Growing in unheated garage

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Ya and a garage as to many air leaks its hard to control temps in a garage. Only real way is to frame out some walls, build a nice veg/flower room. At least that's what I would do. But I know not everyone has that option.
I don't want anything permanent or else I would build something out. These tents are pretty good at holding heat though. But I am going to use something to help insulate the tent.

You can see the light coming in around the garage door. There is a big gap at the top and the sides and bottom have leaks as well. And the concrete floor is like a freezer element. That's why I needed to get my plants off the floor.



Tent is in the corner behind a shelf in a little nook I made and you can't see it from outside when the garage door is open. Legal or not, I don't want people knowing my business.

 

Thegermling

Well-Known Member
I have two tents in my basement (temps are cold because I leave a window cracked for fresh air). I have an inkbird thermostat with a small space heater attached to it. I tried the oil heater (2 different kinds) and they suck ass for keeping temps consistent. I tried other space heaters with built in thermostats too but the thermostats suck ass too. My old kenmore tower heater is about one year old and its thermostat is spot on but its breaking down. I have venting in the tent but the heater turns on when it gets lower than 76 on my inkbirdthermostat. Also I put buckets down and storage bins to keep them off the cold. No heat stress or drying out from space heater. I dont turn on my heaters for personal warmth so Im good with the heater being on.IMG_1492.JPG
I set this inkbird (this one has cooling but I should have went with their germination controller) up to heat when it gets to low 76f and stop heating when it gets to 78f. No more expensive ass heaters. Buy the ones that are not digital.
IMG_1493.JPG
Thermostat from the inkbird at canopy level.
IMG_1494.JPG
Heater attached to the inkbird. Black duct tape over the light on the heater to stop light leaks.
IMG_1497.JPG
I put six buckets on this 4x4 to support the runoff trays for my drip system. It also helps with keeping the plants off the cold floor. Im starting to put double layer carboard from home depot to the walls outside of the tent to keep in heat. I like this setup so far.
 

Big Perm

Well-Known Member
I have two tents in my basement (temps are cold because I leave a window cracked for fresh air). I have an inkbird thermostat with a small space heater attached to it. I tried the oil heater (2 different kinds) and they suck ass for keeping temps consistent. I tried other space heaters with built in thermostats too but the thermostats suck ass too. My old kenmore tower heater is about one year old and its thermostat is spot on but its breaking down. I have venting in the tent but the heater turns on when it gets lower than 76 on my inkbirdthermostat. Also I put buckets down and storage bins to keep them off the cold. No heat stress or drying out from space heater. I dont turn on my heaters for personal warmth so Im good with the heater being on.View attachment 4238611
I set this inkbird (this one has cooling but I should have went with their germination controller) up to heat when it gets to low 76f and stop heating when it gets to 78f. No more expensive ass heaters. Buy the ones that are not digital.
View attachment 4238613
Thermostat from the inkbird at canopy level.
View attachment 4238614
Heater attached to the inkbird. Black duct tape over the light on the heater to stop light leaks.
View attachment 4238616
I put six buckets on this 4x4 to support the runoff trays for my drip system. It also helps with keeping the plants off the cold floor. Im starting to put double layer carboard from home depot to the walls outside of the tent to keep in heat. I like this setup so far.
Nice setup. I like what you did with the zip ties on the scrog net.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
There is bolts that can be adjusted to make the door fit better , id also put in a new J rubber on the bottom, n closed cell foam around the top seal.
Not this door. I'm lucky it opens and closes. My beautiful lady decided to back out before it was open all the way. She comes in waking me up at 5:00 am on her way to work yelling something about the garage door was messed up. Didn't bother to tell me she backed into it. I took one look, shook my head, got her car out and said you better get going or you'll be late to work. As soon as she left I started cussing. Got everything back on the tracks and it opens and closes so I have left it alone. It needs some tweaking. Just haven't gotten around to it.


One side



The other

 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I have two tents in my basement (temps are cold because I leave a window cracked for fresh air). I have an inkbird thermostat with a small space heater attached to it. I tried the oil heater (2 different kinds) and they suck ass for keeping temps consistent. I tried other space heaters with built in thermostats too but the thermostats suck ass too. My old kenmore tower heater is about one year old and its thermostat is spot on but its breaking down. I have venting in the tent but the heater turns on when it gets lower than 76 on my inkbirdthermostat. Also I put buckets down and storage bins to keep them off the cold. No heat stress or drying out from space heater. I dont turn on my heaters for personal warmth so Im good with the heater being on.View attachment 4238611
I set this inkbird (this one has cooling but I should have went with their germination controller) up to heat when it gets to low 76f and stop heating when it gets to 78f. No more expensive ass heaters. Buy the ones that are not digital.
View attachment 4238613
Thermostat from the inkbird at canopy level.
View attachment 4238614
Heater attached to the inkbird. Black duct tape over the light on the heater to stop light leaks.
View attachment 4238616
I put six buckets on this 4x4 to support the runoff trays for my drip system. It also helps with keeping the plants off the cold floor. Im starting to put double layer carboard from home depot to the walls outside of the tent to keep in heat. I like this setup so far.
I like that drainage solution. Now you have me thinking about making a foot high frame with some kind of screening on top for the plants to sit on and trays underneath to catch any runoff. I don't scrog so I can't give up as much vertical space as those buckets do.
 

