Cooling room while using CO2? Help!

air cooled lights, you could get away with the 12.

Only problem is once you get up to the 24k units, they require 240v and im running on 120v. So im not sure how id work around that.

As for installing, what quotes are you talking about? It says right on the website you can do it yourself, no professional install required.

Anyway, I run on 120v so im not sure if I can work around that.

As for pricing, I get 25 percent off the retail, so it would be about 750 bucks for the 12k, and its a nice reliable brand name unit. Is that an outrageous price or no?

Ender87i said:

Only problem is once you get up to the 24k units, they require 240v and im running on 120v. So im not sure how id work around that.

As for installing, what quotes are you talking about? It says right on the website you can do it yourself, no professional install required.

Anyway, I run on 120v so im not sure if I can work around that.

As for pricing, I get 25 percent off the retail, so it would be about 750 bucks for the 12k, and its a nice reliable brand name unit. Is that an outrageous price or no?

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on ebay, you can get a klima cool 12,000btu 115v with install kit delivered for around $6-700. so if it's that range,your golden. Also,if you have the lineset with the fittings already done, you CAN do it yourself.

you guys still need to keep in mind you will be using this ac year round. its important to get one with low ambiant temp or you will have no ac in winter.

problem solved
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=LOW+AMBIENT+TEMPERATURE+CONTROL+KIT+ACCESSORY+53DS900..

Ender87i said:

To the person who replied first let me clarify again: im already running aircooled lights and room fans.

With 2x1000w lights aircooled by one 8 inch duct fan, my room sits at about 77-79 degrees. But of course adding 2 more lights is the reason im looking into an ac unit.

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co2 work best with temp around high 80's and up to mid 90's. co2 ppm level 1500. people say to stop using on the last two week but I use it till the end.

Thanks for the rest of the replies.

Right now im just hoping to hit a decent enough temp after adding my 2 extra lights that I wont even need an AC.. Since they'll be aircooled, im hoping I can keep it in the 80s and get away without having to use an AC, but we'll see..

Another issue I thought of though with the minisplit, is even though its not drawing air out of my room, it IS going to be pumping alot of air INTO my room, replacing my co2 enriched air, which will be forced out through cracks and whatnot. Because since I have a closed setup, the air has to go somewhere with all that positive pressure coming in.. So either way im thinking if I use an ac im gonna be losing alot of co2 :/

Why is a room AC out of the question? I bought a 15k window unit for under $300 brand new from Walmart.com. I have about 6 used can 33 filters. I put my new one on the exhaust from my tent. I put 2 of the used ones in the lung room with the cheap $20 inline fans on ebay and just taped them right into the openings without any flange or anything. Standing in the room you cannot tell there is a grow in it except for the smell of the carbon filtered air. Even if you put your head in the tent you can't smell them since the ventilation is so good for the most part. The window unit took 5 minutes to install, and I then covered the windows with blackout cloth and put foam on the backside and covered in foil tape. I just co2 the tent to 1500 and it keeps the room at 1500 also. Put the intake low in the room since the co2 is heavier and it sucks it back up into the grow. The 15k can easily cool a couple 1kw lights in 100 degree weather down to what you need.

I realize that you aren't using a tent, this is easily taken care of too and secured. Build a simple box around the window with wood and nails or a sheet of that plastic wall stuff for bathrooms and put an old filter on it so your air is filtered when it goes in. I did this initially and it worked fine.

Im not sure youre getting my concern..
I think the 12k will be fine. But im not concerned about smell or filtering.

What im concerned about is the airflow coming into the room from the minisplit driving my co2 enriched air down in ppm's, and some of it out through cracks, because I have an enclosed room, and all that positive airflow from the minisplit is going to replace alot of air thats already in the room (which is co2 enriched) get what im sayin?

Ender87i said:

Im not sure youre getting my concern..
I think the 12k will be fine. But im not concerned about smell or filtering.

What im concerned about is the airflow coming into the room from the minisplit driving my co2 enriched air down in ppm's, and some of it out through cracks, because I have an enclosed room, and all that positive airflow from the minisplit is going to replace alot of air thats already in the room (which is co2 enriched) get what im sayin?

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the minisplit DOES NOT pump air into your room, It simply recirculates the air in the room. I use a minisplit with c02 and it works perfect. a 20lb tank last for 30 days at 1500 ppm

Portables and windows = smell you will have to deal with. Stand alones and mini-splits may cost a little more but comes with the bonus of leaving the smell where it belongs. Either event cooling your lighting goes a long way in the fight with heat.

Good Luck

mini splits are the only way to keep enviroment in room. no loss. my propane tank for co2 gen lasts for almost 3 months.

You won't lose CO2 in any meaningful quantity with any but the crappiest of ACs. I took mine apart and used metal tape on any place it seemed like it would leak. A window unit and a mini split are the same thing just in a different package. If you cut the lines on the window unit and extended it out, it would be a mini split system. If you properly seal a window unit it isn't any different than a mini split, and it can be completely sealed. You could even run the condensation from the unit into a bucket if you keep the ac tiled forward ever so slightly. I assume you are all running your mini split condensation into a bucket or something? If you run the condensation out it will smell like weed wherever it drips if your room smells. He said he isn't concerned about smell.

