Window AC recommendations?

[inreplyavalon]

Hi folks.

After reading Hoosierdaddy's tutorial on a window ac box i think i will set up my room with one. Wondering what folks suggest for a powerful, relatively efficient window AC unit that will cool 4800-6000 Watts. I plan on aircooling the lights to assist in keeping the energy usage as low as possible with the AC.

I guess what i am looking for in an AC is

1. reliability

2 efficiency

3. flexibility for a 'BOX' setup

4. power to cool 4800-6000 watts

5. Doesnt leak much air(smell) or is sealable.

Thanks for all the help folks!

IR

 

[inreplyavalon]

OK i'll start. How about a LG 18,000 btu LWHD1800R? anyone use this before?

It says '4 way air deflection' and 'top discharge'. I am assuming the top discharge means the place the cold air is blown out of, and the 'deflection' means it can be pointed in different directions?

I am really just hoping the heat is all exhausted on one side.

 

[Warpainted]

From what I've read most people here believe 5k btu per 1k watts is adequate. Using that I'd say you need something 2-3 times bigger, even with aircooled lights.

 

[inreplyavalon]

war- so for 5000W i would need a 25,000btu beast. Ok thats good to know. Thanks for sharing.

Do you know if that is for non aircooled lights or for aircooled?

Thanks again

 

[sirripalot]

hey bro, yeah i'm using a 5k btu for my 1k, which is also air-cooled. it controls the room temp very efficiently. it may be beneficial for you to get two units for reliability, maybe two 10k or 15k. good luck.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

inreply, When you tube cool the lights, it makes it much easier to keep the grow cool. The 5000btu per 1000 doesn't hold true when the lights are being cooled.
The size should be based on the room size.

Two things about the LG model you are looking at....
1) It is electronically controlled, which means that if the power goes out for an instant, the unit will most likely not turn itself back on (some units may...)
2) That unit is for 220 volt AC power only.

sirripalot, if you don't have the incoming air separated from the outgoing hot air, that unit will not be as efficient as it can be. The difference in money to operate a unit not fashioned properly is quite a bit compared to one that is fitted correctly.

 

[macro]

Hey I've got the 25K BTU LG a/c version of the one you're looking at. It's an excellent unit but it will draw just as much juice as your lights! A 220volt receptacle is required.. but if you're running 6k watts you probably have your electrical situation worked out and wiring up a 220 receptacle is easy if you have a sub panel in your room.

But please! Check out Coolerado.
http://www.coolerado.com/products

"Uses up to 90% less electricity than traditional air conditioners" -Its true, im dying to get one of these!

 

[ogatec]

get a used unit,there are plenty out there & if it breaks from beeing "boxed" then you are only out $100 or whatever you paid for it..also the bigger the unit, the harder it is to do the vent box. if you are going to box a 2 ton unit, you will need some massive ventilation through the box to get it to work.


those coolerados are neat but will only lower your temps to the dew point of the outside air. i think it would be great if you lived in a desert..arounbd here they would be worthless.

 

[inreplyavalon]

siripalot thanks for sharing your picture. two units sounds good to the mind, and hopefully i can have a back up at some point.


hoosier thanks for chiming in. It is your 'Box" thread which has encouraged me and giving me the knowledge to give it a go.
Do you recommend an approx: 25,000btu that is not electronic? I have the same issue with a space heater that has electric startup. Great advice! I wonder if they make them that size with out the fancy 'electronic starts'?
Another question for you, is it possible to have too much fan speed either drawing the hot waste out of the box, or supplying it to the coil cooling intakes?



Macro those coolerados are sweet but not going to work for my situation, as i need it all inside. Security reasons.
Do you air cool your lights? I am surprised the ac would use anything near the juice that 6000W air cooled lights would?

Oga thanks for the advice. Used is a great idea is there is a chance i will screw up the box and it will be useless.

 

[sirripalot]

sirripalot, if you don't have the incoming air separated from the outgoing hot air, that unit will not be as efficient as it can be. The difference in money to operate a unit not fashioned properly is quite a bit compared to one that is fitted correctly.

what do you mean by that?

you can't really tell how mine is setup via the picture, but i've got a ton of airflow through my box, and the exhaust air IS separate than the air inside the room. in the picture you can see the left 6", that's intake. the right 6" has a booster fan on it helping suck the air back out, but the air from the intake is being blown into the box from my 6" vortex, so it's pretty much forcing itself back out the output.

does that make sense?

 

[hoosierdaddy]

inreply, you really can't create too much air flow for the ac unit if it is set up properly, although there is a point of diminished returns. Keep in mind that the unit functions well with just the fan it has blowing ambient outside air through the coils.
Hard to find larger analog units these days. You can always use a UPS just to keep the digital alive during power spikes and short outages.

sir, I have played around with a few of these units and I can pretty well tell how you are set up from your picture.
I realize that you are probably seeing your unit do the job. But, if you would only change the set-up around a bit, you will see the unit do the job much better, which means the unit will last far longer, and your energy costs will be significantly lower. This I can guarantee.

 

[sirripalot]

sir, I have played around with a few of these units and I can pretty well tell how you are set up from your picture.
I realize that you are probably seeing your unit do the job. But, if you would only change the set-up around a bit, you will see the unit do the job much better, which means the unit will last far longer, and your energy costs will be significantly lower. This I can guarantee.

can you please elaborate? i'm always opened to suggestions but haven't heard anything from you specifically of how to increase the efficiency of my unit? i'm always open for ideas, please tell!

 

[sirripalot]

--followed up in your thread--