LIST:HELP ME PULL THE TRIGGER(14'x15' room) 6- Flower X 1K+T5's-Veg. 2-Ton mini Split

Here are a couple of sketches.

I'm all set and ready to go. I tried to order yesterday and my CC was declined because I needed to raise my daily limit. Maybe this is a sign to double check with RIU.......I think so!

So this is a sealed room built inside of a garage. The room is approx. 14'x15'x9' on the inside. I already have a 2-ton Shinco Mini Split and a 10" Fantech 10xl exhaust fan that pulls 1,226 CFM's. The veg. room and flower rooms will be vented between one another via 2 booster fans. This way, the mini split A/C and CO2 can easily work for both rooms.

The grow medium will be coco and nutrient will be manually delivered via a pump and watering wand or similar. This will be a drain to waste. Is a water chiller necessary here or what's the deal in this situation??

I have 2 ports for exhaust outside of the sealed environment at the peak of the garage roof. They measure ~9"-9.5" in diameter. One is going to be used for the main exhaust of the sealed environment obviously. Because it gets SO EFFIN' HOT in the garage during the summer, I was planning on using an 8" 745 CFM inline fan hooked up to a thermostat and switch. Anyone have any other ideas or suggestions??

In venting the Veg. and Flower rooms between the divider wall, I'll be using 2 x Duct/Booster fans. Does 6" 250 cfm's sound sufficient or will it need to be 2 x 8" 500 cfm fans? What is the best way to control these fans so that they're utilized efficiently?

Go right ahead and ask if you have any questions. I know I may have a couple more.

Thanks in advance for the feedback, Ty

Looks good man. What materials are you using to build? also are you insulating? That will help a lot with the heat. why the 2 exhaust ports, are you exhausting more then your lights? Im building the same kinda thing, size is 22X9, curious what your budget is for this

budwich said:

Looks good man. What materials are you using to build? also are you insulating? That will help a lot with the heat. why the 2 exhaust ports, are you exhausting more then your lights? Im building the same kinda thing, size is 22X9, curious what your budget is for this

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Well, I used metal studs and track and only went up to ~6'8" because I was going to keep the garage operational but then decided against it and went up to the A-frames for a height of ~9' but this addition was with wood...Just made wood track on top of the metal, went and plumbed straight up against the A-frames for a wood top track, and filled in with the wood cripple studs.
Yes, I've insulated so far on all walls and will do the ceiling some how as well.

The 2 exhaust ports are initially there at the peak of the roof just to vent the hot air out of the top of the garage. The sealed room sits below...The ceiling for the sealed room tops out at the bottom of the A-frame. I'm just venting all the lights but was planning on venting the garage as a whole with the 8" inline fan hooked up to the thermostat/switch.

The budget...well, I'll just tell ya that the 2-ton mini split Shinco was a little over $1,200...I got the main exhaust fan for around $400(usually over $500) and this list totals $6,880+ with the shipping. I'm not sure what I've spent on the building materials so far. I also have to budget an initial 2K for bomb ass genetics and then a per plant charge to start...Then there's $1,400 for my electrician running everything...He's building light controllers/timers along with a separate sub panel just for the room.

22'x9' huh...Sounds like a good amount of room. Is it already built or no? In the basement...We don't have those out here in SoCal.

sounds like you know what you are doing man. Hopefully you can get it done without tapping out the bank. I know I am struggling with that. My build is in a basement yes, and is all framed/insulated. Electrical is ran, just need to get the inspector out here before I can seal up with drywall. I was thinking why cant the mini split handle controlling the heat? I have seen grows that had 10+ lights uncooled and the mini split keeps the ideal temps. Is this possible in your situation?

budwich said:

sounds like you know what you are doing man. Hopefully you can get it done without tapping out the bank. I know I am struggling with that. My build is in a basement yes, and is all framed/insulated. Electrical is ran, just need to get the inspector out here before I can seal up with drywall. I was thinking why cant the mini split handle controlling the heat? I have seen grows that had 10+ lights uncooled and the mini split keeps the ideal temps. Is this possible in your situation?

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I think you're correct, that the mini split can def. handle the heat. I'm decent at researching but I'm lacking the in person/hands on experience and am just unsure about most things...I hate the unknown! lol I do know that it get HOT as Fuck in the garage though...Hot enough to the point that I don't even want to go in there...It heats up the house too.

what im thinking is venting your lights with hot air is not going to help, I would think since the ambient temps are high you can seal everything and exhaust nothing. Have your ac do the work as long as it can handle. insulating will be key IMO, to keep the cool air in. Just a thought

budwich said:

what im thinking is venting your lights with hot air is not going to help, I would think since the ambient temps are high you can seal everything and exhaust nothing. Have your ac do the work as long as it can handle. insulating will be key IMO, to keep the cool air in. Just a thought

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That's a good point. My intake is at ground/cement level and through a vent that sits in a shaded part just outside the garage...I'm thinking around 100 degrees here some days in the summer. Maybe I should just cut it off once it's that hot??
Maybe all the time.....hmmm. That's interesting...haven't thought about that enough...

I'm just thinking that a 2 ton mini split is going to be costing me a lot since the total electricity will toss me into the upper tier anyways.

I know that mini splits are pretty efficient, and you would not be needing to run the fans to cool the lights? Your call on what the costs associated with that are. Is all this equipment purchased/ Are plants ready to go in? how many amps does the mini split run?

Also are you going to have a reservoir inside the room or at all? That needs to be kept cooler than the room, but that is a simple fix. Worse case scenario can you put a window or portable AC to help during the extreme heat. I think it would still have to run less then exhaust fans.

budwich said:

I know that mini splits are pretty efficient, and you would not be needing to run the fans to cool the lights? Your call on what the costs associated with that are. Is all this equipment purchased/ Are plants ready to go in? how many amps does the mini split run?

