What are the methods to cool HEAT?

[tekneeqs]

heres the unit in action! lol

it might be worth noting that this unit blows out moist air, rather than dry air that you get with air-con.

i havent had any problems with humidity, i get a constant 50-60%

but if you live in a huimid climate it may be an issue. saying that though, power is ajustable, low medium, high so you can set it to what you need. i doubt youll get much more humid than ambient levels anyway, ive found that it barely increases humidity.

How many watts is ur HPS? I have a 2 x 1000 watt setup in mind, maybe even 3. I wonder if that unit will be adaquate to cool the air, or atleast cool it enough so when its blown outside into the -30celcius winter air it won't create a smoke?

[babystarbud]

im using a single hi-spec 400 watter on 6 plants.

the air cooler im using would cope with 2 400 watters easey i think if you have a good size grow room.

im growing in a closet in a spare room that is light proofed, so all the air in the room acts as a buffer zone to provide fresh air, i open the door to the main room daily to let new air in.

i only need to use the unit on low/medium power, and only when the lights are on.

so i guess at most you would need two units on full power.

saying that, 2 x 1000 watt bulbs is kinda big if your not an experianced grower, if your looking to get a large area of light covered then 2 x 600 watts or 3/4 x 400 watts might be more economical.
for power consumed V's volume of finished product? its somthing you should maybe look into.

[babystarbud]

heres a plan view of my set up.

[babystarbud]

another thing to mention, if your comfortable in the grow room, then the plants are too......in which case any air thats vented wont be too hot either.

if your venting hot air, then your plants are too hot. ( unless your using cool tubes or cooled reflector housing )

[tekneeqs]

another thing to mention, if your comfortable in the grow room, then the plants are too......in which case any air thats vented wont be too hot either.

if your venting hot air, then your plants are too hot. ( unless your using cool tubes or cooled reflector housing )

Oh no, I just want the heat to cool down before I send it outside the window so it won't be smokey so that it won't look like the room is on fire or something.

[babystarbud]

wtf? lol last time i checked plants dont give off smoke unless they are on fire.

i asumed you were talking about the mirage effect caused by rising heat...youd have to have a VERY HOT room in a very cold environmrnt for that to happen.

[tekneeqs]

No, I mentioned earlier if u scroll up, there's a post that I mentioned that I'm concerned about the heat in the winter time because I will be dispensing it out the window. Hot and cold air will create smoke and might cause people to call the fire department on my ass =p

[babystarbud]

oh, right i understand now.

your worried about a mirage ( shimmering air ) caused by rising heat.

if thats a problem you can just run some small ducting outside the house from the vent exit, so the air has chance to cool down outside before it reaches the final exit point.

or if your venting into the atticc just have a nice long vent duct curled up in the corner.

using an open window for vent is fine, but on the scale of 3 1kw lamps you are going to need some kind of custom/improvised ventilation system.

unless you live in alaska or norway, i cant see it even being an issue to be honest....where do you live and what set up have you got?

[tekneeqs]

I live in Canada, so the winter is pretty harsh and cold. As for setup, I've got nothing for this one I have in mind so far, still planning it out. But right now I have a 2x400W setup in a closet of 3x2ft with 6 plants sitting inside. Good idea with venting it outside and giving it a chance to cool down but this is actually going to be an apartment complex so I can't do that even if I wanted to.

[babystarbud]

sorry with my limited knowledge i cant help you then mate, looks like a cheap air-con unit or some kind of heat exchange is your only option if your dead set on using that kind of power.

all i can suggest is looking at building a large scale version of what they use for hard core computer cooling, but thats basicly an air-con system anyway.

by the sound of it, you need to get the exhaust heat spread out, so maybe you could have multiple long exhust pipes....but in an apartment thts gonna be impossible.

a portble standalone air-con unit is your only option really.