WT215s 5kW stadium with coco.. come help!
- Thread starter whatthe215
- Start date
Super sick stadium.
I see you must trim dry. Do you find this makes your harvest process easier, or do you feel it results in better aroma/quality?
I see you must trim dry. Do you find this makes your harvest process easier, or do you feel it results in better aroma/quality?
Awesomeness , just great. As you can prolly see defoliating is the way to go. My first vert run is about to come down in a week, and because of defoliating all the nugs are nice, prolly only a few grams of larf. I know you must love it as much as i do!!!!!!!
supernuck- thank you
FlowerFarmer- thanks man it was fun to do. i trim dry for both of those reasons. i find it makes the harvest process easier for a few reasons.
1) the first step is just cutting and hanging branches. only takes a few hours and then you can forget about it in your drying room for a few days. gives me time to rebuild/reset the room.
2) once it's dried to the proper levels, you can box it up (i like airtight rubbermaid bins or coolers) and it will start curing with the sugar leaves on. then you trim as you can. valuable if it's a 1 man operation and also gives a bit of flexibility. you or the trim team ain't ready today? no worries it's just curing at a perfect 62% waiting for us.
and then the aroma and flavors are preserved way better IME if you let it dry with sugar leaves on. the quality of my dry trimmed bud with zero cure vs. my wet trimmed with 3wk cure is insane, the dry trim no cure is waaaaay stinker and tastier.
also, the buds just look way more amazing. here's what i was told by the guy who taught me to dry trim. "take anything that gets in the way of making the bud look it's best. if it has a stem or veins (lil white lines in the less sugary leaves,) then take it off." everything else left behind is frosty. he calls it 'tipping,' you just use the tip of the fiskars to take leaves off. NEVER 'running' the scissors across the buds, tearing things up as is so often done in wet trimming.
frankenstein2- well for me defoliating isn't an option.. it's a necessity. this bubba really loves to throw tons of unnecessary fan leaves. but yes i agree, defoliation is a winning strategy.
on the plants that i took the most sucker branches, lower BS etc from.. the smallest nugs look to be 2g. that would be great, if i had zero dried nugs <2g. now i know how much to take out for all of them. this next run will hopefully have zero larf.
FlowerFarmer- thanks man it was fun to do. i trim dry for both of those reasons. i find it makes the harvest process easier for a few reasons.
1) the first step is just cutting and hanging branches. only takes a few hours and then you can forget about it in your drying room for a few days. gives me time to rebuild/reset the room.
2) once it's dried to the proper levels, you can box it up (i like airtight rubbermaid bins or coolers) and it will start curing with the sugar leaves on. then you trim as you can. valuable if it's a 1 man operation and also gives a bit of flexibility. you or the trim team ain't ready today? no worries it's just curing at a perfect 62% waiting for us.
and then the aroma and flavors are preserved way better IME if you let it dry with sugar leaves on. the quality of my dry trimmed bud with zero cure vs. my wet trimmed with 3wk cure is insane, the dry trim no cure is waaaaay stinker and tastier.
also, the buds just look way more amazing. here's what i was told by the guy who taught me to dry trim. "take anything that gets in the way of making the bud look it's best. if it has a stem or veins (lil white lines in the less sugary leaves,) then take it off." everything else left behind is frosty. he calls it 'tipping,' you just use the tip of the fiskars to take leaves off. NEVER 'running' the scissors across the buds, tearing things up as is so often done in wet trimming.
frankenstein2- well for me defoliating isn't an option.. it's a necessity. this bubba really loves to throw tons of unnecessary fan leaves. but yes i agree, defoliation is a winning strategy.
on the plants that i took the most sucker branches, lower BS etc from.. the smallest nugs look to be 2g. that would be great, if i had zero dried nugs <2g. now i know how much to take out for all of them. this next run will hopefully have zero larf.
