4000 watts, 1 bedroom apartment: can it be done?

Hi.

I've never grown in an apartment or connected-type unit before, and I'm trying to rule out any stupid stuff that might be slipping my mind.

The plan is 4K watts in a 10x10 tent. No damaged walls on this one. Vent out the window, inconspicuously as possible of course. The power source will be the 240 volt stove.

Is there any little thing I might be forgetting that could potentially be a big thing? I know this is an open-ended question and I apologize for that. Again, I'm an apartment noob and I'm just thinking out loud here...


Thanks in advance.

Are you going to be living there?

cody2white said:

Are you going to be living there?

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Yes. This is a six month stay. It's a long story, but essentially I figure "why not grow while I'm hanging out there anyway?"

I plan on using the bedroom as the grow room with the tent, and sleeping in the living room with the doggie.

Apartments present you with a number of issues. Does it get cold where you're at? If pipes burst, you'll have a whole bunch of workmen in your place with zero notice.

For other things, they generally only have to give you 24 hours notice. I imagine you won't be living on-site, so how will you get there in time to tear everything down 24 hours after they slip a notice-note under your door that you don't live at?

"What other things?", you may ask. Well, most apartments I've lived in have an annual inspection, and they don't tell you about it until 24 hours before they're doing it. Not so great. There are other reasons they might come into your unit (wiring maintenance, for example), but that annual inspection is already enough to rain on your parade.

The only way I can see to rock apartments is to have a spare bedroom that you use for growing, and to live in the apartment and be there every day, so as to respond quickly to anything that happens.

Even then, if it gets cold where you're at, I'd just rock a townhouse so pipe bursts don't ruin your day.

Also I hope you really mean a 1 bedroom and not a bachelor. If you do mean bachelor, how do you keep from somebody seeing the tent while you open your front door to get into the place?

1 big pro for apartments and townhouses is that you're more likely to deal with a property management company than an individual owner. Individual owners are more likely IMO to illegally check up on their property without notice.

EDIT: whoops, should have refreshed before posting. what about pipes though? do you live some place cold?

One other thing I thought of: how many amps is the breaker feeding the stove?

rule #1 CHANGE THE LOCKS for obvious reasons if you don't you deserve what you get...

I've run well over 10 apartments, here are some general rules of thumb that have helped me

1. aim for a place with absent owners, property management companies etc are your friend.
Present yourself well and let them know you travel for work.
This buys you heaps of time whenever they want to bother you for something. They need to bother you? fuckit.. You're outta town!

2. change locks.

3. build everything modular so that you can tear down/pack up quickly

4. If you're gonna be an absentee grower, hook up a cheap computer onside with a remote desktop utility and a few webcams attached, that way when you're going through psychosis wondering if the apartment is on fire, you can know its not.
(i used this along with a harvest master unit in order to be able to manage 3-4 apartments at a time)

5. higher floors are better, no matter how sealed your room is or how powerful you have the negative exhaust, smells will leak out, try to get on the top floor. Use that Ona gel crap as well in all your exhaust, dont trust the carbon cans.
Also pray that the power never goes off.

007. said:

One other thing I thought of: how many amps is the breaker feeding the stove?

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40 amps stove
30 amps dryer

(there are some 50amp outlet/breakers around too, not too common though)

Your risking alot by growing in a apartment. Not sure what state your in or your medical status but either way its a risky call. A vent/duct hanging out the window is a dead give away no matter what your excuse is. I've done a couple stealth apt grows had a few close calls but I would never go full blown 4k 10' x 10' tent. Its possible I just say it would have to be the right complex in the right side of town.

Make sure this complex is not going to be doing any yearly inspections during that 6 months.

Also, 1 thing to also mention... I've been discussing apt grows since overgrow.com on forums

You will get a lot of guys who've never done more than a CFL in their closet telling you this cannot be done....

I worked as a Regional Property Manager for a long time, and I currently manage/own my own rentals. I can answer any legal Q's you might have.

Such as landlord tenet act, ect.

I actually know of a case, where a guy was growing at a rented house, and the landlord found out he had changed the locks. the landlord had a locksmith "break into" the house, where he found the grow.

Case was thrown out, due to the landlord not giving proper notice of entry to the tenet. Landlords in med states are having a hard time keeping growers from renting apt/homes due to discrimination laws.

Damn it I didit again! Sorry bobby ment to click helpful rating some good info you put down.

Have you considered noise? 4K is going to require a lot of ventilation, a lot of ventilation makes a lot of noise, and tents don't dampen a lot of noise. I've got 600W going in an apartment, and even a single centrifugal fan was just too much noise for me, both to live with comfortably and to keep out of suspicion. How are you planning to cool that 4K?

Case was thrown out, due to the landlord not giving proper notice of entry to the tenet.


Humm thats interesting! Thanks for sharing that

Is there any reason in particular you're doing a 10x10 instead of two 5x10s with alternating day/night? Just seems like a good way to avoid an attention grabbing power spike, since you won't know in an apartment building whether or not they have those fancy digital "smart meters".

