space.pussy
New member
Dear icmaggers,
I've been wrecking my brain about this for way too long and need another perspective.
A little background: I'm not a complete noob, I've grown 5 rounds under a 600W in a growtent in an apartment where I live with good results, but it's becoming an issue with my g/f. Nothing serious, she won't tell anyone or anything like that, but it's making our relationship a little lopsided and she's using it to get the upper hand.
So I'm thinking of moving my hobbies to a different -- rented -- apartment (where I won't live). I have a friend who's facing the same issue so we decided to join forces to make it more economical. A lot of you will tell me that I should do it alone, rather than with a partner, but this is not a commercial setup and the fruit will be consumed just by us, no selling whatsoever. Also, the growing laws in this european country are fairly lenient (not so if you sell). That being said, it'd be much preferable if the landlord didn't know. Even if they found out, it is unlikely, that a little boost in rent wouldn't convince them to look the other way, and even if they told the police, -- worst case scenario -- it'd end with a probation (we're good citizens with no criminal records and growing 5 plants per person is considered an offense, not a felony).
We're thinking this kind of setup: Homebox XXL (120x240x200cm - 4'x8'x6'5"), 2x600W (with the option to upgrade to 2x1000W later), 2x DIY NFT system with a 90l (24gal.) res each, 16 plants each. That's pushing the legal boundaries, but without selling, it would still end with probation. We can't use CO2 or air-cooled hoods or anything fancy like that. Technical aspects of the grow I'm not worried about though, because I've been running the same kind of system for a while and this would be just doubling the wattage, so not much of a step-up.
Now. Ventilation will be one of the most difficult things to set up, mainly because of two things:
So how to get rid of the exhaust air then?
There's two options I have in mind, but both have their pros and cons:
1) drill a hole through the wall to the outside and cover it with a vent cover.
Most obvious cons:
- Core-drilling a big-ass hole into a rented apt. wall doesn't seem like such a grand idea.
- If anybody were to go to the deserted atrium, they might notice the whooshing sound of air coming from an apt. with blinds always closed -- suspicious as fuck.
Pros:
- Ducting would be very short and light cooling plenty efficient for 2x600 or even 2x1000 (no grows over the summer)
- Can't think of any other pros really.
2) Old buildings like this one have a window in their bathrooms leading to a common shaft with plumbing and shit, so we could use that as an exhaust (scrubbed air, of course).
Cons:
- longer ducts (10m or about 30ft.) with at least 2 or 3 90deg. turns = need a more powerful fan = more noise and power.
- The biggest problem with that though is the whooshing sound of air into the common shaft used by other tenants.
- Ducting would need to go through the tiny room that is right behind the apt. door (from the inside of course). So if I'm leaving the apt., there's a possibility of the ducting being noticed by some of the neighbors passing through the common corridor.
As you can see, neither of these solutions is very good. Am I overlooking something here? How do other apt. growers solve this venting issue (sealed room with AC/CO2 unfortunately isn't an option for us)?
So why did we pick that kind of apartment? Basically, because it's not in such a good shape (no furniture or any appliances we -- the tenants -- could damage; no near-future remodeling is planned), all bills would be made in the tenant's name and paid on time, so there's very little reason for the owner to come by. There's new water-lines and we'd wire the place with proper electrical, so leaks or electricity wouldn't be a problem. On more note on the electricity, this being a EU country, it's all 230V and as far as I know (have family in a major electrical company), energy usage on this scale (2x600W / 2x1000W + fans) is not suspicious even if it is in an apartment. Another reason is a good location: it's fairly close to my apt, so I can visit everyday or every other day when walking the dog (it's about a 30 min. walk).
OK, moving on. We haven't decided on the apartment because of the ventilation issue yet, so plans can change. If I can't figure out a reasonably feasible solution, we'll have to find a better apt. What do you suggest? Doable? Too risky?
Any suggestions are most welcome.
I've been wrecking my brain about this for way too long and need another perspective.