Also are you going to have a reservoir inside the room or at all? That needs to be kept cooler than the room, but that is a simple fix. Worse case scenario can you put a window or portable AC to help during the extreme heat. I think it would still have to run less then exhaust fans.

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The only purchased equipment is the A/C and the Fantech 10" 1,226 cfm. I guess the reservoirs would have to go inside due to the garage heat anyways. I'm getting the equipment I need and setting it up asap...hopefully with enough time to dial everything in by the time plants arrive. The mini split runs 10.4 amps cooling/11 amps heating...and it says Max 16 amps.
There's no place for a window AC...I could move my portable one in there for an emergency but then I'm exhausting CO2...Not too keen on buying another portable.
I know the 10" exhaust fan is ~4.5 amps...I guess if I had too go with the portable that didn't exhaust C02...idk

might think about something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Tjernlund-AireShare-Room-To-Room-Ventilator-Hardwired/dp/B000UC7ACE for the air exchange between rooms. I have seen these at work, and do a pretty good job. alot cheaper and quieter than inline fans.

As far a the ac goes, I guess you will have to run the tests to truly know. I am almost sure that if you want to run the ac with no exhaust on your lights it could handle it. Might have to run more, but price it out before you cut the exhaust holes I guess.

Also why not co2 tank instead of burner? Burners produce alot more heat

budwich said:

might think about something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Tjernlund-AireShare-Room-To-Room-Ventilator-Hardwired/dp/B000UC7ACE for the air exchange between rooms. I have seen these at work, and do a pretty good job. alot cheaper and quieter than inline fans.

As far a the ac goes, I guess you will have to run the tests to truly know. I am almost sure that if you want to run the ac with no exhaust on your lights it could handle it. Might have to run more, but price it out before you cut the exhaust holes I guess.

Also why not co2 tank instead of burner? Burners produce alot more heat

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Burner because it's just so convienent for me...The gas line is right there and I split it in 5 min...It's ready to go and obviously I don't have to refill anything...That's almost set it and forget it.

So, I'm going to really have to run a good comparison to see what works best....No venting and just A/C it up...See how much the mini is running etc. VS. running the mini less and venting. Thank you for bringing this issue up budwich. Being cost effective in the long run is very important.

best of luck man

BUMP!! Feel free to check out the rough sketches/scans below the list of products in the second post of this thread.
Let me know an suggestions on how reservoirs can be below room temp....I know there are water chillers but I'm trying to avoid much any higher electrical costs.

Any other suggestions, questions, or just about anything....Feel free!!

hows the progress going? did you pull the trigger

budwich said:

hows the progress going? did you pull the trigger

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Finally got that SOB all built out and ready for equipment.....I'm doing everything myself with no extra set of hands and no prior experience so you can imagine the frustration and how long it's taken me. Should have everything set very soon.

Last coat of flat white went on last night and I had a head ache from hell LOL 2 coats prmer 1 day and 2 coats paint later the next day and we're dry this morning. Don't know how interesting pics. would be but I'll post em up when I get home.

Stay in touch budwich...How's yours going?

I just finished 3rd stage of mudding. Electrician is coming back tomorrow to install smoke alarms/220V outlets. I am a couple steps behind you, but its coming together and cant wait to get plants in there. Would love to see some pics, I will take some tonight if you are interested.

budwich said:

I just finished 3rd stage of mudding. Electrician is coming back tomorrow to install smoke alarms/220V outlets. I am a couple steps behind you, but its coming together and cant wait to get plants in there. Would love to see some pics, I will take some tonight if you are interested.

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Sure, would love to see some pics. since ours are kind of similar! I still have a bit of mudding to do...One inside corner I never got to, a few very small drill holes, and all of the outside...I would have had all of the inside done but it was just one little thing after another and before I knew it, I was spraying primer and paint. lol So, I don't think we're that far apart on the process...I still have about 25-50% of mud to do on the outside but that can wait...I did how ever get the room actually Air Tight as far as I can tell because I caulked the shit out of all the corners, drywall/OSB joints etc. Used a shit load of caulking LOL. I had a spider in there for about 4 days and he never made his way out...It's gotta be pretty damn sealed, ya know...Only time and a true test will tell.

Right now, I'm looking at either running 2 smaller dehuies(one in each room) or one large one in flower...I just don't have any experience with them and the larger units use 600-700+ watts which I find to be an insane amount of power just for a dehuy when I already have the mini split and 7 HID lights amongst other things.
Although, I'm willing to spend some dough on a single large capacity dehuy that preferably has a pump to drain...A gravity drain system is fine but I'd prefer the pump feature, ya know.

Anyways, sorry for the pic. quality etc....These are pics. of some early on and some a little further along...I haven't snapped any new pics. of the finished painted rooms yet as I just did get done last night. Veg. is about 6'x14' and Flower is about 9.5'x14'....Both rooms with 9'+ceilling heights.......Entrance and divider wall doors are 36" in width and will be weather stripped as much as possible so that they're both completely air tight like the rest of the room. Odor will remain in the rooms and only escape when the door is open...Hence the carbon scrubber being on the outside of the room but still inside the garage.

What's the best dehumidifier out there...preferably with a drainage pump?!

Here's pics if I can get them up...

I would advise against Digilux bulbs. In fact, I would advise against getting anything from CAP (R&M Supply)...I've seen a lot of problems with CAP products over the years...nothing beats a Hortilux bulb IMO.