whats your prefered heating method for cold weather(lofties)?

[wan]

Loft growing is a frikin nightmare lol it took me ages to tune in my enviro. With heaters the style isnt as important as the wattage, i found i had to have the right amount of wattage for the ambient temps and size of the groom to keep it warm. Each style of heater offers different advantages and disadvantages but still needs to be the correct wattage for the space.
For my room i choose an oil rad because i found it cheaper to run than any other heaters that were big enough, i know the tube heaters deliver the heat straight to the roots but i found i had humidity problems because the air temperature was getting so low, i now keep lights on and off temps within a few degrees my rots are happy and i dont have high rh. I do have a very costly leccy bill tho lol.

 

[Liza]

My tent is in a loft too. Right next to some central heating unit though, so I think I should be all right. I agree on the spiders, they keep the bugs out.

 

[siftedunity]

yup oil rads are the way forward. about £1 a day to have it on 24/7 on a decent setting. adds up with everything else but its worth it in the end

 

[wan]

i dont like to run my rad 24/7 if my room needs heat during lights on id rather add more lights lol

 

[siftedunity]

i agree with Verdant G-duct your intake up from the house below the loft. It is not as much hassle as you might think-a neat cut in the corner of the ceiling with a plastic vent cover from a hardware shop make a neat and inconspicuous job

good luck
e

depends what size fan you need to pull it all in. you probs wouldnt want the noise of a moderate size extractor going all night.

 

[siftedunity]

i dont like to run my rad 24/7 if my room needs heat during lights on id rather add more lights lol

yeah mate i wish i could do the same lol i wouldnt suggest running it every moment of the day but at this time of year its on alot. the thermostat switches it on and of anyway ..

 

[Wodanaz]

As a new loft grower, tmp during the day when the light is off is definitely a pain in the ass.
But to be honest, my concerns are more the police with its high tech thermal cameras. Also the fact that my roof is going to be snow-less is not something that makes me happy.

Hope for the best

 

[Iffy-Caradoc]

As a new loft grower, tmp during the day when the light is off is definitely a pain in the ass.
But to be honest, my concerns are more the police with its high tech thermal cameras. Also the fact that my roof is going to be snow-less is not something that makes me happy.

Hope for the best

Don't hope for the best brother, you'll almost always be dissapointed! Be pro-active - do something about it. Batten, sheeting & insulation are not expensive. Better than the alternative - losing all your gear & equipment & facing a court case!
Stay safe

 

[Wodanaz]

There is almost no insulation in my roof, only a black sheet that prevent water to leak in.

My grow room is 1.2x1.2x1.85, it's made from timbers and black & white sheet. The outside is cover with insulation sheets ( aluminium bubble type ). So only my grow room is insulated and not my entire loft.

When the light is on the 5' fan keep my grow room cool and a big oscillating fan distribute the hot air equally in the loft.

During dark time, there is 500w oil radiator with electrical thermometer that keep the tmp around 24-26 degrees, the small oscillation fan inside the grow room is working 24/7.

 

[Harry Lime]

Like Iffy says, don't hope for the best. I've said this many times; it doesn't matter how great your set up is or how wonderful your genetics. If your security is compromised you're fucked.
Insulate your roof, mate!

 

[Wodanaz]

Like Iffy says, don't hope for the best. I've said this many times; it doesn't matter how great your set up is or how wonderful your genetics. If your security is compromised you're fucked.
Insulate your roof, mate!

Yes, if my security is compromised I'm fucked.
But why you think that this is my situation? I'm not running 5k in my loft, it's only 600w on a 12/12 cycle.
As long as I spread the warm air evenly throughout the loft, the difference is 2 degrees when the light is on.

When the light is off and the radiator is working, than the difference is no more than 1 degree.

As I already mentioned, my growing room is well insulated with 2 layers of Superquilt on each side and 4 on the top (to prevent local heat signatur).
I can try and vent directly into the chimney, will try to work on it during this weekend.

 

[Harry Lime]

It's the bit about no snow on your roof that worries me wodenaz.

Is the temp difference you mention between inside your tent and outside in the rest of your loft?

Venting into the chimney is always a good choice and it's what I do.

 

[944s2]

As a new loft grower, tmp during the day when the light is off is definitely a pain in the ass.
But to be honest, my concerns are more the police with its high tech thermal cameras. Also the fact that my roof is going to be snow-less is not something that makes me happy.

Hope for the best

yeah,,fortunatly not had to grow in a loft,could run your lamps during the day,anti-detection sheeting everywhere,,tend to think a snow-less roof on a very snowy day is like a red rag to a bull imo,how do you deal with that?especially nosey neighbours or worse,, clued-up neighbours,, good luck peace and regards s2

 

[Wodanaz]

The tmp difference are on the loft itself and not related to the growing room.

