Cooling in an apartment closet

[midnitetokker]

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

midnitetokker Reviewed by midnitetokker on 08-05-2008. 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 Rating: 5

[stinkyattic]

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

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.

[midnitetokker]

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?

[215helpsme]

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

[midnitetokker]

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

[215helpsme]

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?

[midnitetokker]

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:::

[TheMetal1]

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

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:

[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..

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:

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'. ; )

[midnitetokker]

Any suggestions on brands or particular vent devices?