Cooling in an apartment closet

Ok, I know that growing in an apartment is risky as hell, but let's face it, what choice do I have (aside from gurrilla, and when its 110 here in the summer, thats far from ideal).

In any event, I have a grow room, in my closet that measures approx 51" in width by 2.5' deep. It is seperated into two sides (flowering, veg) both with 2 24" el cheapo floro lights. (one side has better bulbs (the ones that are pinkish...which brings up the question of which side should those be on)). On the top of the room, approx 2' from the celing, is a shelf where i have seedlings and clones. There, I have a floroescent grow light (walmart generic) and a CFL with a huge reflector. Each side currently has 1 plant, but the capacity for 2 - 3

If I leave the closet door open, the flowering side and the veg side stay approx 83F. If I close it, it quickly skyrockets to about 93F. I obvoiusly cannot create any holes in the walls, nor can I do too much for ventalation (I would open the door several times during the day for this).

What would you guys suggest I do for the temperature? As it stands now, with the door open, the room in which the closet is located becomes a warm 83.9F even with the central AC set to 77F. I have 4 clip fans positioned on the shelf pointing towards the plants for air circulation, but that is all i have at the moment.

On the floor of the closet, I have a O3 generator that pushes cooler air up to the room, but evidently not enuf.

Size is very important, as is, albeit to a lesser extent, cost and noise problems. Thanks in advance.

PS: I attached 2 diagrams to help show the layout that I am working with.

Thanks

You have an 03 generator in your closet? Is is purchased or built, and is that closet in your bedroom? :eek:

All right, you are going to have to reconfigure some stuff. First, I'm going to give the obligatory nag about apartment growing, noise, smell, the guy upstairs from you who has an aquarium and an inner ear disorder that makes him clumsy, the old ass plumbing in your building, your retired landlord who has nothing else to do but monitor his investment, blah blah blah.

Before anything else we are going to set you up with an air filter/scrubber! You may not think it stinks, but you live with it, and can't tell because your nose is out of calibration. You need a bad ass can fan that can push air through a bad ass can filter. Read Rhizome's noob guide to growroom setup for details.

Next, the heat. I assume the closet is off a bedroom. That bedroom is now your lung room. You should have serious a/c going in that room, and CONSTANT air exchange in and out of the closet. Measure your closet door(s) and go buy a set of replacement ones, used is fine, that you can drill holes in. For each chamber, you need to exhaust the heat from your lights. If you aren't running air cooled, you should be. You also need a fresh air intake. It should be low and unobstructed.

What's up with the ozone gen? Smell control? I'm not sure what you mean by 'it pushes cooler air up'. O3 is for neutralizing odors, and I've heard of it used to kill pests in specific situations. But the stuff poses SERIOUS threats to your respiratory system so I wouldn't crank it up that high! Does it give off heat as well? If so, consider moving it into the lung room, and for the love of Pete don't sleep in a room with an O3 system! I hope you are in a 2br place... ?

Your seedlings and clones are in the hottest part of the room, above the lights. Clones won't survive. They'll rot rather than root at those temps. Move 'em to the bathroom. The back of the crapper is about the right size for a prop tray and you can look at em while ya whizz. One CFL over the tray is plenty. Protect the tray from drafts.

Anyway... Another thing I'm seeing with that pic is the possibility of using the dead space where the clones would have been and setting up your filters and exhasut system up there, sucking air out of both lower chambers and then out the front of the closet.

If your ballasts are in the closet, get them out.

Not so much as O3 as I do Ionizer (says it creates ozone). I use that for smell control, yes, and it also has a fan in it, so it is on the floor pushing air up. As for ballasts, I have none, as all mine are florescent bulbs....2 sets of which are the 'grow lite' types from walmart (looks kinda pinkish) and the other 2 are regular floro light tubes (24")...which reminds me, which side does the pinkish ones need to be on?

hey midnight stinky's right stay away from the ozone, it belongs in the stratosphere, and i would love to see pics of your setup! I'm moving into an apartment with my cousin and unfortunately the closet is going to be my growroom :wtf:. I haven't seen the place yet, but i have a feeling i'll run into problems similar to yours, heat, ventilation, and smell! I'm not hiding it from my cousin in case that was in question! ;) If you post a pic of the pinkish lights or box or a little more information i'd be more than willing to help, i just dont want to go off the description of pinkish light. ha

first one is plant in pinkish lights, second is in white lite.

I re- read your first post and it cleared a couple things up for me. What makes your pinkish lights better? Do they cost more or do they have a broader spectrum? Personally i'd add a couple cfl's to the flowering room if the budgets not too tight :thumbsup: . You doing dwc? It appears we might have another thing in common haha. I know this post was about heating, but hey :rastasmoke: cant help it if im interested! Did you do anything about ventilation or a carbon filter?