Bobby Stainless said:

Make sure this complex is not going to be doing any yearly inspections during that 6 months.

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How can you do this without arousing suspicion? Can you think of a legitimate reason to ask somebody about this? Especially for a 20 something single male, since that's already going to cause the building managers to keep a close eye.

Dont you need about 3k btus per 1kw lighting? That would require an additional a/c unit correct? I dont think the central air could handle that?

I have a plan on doing 2kw alternating times and go perpetual. Harvest almost 1-2 lbs per month.

007. said:

How can you do this without arousing suspicion? Can you think of a legitimate reason to ask somebody about this? Especially for a 20 something single male, since that's already going to cause the building managers to keep a close eye.

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I would say you have extreme allergic reactions to pesticides.

"Do you do any regular inspections for pest control, as I have some very serious health problems, that can be aggravated by the use of pesticides."

You have a dog correct?

"My dog is cool with most people, but sometime he/she gets protective and has been known to bite strangers"

Guaranteed they will let you know before they enter, so they do not get attacked.

Thank you all so much for your informative, helpful posts. I don't even know where to begin with the thanks because literally every post made in this thread has been extremely helpful to me. You all rule.

thesloppy said:

Have you considered noise? 4K is going to require a lot of ventilation, a lot of ventilation makes a lot of noise, and tents don't dampen a lot of noise. I've got 600W going in an apartment, and even a single centrifugal fan was just too much noise for me, both to live with comfortably and to keep out of suspicion. How are you planning to cool that 4K?

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I have considered noise. I dunno. There is no game plan here. I'll search for an apartment wherein the fans and lights are against a wall where no one lives. Beyond that, I've got nothin.


As to why i'm not flipp-flopping: honestly, I can't get up and go to work in the morning with 2K burning at the house. I'm just too paranoid. I know it's silly but it's how I've always been. I like being at home when my girls are cooking. That, and I've already got a 600 dollar bad-ass 10x10 tent that I can't break down in two.


CODY, I've done similar grows before. Colorado has very little humidity, and if the central is any good, I've always been fine with centrafugals, central AC and intelligently-placed cracked windows.

Things to keep in mind:

>That 24 hour notice rule can be worked around pretty easily.
-water leaking from a toilet/shower above you (always get on top floor)
-your toilet clogging (happened to me once when I wasn't there. no clue how it happened, but maintenance came in while I was at work)
-Noise complaints (depending on landlord/management group)
-Landlords can come in and find your grow, leave the apartment, then say they can smell it from outside and call cops

>Be VERY careful if using extension cords. Remember that most, if not all, extension cords do not like to be stapled to surfaces, hidden under carpets, or used for extented periods of time. All of these can (theoretically?) cause them to heat up and burn through the sheathing.

>Use a water containment device of some sort in preparation for flooding.
-Kiddie pools, pond liners, etc.
-water spills are a HUGE X factor. if your downstairs neighbor has water dripping through their ceiling, people WILL be going through your apartment.

>Do NOT trust people.
-Don't tell people you are growing there or that you're 'going to have some dank buds in a couple months.'
-Don't bring people over. Very tempting to bring home the hot girl from the bar, thinking that shes too f-ed up to notice the fan noise, and she'll be out in the morning......she'll get curious, connect the dots, and people will know quick.

>You mentioned you have a dog.
-Hope you've trained it well enough not to be barking a lot, or much at all. That could easily trigger a noise complaint that could bring it down for you.

>Consider using multiple volume and smell control devices.
-use duct muffles on all exhausts
-Someone already mentioned ONA...keep at least one BIG block of this around for when power goes out. Preferably have a few, so one can go right by the door to your apartment, and the other with the grow.
-Invest in QUALITY parts with your fans and carbon filters. Match them up correctly so you're not pulling the smelly air through too fast. The quieter fan you get, the happier you will be.
-get solid state fan speed controllers for all your fans.

>Have a STEALTHY exhaust out the window.
-It could be through a gutted A/C, set back from the window, lots of options here...but whatever one you choose, it better be good.

>Watch out for light leaks. These could bring you down.
-HPS lights give off a JESUS IS RETURNING amount of light, and if this starts shooting out your windows, people will notice.
-Since you're growing in a tent, pinhole light leaks are very possible, if not probably. It sounds like you'll be running lights on at night during flowering, so remember that your tent has to stay pitch black on the inside during lights off. Black 2mil poly is really cheap, and though 1 layer won't cut all the light, 2 or 3 will make ure that your room stays dark, even with pinhole leaks.

Most apartments I've been in will have pest control come monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, or every 6 months. Allergy to pesticides and a fear for your health worked for me and keeping them from spraying in my apartment.

Also ran into maintenance inspections normally in the fall and spring when the heat/ac is switching. They change filters and check in on the ventilation.

Also second that 2k/2k on a flip

Best of luck, stay safe