I performed a little experiment, I measured the loft temperature at three different places when :
1) light off
2) light on but no fan to cool the growing tent
3) light on for 1 hour , no fan
4) light on for 1.5 hour + 30 min fan on
And so on.

I found the when the growing tent is working, after 6.5 hours, the rise in loft tmp is about 2-3 degrees.

About snow, I'm from London area, usually no snow in this area, at least not enough to remain on "regular" roof.

My main concern is a chopper with a thermal camera.

 

[Harry Lime]

If your concern is thermal cameras then the solution is the same...insulate your loft.

 

[siftedunity]

insulating your loft does not protect you from thermal cameras

EDIT* unless the insulation is super thick.

and even if it was, they will compear the heat signature to the houses next door or whatever. you can never be 100% sure that theres not a heat leak giving you away somewhere unless you go over kill. personaly id rather grow in summer.

 

[Iffy-Caradoc]

Insulation

Insulation

There is almost no insulation in my roof, only a black sheet that prevent water to leak in.

My grow room is 1.2x1.2x1.85, it's made from timbers and black & white sheet. The outside is cover with insulation sheets ( aluminium bubble type ). So only my grow room is insulated and not my entire loft.

When the light is on the 5' fan keep my grow room cool and a big oscillating fan distribute the hot air equally in the loft.

During dark time, there is 500w oil radiator with electrical thermometer that keep the tmp around 24-26 degrees, the small oscillation fan inside the grow room is working 24/7.

It's not a bad thing to have a cold loft (outer shell), as long as the inner room is properly insulated and all the seams taped & sealed. I built mine on that very principle. I tore all the backing paper from the tiles so you can see daylight if you look down thro them. The idea being, any heat that transferres out of the room will soon dissipate in a cold, vented 'outer' loft. The important thing is to minimise the amount of heat that escapes thro the walls and roof of the structure. You want all the heat exhausted out of the chimney if poss via fans etc. IMO the key is layers. Layers of thermal material & shiny material & solid MDF.
Another key is to do a bit every day. The whole task might seem daunting but don't put it off mate, you might regret it. Sincerely hope not chap!
Stay safe

 

[Iffy-Caradoc]

Insulation

Insulation

insulating your loft does not protect you from thermal cameras

EDIT* unless the insulation is super thick.

and even if it was, they will compear the heat signature to the houses next door or whatever. you can never be 100% sure that theres not a heat leak giving you away somewhere unless you go over kill. personaly id rather grow in summer.

Yeah I suppose your right mate, I spent over £1300 prepping my loft. I got a bit anal about it but I do sleep better at night. Even if I'm deluding myself about the 'covertness' of my room, it makes me feel better. I've even fitted a fan into the space in the apex over the room, incase it got warm up there. It's set on a sensor and so far it hasn't tripped in. I'm running all Cooltubes now, which really reduce the amount of heat that builds up at the apex. Happy days!
Stay safe

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

insulating your loft does not protect you from thermal cameras

EDIT* unless the insulation is super thick.

and even if it was, they will compear the heat signature to the houses next door or whatever. you can never be 100% sure that theres not a heat leak giving you away somewhere unless you go over kill. personaly id rather grow in summer.

Wickes 2" polystyrene tongue and groove boards work, my igloo was the last roof in the street to melt the snow. Almost sus in it's stealthiness... Exhaust, took 4 bricks out of the chimney stack with a cold chisel [easy to put back right too] ... so when the Helipigs passed over 20x a night chasing TWOC'ing Hoodierats, they saw nothing at all, 5x 400w in a tiny cottage loft.

Plumbing in a water feed and also drain up there costs £20 to do and is priceless in terms of work saved.

 

[Wodanaz]

Just checked my options and there are three chimneys.

The first is inside my flat, it goes directly from the boiler trough the wall and dont have access to it.

The second is a central chimney, made of brick, I have easy access but I'm a little scared to get 3-4 blocks away because I live on the 2nd floor and I dont want rubbish to fall to my neighbors, I also dont know if they use this chimney or not.

The third chimney - here I have no idea what it is. it goes through my flat but nothing connects to it, it may from iron tube. I saw on Google maps that every house in my area have this type of chimney.

The options are:
1) try to work really really carefully and get three blocks from the main chimney.
2) build a new chimney - just take out one roof tile and fix a small chimney from B&Q/homebase

I think that I will go with the first option.

will try to take pics later today to show you what Im talking about.