No, I haven't done anything about carbon filters, etc. That's what im trying to figure out. How to vent this room properly and keep it cool. I think I solved part of the problem by taking the clones out and moving them. That dropped the temp a few degrees.

As far as light, according to the box, it has a broader spectrum than the regular white ones do...I just figured they would be better, especially being as they did say garden lights (or plant lights or something like that). But that may just be n00b stupidity at its best :)

Anyway, send me a pm if you have ?'s about the room. I'll help ya where i can. In the mean time, i have got to figure out this heat problem :::wipes sweat from brow:::

Quote:

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Originally Posted by midnitetokker

I obvoiusly cannot create any holes in the walls, nor can I do too much for ventalation

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I'm not sure how handy you are, but as I have seen mentioned around these here parts before... you can getch'yer paws on a spare door for the closet and make ventilation holes in that. Then when need be, you can slap the old one back on them hiiiiinges. :thumbsup:

Other than that... you're going to need to pay someone to wave a fan on them all day. That's the only other option IMO :stoned:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

Measure your closet door(s) and go buy a set of replacement ones, used is fine, that you can drill holes in. For each chamber, you need to exhaust the heat from your lights. If you aren't running air cooled, you should be. You also need a fresh air intake. It should be low and unobstructed..

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheMetal1

you can getch'yer paws on a spare door for the closet and make ventilation holes in that. Then when need be, you can slap the old one back on them hiiiiinges.
Other than that... you're going to need to pay someone to wave a fan on them all day. That's the only other option IMO :stoned:

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Aha! And we have... agreement!

Seriously man, there is NO WAY to avoid making air exchange holes in either a used door or a plastic one made of Panda film from the grow shop. You NEED and exhaust that can handle air flow THROUGH a carbon scrubber. Put your Ionic Breeze out in the lung room to catch stragglers.
If you don't do a real exhaust, you're just fucking around- No source of carbon means no bud mass and high heat means no bud density... and an object with neither mass nor density is just... nonexistent.

And switch to flower right away if you haven't; you're going to run out of space in there during stretch.

Pink flourescents that LOOK pink aren't as efficient actually as the full- spectrum ones that look bright, warm, white ('Daylight'). They belong in both sides of your grow, but 'cool white' tubes are fine for vegging and I've vegged under them happily for years. Keep them 2" from the canopy. When you control your heat and install a proper exhaust, you will be able to run more lights, and more lights + more fresh air= enough buds to justify the trouble of the exhaust system tenfold.

Just sayin'. ; )

Any suggestions on brands or particular vent devices?

I run a 6" HO CanFan that blows in the mid-200cfm range. It is adequate to ventilate a 6x6x6 space that is naturally cool but contains 2k total of HPS. Your individual needs may vary, but you can't skimp of a fan if you are going to run a carbon filter and that would be an excellent choice. For a filter, I'm running an odorsok, and have smell still. You will probably want something a little burlier in an apartment.

Ok, another part of this delema: I live in the forsaken bible belt, and as such, we have no garden stores (well, we do, but not this type of store). Does home depot or lowes have these? If not, where would you suggest i loo at for it?

Also, provided i decide to replace the door, how would you suggest that I camafloge the air holes? The room is not a bedroom per se, rather in a part of the apt. where my close friends tend to come near often (my office). Currently, the sound of the fans and whatnot is masked by a constant flow of music from my pc (im a pandora junkie), but i'm worried that added fans will be more noise and of course the holes in teh door would be a dead give a way.

You're stepping into choppy waters my ambitious friend. Especially when dealing with an apartment grow, stealth (while maintaining efficiency) is normally the most important thing to consider. I really HATE to discourage someone from doing something so responsible and beneficial as growing their own Cannabis, but from the sounds of it you are going to experience major ventilation problems if you aren't able to find appropriate equipment in your area. It is almost inevitable that you will have somewhat exposed ductwork or venting equipment, and the fact that you are concerned about your friends noticing the grow is troubling. You would want to find the ONE area that nobody EVER goes to. If this is impossible due to space restrictions in your apartment, you will need complete co-operation and understanding from all parties entering your place, so as to not jeopardize the security.
HOWEVER... this usually results in people talking about it to others.... so...
It brings me back to the original discouragement. :(

You really want to have your stable environment IN PLACE before you even germ a seed. That way it's just plug and play and :jointsmile: (in a perfect world :greenthumb:)
If you are unable to achieve proper ventilation AND have problems keeping it a secret... you may spend all sorts of time growing problem plants AND have to eventually scrap it all when everyone keeps asking "WTF is THAT?"
It's not worth it to keep stringing along shitty nugs until you get busted.
So, with THAT said... you can find fans at Home Depo or Lowe's that work okay... but it depends on how much air you need to move. I was able to get away with a 6" inline duct fan from Home D outside the box and have it connected via flex duct. But yeah... NOBODY HAS EVER SEEN IT, even though it looks like a space ship that a kid would build.

