Air Conditioner and CO2

kysmoker

kysmoker

Active Member
Sorry if this is a stupid question, im just helping a friend upgrade her grow room and theres something im confused about.

Shes got a co2 injection system (she uses 20 gallon tanks), and wants to install a window air conditioner in the room. She sais it will help her get the most from her co2, because the air conditioner will help control the temperatures, meaning she wont have to run her exhaust fans as often.

But doesnt a window AC also remove air from the room? I was under the assumption that it does, and that running it would also remove co2 from the room.
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
Ya most of them remove air and co2. some units have a damper on them to set for vent or recirculate. i just let my room get hot when i run co2, it works better around 85F. just blast em up to 1500 ppm,takes me 6 mins. then let em bake for as long as you can without letting your room get too hot. then fire up your ac.
 
kysmoker

kysmoker

Active Member
sixstring2112 said:
Ya most of them remove air and co2. some units have a damper on them to set for vent or recirculate. i just let my room get hot when i run co2, it works better around 85F. just blast em up to 1500 ppm,takes me 6 mins. then let em bake for as long as you can without letting your room get too hot. then fire up your ac.
Click to expand...
Yea, thats what I was thinking.
 
desertrat

desertrat

Well-Known Member
actually, it depends on the type of airconditioner. i'm more familiar with portable ac's than window, but in the portable world there are "one hose" and "two hose" systems - the two hose systems have an intake that brings in air from the outside, passes through the ac and then out the other hose. the one hose systems draw in room air and split it into two streams, one that gets cooled and returned to the room and one that passes through the unit and out the single hose.
 
Hotwired

Hotwired

Well-Known Member
I thought window air units used the outside air to "cool off" the compressor and the inside air was reprocessed thru the cold fins and cooled the room in this way. So window units should be fine to use 24/7. They might take a small amount of room air out but not much to make a difference. I am not an A/C guy so I'm not completely positive. Try to get a sure answer from a real A/C guy about window units.

The Rat gave you good advice on portables. Single hose units use room air to cool the compressor. They really are not very efficient at all because of this exact reason. They cool off the room air but at the same time they use that same cooled air to cool its compressor and exhaust outside thus the efficiency issue.

A dual hose portable, if made well, can act like a window unit. They have they capability to suck in air from another room/area to cool the compressor thru the use of one hose and then expel the hot air out thru the other hose. Now the air that has been cooled off when the A/C is running will stay in the room and not get sucked out cooling off the compressor. This is not 100% foolproof tho. Portables are not made very well and some air will still get sucked in from the surrounding area. So this makes it impossible to put in a tent because eventually you will suck your whole tent in.

I think I have finally found the answer tho. Mini-splits.

The prices have come down so much now that they are hard to beat. Simple to install and easy to use. They blow away window A/C's and portables. They do exactly what a central A/C does without the duct work. Look into these. The compressor stays outside and uses the outside air to "cool" itself off. The inside unit cools the air and does not exhaust any room air. These things are the bomb. If you can get one just go for it.
 
Hotwired

Hotwired

Well-Known Member
Shrubs First said:
How much heat would a 12,000 BTU Mini-Split be able to
handle, you think 4 ducted 600's in a 8x8 space?
Click to expand...
Easily, but I'd go with the 15.5k or 18k.

I think four 600 watt lights will put out about 2000 to 2500 btu each. So maybe 8000 to 10,000 btu total.
 
kysmoker

kysmoker

Active Member
Hmm, mini split air conditioner seems to be the way to go. Alot of cash though, still, seems like a smart investment.
 
KitchenKhemist

KitchenKhemist

Active Member
Wondered when I was gonna start seein Mini Splits in grow rooms! I've been putting them in schools for years now...and yes, they are the cat's meow. Just DON'T BUY UNIONAIRE! I have never, in my life, experienced such piles of trash. Design flaws abound on those babies. If you can afford a mitsubishi...get one. Haven't had to do service on a single one I've installed...out of over 100.
 
NLXSK1

NLXSK1

Well-Known Member
I got a mitsubishi...

Cost me over 3000 dollars complete with installation. Supposedly it is something like 27 SEER rating and the fan runs constantly and the A/C ramps up as needed to cool the room. Only running a 1000 Watt MH right now but will up it to 3000 watts of HPS later.