Consider a propane tanks/co2 tanks are 25 bucks or so to fill. If you spend 300 on a 15k window unit or 800 on a 15k mini split. That 500 dollars would fill your tanks 20 times. You aren't likely to ever break even.

I am very concerned about smell and I still run a window unit. Mine is filtered with two Can 33 filters though, there is absolutely no smell in my grow unless you stick your nose on the plants.

If you are concerned about CO2 loss, I would worry more about your electrical sockets in the room. Remember that CO2 is heavier than air. It falls to the bottom and displaces air. Your sockets are likely a foot or so off the ground and leaking CO2 unless you already took care of it. Baseboards also would leak if they have not been siliconed.

my electric bill dropped $37 a month after changing from wall ac to a 2x larger btu minisplit. now my 30# propane tank lasts for 3 months or longer(instead of 5-6 weeks). when lights go off co2 ppm is 1100, when they come back on co2 in room is at 1000ppm, now that is no loss of enviroment. so my savings is over $500 in one year. didnt take that long to pay back, now its all savings or extra lights.

I managed to get a 5,200 btu window unit to work reasonably well, but I only have 2 x 600 watts. I use less than 1.5 lb. co2 a day (20 lb tank lasts 2 weeks+) A/C isn't sealed at all. Lights are air cooled, tent is 54" x 96" x 76". Did have to duct A/C outlet and return w/6" flex and 2 x 6" fans and there's a 6 x 4 x 4 wye that sends cool air with a 4" fan to the reservoir. I stood on a ladder and smelled around the A/C and could detect any smell 2" away. Problem is I have 4 x 6" fans, 1 x 4" fan, and 3 x oscillating fans going, noisey. Only two of the 6" fans run all the time. I have a WIN 100 remote thermostat controlling the A/C and fans attached to it. If I owned the place, I'd go with a minisplit.

superstoner1 said:

my electric bill dropped $37 a month after changing from wall ac to a 2x larger btu minisplit. now my 30# propane tank lasts for 3 months or longer(instead of 5-6 weeks). when lights go off co2 ppm is 1100, when they come back on co2 in room is at 1000ppm, now that is no loss of enviroment. so my savings is over $500 in one year. didnt take that long to pay back, now its all savings or extra lights.

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Since you already owned the window unit, that $ amount doesn't apply to you, you would have the full cost to recoup. My 15k window unit costs me about 15-20 bucks a month to run at 70 degrees. Did you have an old one that was low efficiency? Granted, electricity is cheap here.

no, wall ac was 4yo, but they are all still made the same way for many years. my mini is the inverter style(21seer) and uses much less electric, and is soooooo quiet.

To the person who said the mini-split doesn't pump air into your room, im guessing you have your condenser unit inside your room or something? Because when i was talking about how the mini-split pumping air into the room i was assuming the condenser unit was placed elsewhere, somewhere outside the room.

Anyway, as i was saying, heres my concern:
Lets assume the condenser unit is placed outside of the room, and the head unit is inside of the room blowing cold air.. Since i have a closed-room setup, im worried about all that positive pressure without any negative pressure.. Because all i have is my light-cooling fans (coming from outside of the room, and on a closed circuit running through my lights and back out of my room), some room fans, and my CO2 connected to a fan. But i have NO intake and NO exhaust.. So im worried about how all the positive pressure coming in from the mini-split unit will affect my room, and if it will diminish my CO2 levels very much (since all that positive pressure will undoubtedly force air out through cracks and unsealed parts of the room)...

And because of this, im wondering if a portable would be better? Because i was watching the video tutorial on the idealair website for their portables, and the guy says theres 2 airflow currents - one that sucks in air from the room and blows cold air back out into the room, and the other one blows out the hot air - and he says the 2 air currents NEVER cross paths with eachother, that the exhaust never crosses paths with the air thats coming in from the room and out as cold air.. So technically if this is true, i could just vent out the hot air, and since its not coming from my room i dont have to worry about losing any CO2 since it just gets sucked in from the room and back out as cold air... Right?

a mini split does not pump air into the room. the condensor unit goes outside, the evaporator unit( or head unit as you call it) is inside the room. 2small lines and a very small wire connect the two and the hole in wall is sealed. the evap unit takes the rooms warm air and circulates it over the evap core,cooling it. absolutely no exchange of air from out to in, impossible. i have a very sealed room, no air cooling for lights, co2, its all there except for one thing, no odor. if yournot pumping air into a room there is no positive pressure. as far as the portable from ideal, it cant be as sealed as a minisplit. if you still disagree then prove me wrong, ive used them all and only trying to help with the truth.

With few exceptions all refrigerated air conditioning units cycle air from within the room over the evaporator coil and return it to the room. Swamp coolers or evaporative coolers pull air from outside and pass it through the space.

Superstoner1 is 100% correct. The crappy 2 hose portables leak, the single hose portables suck air out. A window unit, minisplit or tradtional split all recycle air and create no presuure within the room.