4kw oval built and planted
4kw oval built and planted
here's the new setup. i like it a lot.
i made the sides further from the lamps so they end up more around 18-22" away rather than the stadium where some were ~12" away and got just a lil burned in the last couple days.
the edge of every board is 33" away from the closest lamp, except for parts of the corners. maximum 36" away.
still gotta decide on drainage. i was gonna run it just like the stadium, but getting the tilt right and the surface smooth for the pondliner to lay on is much harder with lots of overlapping boards. thinking about maybe doing some Mister_D style saucers with drains for each pot.
edit: thinking gutters would be easy too now. pond liner all the way around with just the backside propped up and gutters all the way around with a couple waste buckets and pumps.
drip will be much easier for this room considering it's only 1 level of plants. i think square PVC manifold with a cross, hose supplying water to the center. even better would be trying out Mister_D's gravity feeding. same manifold, but in the air i guess with a rez all the way up... timed solenoid to open the valve and let the water flow.
plant count, spacing and training are all yet to be decided for this room. there's 16 or something in there right now, but it'll probably end up closer to 25.
instead of buying more panda and then just covering it with reflectix, i used some transparent poly that i had left over. works fine... the AC area is light tight so no possible light leaks.
4kw oval built and planted
here's the new setup. i like it a lot.
i made the sides further from the lamps so they end up more around 18-22" away rather than the stadium where some were ~12" away and got just a lil burned in the last couple days.
the edge of every board is 33" away from the closest lamp, except for parts of the corners. maximum 36" away.
still gotta decide on drainage. i was gonna run it just like the stadium, but getting the tilt right and the surface smooth for the pondliner to lay on is much harder with lots of overlapping boards. thinking about maybe doing some Mister_D style saucers with drains for each pot.
edit: thinking gutters would be easy too now. pond liner all the way around with just the backside propped up and gutters all the way around with a couple waste buckets and pumps.
drip will be much easier for this room considering it's only 1 level of plants. i think square PVC manifold with a cross, hose supplying water to the center. even better would be trying out Mister_D's gravity feeding. same manifold, but in the air i guess with a rez all the way up... timed solenoid to open the valve and let the water flow.
plant count, spacing and training are all yet to be decided for this room. there's 16 or something in there right now, but it'll probably end up closer to 25.
instead of buying more panda and then just covering it with reflectix, i used some transparent poly that i had left over. works fine... the AC area is light tight so no possible light leaks.
Got to give bobble credit for the solenoid idea 
. I am thoroughly enjoying exploring the possibilities however. Best method for keeping pressure relatively even in a drip system i'm come across yet. You have an advantage having all plants on a level surface. Gravity and solenoids are both stupid reliable.
. I am thoroughly enjoying exploring the possibilities however. Best method for keeping pressure relatively even in a drip system i'm come across yet. You have an advantage having all plants on a level surface. Gravity and solenoids are both stupid reliable.
username474
Active member
Well done Mr. Gold
alrighty, i've been stupid busy.
so the room yielded 5.2lbs of nugs, 1lb of popcorn, and 2.5lbs of sugar trim.
i'm happy with the results, but i know that there is so much room for improvement.
now here's the exciting part...
12 ballasts, 24 bare 1Ks, 5ton multi-evaporator system a la GettoGro + supplemental cooling and 600s for (minimal) in room vegging. 200amp panel goes in this week.
considering buying adjustawings for 1 of the rooms and trying to do some Jackmayoffer shit.... hmmmmm
so the room yielded 5.2lbs of nugs, 1lb of popcorn, and 2.5lbs of sugar trim.
i'm happy with the results, but i know that there is so much room for improvement.
now here's the exciting part...
12 ballasts, 24 bare 1Ks, 5ton multi-evaporator system a la GettoGro + supplemental cooling and 600s for (minimal) in room vegging. 200amp panel goes in this week.
considering buying adjustawings for 1 of the rooms and trying to do some Jackmayoffer shit.... hmmmmm
D
DHF
5 tons/60000 btu`s takes care of 12 lights no prob Bro , and try whatchas wanna try with the adjust a wings WT.....only 1 way ta find out what works better for you and your situation.....
