Help me design and build a 6K room!!

Mr Eckted · Jan 9, 2012

Hey everyone, happy new year.

I had a couple quick questions for you guys.

We're going to build a 6000W set up, split into two sides, each with 3 1000W HPS. We'll use 3 ballasts and a flip flop to save on equipment.

The lights will be in cooltubes, and air-cooled in a sealed system, separate from the rooms themselves.

Here's the idea
Each yellow square is 4' x 4'

1 - Air enters the flower rooms through filtered passive intakes not pictured.

2 - A fan in each room pulls air out through a carbon scrubber (like a can 66 or something) and exhausts into the "lung room" in front of the flower rooms.

3 - A fan (8" Vortex or something) pushes air through the ducting, cooling the lights. It pulls air directly from the "lung room", and exhausts into the house's forced air system, helping to heat the house. The lung room is fitted with a passive vent to allow air in if the cooltube fan needs more, or allow air out if the carbon scrubber fans are pushing too much in.

The questions are:

First, is an 8" fan overkill? Only 3 lights will be on at a time, but the ducting to both sides will always be open.

Second, do you guys think that these could work for the carbon scrubber fans? I think they would move enough air, and they're cheap.

Stanley Blower Fan
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=29341

Thanks. :wave:

Hydrolized · Jan 9, 2012

If you have the space, go 8". You can cool 3000w with 6", but with 8" you can turn the fan down, so it's more quiet, and also if it gets hot, the 8" will move quite a bit more than the 6" after taking into account the static pressure loss difference between 6" and 8" Duct.

For the scrubber fans I wouldn't cheap out, just get inline fans. 1/100th of the first grow from this will make up the $50-100 difference between that and an inline, which is made for higher static pressures. I personally use Fantech FG series when it comes to filtering because they are totally sealed and will not suck in stinky air through seams or holes in the housing/electrical box.

Seneca · Jan 9, 2012

Splitting the cooling airflow and recombining the two might be a airflow bottleneck, unless you close-off one side of the split when you flip-flop. Think as each room's environment as individuals and it will save you time working out the bugs.

Good start, good luck!

rives · Jan 9, 2012

Electric duct dampeners would be a good way to deal with some potential problems on your light ventilation. Flip-flopping the dampers with your lights would be slick. I think that I would use normally open dampers so if they failed, they would fail open.

http://www.amazon.com/Suncourt-ZO108P-Control-Damper-Normally/dp/B0015S8C2E

Mr Eckted · Jan 9, 2012

Awesome, thank you guys. So you think even if I ran the 8" at full speed that i need baffles?

I will just go with some 6 inch inline fans for the scrubber then I guess.

So my budget will look something like this for vent and lighting
Flip Flop $380
6 Lamps 1000W $260
3 Ballasts $630
6 Mogul Sockets $45
60’ 14/3 Cord $60
1x 8 inch vortex $270
2 x Can 66 $240
2 x 6’ vortex $450

$2500 Ballpark, when you include ducting and a thermostat or two. Hopefully I can get a discount by buying it all at once.

The next thing to decide is what kind of plants to do. Do we grow 4 or 6 big plants in DWC per light, and SCROG them, or should we do a SOG, straight from clone. Or something else.

dj_greenthumb · Jan 9, 2012

You should always 'suck' with your fans, not blow. Otherwise, looks like a decent setup. I think you'll end up spending a bit more than $2500 but maybe not.

The Bling · Jan 9, 2012

yoyo

first why the flipflop???

just do 1 6 lighter and save on the scrubbers get an intake hepa and some bell lighting hoods.

what medium?

tables drainage?

Mr Eckted · Jan 9, 2012

The idea behind splitting it in two is less heat to deal with, less ballasts to buy

rives · Jan 9, 2012

Bling has an interesting point. Going by your budget, you aren't saving much on the flip-flop vs individual ballasts. The heat load would be the same if you ran them on opposing schedules like the flip would do. I haven't been overly impressed with most of the commercial flips that I've seen, either.

