DIY AC just wanna share
- Thread starter keico
- Start date
hellboundx06
Active Member
are you supercooling that coil so that it stays cold on the fan? sorry if im wrong i just took some hits off a bong and am fucked up right now and thats just how im interpreting this.
keico
Well-Known Member
I followed the instructions from this post
https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/171481-air-conditioning-grow-room.html
ScottsBlown99
Well-Known Member
how much did it lower your temps? and how big is your grow room?
farmermonkey
Member
Hahaha, i laugh bc I just built that 2 days ago. Honestly though, if your growing in a confined space (about all the unit is useful for) then it will work to cool the room if the main light source is a low 125 watter or t5s.
Anything more, and the ice in the container melts toooooo fast, the condensation drips left and right, and you end up with humidity higher than the Brazilian jungle in rainy season (ok slight exageration lol).
ANNNYWAy..... i decided something had to be done for my room, the water cooled unit i built, more hassle than benefit. It had to go.
Follow these exact instructions and you WONT be dissapointed.
1. Go to Home Depot.
2. Bring Money
3. Purchase the following:
> 1 x 5000 btu (assuming your a closet or grow tent grower) A/C window unit - $99.00
> 1 x Flexible AC duct vent tubing - the bendy kind (be sure to get more length than you need!, think they sell minimum 25 feet)
> 1x Roll of strong tape
(optional)
>1x carbon filter sheet - in the air con filter isle. Bout $7
Price : $140 bucks max.
4. Drive Home.
5. Get Home and Light Up (very important!)
6. Now I know what your thinking "farmermonkey, i gots me an AC window unit, but i grow in the closet with no window"...fear not. Just unpack your AC Unit and trust the farmermonkey.
7. Heres the fun part (aside from lighting up). Break the polystyrene that came with your AC unit box, and make a 2" FLAT padded surface, use tape to hold it all together if necessary.
8. Use either the AC box, or a slightly bigger box if possible and turn the box on its side (top open end facing sideways).
9. Slide a/c unit half way into box so that the external vents that would normally be outside the window are inside the box.
10. Close the flaps, using scissors and tape to cut the box to fit snuggly around the ac unit - essentially you are creating an air tight box for the back AC that would normally be outside venting the hot air - use tape to close off any gaps.
11. Cut a circle on one side (doesnt matter which) of the box to slide about 1-2 inches of the AC tubing in. Tape any gaps.
12. Almost done. Pick up your new AC box unit and place it ON TOP of the polystyrene flat surface you made. This will absorb the vibration from the AC unit start up. (genius no? lol)
13. Position unit ontop of polystyrene surface in your grow room and plug it in.
14. IMPORTANT!! Talk to your plants and explain what exactly you are doing - be sure to introduce the AC unit to the plants, and your plants to the AC unit. The AC unit can be a little scary to your plants
15. (optional part). Tape 1 piece of carbon filter to the end of the AC tube, or connect a carbon filter etc. Gets rid of any smell as the ac unit sucks in air from your grow room)
16. Place tube to bottom of cloest door (tape it or whatever) or to any outlet to the outside world.
Simple.
You now have a mini AC unit which will cost you about $40 a year to run. Keeps your plants the perfect temp and is almost silent outside the closet.
If you need pics, ill post.
Note: You may need a blower or fan to suck or push air away from back of AC in the box. Depending on the length of the tube and other factors this may or may not be necessary. Test to see if the air behind the AC unit in the box is a little too hot, or if you feel air coming out of the AC tube you made.
If it is hot and/or you cant feel any air coming out the AC tube, cut a hole on the OPPOSITE side of the ac unit box where the AC tube is situated. Place a small $10 fan around the hole and tape any gaps. This way the fan blows the air over the ac unit and is forced down your AC tube out of the room.
Cool, cheap and well....seriously awesome. no?!
- Farmermonkey.
247420
Active Member
Post away!!
farmermonkey
Member
The ladies are sleeping right now. As soon as they wake up....ill have some pics.
Just for some info guys, my grow room is 600w 6x10x8. Located in the center of the house with no way to ventilate (other than leave the door open and smell the place down).
temps reached almost 100 at one point. Now...78 constant.
keico
Well-Known Member
I built this to cool off my bedroom, not my plants.
My plants are grown in a portable wardrobe closet. Utilizing a 400 watt HID with cooltube and plenty of ventilation, the temps are ok.
As far as cooling the unit I built does ok. You just have to use large chunks of ice and they won't melt as fast.
I freeze two liter bottle with water, plus use five gel packs.
I have central AC so, I don't need to run out and buy a window ac unit.
This unit helps out a lot, and keeps the bedroom cool enough for me. Running the central unit just adds to much to my electrical bill.
Anyway just wanted to clear that up.
My plants are grown in a portable wardrobe closet. Utilizing a 400 watt HID with cooltube and plenty of ventilation, the temps are ok.
As far as cooling the unit I built does ok. You just have to use large chunks of ice and they won't melt as fast.
I freeze two liter bottle with water, plus use five gel packs.
I have central AC so, I don't need to run out and buy a window ac unit.
This unit helps out a lot, and keeps the bedroom cool enough for me. Running the central unit just adds to much to my electrical bill.
Anyway just wanted to clear that up.
farmermonkey
Member
yeah man the water cooled unit works great otherwise, but where i live its like 110 outside, and running the central AC only cools the room if the closet door is open......then smell. lol
Had to invent something else lol.
farmermonkey
Member
Ok guys, ladys are awake so heres the Pics.
