Growing in the summer heat, upstairs.

[+Vibes]

wassup team,
normally i just go outside during the summer but this year i want a few extra crops in before the flood. I currently only run 1200w in a typical upstairs bedroom. I have no problem throwing a window unit in but to me all i can think is "diminishing returns" especially for the low wattage.
So my logic just tells me to add more lights, either 1 or 2 more 600's in a different flower box (same room) to make use of the ac.
this is all in an unsealed enviro, with two flower boxes in the same room, with a window unit in a window right in between them. i'm in the midwest/great lakes area and its hot & humid all summer. dehu will be necessary soon.
would you flip-flop them and run the ac all day?
run them all at night with the ac chugging extra hard?
shut er' down, less wattage?

i have never done this in this kind of enviro and just looking for experiences. all the homegrown i get around here gets shitty in the summer because of the heat

cheers to all----

 

[odium33]

get a bigger ac?

 

[Guest 18340]

I'm a bit confused. Do the flower boxes have doors on them? Or are they closed boxes in a room and the AC cools the room?

 

[Marquis de Sod]

dude you are really high. Put on some Beach Boys and wake up. Re-phrase your post so we can make some kinda sense out of it! Lord Help Me, Rhond@!

 

[+Vibes]

Or are they closed boxes in a room and the AC cools the room?

they would be closed boxes in an ac'd room. and yea sorry i was stoned rambling on the first post. my idea was to cool the ENTIRE bedroom (with the two individual flower boxes inside) and have another fan on a timer to exchange/exhaust the whole bedroom every so often.. i'm trying to make the best use of an ac without sealing it up...


but after more consideration i may just put a week into cleaning the big mouldy basement and setup shop where its cool year round.

just bouncing ideas here please dont take offence if they are incoherent

 

[Guest 18340]

If the boxes are closed then how is any cool air going to cool the inside of the boxes?

 

[+Vibes]

sorry evl it always makes so much sense when i type it out.. but
the boxes would be cycling/scrubbing air in the room that is being cooled by window unit. at set intervals when the plants need fresh air i would pull the stale air out of the room and continue... basically running any kind of hid light up here in the summer will be more expensive and energy intensive than i think is worth it now.

that being said i'm now looking for recipes to get my dust farm basement cleaned up... i'm thinking bug bombs, a shop vac, and a big bucket of bleach water.

 

[+Vibes]

here is the space in the basement via this silly panorama...
maybe 15' long 6.5' wide, with a sink and drain
the whole basement looks like this,

 

[RedRain]

i tried to place my AC outside my 4x8 tent and my 4x4 tent that are inside a 12X15 room. The room that housed the tents was quite cold, but the tents were not. You need to be drawing air from inside the area that you are cooling. I found it much easier to place the AC inside the tent and use a 4" duct to suck and push air into the 4x4 from the 4x8. I was using a 10"vortex as well. I found it too tedious and costly to purchase blowers and ducting instead of just placing the AC inside the tents.

Cheers

 

[Cheeb]

That basement would be perfect provided you've got a place to vent the hot air out stealthily. Get cleanin'.

- -

I'm torn between basement grows and upstairs grows. Basement grows are nice because you can be more care-free in terms of making a mess when needed. They are convenient because water, drains, and electricity are easily accessible. In the winter its a no-brainer because they are cold and you can send the heat from your lights up into your living space.

In the summer I think it's easier to just go upstairs and throw a window unit in a room. All is well if you pond liner the room and have the means to get water and electricity where you need it.

- -

I'd say forget the boxes and just hang lights in the room. Get a window unit sized around 4500 BTU per 1000w of light - and call it done. In the summer - Its surprisingly easier to just run it sealed w/ co2 & dehumidifier rather then trying to vent very hot ar out meanwhile intake temps are not THAT much cooler.

1200w and window AC is too large for most all regular room circuits. If you go this route make your juice is wired properly to do what your trying to do.

If your upstairs space allows it and you've got the electricity capabilities I'd add the 2 600w and a window AC. 2400w in lights.. Get a 12k - 15k window unit and you should have no problem keeping temp in check.

 

[+Vibes]

thanks cheeb and RR, the advice is always appreciated.

I had that up/down dilemma also cheeb, but this house is owned by a family member and they surely would want to know about the new a/c installed in the 'unused' upstairs bedroom. it would also require some re-wiring which is much easier in the basement, which leads me to my next problem.

do people ever run a/c with an open system? i want to put 1800w of barebulb down here but i don't believe the cool basement will stay cool for long. does it make sense to have your exhaust fan set very low while still utilizing a window ac in the grow-room? wasting a small ammount of energy while still getting plants fresh air... still thinking

 

[RomulusUSA]

Add CO2 maybe? I am standing by for the answer as it is something I've considered. I am crossing my fingers and praying that I can get away with 1100w in 2 tents in a top floor apartment in 75-95* summers temps. We shall see!

 

[420piff]

Hey now, i kinda got the same issue u have. Except i grow in tents on the first floor of a condo unit. sliding windows so I cant use a regular window AC unless I cut out plywood to place in the window. Then cut holes in the plywood for the AC to fit in. Or ghetto rig the AC in the window and cover the rest with plywood. That poses a security issue for me though.

So it is either a window AC or portable AC. I prefer a window AC cuz i can duct it into the tents and it would be more cost effective. 1800W of light is this HPS light? I use leds, T5 and cfls and temps are ok. Are you reflectors air cooled or something? Cooling the lights from the RIP supposedly saves a lot of heat from hitting ur ladies.

 

[+Vibes]

my bulbs are 600w bare hung vertically. if i could stay upstairs i would, its a security thing and less of a headache to go down below.

what i can't understand now is how long it will take for 1800w of hps to heat up the basement at night. even if i'm venting it elsewhere 700cf/m is a lot of air to be leaving...