A little background: I'm not a complete noob, I've grown 5 rounds under a 600W in a growtent in an apartment where I live with good results, but it's becoming an issue with my g/f. Nothing serious, she won't tell anyone or anything like that, but it's making our relationship a little lopsided and she's using it to get the upper hand.
So I'm thinking of moving my hobbies to a different -- rented -- apartment (where I won't live). I have a friend who's facing the same issue so we decided to join forces to make it more economical. A lot of you will tell me that I should do it alone, rather than with a partner, but this is not a commercial setup and the fruit will be consumed just by us, no selling whatsoever. Also, the growing laws in this european country are fairly lenient (not so if you sell). That being said, it'd be much preferable if the landlord didn't know. Even if they found out, it is unlikely, that a little boost in rent wouldn't convince them to look the other way, and even if they told the police, -- worst case scenario -- it'd end with a probation (we're good citizens with no criminal records and growing 5 plants per person is considered an offense, not a felony).
We're thinking this kind of setup: Homebox XXL (120x240x200cm - 4'x8'x6'5"), 2x600W (with the option to upgrade to 2x1000W later), 2x DIY NFT system with a 90l (24gal.) res each, 16 plants each. That's pushing the legal boundaries, but without selling, it would still end with probation. We can't use CO2 or air-cooled hoods or anything fancy like that. Technical aspects of the grow I'm not worried about though, because I've been running the same kind of system for a while and this would be just doubling the wattage, so not much of a step-up.
Now. Ventilation will be one of the most difficult things to set up, mainly because of two things:
- the apt. we're thinking of using is on an elevated ground floor (window's about 4-5m or 12-15ft. above the ground), which is a little higher up, but still not safe to leave the window cracked open.
- It's oriented into an atrium kinda thing which is deserted (weeds, bushes, high grass and shit), but can nevertheless be accessed by other tenants via a door from the common corridor. It doesn't seem like anyone would want to go there, but not taking any chances.
So how to get rid of the exhaust air then?
There's two options I have in mind, but both have their pros and cons:
1) drill a hole through the wall to the outside and cover it with a vent cover.
Most obvious cons:
- Core-drilling a big-ass hole into a rented apt. wall doesn't seem like such a grand idea.
- If anybody were to go to the deserted atrium, they might notice the whooshing sound of air coming from an apt. with blinds always closed -- suspicious as fuck.
Pros:
- Ducting would be very short and light cooling plenty efficient for 2x600 or even 2x1000 (no grows over the summer)
- Can't think of any other pros really.
2) Old buildings like this one have a window in their bathrooms leading to a common shaft with plumbing and shit, so we could use that as an exhaust (scrubbed air, of course).
Cons:
- longer ducts (10m or about 30ft.) with at least 2 or 3 90deg. turns = need a more powerful fan = more noise and power.
- The biggest problem with that though is the whooshing sound of air into the common shaft used by other tenants.
- Ducting would need to go through the tiny room that is right behind the apt. door (from the inside of course). So if I'm leaving the apt., there's a possibility of the ducting being noticed by some of the neighbors passing through the common corridor.
As you can see, neither of these solutions is very good. Am I overlooking something here? How do other apt. growers solve this venting issue (sealed room with AC/CO2 unfortunately isn't an option for us)?
So why did we pick that kind of apartment? Basically, because it's not in such a good shape (no furniture or any appliances we -- the tenants -- could damage; no near-future remodeling is planned), all bills would be made in the tenant's name and paid on time, so there's very little reason for the owner to come by. There's new water-lines and we'd wire the place with proper electrical, so leaks or electricity wouldn't be a problem. On more note on the electricity, this being a EU country, it's all 230V and as far as I know (have family in a major electrical company), energy usage on this scale (2x600W / 2x1000W + fans) is not suspicious even if it is in an apartment. Another reason is a good location: it's fairly close to my apt, so I can visit everyday or every other day when walking the dog (it's about a 30 min. walk).
OK, moving on. We haven't decided on the apartment because of the ventilation issue yet, so plans can change. If I can't figure out a reasonably feasible solution, we'll have to find a better apt. What do you suggest? Doable? Too risky?
Any suggestions are most welcome.
