AC unit I know is a must... Summers here can get up to 105, and winters can dip to below freezing

Obviously I'll need more DWC buckets, etc... I guess the main thing I need help with is the type of lighting fixture I should get, inline fans, grow tent, etc... Portable ac, heater, hydro stuff I can handle... I just had no ventilation on my last grow and it was all CFL's so I'm clueless on those things.

And by no means am I asking anybody to find these things for me with the best price... I just need help with the size of the grow tent so I know what to look for and the lighting fixture needed so I can cool the lights properly, etc...

Also, I'm guessing I should do a 600 watt MH and HPS.

Any help is appreciated, you guys all helped me a lot with my first grow (even though I heard constant shit for growing with CFL's, but hey, 4.7 Oz seems like a fucking awesome first grow to me)

Click to expand...

...I think you will spend alot of time energy and money on cooling, i started a grow as a noob..it was in an attic...it got to 110 degrees in there...with the lights off.....i moved to the basement were i cut my hydro bill in half......just a thought...not haten

I have a 3 car garage that we boarded up and insulated all the garage doors... I had a portable AC unit already (9000 BTU)... And that thing keeps this garage below 80-82 at all times (in the morning it's 72 in here, during day it slowly creeps up to around 80 if it gets above 100 outside)... And just last week we had a day where it was 108 degrees... The garage is roughly.... I'm going to say 30 feet long and 20 feet wide... so it's a big space to cool. I can also see how much energy I use each day and the cost... and the cost of adding in the AC unit in the garage was about $1-$2 a day, so $30-$60 a month... That AC unit literally runs 24/7, but wtf do I care... Can't work if you're hot, and $60 a month is easier to handle than having to rent an office out, etc... Either way, my point is... if it cost me at max, $2 a day to run that ac unit... And that unit is smaller than what is actually needed to cool this garage 100% effectively... how much could it cost me to have an even smaller AC unit to cool a 4x5xWhatever grow tent... Another $2 a day? Over the process of growing for 4 months I'm looking at an additional $240 in AC cost... That doesn't seem outrageous to me... And that's the cost during the summer, so that's the worst it would get...

I feel like I'm missing something because besides figuring out the best way to insulate a grow tent (or build a room and insulate it)... Based off what I have already done in the garage I don't see it costing an absurd amount to where it would not be worth it... Granted, the attic is hotter... but say I throw a 9000 BTU AC unit up with my grow area... That is PLENTY big to cool an area that is no larger than 5x5... And even if it did run 24/7, I'm looking at about $2 a day in cooling cost... No idea how much energy is used with a 600 watt MH/HPS, thats another thing on my list...

If I'm being delusional just say so, just trying to think out-loud and get all my thoughts out. I feel like this is possible if done right, and would be an awesome stealth grow.

I should probably throw a temp gauge up there to see how hot it actually is...

It's about 95-100 degrees outside right now with humidity at 45%... In my attic it's about 120 degrees and 52% humidity... Peak time for hotness being RIGHT now. Just incase anybody needed this info.

Yeah, your obstacle is going to be cooling that tent.

can't you just cut in a new flex duct off the plenum on your air handler.

Get a tent as your main structure then box it in with 2" Thermasheath or similar product. With an AC unit in the tent and supplemented Co2 with a duct going from outside through the light and outside again you might be good. I would run it with lights on during the cooler time of the day though. If it is still to hot you could get a larger duct fan just to move hot air out of the attic.

Ok, after more thought I've decided to ditch the attic idea. Too costly to do, pain in the ass to carry the water for a hydro setup... Just too much. I'm now thinking of creating a stealth closet grow. Doors always shut... Exhausting hot air to attic through a carbon filter and bringing in air through a duct... I can picture it in my head and I'll put stuff up later. Not as stealth as I wanted it, but if I can keep doors closed and light proof it, as well as disguise the intake as a regular AC vent I think it will work. So, no more updates to
This thread, just too much to venture in to right now. In the future yes, but not now.

Smart move, if you think hauling the water up there's a bitch, just wait till you spill 20 gallons in your attik. For me everything was harder upstairs, plain and simple.

Not to mention the blown-in insulation; the dust that stuff makes when disturbed (and if you're carrying water upstairs every day, you'll be doing a lot of "disturbing") will pose a problem. And it will conceal mold/fungus spores and (if the house was insulated before 1979) it might even contain asbestos...

You have a nice space. I would definitely build a platform for a floor and use a 4x4x6 tent. That should do 6 plants easily. Since its in the attic and heat with likely be an issue at some point, I would use LEDs for your tent. You also need good ventilation in the tent, that is blowing hot air out of the tent, and out of the house. Other than that, I would use soil or DWC buckets. Check out 2 500w/600w Blackstar LEDs or like 6 135w Blackstar UFO's. I have the 600w Blackstar, fully legit light.