Climate Control or Just Chill?

[gloryoskie]

Hoping to get your input/validation on the temperature situation for my happy micro grow. The box is situated in a room where a typical A/C window unit is not an option.

I get satisfactory yields from September to June, enough to suit my needs anyway. I am thinking to add a home built water circulation radiator/fan rig to cool the grow box, 14" x 20" x 24 high, during the hot summer months.

The 110 watts PL L is already glassed off and vented separately.

I'm handy so DIY is my way to go, I don't want to plop down 400 bucks+ for a proper chiller, so an iced down beer cooler pumping the chilled water to the radiator/fan rig inside the box is what I'm thinking.

Will the cool air be vented out too quickly too make a difference? I have a SP 125 exhaust fan pulling through a Phat Can 7"x12" carbon filter, wired to the low setting.

Or should I just stop flowering during the summer and wait till September? 10 degrees cooler now would make it worthwhile to the grow, as box temps with lights on now is pushing 90+ degrees during the summer months, and the plants suffer terribly, damn. Totally no good.

So what do you think? Should I take the time to rig the unit now, or should I just.... ahem ...chill?

 

[thesloppy]

Portable units seem to have gone down in price a little bit recently. You can find smaller "portable" ac units for around $200, with some searching, if that makes any difference to you. Depending on the heat and humidity in your area, it could be well worth the cost.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

IMO, the ice wont do it. You're still dependent on room air for CO2 and ice will melt pretty fast.

I've seen 5000 btu ACs as low as $130. But I'd look for a model that has a t-stat instead of a timer or some other temp adjustment. IMO, a t-stat type would be most economical for your power bill.

 

[ItGrows]

I think your radiator is going to do a lot more sweating than cooling. I grow in 90+ temps. Is it optimal? Probably not. But it still produces.

 

[sm0k4]

I think your radiator is going to do a lot more sweating than cooling. I grow in 90+ temps. Is it optimal? Probably not. But it still produces.

I get near 90 right now with the summer temps. It does produce, at least with my strain. Leaves start curling from heat stress, but the buds still grow decently. Not as full, but good enough.

One thing I try to do is fill the flower chamber with as many plants as I can to drop the temps. SoG style. Extra foliage transpires more and temps go down a bit. Rather than 90, I get 83-85 with a full cab. When I harvest a tray and have little clones there, it goes up 4-5 degrees.

 

[875]

summer grow hiatus, add CO2, or cool

if ur gonna DIY, u just have to build it, set it up, and see how it performs. if you are not actually "chilling" the water at all, then go with as big of a resevoir as you can. insulate resevoir in summer.

just had a thought for the DIYer. find a mini fridge, place second radiator inside fridge, cut holes for water lines in and out. plug in fridge. theres a true DIY chiller system

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

If AC is not an option, I'd chill.
Looks like the 125 on low moves about 73 cfm at 0.25" static pressure (a guess of the phat)
Your box is 4.3 cf.
I dont think a chiller will do shit. The S&P will clear the box way too quick for it to have an impact, imo.

 

[gloryoskie]

Yup, I don't want to waste time struggling to cool the cab. Unfortunately any A/C unit would be out of place in a storage room.

My small chiller design won't offset my exhaust, so no love there. I had my suspicions about that, hence the post. Perhaps reducing the rate of exhaust enough to allow the chiller to have an impact...

Thank you everyone for the concise, informative and timely answers!

Chill it is, then.

 

[DJ Skunkworkz]

Hey friend. Here is the small chiller you're looking for. It isn't cheap but it's exactly what you need. Pushing the envelope, much like space travel, comes with a price.

http://www.tetech.com/Liquid-Coolers/LC-035.html

I am in now way affiliated or compensated by the company that makes that gear. I just have bought some at retail price and can vouch for the build quality.