The perfect growroom...

[whitewidow2]

Hello stoners...

I have been toying with the idea of building a perfect grow room now for a couple of years and really would like to make this a reality

I want 4 x 600w lights in sunlight supply xxx l hoods and an air conditioner to cool the room and either bottled co2 or a co2 burner to add the necessary co2 - a dehumidifier will also be present to take care of the humidity

Ok, so it all has to be sealed up and insulated with timber frames and fiberglass and the heat will just exit my window via a custom built enclosure for the window with the window constantly kept on the latch to let the heat escape. This will be made invisible from the outside by building a wooden frame around the inside of the building and window and aided by some blinds and black speaker cloth disguising the exiting wall plate which leads to the exterior of the building.

My concerns are how to vent it all

If i use the vented hoods then the air still needs to come out somewhere and i don't know whether to use 2 x 6" fans per 2 x 600w lights in parallel with carbon scrubbers on them or how to dissipate all that heat?

Anyone have any experience of building a completely sealed room?

 

[GodSlave]

If you have an AC unit and a dehumidifier, I don't see the need in ventilation. In fact, with CO2, you really DON'T want it to be vented out. Lots of people, myself included, have truly 100% sealed rooms with no ventilation. IMO that is the best way when using CO2, AND you have a way to climate control with an AC. If I were to vent, it would only be a cool tube for your light, but that is not venting the room, just the light.
GS

 

[whitewidow2]

Ok GS...

Good point about keeping the CO2 in the room, so if i keep it all sealed up and have the air cooled hoods pulling air from directly outside the grow room < through the grow room and lights < back to outside the grow room that would work?

Also it is worth noting that this will be a room-within-a-room type setup and as such any heat will still have to be exited to outside of the property

Would i connect up the insulated ducting leaving the grow room and the exit to the a/c unit (portable type...) all together into one single exit in order for it all to be exhausted to the outside of the building?

 

[GodSlave]

Ok GS...

Good point about keeping the CO2 in the room, so if i keep it all sealed up and have the air cooled hoods pulling air from directly outside the grow room < through the grow room and lights < back to outside the grow room that would work?

Also it is worth noting that this will be a room-within-a-room type setup and as such any heat will still have to be exited to outside of the property

Would i connect up the insulated ducting leaving the grow room and the exit to the a/c unit (portable type...) all together into one single exit in order for it all to be exhausted to the outside of the building?

You have got the concept exactly. You want to pull outside air through the light fixture, and back outside. Even doing it that way, you will lose some CO2 because the light is not completely air tight. You will lose CO2 naturally, but some will be pulled out the light.
If you can pull off the AC output and the light vent output in one place, that would be excellent. It's what I would be aiming for.
Also, in regards to humidity...you may not even have to use a dehumidifier because the AC pulls the humidity out of the air. That will have to be trial and error.

GS

 

[dbkick]

Remember to get a dual hose portable OR a single hose that can easily be modified to dual hose. If not you'll be pumping co2 and odor out of the room . Single hose portables pull room air over the coils to cool them, then they are exhausted.

 

[whitewidow2]

Ok, good information guys....

Im just trying to work out how to do all this and whether its worth it?

Im really worried about FLIR and would like to have an insulated grow, ideally with a well placed exhaust, worried about tents being far too easy to spot by the helicopters

 

[GodSlave]

Ok, good information guys....

Im just trying to work out how to do all this and whether its worth it?

Im really worried about FLIR and would like to have an insulated grow, ideally with a well placed exhaust, worried about tents being far too easy to spot by the helicopters

Well, technically the supreme court said FLIR cannot be used to secure a warrant, but I understand. I really wouldn't worry too much about it unless you are growing in your attic. From the air your exhaust could be anything, like a dryer vent. You can't be too safe though.
And about it being worth it, that would definitely be a question for you to answer. My answer is yes, it takes me out of the criminal element out on the street looking for weed, and I control what I get. Personally, I can't afford the kind of bud I grow, so it's worth it to me.
GS

 

[Dradden]

The grow you are talking about it would be worth it more ways than one. 4x600 will yield you a big chunk of bud every few months. The initial investment could easily be paid off in a harvest or 2 if all goes well. Also knowing what you are inhaling=priceless. Just keep your electrical safety in mind. The power you will be pulling is going to be too much for a average 15 amp circuit. You also don't want to use extension cords if you can avoid it. Is the room on multiple circuits?