Sorry if that doesn't help. Just be safe :hippy:

You have frequent visitors? IN THE ROOM YOU GROW IN?
Scrap the idea. Even with a fan, someone in that room WILL be able to smell it.

Remember you get used to scents. Your apartment probably already reeks weed, but you don't notice because you are there all the time.

Not the room i grow in, no. As far as smell, all my friends smoke heavily, as do I, so my house always smells like ganja, even before the project.

I had a friend over yesterday and he couldnt tell....in fact, he even asked what the fruty smell was that i had goin on (glade plugins).

The room is off the living room (the office, and its closet), that is why i say it could be heard. I have the room pretty sealed up when people come over (hence the original question about heat) and that is few and far between, so as for being discovered, that is relatively moot.

I attached a diagram to kinda show what im talkin about.

Also, my apt. is brand new (built last year), and pretty well insulated, so cross smelling isn't so much of a problem.

[quote=TheMetal1]You're stepping into choppy waters my ambitious friend. Especially when dealing with an apartment grow, stealth (while maintaining efficiency) is normally the most important thing to consider. I really HATE to discourage someone from doing something so responsible and beneficial as growing their own Cannabis, but from the sounds of it you are going to experience major ventilation problems if you aren't able to find appropriate equipment in your area. It is almost inevitable that you will have somewhat exposed ductwork or venting equipment, and the fact that you are concerned about your friends noticing the grow is troubling. You would want to find the ONE area that nobody EVER goes to. If this is impossible due to space restrictions in your apartment, you will need complete co-operation and understanding from all parties entering your place, so as to not jeopardize the security.
HOWEVER... this usually results in people talking about it to others.... so...
It brings me back to the original discouragement. :(

I would have to second this opinion. Maybe you could switch your closets around so you grow in the bedroom closet and keep your stuff in the office closet. You MUST vent the hot air and smell out of the closet or your crop will not be worth the electricity cost. If it is not possible to move it I think you are SOL.:(

You may just need to re-think your setup. I used to grow with 1000w in a closet (not an apartment tho) and with the door open it was ok, but it needs to stay shut these days and like you, I cant really come up with a good or cheap solution (portable air conditioners are expensive and still need ventilation)

I suggest doing a search on google or something for DrBudGreengenes method of micro CFL SoG growing, with his small setup he gets at least a 1/4 a week to smoke.

Im thinking of switching to this style myself if I cant cool this closet, either with CFL like he does (its cheap and can get it all at lowes), or maybe step it up a bit and get a bigger flowering box and sell my 1000w and toss a 400-600w in there instead, and have it be stealthier and have an easier environment to maintain. that way instead of it being a grow closet, its just a closet with a locked up cabinet inside. they key is just making it perpetual so you get a lot of smoke for a little space :rasta:

Thanks for both of those tips. I believe what I am going to do is research the other method (DrBudGreengenes method of micro CFL SoG growing) and perhaps use the new door as well. I figure that if i use the new door, I can make the vent space a small slit near the top instead of a round hole, thus making it look a lot less consipcious.

I do have a lock on the office door (key) so that I can keep the whole area secure when I'm not home. Chances are, i'll modify things slightly so that I can keep the setup, and improve security. The 2 people who regularly come over are financial partners in this venture, so i'm not worried about them...its the other people who may come over that i worry about (at least with them I have warning tho).

As far as changing closets, that is out of the question as every other room has some part of it that maintenance would need to access. This is the one room without any pipes, electrical boxes, or anything that maintenance would need access to w/o a call first.

I do thank you all for your help, and any other ideas, please feel free to send them along.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

and an object with neither mass nor density is just... nonexistent.

Just sayin'. ; )

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:lol5: nice...

and though i don't recommend others do it, i have my closet grow really stealth and have had unaware friends(who i trust just dont want the ?s and such) sit a foot from the doors for an hour or more with NO CLUE. all outlet vents through ceiling access hole, couldn't beat that, and 3"x20" intake behind the closet doors in a ply 2x4 door/wall. its all negative pressure(read your bible) so no air makes it out. matter-of-fact we had to use some organic bug killer RIPE with fish oil, the open room stunk but with the door closed all you could smell was plywood(realy close...lol).

CAUTION ON THE OZONE GENERATOR: I have one and have done some research. please use only 1-2 min at a time and an hour or more between bursts. just thinking of ur health brother.

good luck
db:smokin: