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hi there, i have a closet setup and it is working fine, i don't have it fully enclosed yet as i have to let some air come in because the 400W HPS light is making the temp in there about the mid 80's at times. what is the CHEAPEST easist way to keep the temp under control OR what can i buy that is cheap that can keep the closet under good climate control. thank you
mid 80's is ok, worry when it gets to 91 or higher. Think about it, this stuff grows on the equator, where it gets to 80-90 all the time, an oscillating fan will help you though, they are cheap.
thanks for the reply lordsoth666. i already have a fan in there 24/7. and a negative ion fan in the room where the closet is, along with ionizer (O3 ozone) in the room AND in the closet. thanks for letting me know about letting the temp get to 91ish.
the top leaves seem to get a bit of a darker color to it. is that because of the heat from the 400W HPS light? the light is 20 inches away from the top of the plant. should i suspend a piece of glass between the light and the plant to allow the light to hit the plant but reduce the the amount of heat that actually reaches the plant. i'm thinking the glass can deflect some of the head on heat.
however, i'm trying to get it to where i can have the closet totally closed and IF the temp does go higher than 91-ish, is there any kind of easy making or cheap cooling system i can make or buy?
I was thinking about your problem, when it hit me... You should build a swamp cooler, on a small scale of course, I drew a shitty picture of what it is, but I'll explain it anyhow...
A swamp cooler works by passing air over a radiator like surface that is constantly having cool/cold water pumped through it.
***DISCLAIMER***
!!! I have not built this device !!!, but it operates on the same principles as some types of large commercial/industrial air cooling units.
Now since you have a fan already running, all you have to do is put the device in front of your fan, for the size of operation you have, a small radiator is needed, I think that an old heater core would be perfect, if you cannot come across one of these that does not leak for free or VERY cheap, you could use flexible copper line and bend it like in my second pic and use it in place of the heater core, the pump, a small one, as cheap as you can find, as it does not need to pump a great deal of water, then fill the reservoir with cool tap water, and for the extra cooling effect put some ice in the water, or get one of those blue-ice things and toss it in there, as for the reservoir, I would recommend using a cooler, but a rubbermaid container will do, the way I see it you could probably put this together for about $50 or less.
BTW. You can use rubber/PVC tubing to attach the pump to the heater core/copper tubing rig.
If you build one of these I'm sure it will work for your purposes, and you could use it on a timer for a fairly steady climate control, but if you want to do this uber cheap, just freeze a couple of 1 liter soda bottles full of water and position them like 6" in front of your fan.
Hope this helps...
L0rdsOth :D
hmmm i wonder if it would work,n what if you put the reservoir above the radiator
n used gravity instead of a pump,you might be able to get it to return to the reservoir
if the return line bent down then back up.
another way to get cool air in is run a intake to your basment.my friend capped off the top of his chimmeny and brought cool air up from the basment to the grow room
If the moisture level gets to high then mold will be a problem. The problem with cheapest is you get what you pay for. A small window AC unit and some ducting, plywood and blowers would work. The best is the portable AC units but they cost anywhere from 500 - 1000 each for the good ones.
I have a close grow and I added a bathroom exhaust fan and cut a 4 inch hole at the top of the door to vent heat and old air out. At the bottom I added a "Eave Vent and placed a box fan in front of it to act as a intake. Works great with my light. 400watt HPS. Remember new closet doors are cheap!!!
just go buy a sealed shield for your bulb and blow the hot air outit's that simple
has anyone made such a device? i could use an air conditioner.. NO i'm not buying one..
I put together the Swamp Cooler as mentioned above and it works well.