Advice, tips or tricks for building and running a sealed room needed.

Treetroit City · Feb 2, 2013

Okay IC, time for me to cash some chips in and get some help from you all.

Building out my polebarn and could use some wisdom from those that have already traveled this road.

I started with a 13x22 foot space and am splitting that space in two rooms. Here was my initial plan.

So, two 4x8 tables for flower, 3x6 table for late veg, 2x4 table for early veg and a bakers rack in there somewhere for clones, seedlings and a few moms.

Blue circles are 55 gallon water/rez tanks.

The build begins.

soursmoker · Feb 2, 2013

haha this is going to be awesome! along for the show!

sittin back taking notes...

Treetroit City · Feb 2, 2013

So all the exterior framing and sheathing is done except for the 22' exterior wall which still needs insulation and sheathing. I have a 8x13 veg room and a 12x13 flower room.

Looking at entrance to veg room.

Veg room looking out.

Flower room looking back to veg.

Flower room.

Okay, so we're caught up with the progress now. I have always been thinking mini split but as of late I've heard from a few that I should just go with a conventional central air system with ducting as they are more efficient than mini splits.

Time to step back before I go any further and get some other opinions. I don't want to build anymore if I'm going to need to rip out sheathing or move a door or something.

I know many of you have been down this road before and can offer up good advice on how best to proceed. I'll be talking to my hvac guy on Monday to pick his brain as far as cooling/heating this space.

So a few questions to start. What to cover the walls in? Kilz white paint to start? No paint and orca film?

Floors, leave concrete or throw a pond liner down. Maybe white paint on the floor?

AC opinions?

Okay, we'll start there. :thank you:

P.S. This is a legal caregiver facility being set up to provide for patients.

dansbuds · Feb 2, 2013

You know I'm watching

& i'm stickin with .... you should make sure you have some type of heat in there even if ya never use it .... better to have it & not need it ... then need it & not have it !

Treetroit City · Feb 2, 2013

dansbuds said:
You know I'm watching

& i'm stickin with .... you should make sure you have some type of heat in there even if ya never use it .... better to have it & not need it ... then need it & not have it !

True, very true. Can't wait to talk to hvac and get some better ideas. Seems a mini split/heat pump would be cheaper up front but maybe not as efficient as a regular AC/heat pump.

Yeah I'll get a heat pump with whatever option I go with.

Good to see ya dans.

Puscifer · Feb 2, 2013

I would definitely hit the walls with Kilz no matter what.
As for cooling, unless the central unit is inverter driven then a mini split is by far more efficient.
Are you looking to cool both veg and flower room? How many watts are you going to run in the flower room? A room that size would do good with a dual head mini split. Instead of one high btu unit you'd run two smaller btu units mounted opposite each other.
Been growing in a very hot/humid state for many years, sealed and climate controlled is the only way for me and my "partners".
Here's an example of a dual head mini split...
http://www.goductless.com/Mitsubishi-Mr-Slim-mitsubishi-air-conditioner-p/11051.htm

Treetroit City · Feb 3, 2013

Puscifer said:
I would definitely hit the walls with Kilz no matter what.
As for cooling, unless the central unit is inverter driven then a mini split is by far more efficient.
Are you looking to cool both veg and flower room? How many watts are you going to run in the flower room? A room that size would do good with a dual head mini split. Instead of one high btu unit you'd run two smaller btu units mounted opposite each other.
Been growing in a very hot/humid state for many years, sealed and climate controlled is the only way for me and my "partners".
Here's an example of a dual head mini split...
http://www.goductless.com/Mitsubishi-Mr-Slim-mitsubishi-air-conditioner-p/11051.htm

Yeah, been checking out your nice grows on here for years.

I've also been checking that website for mini splits ever since you mentioned it a year or two ago.
Your posts have actually been a big inspiration for me back to the Mosca thread you had going when I first signed up here. :respect:

I think I'm gonna start with 4K and hope to up that to 6K. I made it big enough to handle 7-8K if all goes well. Gotta make sure everything is oversized in case I want to expand.

I had been looking at this 30,000btu unit but I see what you're saying about twin head units.

http://www.goductless.com/LG-Air-conditioner-Ductless-Mini-Split-Heat-Pumps-p/11221.htm

Hell if everything goes real well I'll just tear out the dividing wall and have a 13x20 flower room. Gotta dream big right?

Thanks for the advice, and if you don't mind stop in every once in a while. It's folks like you that I need here to walk me through this shit.

shuswap · Feb 3, 2013

thirrd coast,just an idea but if you do go with a central ac unit,with compressor outside when u do want to open more flower room you can do it on a flip and save alot of money on ballasts for one but also you can flip the ac unit making it way cheaper then buying another one,just my 2 cents

okay now ive asked this in other threads lately and havent gotten much feedback so im gonna throw it out here,are guys venting there sealed roms at night? im having issues with lights off co2 raising up to 1900ppm and am now in the middle of rigging up a vent in/out setup...

great pics man,nice to see well documented builds.

Smokin Joe · Feb 3, 2013

For a mini split large enough to cool 6k of lighting your gonna spend around 3500. The biggest plus to a standard heat pump is the easy of parts should something go wrong. Being in the HVAC field I deal with this type of crap a lot. Good systems are only as good as the service you receive after the sale.
http://www.goductless.com/Ductless-...tm?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=108&show=10&page=2

Weird Jimmy · Feb 3, 2013

doin it big. Nice work man!

