putting together a 4-6 light op taking advice.... chiller maybe???

connoisseurde420 · Nov 25, 2012

So I will have the opportunity to build out a op starting with 4 lights and expandable to 6 1k watt lights. My main questions are with cooling... I am seriously debating water cooled vs. mini split. If I can convince my self that it will drop electricity costs i will do it. The $$ is not a problem at this size so Im doing co2 with a controller for the sealed room and anything else i can think of to make this room as cost effective and productive......

RetiredMatthebrute · Nov 25, 2012

i dont have any experience but water cooled seems to be more for show than anything. a AC and pulling cool air off the bottom of the room (cold air sinks hot rises) should do you fine

you could probabally get away without air cooling and just get a decent fan to keep pulling the hot air out the top of the room, AC blowing cool air on the ground should keep temps at a optimum

RetiredMatthebrute · Nov 25, 2012

and $$ is always a issue if your a good business man

superstoner1 · Nov 25, 2012

i will give you the best advice based on exactly what you are doing. go with the minisplit. hands down the winner. i went from window ac to portable ac to water cooled back to window ac and then the minisplit. screw the water cooling, way too many problems that can happen, and the return on investment takes forever. minisplit is so easy, out of the way and quiet. and with todays inverter style minis the efficiency issue is almost not worth mentioning.

connoisseurde420 · Nov 25, 2012

superstoner.. how many lights were u running? any change in electricty bill or ??

connoisseurde420 · Nov 25, 2012

retired Matt... you should have stopped at 'I don't have any Exp'. that sums your post. 4 1k lights in a sealed room definitely needs a cooling option I have seen this personally. to get a mini split or chiller is the only real debate for me I just want to make the most informed decision.

Blaze23 · Nov 25, 2012

How much do the water cooled systems cost? Im running a 6k watt then going to 8k after the first harvest, im about to order a 36,000 btu mini split in the next few weeks.

superstoner1 · Nov 25, 2012

you will spend 2-3x on building a water cooling system as you would on a minisplit. i run 3-1000w lights in flower, all t5 in veg/clone and going to the mini dropped bill enough to pay for the cost of running the third 1000.

Grow4tho187 · Nov 26, 2012

If you get a mini split you can't install it your self , you need some one to come do it ... even with a step by step on youtube your gonna need all cinds of tools . 4-k can be covered easily by a portable unit , just be careful not to let shhhtinky smells out the heat exhaust of ur a/c . some have intake 6 '' ducting and 6'' ducting exhaust so u can filter the air going in the a/c with a small ass filter .

connoisseurde420 · Nov 26, 2012

superstoner1 said:
you will spend 2-3x on building a water cooling system as you would on a minisplit. i run 3-1000w lights in flower, all t5 in veg/clone and going to the mini dropped bill enough to pay for the cost of running the third 1000.

are you saying the mini split was cheaper than the chiller? i agree yes about 2-3 times more than mini..

superstoner1 · Nov 26, 2012

Grow4tho187 said:
If you get a mini split you can't install it your self , you need some one to come do it ... even with a step by step on youtube your gonna need all cinds of tools . 4-k can be covered easily by a portable unit , just be careful not to let shhhtinky smells out the heat exhaust of ur a/c . some have intake 6 '' ducting and 6'' ducting exhaust so u can filter the air going in the a/c with a small ass filter .

terribly bad advice. there are some minis that are well made that will require absolutely no one but yourself to install. no special tools or videos. and. portable is by far the worst and most inefficient of all ac designs. not even close to a mini.

Grow4tho187 · Nov 26, 2012

superstoner1 said:
terribly bad advice. there are some minis that are well made that will require absolutely no one but yourself to install. no special tools or videos. and. portable is by far the worst and most inefficient of all ac designs. not even close to a mini.

Send me a link please I want to see that

tibberous · Nov 26, 2012

Is this hydro? While probably not ideal, soil plants can actually take a lot of heat (95f peak temps)

If your going hydro, I'd plan of getting a chiller the size of your res, if your going soil I'd put your system together with just fans and add cooling as/if needed. If your growing in an attic or someplace super-hot, feel free to ignore my advice.

superstoner1 · Nov 26, 2012

Grow4tho187 said:
Send me a link please I want to see that

reach out on your own and do a little investigating. i dont need to find it again.

connoisseurde420 · Nov 27, 2012

tibberous said:
Is this hydro? While probably not ideal, soil plants can actually take a lot of heat (95f peak temps)

If your going hydro, I'd plan of getting a chiller the size of your res, if your going soil I'd put your system together with just fans and add cooling as/if needed. If your growing in an attic or someplace super-hot, feel free to ignore my advice.

not going hydro and yes the plants can take 95 degrees but there is a big difference in quantity and quality for a room running 95 or 75. Hot room is not a option.

connoisseurde420 · Nov 27, 2012

tibberous said:
Is this hydro? While probably not ideal, soil plants can actually take a lot of heat (95f peak temps)

If your going hydro, I'd plan of getting a chiller the size of your res, if your going soil I'd put your system together with just fans and add cooling as/if needed. If your growing in an attic or someplace super-hot, feel free to ignore my advice.

i dont add the lights and plants with out a way to cool them :/

connoisseurde420 · Nov 27, 2012

Some mini splits dont need to be worked if the part on the inside isnt too far from the outside unit. Many of them do especially used ones. Remember this thread is to figure out the pros and cons of mini vs chiller and there isnt any conclusive information yet. please post if you have experience with this size grow, or chillers in general. I can deal with the pros and cons of either just wondering why people are choosing what they do.

superstoner1 · Nov 27, 2012

wow. i gave you solid tested info.

connoisseurde420 · Nov 27, 2012

superstoner: wasnt downplaying your advice.. thanks for your input. After thinking about it i was wondering about your water cooled setup.. how was it setup? airhandler, icebox or ? how many hp? how many btu were the ac units you used? are you using co2 in the room? are you running hydro or soil. whats the weather like in your location??

tibberous · Nov 27, 2012

connoisseurde420 said:
not going hydro and yes the plants can take 95 degrees but there is a big difference in quantity and quality for a room running 95 or 75. Hot room is not a option.

My point was more that they could live through a week of heat while you put in an AC. I just like the approach of starting cheap and upgrading as needed - why by a $2,000 mini-split if you can get away with a $300 AC running a few months of the year?

Kind of sounds like your mind made up. Great thing about this hobby is that you can overspend like fuck and 2 months later it won't matter

putting together a 4-6 light op taking advice.... chiller maybe???

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