I`m bettin on da bare bulbs though I`m prejudiced....but.....2 rooms flippin back ta back oughta do some damage huh ?......
Good luck....DHF......
.....
DHF- yeah not gonna mess with wings this round, gonna make it as cheap as possible. but i may try a horizontal room with vert bare bulbs just hanging above the plants Asian style. i figure that with 12 lights and everything covered in reflectix, the whole room with be a damn reflector.
Mister_D- the plan is to run 8 burner CO2 gennys on natural gas with 1800CFM 14" maxfans. i'd rather not deal with dehumidifiers and trying to completely seal the room when i know i can hold 1100-1300ppm for ~$200/month in gas.
i haven't seen anyone online doing it yet (or talking about it at least...) but i know it works.
Mister_D- the plan is to run 8 burner CO2 gennys on natural gas with 1800CFM 14" maxfans. i'd rather not deal with dehumidifiers and trying to completely seal the room when i know i can hold 1100-1300ppm for ~$200/month in gas.
i haven't seen anyone online doing it yet (or talking about it at least...) but i know it works.
i sorta forgot to take any dry nug shots before it all went out the door, but here's a couple quickies what i kept.
last photo uploaded super small apparently, ill try to get a better shot later.
the whole crop was dried with sugar leaves on, and then cured in 40gal rubbermaids with sugar leaves on, on sticks for 3 weeks. best smelling harvest i've ever had... anyone taking product was instantly sold on the overwhelming aroma when opening a bag.
i didn't intentionally cure for that long with leaves on, i was just way too busy to have my trim team take care of it. but as a result, i want to start moving towards a schedule where all flowers are cured for at least 3-4 weeks before going out to patients. the difference is really that huge in mine and other patients opinions. got me back up to 3k/unit... lol i've never had an easier time negotiating donations.
last photo uploaded super small apparently, ill try to get a better shot later.
the whole crop was dried with sugar leaves on, and then cured in 40gal rubbermaids with sugar leaves on, on sticks for 3 weeks. best smelling harvest i've ever had... anyone taking product was instantly sold on the overwhelming aroma when opening a bag.
i didn't intentionally cure for that long with leaves on, i was just way too busy to have my trim team take care of it. but as a result, i want to start moving towards a schedule where all flowers are cured for at least 3-4 weeks before going out to patients. the difference is really that huge in mine and other patients opinions. got me back up to 3k/unit... lol i've never had an easier time negotiating donations.
This will work, but it is both a waste of gas, and your money in the long term. The money spent on gas could pay for a santa fe in ~8 months, offsetting the extra energy use in that equation. Then you also have the advantages of going sealed (no smell concerns, even in a power outage, absolute control over temp/humidity 24/7 <--- guarantee that will raise yields, can be used for controlled peroids of environmental change i.e higher humidity for veg and first 40% of flower, or cold periods at the end of cycle to produce purple coloration, etc) Completely up to you which route you want to take, just adding some things to consider.
I have done this for many years for exactly the reasons you are listing. There is a reason I always get top dollar for my product without any argument. Obviously it's starts with growing it well, but proper dry and minimum one month of cure time, usually two, produces a smoother smoking product with stronger, more complex tastes, smells and effects than wet trimmed, dried, and immediately out the door herb, the market is unfortunately flooded with.
for doing it the right way 
.Also if you decide to go with gravity feed. You'll want your manifold line to be 3/4-1" for 25 plants, or split it into two sections. Many ways to skin your drainage problem, but those individual pot drains I made up are working great for me.
hmm OK. i was worried about not being able to cool 12kw of lights sealed but I'm in a hot area... during the summer which is pretty much here now it can be 100+ for a month straight with some 105 and 110 days thrown in. pulling in 100 degree air ain't gonna cool anything huh?
i'm gonna put some more thought into this.