 

[mr.smileyface]

I did 4 1000's in a 12x14 room
4 cooltubes.(they dont leak much compared to the shades.
I had a one ton ac and 4 inch outtake. I had to vent threw a window aswell.
Here is what i did. I cut a piece of black and white poly and and stapled and taped around the frame of the window. I cut my holes for the 8inch light ducting and the 4inch and 6 inch A.C ducting. Then i drilled 1x1 around the frame of the wall around the window to make it air tight and insure no leaks. Keep your window open about and inch or two. Make sure you cant get in from the outside. Put a "stick" in the window to make sure it can open.
I ditched the cool tubes,the AC and the outtakes. after the grow and invested in a swamp cooler 3 fan chiller. It can do about 10 lights in a sealed room. So i shut my window and went and bought axiel fans and switched with the original cooler fans. (very loud). Now my chiller is not only silent but also more effecient.
My room is probly half as loud as it used to be. 8 inch fan and 4 inch fan+a/c. I run most of my fans on low and try to double out.
My room specs are 9000w hps. 36000 btus, 2 dehums. One running 24/7 and one to regulate it. The regulator one is on the ground and the 24/7 one is closer to the co2 burner and has a run off into a res. 1 wall mount and two stand up 16 inch fans. I have a blue ox 4 burner and matador controller. Im using GH,AN and additives. My temps are very well controlled and i can get the room to 24 before it shuts off. It turns on at 30.
Now the good part. 180 purple kush plants vegged for two weeks. 8-12 inches tall. lollipoped. All in 2 gallons of pro-mix. It take about 6 bales to fill them. I veg in cups for 5 days and then transplant into the 2 gallons for the rest of the veg time.
I run my co2 burner not for ppm levels but for temp levels. I have a thermostate that does cooling and heating. So i get my burner to turn on when the temps in room are cooler. When the temps reach 25 it will turn on. I have it on a timer so it doesnt turn on at nighttime. I also have two carbon filters i use. One for 24/7 and the other around week 4 -week 8 of bud.
I got 1.2 a light in my last one. Im hoping for more this time. Thats my perfect room.
Well thats my perfect room.

 

[whitewidow2]

Thanks smileyface - very informative - trying to get my head round that lot...
I know some people say that FLIR wont see through roofs etc but im worried that the technology is out there to bust grows and as a grower i need to do everything in my power to avoid people seeing what it is i am doing. Ive seen some videos where the light signature is apparent from the air through the roofs of buildings and this is one of the main reasons i want to insulate everything, even though i know it will not hide the exhaust trail from a window but will still make things less obvious and help me sleep better at night. The way that i see it is if i build an insulated frame i hide any light/heat signature from the air and it is also a good starting point to building a perfect setup. I am a little worried about the amount of heat it will all put out though as i know that those a/c unit exhausts can get quite hot!!!

 

[GodSlave]

Thanks smileyface - very informative - trying to get my head round that lot...
I know some people say that FLIR wont see through roofs etc but im worried that the technology is out there to bust grows and as a grower i need to do everything in my power to avoid people seeing what it is i am doing. Ive seen some videos where the light signature is apparent from the air through the roofs of buildings and this is one of the main reasons i want to insulate everything, even though i know it will not hide the exhaust trail from a window but will still make things less obvious and help me sleep better at night. The way that i see it is if i build an insulated frame i hide any light/heat signature from the air and it is also a good starting point to building a perfect setup. I am a little worried about the amount of heat it will all put out though as i know that those a/c unit exhausts can get quite hot!!!

Hey, you can never be too careful! This coming from someone who has been busted... So, if you have the means to build a frame or whatever, do it man, if only for the peace of mind. Do you have an attic? What I'm getting at is if you are growing in a lower level or have an attic, I do not believe the heat signature would make it to the roof, but I have no proof of that, just an educated guess.
GS

 

[whitewidow2]

Hey GS, im not on a lower level, hence a little concern about this - this is the video that scares me >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRbBu8nkjRk

You can see the lights through the roofs of the properties, its amazing what they can actually see and like you say - you cannot be too carefull, ive considered moving property to somewhere with a chimney to vent out of and even looked at using a mini split a/c unit for a sealed grow as the unit is placed outside the property

I just want to be as safe as possible

 

[GodSlave]

I just want to be as safe as possible

True that!