Treetroit City · Feb 3, 2013

shuswap said:
thirrd coast,just an idea but if you do go with a central ac unit,with compressor outside when u do want to open more flower room you can do it on a flip and save alot of money on ballasts for one but also you can flip the ac unit making it way cheaper then buying another one,just my 2 cents

okay now ive asked this in other threads lately and havent gotten much feedback so im gonna throw it out here,are guys venting there sealed roms at night? im having issues with lights off co2 raising up to 1900ppm and am now in the middle of rigging up a vent in/out setup...

great pics man,nice to see well documented builds.

Thanks shuswap. Wasn't planning on having any kind of vent to be able to dump nighttime co2. Something to think about for sure. Hopefully it will not be needed.

Galahad said:
For a mini split large enough to cool 6k of lighting your gonna spend around 3500. The biggest plus to a standard heat pump is the easy of parts should something go wrong. Being in the HVAC field I deal with this type of crap a lot. Good systems are only as good as the service you receive after the sale.
http://www.goductless.com/Ductless-...tm?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=108&show=10&page=2

Really? Everything I've read on here says 30,000 btu would handle 6K easily. Not saying I don't believe you bro, just surprised to hear that.

Will be looking into the conventional split though for sure.

Weird Jimmy said:
doin it big. Nice work man!

Thanks, though I can't take credit for the carpentry skills. Helps to have a friend who knows how to do this kind of stuff.

With a full load of patients I figured I owed it to them to get a bit more serious about this.

Smokin Joe · Feb 3, 2013

Think you misunderstood me. I'm saying $3,500 for a minisplit that will do the job. It will cost about the same price ether way. Avilableity of parts should something go wrong is the big picture for me. Mini splits are gr8 when you cant use a normal system. They are not service man friendly at all. I had to work on a mr. slim outdoor unit just the other day. The f*&^ing control board is mounted face down so you have to take the whole damn thing apart to check things out. Problem is now you cant turn it on cause you got the damn thing torn apart. Lucky it had a blown fuse on the board so it wasn't that big of a deal. :dunno:

Not trying to steer you ether way jmho. If I had the space above the rooms I would put a normal system. If I had to cut holes in the walls and that sort of shit it would be a 1 hole mini split.

GP73LPC · Feb 4, 2013

cool

Treetroit City · Feb 5, 2013

Galahad said:
Think you misunderstood me. I'm saying $3,500 for a minisplit that will do the job. It will cost about the same price ether way. Avilableity of parts should something go wrong is the big picture for me. Mini splits are gr8 when you cant use a normal system. They are not service man friendly at all. I had to work on a mr. slim outdoor unit just the other day. The f*&^ing control board is mounted face down so you have to take the whole damn thing apart to check things out. Problem is now you cant turn it on cause you got the damn thing torn apart. Lucky it had a blown fuse on the board so it wasn't that big of a deal. Not trying to steer you ether way jmho. If I had the space above the rooms I would put a normal system. If I had to cut holes in the walls and that sort of shit it would be a 1 hole mini split.

Thanks brother, it will help a lot when I get with my dude and he can show me exactly where things can fit and I can better picture it all in my head.

GP73LPC said:
cool

Thanks man.

Granger2 · Feb 5, 2013

On whatever you buy, strongly consider the SEER rating. Big money to be saved in the long run. Good luck. -granger

growshopfrank · Feb 5, 2013

give the room a week or two of serious ventilation with a heater to bring the temps up to 85d Fahrenheit or so to minimize or reduce any VOC's or off gassing from fresh building materials

LGR dehumidifier, sealed rooms need lots of humidity control especially in the cooler months Double whatever you are planning on using for humidity control and you should be about right

JohnWayne · Feb 6, 2013

Looks really nice!

the gnome · Feb 7, 2013

looking good, progress is pushing ahead TC

i would definitely kilz(oil base) everything also and use and additive/mildewcide.
OSB doesn't like water or hi RH.
it turns back into chips if it get wet enough on a consistent basis
also OSB is pressed together with glues and what not.
so no telling if you may get some type of off gassing from it.
that kilz is a killer to do because of the fumes in an enclosed area...
where a respirator for sure.
hope you have a sprayer, gets it done in no time
then you'll need some time like GSF said to let the killz cure out.

i have a 32,500BTU MITSU minisplit for my 14 x20.
it'll take 6 lamps uncooled no prob, and a gas firedco2 gen.

Puscifer · Feb 7, 2013

Galahad said:
Think you misunderstood me. I'm saying $3,500 for a minisplit that will do the job. It will cost about the same price ether way. Avilableity of parts should something go wrong is the big picture for me. Mini splits are gr8 when you cant use a normal system. They are not service man friendly at all. I had to work on a mr. slim outdoor unit just the other day. The f*&^ing control board is mounted face down so you have to take the whole damn thing apart to check things out. Problem is now you cant turn it on cause you got the damn thing torn apart. Lucky it had a blown fuse on the board so it wasn't that big of a deal. Not trying to steer you ether way jmho. If I had the space above the rooms I would put a normal system. If I had to cut holes in the walls and that sort of shit it would be a 1 hole mini split.

Can't say I disagree with anything Galahad posted. I look at a minisplit as a completely disposable appliance. Unless it's something as obvious as a blown fuse, I keep enough $$$ around to buy another one at a moments notice. I'm not an hvac tech, but I am self taught and have about 5 years experience installing mini splits so it's no sweat for me to swap one out under in under a few hours.

dansbuds · Feb 7, 2013

I'm bookmarkin this thread .... there is so much great info here i'd be crazy not to !!! Its gonna help me & a ton of others when it comes time to build our own .

Thanx 3rd & everybody :thank you:

Advice, tips or tricks for building and running a sealed room needed.

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