A/C Meltdown

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bseabuds

Member
Had a very rare thing happen... my A/C melted. I am running a mini-split system, 24,000 Btu for 4 x 1000 W bulbs (3 x HPS + 1 x MH). I just bought the unit.
I installed it properly, vacuumed the lines. Left it overnight and went back to check the next day. The unit had malfunctioned and melted, allowing my grow room hit upwards of 167 degrees F. Terrible. All my babies died. Now trying to correct.

I just got done talking with the people I bought the unit from.

They have been very helpful, and I am taking the necessary steps to get replacement parts. But they were saying that I need to have the A/C indoor unit farther from my lights. So my question now is, what distance would be a good/ safe estimate?

Much thanks in advance for the help. This is a disaster. Demoralizing as fuck. Again, much thanks for any help.
 
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bseabuds

Member
No advice? Does anyone that uses a mini-split A/C have measurements of how far they keep theirs from the lights?

Also, is it unwise to attach an in-line fan directly to a light hood?
 
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phishtank

Well-Known Member
The hoods don't get anywhere near hot enough to justify your lights melting your AC unit. I'm saying bad wiring...

You're lucky your room didnt go down in flames. Make sure to get an electrician in there to help with the install if you don't know what you are doing. Next time you may lose more then some plants.
 
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bseabuds

Member
That's what I was thinking, too. The guy at the warehouse said it was the lights, though. As for electricity, I had a professional electrician do the work--we have safeties for the compressor outside, the panel breaker didn't blow. I can appreciate the luck, though. Definitely agreed that I could have lost a lot more than a few plants.
Much thanks for the response.
 
D

DIYer

Well-Known Member
167F? You sure of that man? Holy shit thats insane to think about! Something doesn't sound right,.. mind you i use 1/4 the BTUs and watts as you, but still, agree with phishtank, no way the heat of the room should kill the AC, let alone a new one. If you didn't do the install i'd seriously question the installers ability.

As for the loss of your crop, i feel your pain brotha. Few weeks back i had a pH down disaster that took 85% of my ladies from me in short order. It happened while building/testing an auto nutrient dosing system i designed, most wouldn't bother with such a device, or 24k BTU's of cooling, but its those who try and fail big that often gain the most in the end.

My auto doser is working awesome now by the way :)


Better luck to you next try


Peace
 
T

Total.Hydroponic.Control

Active Member
Wordz said:
maybe check the capacitor.. what do you mean by melted?
Click to expand...
What he said...

If part of your split Ac is plastic 167 degrees is not enough to melt plastic. You would need far greater temperatures. Pvc, polyvinyl chloride, as an example can withstand 400 degrees farenheit, while the polymer used to make teflon can withstand 600 degrees.. I doubt very much that your lights caused that melt down. After making repairs I suggest you carefully monitor the unit until it has operated for more than 24 hours without another incident.
 
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Destillat

Active Member
Cap makes a temperature kill switch for your lights that will shut off your lights due to high temperatures. They are like 70 bucks and will save your crop for you.
 
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bseabuds

Member
Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, I was researching melting points and to melt plastic the heat has to be TREMENDOUS. Also note that the thermometer broke at a reading of 167, so how hot it actually got is really up in the air. I got lucky, though, not to have been killed (running CO2). So now that the initial frustration of finding my brand new mini-split melted has passed, I am trying to focus on that more than the money I'm going to have to shell out on a new indoor unit.

I'm going to have to look into that CAP temp. kill switch. Maybe after I pull in some dollars. And yeah, I'm definitely going to be monitoring closely for the first couple of days after the new unit is installed. I won't be putting my plants in until I am very certain I have a smooth run.
 
1337hacker

1337hacker

Active Member
All the sudden I'm feeling a little better about the fact my minisplit never even fired up... still trying to find someone that will come and inspect it and figure out what's up. Good luck buddy.
 
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