 

[jrinlv]

in that video all you can see is the vent they are using in the roof to exhaust heat. Keep you grow away from exterior walls and you will be OK..Be safe JR

 

[whitewidow2]

it looks pretty bad to me....

i wonder how much they actually can see, at one point in the video you can clearly see two grow lights through someones roof - it also says in the description that this is not FLIR technology that they are using but a newer one for spotting grow op's during the day

 

[GodSlave]

I'm not saying your shouldn't be careful, I think you know that, but remember, a warrant cannot be obtained with FLIR info. They would have to get you some other way.
GS

 

[whitewidow2]

Unfortunately in the UK they do fly-overs all the time, hence the worry

 

[GodSlave]

Oh, my bad, I thought you were in the US...

 

[mr.smileyface]

well the heat is gonna be somewhere. so either vent into a differnt room or vent outside. Thats why i dont use cooltubes/ sunshades. You have to step up in this game. No heat leaving the room is more ideal. Use black and white poly to seal it off.
When it is seal you are less likly to get busted. You need charcoal filters to clean the air.
I know what im talking about when it comes to these kind of things. I have never been busted because i have been smart from the start.

 

[Snow Crash]

So if I get this right...

You have a room, with a window. You're going to be building a grow room within this larger room. This room will meet up with the window and you're doing the stealth thing there for the intake air. I've done this method for exhausting heat and it worked well enough, but the woosh of the air was a little loud outside the window.

What I think you should be doing is running a single 8" or 10" fan for all 4 reflectors. Intake your air from outside the house, have that ducting hit a Y-joint, and then reduce it to 6" ducting. It then runs through the lights, then back to another Y-Joint before being exhausted back outside.

Something like this (the dots ... are place holders and mean nothing):
...............==[Lamp]==[Lamp]==
[Fan]==< ...................................>==[Intake]
...............==[Lamp]==[Lamp]==

Hope that made sense.

This way you cool the lights without exhausting your CO2 or any scents. You're still going to be venting heat... but if you set this up right it shouldn't raise more suspicion than a clothes dryer vent or the heat from the backside of the AC unit.

The AC is going to do some air exchange for you anyway. Most AC units will use air to cool the motor and then spit that air back outside.

You can use a smaller fan, maybe a 4" inline with a 200cfm carbon filter not attached or cooling anything. Just handling the smells.

Venting the room could be done by including an additional Y-Joint just before the exhaust fan that is pulling the heat from the lights. Use a cap on the extra end of the joint and you can remove the cap and vent the room of extra CO2 manually.
................==[From Lights]==[intake]=
[FAN]==<
................==|CAP|

I sit around all day and dream about this stuff. The best thing to do is to build two rooms of equal size. You use one room to grow in, exchanging heat from the grow room into the extra room. In the extra room you keep your reservoir, the ballasts, the AC system, heaters, dehumidifiers, and the CO2 system. In the grow room you keep some circulation fans and a carbon filter for odor control. Then you just exchange the air between the rooms at a rate of once per minute. So two 500CF rooms would need a 500CFM fan minimum.

This way you are venting your heat to a completely atmosphere controlled environment, and you intake this conditioned air back into the grow room in a circular fashion. The CO2 enrichment ensures that you are getting the best control.

This can be accomplished with a 5x5 tent in a 10x10 bedroom pretty easily. Simply place all your equipment outside the tent, an AC unit in the window, and exhaust the heat back into the bedroom. The 175CF tent is in a 700CF room, so there's 525CF of air in there that creates a buffer of CO2 and can be temperature and humidity controlled before being pulled back into the tent again. That's a pretty cheap way to do it. AC unit in the window, tent in the bedroom. Exhaust from the tent to the bedroom every minute or twice a minute (even better). Keep the door closed during most of the day. Control the environment. I mean, yeah, it's a $2,500 investment, but it'll pay for itself soon enough.