portable ac unit question's

[randomking]

ok so im about to get my ac unit so i can upgrade my lights in a closet grow...the closet is connected to my master bath so i was wondering about just having the ac unit vent to the bathroom to keep those cold drafts out ...(dont care about smell so much) now could i technically do this with out worrying to much about the closet not staying up to par,...my other thought is to hook the vent up to the shell around are tub.

closet is 10x5 bath room is twice that pluss gets the peek in the "cathedral ceiling" and has evac fan ill probably upgrade just incase

p.s i know it would be more cost effective to just vent it strate out side but iv already thought about buying a heatter for are bathroom to turn on when i hop in the shower because i fing hait cold drafts!

randomking Reviewed by randomking on 01-10-2012. portable ac unit question's ok so im about to get my ac unit so i can upgrade my lights in a closet grow...the closet is connected to my master bath so i was wondering about just having the ac unit vent to the bathroom to keep those cold drafts out ;)...(dont care about smell so much) now could i technically do this with out worrying to much about the closet not staying up to par,...my other thought is to hook the vent up to the shell around are tub. closet is 10x5 bath room is twice that pluss gets the peek in the Rating: 5

[JeffersonStateGrower]

Hey random, I'm trying to visualize your scenerio but I am having difficulty. Could you provide some more information please? I'm not even quite sure what question you are asking. If all you want is to use the exhaust from the A/C unit to heat your bathroom, then sure it's possible; personally I would not have the actual A/C unit in the grow area at all..I would have it in the bathroom and vent the cooled air into the closet.

[GanjaRobPDX]

I have used portable A/C's and they are a last resort in my opinion. They have a feature called a compressor delay. This means that if you hook your a/c up to a thermostat and the thermostat turns the a/c on, there will be a delay (about 5 minutes) before the a/c compressor actually kicks on. the problem is this creates a lot of temperature swing and burns a lot of energy because the portable a/c will just blow air (often warm-hot) for five minutes until the compressor kicks on to provide cold air.
If at all possible try using a window a/c in the attic and vent the cold air into the grow. I just put a drip pan with a drain tube under the a/c to collect condensation and run the drip tube to a drain, possibly your bath tub/shower.
Portable a/c's are inefficient and expensive. I thought I would give you some insight before you spend the money.
Its also january, can you just pull in cold air from an outside source? that would only cost you a fan and ducting along with a passive intake.

[randomking]

well i found a port ac unit with programible thermistat in it...i am pulling plenty of hot air out of my room its just fighting the residuwal heat from the light bouncen off of stuff ( probly wrong term but you get my point) iv thought about just putting the ac unit infrount of the door so its blowing the cold air in the closet and heating the bathroom i just figure it would turn on more often doing that (onless i make a seal around the door for it which in that case i might as well do a window unit in the door frame -_- that just looks ugly lol

basicly we have a master bedroom atached to a master bathroom with a walk thru closet conecting to the bedroom and bathroom so im trying to keep the two rooms around the closet warm with the closet being cold (i know im crazy but i like my comfert!)

[GanjaRobPDX]

FYI the a/c thermostats are very unreliable and will, in combination with compressor delay, cause major temperature swings. not good for closet grow because temp swings cause internodal stretching making buds less compact and plants will take up more space. In some cases it can be bad enough to stress your plants pretty bad. Seriously avoid portable a/c's. That is from person experience and I was not happy with the money I spent or the results I got for the money.
A window ac will blow heat out the back which will heat the bed room like you wanted...

hope this helps