Off topic here, but...Bling, do you have experience with Bell hoods?

Mr Eckted · Jan 9, 2012

dj_greenthumb said:
You should always 'suck' with your fans, not blow. Otherwise, looks like a decent setup. I think you'll end up spending a bit more than $2500 but maybe not.

$2500 is the budget for just the lights and fans etc, not any of the hoods, pumps, medium etc.

The reason behind blowing through the ducts instead of sucking is
A) The ducting is not rigid
B) Positive pressure in the lighting cooling system stops any smell from sneaking into the lines and being blown into the house.

What do you guys think

The medium and style are as of yet to be determined.

Mr Eckted · Jan 9, 2012

rives said:
Bling has an interesting point. Going by your budget, you aren't saving much on the flip-flop vs individual ballasts. The heat load would be the same if you ran them on opposing schedules like the flip would do. I haven't been overly impressed with most of the commercial flips that I've seen, either.

Off topic here, but...Bling, do you have experience with Bell hoods?

But wouldnt I be back to two scrubbers if the lights were on opposing scheduals, since the room would have to be divded

rives · Jan 9, 2012

Mr Eckted said:
But wouldnt I be back to two scrubbers if the lights were on opposing scheduals, since the room would have to be divded

Yes, I was just comparing the costs of ballasts vs the flip-flop. From your numbers, it looks like the flip would almost cover two ballasts. Just a thought.

Mr Eckted · Jan 9, 2012

Yeah, Its not a huge savings, but it is almost a months power bill. I could probably build a flip flop for cheaper too. Sorry for the lack of punctuation, my keyboard has gone french on me.

rives · Jan 9, 2012

Mr Eckted said:
Yeah, Its not a huge savings, but it is almost a months power bill. I could probably build a flip flop for cheaper too. Sorry for the lack of punctuation, my keyboard has gone french on me.

Personally, I would build one over buying, but I know damn well it wouldn't wind up being cheaper! I think the best way to do the flip would be with a micro plc controlling things, and by the time you add that in with an appropriate can, etc, etc.......

Mr Eckted · Jan 9, 2012

True I guess. Thanks for your help, bedtime for me though.

CannaBunkerMan · Jan 9, 2012

Looks nice, I did something very similar, 6k room, but inline reflector cooled instead.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=209119

BTW, you can buy a DPST water heater switch for $30 that will work for your flip flop.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=228454

Bunz · Jan 9, 2012

CannaBunkerMan said:
BTW, you can buy a DPST water heater switch for $30 that will work for your flip flop.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=228454

Once again, I fried the control panel on one of those with a 30 amp electric water heater, even though the timer was rated for 40 amps. Spend the extra $30 and get a Intermatic T103 or T104, depending on if your ballasts are 110 or 220v. There's a reason the design on the Intermatic mechanical timers hasn't changed in 40+ years.........they work!!!

Bunz

CannaBunkerMan · Jan 9, 2012

Was it the actual clock mechanics that burned out? I'd guess that the contact terminals were the part to fry, whiich are designed the same in either timer, with magnetic relay terminals.

Hydrolized · Jan 9, 2012

You can build a flip for around $120 the right way.

1 Enclosure Box with knockouts $20

3 Dayton DPDT 30A Relays PN 5X847 $80

1 Honeywell In Wall 7 day Timer $20

Along with some misc wire, mounting hardware and knockout clamps you have a nice flip box done right, for less than 1/3 of your estimate.

CannaBunkerMan · Jan 9, 2012

Hydrolized said:
You can build a flip for around $120 the right way.

1 Enclosure Box with knockouts $20

3 Dayton DPDT 30A Relays PN 5X847 $80

1 Honeywell In Wall 7 day Timer $20

Along with some misc wire, mounting hardware and knockout clamps you have a nice flip box done right, for less than 1/3 of your estimate.

Where do you get this? McMastercarr?

Help me design and build a 6K room!!

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