Dividedsky

Well-Known Member
I haven't yet.
O ya didnt even think of that. Fuck the plywood. Use this insulation board. I got mine at lowes, just framed up my flower room with it on 1 side.. You'll just need 1 sheet. Actually you could probably use both that way you won't have the cold get through to ur plants dude. See, you'll be all good bud. 20181125_174807.jpg
 

Dividedsky

Well-Known Member
I have two tents in my basement (temps are cold because I leave a window cracked for fresh air). I have an inkbird thermostat with a small space heater attached to it. I tried the oil heater (2 different kinds) and they suck ass for keeping temps consistent. I tried other space heaters with built in thermostats too but the thermostats suck ass too. My old kenmore tower heater is about one year old and its thermostat is spot on but its breaking down. I have venting in the tent but the heater turns on when it gets lower than 76 on my inkbirdthermostat. Also I put buckets down and storage bins to keep them off the cold. No heat stress or drying out from space heater. I dont turn on my heaters for personal warmth so Im good with the heater being on.View attachment 4238611
I set this inkbird (this one has cooling but I should have went with their germination controller) up to heat when it gets to low 76f and stop heating when it gets to 78f. No more expensive ass heaters. Buy the ones that are not digital.
View attachment 4238613
Thermostat from the inkbird at canopy level.
View attachment 4238614
Heater attached to the inkbird. Black duct tape over the light on the heater to stop light leaks.
View attachment 4238616
I put six buckets on this 4x4 to support the runoff trays for my drip system. It also helps with keeping the plants off the cold floor. Im starting to put double layer carboard from home depot to the walls outside of the tent to keep in heat. I like this setup so far.
Nice setup dude. Like it.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
O ya didnt even think of that. Fuck the plywood. Use this insulation board. I got mine at lowes, just framed up my flower room with it on 1 side.. You'll just need 1 sheet. Actually you could probably use both that way you won't have the cold get through to ur plants dude. See, you'll be all good bud. View attachment 4238624
That's the material I would get. I actually have some already but not enough.
 

1212ham

Well-Known Member
I have two tents in my basement (temps are cold because I leave a window cracked for fresh air). I have an inkbird thermostat with a small space heater attached to it. I tried the oil heater (2 different kinds) and they suck ass for keeping temps consistent. I tried other space heaters with built in thermostats too but the thermostats suck ass too. My old kenmore tower heater is about one year old and its thermostat is spot on but its breaking down. I have venting in the tent but the heater turns on when it gets lower than 76 on my inkbirdthermostat.
Yeah, the thermostats vary widely. When I first needed heat, I started looking around the house.... crock-pot? sure, that'll work. It actually worked well, producing a nice steady heat. Much better than the occasional 1500 watt air blast from some of my heaters. I think I ended up running the crock-pot and some other small heater on my Inbird controller. Infrared (HPS) is probably the most efficient as it can heat the plants directly, rather than heating the air around the plant.
 

Yodaweed

Well-Known Member
I don't want anything permanent or else I would build something out. These tents are pretty good at holding heat though. But I am going to use something to help insulate the tent.

You can see the light coming in around the garage door. There is a big gap at the top and the sides and bottom have leaks as well. And the concrete floor is like a freezer element. That's why I needed to get my plants off the floor.



Tent is in the corner behind a shelf in a little nook I made and you can't see it from outside when the garage door is open. Legal or not, I don't want people knowing my business.

Just get some plant raisers it will raise the pots off the ground

Here's an example of one

https://growershouse.com/gro-pro-nx-level-pot-elevator-13-in-up-to-7-gal-pots
 

1212ham

Well-Known Member
O ya didnt even think of that. Fuck the plywood. Use this insulation board.
I'm looking into it!
Growing in cool temperatures is a problem for many of us, but I haven't seen much to deal with it. I have some ideas, but need to start a thread and do some research. One idea is a grow box made of foil faced foam insulation. I guess the first thing is to research and calculate the heat loss through the insulation. The other thing is air exchange, that could be the deal breaker. I'm hoping to get by with minimal air exchange to keep the heat and humidity inside but I haven't seen much info on this. One site said three times a minute and I think that's crazy.

PS Started a thread about growing in cool temperatures. Well, two actually, oops.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/setup-for-growing-in-cool-temperatures.980362/
https://www.rollitup.org/t/growing-in-cool-temperatures.980364/
 
Last edited:

Dividedsky

Well-Known Member
I'm looking into it!
Growing in cool temperatures is a problem for many of us, but I haven't seen much to deal with it. I have some ideas, but need to start a thread and do some research. One idea is a grow box made of foil faced foam insulation. I guess the first thing is to research and calculate the heat loss through the insulation. The other thing is air exchange, that could be the deal breaker. I'm hoping to get by with minimal air exchange to keep the heat and humidity inside but I haven't seen much info on this. One site said three times a minute and I think that's crazy.
I look at the winter as the best time to grow. Say you're using hids, well you know they get hot and if you have access to a window you can pull the cool air from outside into the room to keep it at an almost perfect temp. I'm pretty sure with how cold it's getting in the northeast I could cool 4000w of hps with ducting, fan and open window. But I'm running an ac this year and trying to step up my game. The only problem is when the lights go out if ur running 18/6 and 12/12 but can easily be solved with heaters. I personally rather deal with cold than extreme heat.
 

Dividedsky

Well-Known Member
I’ve had moments like that, not that one but definitely a “ da fuck u thinking” moments




I made a big skateboard to get them off the floor ..View attachment 4238658
my buddy just did that board on wheels, hes running an indoor grow with 20 gal smart pots.
I personally think 20 gal is way overkill. You never catch me in anything over 7. Awesome idea you have there though.
 
Top