5 ton will cool 12x 1kw in a sealed room in a HOT climate?
house has crap basic 1980 insulation... would those 2" perma boards + reflectix be enough?
i'm gonna use the gravity feed in one of the rooms. some other auto watering system in the other... maybe octo bubblers and sprinklers like jackmayoffer. figure out which one i like more.
eventually i wanna just raise the floors and build in some drains. sump pump all the runoff to the backyard maybe....
D
DHF
Hell Bro......Krusty usedta cool warehouse setups with more wattage than you got with wallbanger a/c units , and 12KW only needs 4 tons of cooling with bare bulbs hangin......but....
The extra 12000 btu`s will help if yas got a heat producing CO2 generator inside the grow area so yas should still be good to go , cuz ....
With CO2 , room ambient temps HAVETA be elevated for the plants metabolism to increase where they can actually accept the gas and metabolize it for ANY acceptable yield increases IME........
Krusty usedta drape spaghetti tubing with holes punched round the tops of the plants hooked to CO2 tanks and controllers during lights on , and then .......
During lights off he`d use bigass exhaust/scrubber combo`s to suck all the CO2 and excess humidity the plants shit out that they didn`t use or need to control environment to the "T".......
Many ways ta skin a mule my buddy......I say seal it up and exhaust excess CO2 and humidity out during lights off......and....as Dbro said.......
Get that Santa Fe dehuey down the road as budget provides for total environmental control in a truly hot and humid location like I dealt with here in Hell for many yrs....anyways....
Major air exchange without a lung room for conditioned air to be pumped into and sucked out of only leaves the sealed room with CO2 supplements option .....Handle it.....and......
Good luck Bro........Let us know whatchas come up with......
Peace.....Freds...........
The extra 12000 btu`s will help if yas got a heat producing CO2 generator inside the grow area so yas should still be good to go , cuz ....
With CO2 , room ambient temps HAVETA be elevated for the plants metabolism to increase where they can actually accept the gas and metabolize it for ANY acceptable yield increases IME........
Krusty usedta drape spaghetti tubing with holes punched round the tops of the plants hooked to CO2 tanks and controllers during lights on , and then .......
During lights off he`d use bigass exhaust/scrubber combo`s to suck all the CO2 and excess humidity the plants shit out that they didn`t use or need to control environment to the "T".......
Many ways ta skin a mule my buddy......I say seal it up and exhaust excess CO2 and humidity out during lights off......and....as Dbro said.......
Get that Santa Fe dehuey down the road as budget provides for total environmental control in a truly hot and humid location like I dealt with here in Hell for many yrs....anyways....
Major air exchange without a lung room for conditioned air to be pumped into and sucked out of only leaves the sealed room with CO2 supplements option .....Handle it.....and......
Good luck Bro........Let us know whatchas come up with......
Peace.....Freds.....
......
Yes the room won't get much cooler than ambient temps no matter how much air you are moving. Plants can however thrive in higher temps, provided humidity and co2 levels are also raised. So intake exhaust is still and option, but sealed is better in many ways IMO. 5 tons is going to be bare minimum of what you need considering your climate, and lack of insulation. 5 1/2-6 tons is what i'd recommend. If it's in the budget lining the room with foam board insulation and orca/reflectix/etc would be helpful. Those bubblers are cool and they work well, but I see them as something else to break. I design my rooms around this motto. Less to break, means less things that WILL break/otherwise fuck up. Still the best way to know what is right for you is try things and see for yourself.
OK i think i'm gonna have a dampered/zoned 5 ton + an 18kbtu window banger in each room. should work perfectly, 6.5 tons per lights on room and 18kbtu is more than enough to keep the night time temps in check during the *actual day* time.
hmmm that's a good motto to have especially for someone looking into remote growing with minimal visitation.
...........Or idiot proofing larger grows
5 ton and an 18k will keep things right where you want them
. A Santa Fe is mandatory equipment when going sealed with this many lights.
Sounds good, for the first time ill be oversized in AC which is really nice. I've struggled with high temps for nearly my whole first year.
What Santa Fe will I need for each room?
What Santa Fe will I need for each room?
