Does your tent need both intake and exhaust?

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
im confused i thought only 1 fan for an exhaust would be fine but everywhere i am look people are suggesting an intake fan as well.

my setup would basically have been 1 exhaust hook it inside and just exhaust it into my room above the tent. then have the bottom flap wide open for air intake. any help? just really confused on how i would go about setting this up. trying not to run so many equipment due to costs.
 

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
thanks yea i don't want to run so much stuff all at once just due to the cost of electricity. gonna try vent it out into my room but as a last resort try and vent it out the window if anything.
 

TacoMac

Well-Known Member
im confused i thought only 1 fan for an exhaust would be fine but everywhere i am look people are suggesting an intake fan as well.
It really depends on a lot of factors. The number one factor is heat.

If you're using an enclosed light fixture with duct work, then typically an exhaust or intake only will do.

If you're using open fixtures inside the tent, then it's best to have both. Open fixtures really dump the heat into the tent, and a 4 x 4 will heat up so fast it's ridiculous. An exhaust only fan at the top of the tent and an intake fan at the bottom is the way to go in that sort of setup.
 

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
It really depends on a lot of factors. The number one factor is heat.

If you're using an enclosed light fixture with duct work, then typically an exhaust or intake only will do.

If you're using open fixtures inside the tent, then it's best to have both. Open fixtures really dump the heat into the tent, and a 4 x 4 will heat up so fast it's ridiculous. An exhaust only fan at the top of the tent and an intake fan at the bottom is the way to go in that sort of setup.
I will be running a hlg qb 320 xl with heat sink
 

CoB_nUt

Well-Known Member
Nice,quality fans.I have the 6" in the same sized tent. It'll work for your setup and your situation with the qb's.You won't need to run it wide open in that tent with qb's either.
 

LordHill

Well-Known Member
If you can vent that hot air outside, do it. I just hit flower flip and the light change had my temps very high.

If you just fill the room around the tent with hot air, you will start just pulling the hot air back in in a loop.
 

Juiceifer

Well-Known Member
Like they said lol.. I only run exhaust on a controller at about half and that handles the heat for my 300w led. Some cross bars or something to stop the sides sucking in would be nice. you loose canopy space
 

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
thanks everyone yea think imma just get the one. i forgot i was planning to buy a 4x8 tent lol but imma check on prices for that one soon or tomorrow if not then 4x4 is still good just want more space to grow more plants might just run 2 4x4's in the one for flowering one for veg
 

gwheels

Well-Known Member
Passive intake works for tents. You can adjust the intake a bit with those screens at the bottom but if you want the smell to be scrubbed you have to be careful with how much you open the screen.

I like them tight enough to suck in the walls of the tent a bit. I usually use 2 dryer hoses (4 inch) with socks on either end in the round holes in the bottom (for my passive air intake). I had gnats or fruit flies once and now it works great. And no bugs (coco and that for the win)
 

TacoMac

Well-Known Member
I had gnats or fruit flies once and now it works great.
That's a common problem with passive intakes on a non-sealed light fixture. So is mold and fungus.

It's not about how much air you move. It's about the quality of the air you're moving.

Passive intake allows too much heat and humidity to remain in the tent which promotes the bugs and mold.

Even a small, regular fan on low blowing more fresh air into the tent virtually eliminates the possibility of that happening.

Simply cranking up the single fan at the top helps, but it certainly isn't very efficient and it uses a lot more power and makes a lot more noise.
 

bartow

Well-Known Member
I don't use either. I make my own tents out of corning insulation panels with some air holes in the top. Then I just hang a box fan from the top and put it on low.
 

Lethidox

Well-Known Member
I don't use either. I make my own tents out of corning insulation panels with some air holes in the top. Then I just hang a box fan from the top and put it on low.
don't trust just a box fan kinda doing that with my current grow method but with a fan in the middle doesn't seem to really move much air fast enough and usually during veg when the foliage gets too bushy the inside of the leaves of the plant are super soggy.

im probably just going to buy 1 fan for now and then just see what happens. if i feel i need 2 fans for more air flow/temps and all that then i'll add in an intake as well.
 

Keeprollinup

Well-Known Member
I would consider an intake fan to give your girls plenty of fresh air but it won't be a problem not having 1 may affect yeild may not most likely will the amount I do not no.
 
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