First Pic:
> Complete AC Unit.
> Fan on left blows air over back of AC unit
> Box Covers Back of unit
> Tubing on right vents air out and through my home made carbon filter under closet door.
Second Pic:
Close up of my home made carbon filter.
simply taped a piece or two of carbon sheet to the inside of the box where the silver tubing comes in. Slit a hole at the bottom which allows the air to travel under the gap under the door.
Third Pic.
Taped up polystyrene base to absorb any vibration from unit.
Works like magic, ...which it obviously isnt, but if it was....thats how it would work.
First Pic:
> Complete AC Unit.
> Fan on left blows air over back of AC unit
> Box Covers Back of unit
> Tubing on right vents air out and through my home made carbon filter under closet door.
Second Pic:
Close up of my home made carbon filter.
simply taped a piece or two of carbon sheet to the inside of the box where the silver tubing comes in. Slit a hole at the bottom which allows the air to travel under the gap under the door.
Third Pic.
Taped up polystyrene base to absorb any vibration from unit.
Works like magic, ...which it obviously isnt, but if it was....thats how it would work.
Attachments
aladdin2685
Well-Known Member
cool diy if you have endless ice. i would better fork out the cash and get a portable with no mess.
strictly seedleSs
Well-Known Member
what size is this when all is said and done? This would work great in my veg room.
farmermonkey
Member
FarmerMonkey, great idea!Just one question though. Why do you have like 20 feet of tubing when it seems that you'd be fine with about 4 or 5? Just incase you want to move the a/c later?
...lol actually it came in a pack of 25 feet minimum, couldn't find any shorter lol. Other than that though I can use it to vent outside if the smell gets too much, but with my mini carbon filter, doubt that will be a problem.
born2killspam
Well-Known Member
Ironically you'd get better results if you just sat the ice bottles in front of the fan.. This is not effective use of money, copper tubing ain't cheap.. After the cost of that, and the pump, you'd be dropping more than you would on the $99 unit mentioned..
Beyond that, it would be more effective to get a little bar fridge, put a fan in it, and leave its door open.. The VAST majority of cooling power in AC/fridges etc comes from the state transition from liquid to gas of the coolant.. Compared with that, the heat capacity of any coolant in liquid form is dick..
Beyond that, it would be more effective to get a little bar fridge, put a fan in it, and leave its door open.. The VAST majority of cooling power in AC/fridges etc comes from the state transition from liquid to gas of the coolant.. Compared with that, the heat capacity of any coolant in liquid form is dick..
DubsFan
Well-Known Member
Ask a fisherman about coolers. We know that one you have there. It's suitable for a day at the beach. Here in SoCal where offshore fishing is bananas, we have 3 day coolers. Buy a bigger one, put as many blocks in that will fit and my guess is you have 5 days of ice. 3 minimum if you don't open it a lot.
We'll have a slurry of water and ice plus fish in 5' long coolers and that ice lasts a few days. If it were all ice and no warm fish put in it every few hours I think you have yourself a 3-5 day cooler.
born2killspam
Well-Known Member
Well for the record you'll get about 0.35kWh/litre of ice minus the heat produced by the fan..
Hulk Nugs
Well-Known Member
Alright i have been thinking of different ways of cooling my room,
right now with the temps 70 -90(outside) the grow room gets 74-78 with lights off and i have been testing the lights, with lights on it goes up about 10 degrees in the room with the cooltube setup. So thinking that in the summer the outside temps are 85-100 the rooms going to get really hot.
I don't really want to go buy a chiller for this small room and i already went through a few portable ac's so i don't really want to spend 150 or more
So getting idea from all these threads i was thinking of doing something like this.
10' - 3/8 flex copper - buy $15
6' - 3/8 freezer tubing - buy $ 10
pump - already have one
normal Tupperware would work for this - already have allot
mini fridge - already have one
Using the copper i will make the spiral for around the 6'' intake fan opening, then hook that up to the freezer tubing, that runs into the fridge to the pump, in the Tupperware with ice and water ........
..... the fridge should keep the water cold so i do not have to replace the water and add ice all the time. Only thing i do not know is if the pump will work in the cold water in the fridge!!! any one know ???
Trying not to waste time or money but sometimes trial and error is the only way.
Thanks for any input or ideas i am all ears.
right now with the temps 70 -90(outside) the grow room gets 74-78 with lights off and i have been testing the lights, with lights on it goes up about 10 degrees in the room with the cooltube setup. So thinking that in the summer the outside temps are 85-100 the rooms going to get really hot.
I don't really want to go buy a chiller for this small room and i already went through a few portable ac's so i don't really want to spend 150 or more
So getting idea from all these threads i was thinking of doing something like this.
10' - 3/8 flex copper - buy $15
6' - 3/8 freezer tubing - buy $ 10
pump - already have one
normal Tupperware would work for this - already have allot
mini fridge - already have one
Using the copper i will make the spiral for around the 6'' intake fan opening, then hook that up to the freezer tubing, that runs into the fridge to the pump, in the Tupperware with ice and water ........
..... the fridge should keep the water cold so i do not have to replace the water and add ice all the time. Only thing i do not know is if the pump will work in the cold water in the fridge!!! any one know ???
Trying not to waste time or money but sometimes trial and error is the only way.
Thanks for any input or ideas i am all ears.
texashustle
Active Member
This really works? I bought a small 5200 btu a/c and it made my closet very hot. i live in a very dry climate and water was everywhere as well.