ac during winter problems!!!!

[Adrift]

so i wake up today. and my growroom is 106 degrees.

i guess over the night the coils froze and stopped working.....

so i wake up, shut off all lights, water all plants that need water and let the ac unfreeze....


so other then running the lights during the day when its warmer, is there anyother advice someone could chime in and give me???

right now im vegging, so the lights will have to run during the night cycle to some degree.....


i have an ac guy who is gonna help me out,, but i figured i would post this to help me, and maybe help anyone else out there having this problem!


i sure hope my plants dont suffer from this! i have no idea how long it was at 106, but it could not have been for 2 long as i think 15, 1 k's would heat the room up more then 106 without ac...


also, this really makes me want to get a controller that will shut off the lights if it gets to hot in there. so if anyone knows any products out there please help me out


well ive been running around all morning transferring water from rez's,watering plants, trying to get the room to normal temp...

and i finally did! so now im going to medicate very heavily and wait for some responses!!!

fuck what a shitty morning!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TribalSeeds]

Wow. Your gonna need a high temp shutdown before you turn your lights on again. That's incredibly dangerous. What if your fan had stopped. They can overheat

 

[Adrift]

Wow. Your gonna need a high temp shutdown before you turn your lights on again. That's incredibly dangerous. What if your fan had stopped. They can overheat

i know it! very scary stuff...

you got a link to a high temp shutdown device?

 

[Midnight]

There could be a lot of things causing your problem, you need to have a pro look at it. if I were there I'd do this...

1. Check your filter, is it clean?

2. Check your indoor coil, is it clean and un obnstructed?

3. Check your indoor blower motor, is it running? Is it clean?

4. Check your ducts, especially the return, make sure nothing is collapsed or bent.

5. Check your outdoor coil, is it clean and un obstructed?

6. Check your refrigerant level. Note, this is difficult to do when the outdoor temp is below 55 degrees and get an accurate reading but a pro will have ways to approximate it.

7. Does your system have a low ambient kit installed? Most systems do not come with this and are required if you want to run the ac in outdoor temps below 55 degrees.

Without being there, and from what you describe, you either have an airflow issue on the return side or the indoor coil is freezing up because you do not have a low ambient kit installed on the condenser. Good luck.

 

[TribalSeeds]

Im using the CAP high temp/15min delay start. With that many lights you're gonna need an electrician wire a heater thermostat to your panel to shutoff at a certain temp. Sorry I can't help. I hope you're able to get someone to help ASAP

 

[Hydrolized]

What are you going to do about the AC problem? There is an expansion valve that can be installed, I believe onto any AC, so it can run down to 0F or something around there...but I'm sure your AC guy will know that.

There are a few good high temp shutdown devices, they are all pretty much the same though, just price differences, fancy enclosures.

 

[TribalSeeds]

There could be a lot of things causing your problem, you need to have a pro look at it. if I were there I'd do this...

1. Check your filter, is it clean?

2. Check your indoor coil, is it clean and un obnstructed?

3. Check your indoor blower motor, is it running? Is it clean?

4. Check your ducts, especially the return, make sure nothing is collapsed or bent.

5. Check your outdoor coil, is it clean and un obstructed?

6. Check your refrigerant level. Note, this is difficult to do when the outdoor temp is below 55 degrees and get an accurate reading but a pro will have ways to approximate it.

7. Does your system have a low ambient kit installed? Most systems do not come with this and are required if you want to run the ac in outdoor temps below 55 degrees.

Without being there, and from what you describe, you either have an airflow issue on the return side or the indoor coil is freezing up because you do not have a low ambient kit installed on the condenser. Good luck.

Think its a window banger...
can it be moved inside the room and exhausted out?
There are mini splits that can run below 0

 

[Midnight]

Think its a window banger...
can it be moved inside the room and exhausted out?
There are mini splits that can run below 0

he said he has 15 1kw lights so i am pretty sure that it is not a window shaker. You could use a zoned mini split but for 15 kw of lights I wouldn't. I'd just go with a 5 ton split or package system.

 

[Adrift]

thanks for the replys everyone....

i have a 5 ton split unit, will be used to cool 16 thousand watts...

i have had no problems until i went from 12 lights to 14, what is happening, is the extra lights is making the unit run longer, which is freezing the lines... because i had lights on threw the night where temps get in the teens....


so what im doing, is changing my veg hours. so that the unit is off during 12 am- 6 am. which are the coldest hours....

also i have a very close friend who has been a ac guy for 20 years. so he's gonna come take a look...

nothing is bent, this is a brand new 5 ton unit, installed professionally.

it just cant handle the near 0 temps from midnight till morning.....


thanks for all the replys!! im forsure getting a high temp shut off intstalled, i have a electrical guy and ac guy so no worries there.

i think everything should be fine now that im not running lights during the coldest part of the night....

i already have a kit in the compressor that is suppose to help keep the lines from freezing. but i might have to upgrade it .. ill leave that up to the ac guy!


thanks again everyone

 

[Midnight]

thanks for the replys everyone....

i have a 5 ton split unit, will be used to cool 16 thousand watts...

i have had no problems until i went from 12 lights to 14, what is happening, is the extra lights is making the unit run longer, which is freezing the lines... because i had lights on threw the night where temps get in the teens....


so what im doing, is changing my veg hours. so that the unit is off during 12 am- 6 am. which are the coldest hours....

also i have a very close friend who has been a ac guy for 20 years. so he's gonna come take a look...

nothing is bent, this is a brand new 5 ton unit, installed professionally.

it just cant handle the near 0 temps from midnight till morning.....


thanks for all the replys!! im forsure getting a high temp shut off intstalled, i have a electrical guy and ac guy so no worries there.

i think everything should be fine now that im not running lights during the coldest part of the night....

i already have a kit in the compressor that is suppose to help keep the lines from freezing. but i might have to upgrade it .. ill leave that up to the ac guy!


thanks again everyone

Cool, If i were you I'd make sure the ac guy checks everything I mentioned in my list. Good luck!

