Need supplemental heat

Most people have problems with high temps. My problem is the opposite. I need supplemental heat.

Box is 2.5'd x 3.5'w x 5'h in size, made from 1/4 plywood. Growing in basement where temps get cooler at night, the same time as dark period of the flowering cycle. How might I safely add supplemental heat to a grow box during the dark period of flowering cycle?

Need to add the heat inside the box versus outside which is not an option.

Any/all input appreciated.

Thanks!

you could put a heater in there, but watch out it will get hot FAST also they take alot of power

Quickset said:

Most people have problems with high temps. My problem is the opposite. I need supplemental heat.
Need to add the heat inside the box versus outside which is not an option.

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You sayin' you need to heat the soil but not from the outside of your container?

Check w/friends seeking water-bed heater(s), then put that under the box?
Hasn't been that long since you couldn't GIVE a water bed away, so the heaters are out there.

Hi John and Mr. Fishy,

I thought of the space heater but worried about fire potential. eBay has a thermostatic control option i was mulling over what to hook up to it but a space heater scares me. A hair dryer is basically the same thing on a smaller scale but still just as scary.

Portable Thermostat For Fans And Heaters - eBay (item 180303879341 end time Nov-09-08 15:41:02 PST)

I had forgotten about a water bed heater as an option. I read that somewhere here I believe in the past I believe (It may even have been Mr Fishy that suggested the idea). I was looking to heat the chamber as a whole versus just the soil. No idea what the waterbed heater might look like and how best to apply it but sounds like it might have potential.

I was thinking of an aquarium heater where I could put in a bucket filled with water that would be heated by the aquarium heater. The water would in turn give off it's heat to the chamber.

I don't want you guys reading about my house being set ablaze because of a grow gone wrong caused by a heater.

The water bed heaters I've seen/used were maybe 1/2" thick encased in some hardy vinyl-like material, with a copper? probe attached (I guess to regulate temp away from the actual heat pad) and a temperature control. They were about 3 feet long and maybe 18" wide.

I'd think a perfect answer for this grow . . . not so much for lots of individual pots.

just run something that's small and gets hot. like... a shitty laptop, or maybe an unsafe toy. just stick 'em right below your plants and the heat will rise up. infact, if you laid some plastic out ontop of your computer, you could use the residual heat from your computer. just turn it off when you don't want heat.

FluffyToke said:

just run something that's small and gets hot. like... a shitty laptop, or maybe an unsafe toy. just stick 'em right below your plants and the heat will rise up. infact, if you laid some plastic out ontop of your computer, you could use the residual heat from your computer. just turn it off when you don't want heat.

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Good idea FluffyToke! I'll have to think about what I could use that will throw off heat enough to do the trick. Thanks to all who answered!

RIU is great resource and is made up of great people !!!

I would add a shell around the outside of your box and use insulation in between the space. Also seal up the box the best you can and possibly add more lights if you need to heat.

or for simple fix a small portable heater with thermostat built in that's all i use just set it a fuzz lower than the heat you desire in case themostat is off on temp.good luck

lol my way costs him no money and is just as efficient. <--- Winner.

Hey buggs bunny, I have a space heater with thermostatic control but wanted to consider other ideas first before deciding. The eBay thing I gave a link for is a separate thermostatic control device that would control a heater or air conditioner even. I was thinking of using that in conjuction with the space heater's thermostic control but still leary of using such in a small space like mine. Your "fuzz lower" idea is a good one!

Hi la9, I was thinking of such an idea today but doubt I will execute it because of the amount of work involved. I could insulate from the outside by just covering with foil faced fiberglass insulation but it would be ugly and not look steathy at all.

There's ridged foam insulation that's also foil faced which I could line the interior with. I may go for this and compliment it with Mr. Fishy's or FluffyToke's idea which should work great for heating in my cold basement during the 12 hour dark period of the flower cycle .

Great description of the water heater Mr. Fishy!.

You're all of Einstien caliber! Thanks all!!!

You could also get an electric blanket or heating pads and put them on a timer and lay them at the bottom of the box. They would certainly emit enough heat to solve your problem and you could just set a timer for them to come on. One heating pad on high for a few hours would do it. Just turn it on for a while ahead of time to get a sense of how hot it gets. you might just need to put it on low to maintain the minimum needed temp.
Good to know b/c I may be running into this problem over the winter. I keep my mother room with lights on next to the flowering room so hopefully the heat from there will solve my problem.

Hi greenjumble, That's another great idea! I guess these things are safe/UL listed. Like you I have another box for clones and mommies. This box too is in my basement but I'm running the lights 24/24 and so far hitting 71/72 F for lows at night, the coldest times of day. No problems there so far.

Thats good to know. I will have to go down and check the temps one night when I wake up to use the bathroom.
I got the idea for heating things in such a manner from my grandfather back when I lived near buffaloe and was having trouble with starting the car in the morning. He suggested running an extenstion cord out to a heating pad just under the engine and leave a blanket on top of the engine and put it on a timer so it kicks on high two hours before I had to start it and it worked like a charm
what kind of lighting are you using for your mother room?

Consider running a hps i personally grow in a oudoor patio closet and in the winter the heat from my lamp and ballast keeps temp in check the summer is a different story just a thought peace and happy growing and smoking

you could just wrap a normal lightbulblet with tape or something, so it wouldn't be bright, and just use the heat from the bulb itself.

benzo said:

Consider running a hps i personally grow in a oudoor patio closet and in the winter the heat from my lamp and ballast keeps temp in check the summer is a different story just a thought peace and happy growing and smoking

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what happens when the light has to go off for 12/12 say?
does the heat stay in the box, or dissapate?
scoped

it depends, do you have mylar?

um, say mylar, and then just white painted walls?

would there be much difference?

scoped

I was thinking of that space foil stuff. that will reflect heat perfect