The thing is stealth quiet on the outside of the house. The neighbors A/C makes far more noise than this quiet little unit.

If you have the $$ I HIGHLY recommend this type of AC system.
 
kpw555

kpw555

Well-Known Member
KitchenKhemist said:
Wondered when I was gonna start seein Mini Splits in grow rooms! I've been putting them in schools for years now...and yes, they are the cat's meow. Just DON'T BUY UNIONAIRE! I have never, in my life, experienced such piles of trash. Design flaws abound on those babies. If you can afford a mitsubishi...get one. Haven't had to do service on a single one I've installed...out of over 100.
Click to expand...
Sounds like just the man I been looking for.

I too have purchased a mini-split, found a dual 9000btu unit with two line sets delivered for $875. A lot of money but the portable units like has been said are really inefficient. I can hear the wind whistling around the door (Money flying out of my butt), when my portable unit kicks on.

Today I posted a help request for installing this unit that is mfg by/for Hiel in Israel?

I know that the unit needs connected and the compressor has charge for 25' line set. I just want to make sure that I am doing things right as I can't very well ask a service man over to install.

Would make a really good how-to thread, as I am in agreement that these mini-split units will sweep the grow world quickly, if there is good info out there to get them running and useful in our environment.
 
KitchenKhemist

KitchenKhemist

Active Member
Just posted to your other thread...message me with any questions...sometimes I get lost :eyesmoke:

What kinda warrantee did you get with that Heil unit?
 
Red1966

Red1966

Well-Known Member
Actually, most two hose units pull in outside air, cool it and exhaust it to the room. They pull inside air over the condenser, heat it(the air) and exhaust it outside. Very inefficient! Only a few do it like you said and those are the ones to get. You will want to make sure you get the right kind or you will be blowing the smell right outside with no treatment.
 
Z

zor

Active Member
regarding the dual hose portables:

all over the various forums, people act as if there is a dual hose portable that doesnt suck the air out of your room. yet in no instance, can i recall anyone ever mentioning a model that actually operates efficiently. so please, those of you in this thread that say 'you need the right portable'.. could you share with us which on is the right model? i dont believe on exists, but would love to be proven wrong.
 
D

doser

Well-Known Member
Hotwired said:
I thought window air units used the outside air to "cool off" the compressor and the inside air was reprocessed thru the cold fins and cooled the room in this way. So window units should be fine to use 24/7. They might take a small amount of room air out but not much to make a difference. I am not an A/C guy so I'm not completely positive. Try to get a sure answer from a real A/C guy about window units.

The Rat gave you good advice on portables. Single hose units use room air to cool the compressor. They really are not very efficient at all because of this exact reason. They cool off the room air but at the same time they use that same cooled air to cool its compressor and exhaust outside thus the efficiency issue.

A dual hose portable, if made well, can act like a window unit. They have they capability to suck in air from another room/area to cool the compressor thru the use of one hose and then expel the hot air out thru the other hose. Now the air that has been cooled off when the A/C is running will stay in the room and not get sucked out cooling off the compressor. This is not 100% foolproof tho. Portables are not made very well and some air will still get sucked in from the surrounding area. So this makes it impossible to put in a tent because eventually you will suck your whole tent in.

I think I have finally found the answer tho. Mini-splits.

The prices have come down so much now that they are hard to beat. Simple to install and easy to use. They blow away window A/C's and portables. They do exactly what a central A/C does without the duct work. Look into these. The compressor stays outside and uses the outside air to "cool" itself off. The inside unit cools the air and does not exhaust any room air. These things are the bomb. If you can get one just go for it.
Click to expand...

I think you're right my friend. Good call
 
Red1966

Red1966

Well-Known Member
Mini-splits are the way to go if you can afford it AND you own the building. If you rent, the landlord ain't gonna like you drilling holes in his/her house! Nowdays, most, if not all, small window A/C's don't have a "fresh air" vent, so little to no air escapes. This is a cost cutting feature that also happens to increase efficiency. They're all trying to get that "Energy Star" rating. Go to the manufacturers web site to check, it may not be mentioned on the box or their advertising.
 
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