 

[Adrift]

Cool, If i were you I'd make sure the ac guy checks everything I mentioned in my list. Good luck!

o i will! good looking

 

[slowride]

you prob need a condensor fan cycling switch. or a low ambient kit as previously mentioned.

since an ac uses the air around the outdoor unit to condense the refrigerant back into a liquid and absorb heat, air that is 0 degress C or less will obviously be more effective at doing this versus normal 30 degree c weather that a normal ac will be running at. In the winter your fan will only have to run 1/2 of the time if that to absorb the same amout of heat and re-condense your refrigerant into a liquid.

so yes in short, get a condensor fan cycling switch and also a crank case heater (compressor heater) that pulls more watts based on the temperature outside, so it doesnt heat your ac compressor in the summer months. this should resolve all your ac problems

also the above mentioned things will cause your ac to malfunction (clogged coils indoor and out or clogged filter, leak of refrigerant, indoor fan motor not working causing no air to be passing over the indoor coils).

 

[hashcat88]

get one

http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Growing-Sys-Plug-Grow/dp/B00286N5X8

 

[Adrift]

hey there, i already have a low ambient kit installed. but maybe it is not good enough for this weather. thanks for the advice...

got the crank case heater as well...

im gonna check the specs on my low ambient kit and see what it can handle!

you prob need a condensor fan cycling switch. or a low ambient kit as previously mentioned.

since an ac uses the air around the outdoor unit to condense the refrigerant back into a liquid and absorb heat, air that is 0 degress C or less will obviously be more effective at doing this versus normal 30 degree c weather that a normal ac will be running at. In the winter your fan will only have to run 1/2 of the time if that to absorb the same amout of heat and re-condense your refrigerant into a liquid.

so yes in short, get a condensor fan cycling switch and also a crank case heater (compressor heater) that pulls more watts based on the temperature outside, so it doesnt heat your ac compressor in the summer months. this should resolve all your ac problems

also the above mentioned things will cause your ac to malfunction (clogged coils indoor and out or clogged filter, leak of refrigerant, indoor fan motor not working causing no air to be passing over the indoor coils).

 

[Adrift]

get one

http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Growing-Sys-Plug-Grow/dp/B00286N5X8

thanks for the link! im going to get one forsure

 

[Midnight]

What did your ac guy say the problem was?

 

[icdog]

I have the same ac system you have with a similar light setup and had the same problems. It is not an easy problem to solve.
Is your room sealed?
What is the general weather like in your location, average temps. wind chill, snow, etc. in winter?
A low ambient kit and crankcase heater are not enough. Your unit is likely short cycling because in the winter the load is not constant to keep the ac running. My 5 ton split can cool 12k from 84 to 70 degrees in about 5 minutes, then it shuts off and turns back on 10 minutes later. This is short cycling.
If it constantly runs it will work but the safeties need to be removed so it can handle this when it is cold outside. You'll need a tstat that can set the differential wide enough that the ac is on long enough with an anti short cycling option.
AC's guys won't like this because it will destroy your compressor which is likely will but it won't happen in a week, it will likely happen over months. So its not a brilliant solution but it does work as I've done it. Your Ac is not designed to work in low ambient even with a kit.
If you want an exact list of what to do I can let you know. But your ac guy should be able to make it work, just say you want it to work in the cold and it doesn't matter what happens to the unit. With 16k you shouldn't worry much about destroying your ac compared to killing what your cooling.

Also a high temp shutoff is the most important thing to have. Look for a room radiator temp shutoff switch but what you need also depends on what your using for electrical and timing so if you have an electrician ask him what is best.

 

[Adrift]

midnight- so far he's just walked me threw some stuff over the phone... it seemed that there was a little bit to much freon, so i let a little out, but after 8 pm, its just so cold that the coils start freezing, so what ive been doing for now, is unplugging a couple lights at night, and that seems to be working.... FOR NOW

ac guy cant make it out till the end of the week, so im just making do for now!


icdog- thanks for your reply, bummed to hear that this unit cant handle the cold.

my enviroment is very cold, snow from time to time. doesnt usualy go into negatives tho. usualy just hits the teens at night.. id say aveerage temp during day is between 20-40 depending on cloud cover, then at night from high teens to low teens,

room is sealed, no in or out vents.

i would love a list of parts that might help, as i can run them by my ac guy and im sure he will know just what todo, thanks

 

[skullznroses]

Adrift-

Please buy new systems. Don't pay to have this system fixed, its just plain dangerous.

_Axl "your bottom line guy" roses

 

[Midnight]

How do you know that there was too much freon? That is hard for even a pro to tell in the winter. I'd be really suspect of my ac guy if he told me this without ever looking at the thing. No offense but you probably do not even have a set of gauges and again, if your ac guy told you it was over charged without even looking at it then i'd get a new ac guy asap. And to the dude that said to replace it because it is dangerous, where did you ever come up with that little nugget of wisdom?