im looking into doing a grow in a shed of mine maybe and have been doing some reading and i came across a couple of ways that i think might work but im not sure. Say i get 3 or 4 Marine Deep Cycle Wet Acid batteries that have a 220 AH rating, and a 1250w Power inverter with a 3500w Peak Surge. My proposed idea would be i leave one or two batteries setup to power the tent and have one or two inside charging, then i would obviously alternate them when needed. i just dont know if that last part will work. would i be able to say change the batteries everyday or every other day possible if i setup them up properly? money isnt really a problem, i can spend upwards around $800-1000 for this grow and who knows if a better solution pops up i could drop some more money.
You might be able to find a marina in your area where they have piles of marine grade batteries piled up. Tell them your looking for four of them. I'd buy a good wagon, atv or riding lawnmore also.
IF you are charging the batteries on site, then you are going to use MORE electricity then one would if they used the electricity directly... The charger will waste a lot of power generating heat, and the batteries will waste some in the chemical process to recharge, and then again when they discharge...I could go on and on about how power would be wasted, but I think you get the idea. If you want to save $$$$, then switch to CFL or LED lighting instead...it will cost less over the long term.
this is what i was thinking also, an ATV would work pretty well, but idk. ive been doing a lot of research and came across a couple of ways to establish power when there is no outlet. One way is wireless electricity, developed by Intel but that is still in early stages of research. other things exist out there that can charge a laptop, but these aren't heavy duty enough to operate a grow. I found one product that i think might help and that is the Xantrex PowerHub 1800. I cant figure out if this thing will be able to run a grow because i cant find specific electrical info that i need. I'm pretty sure that the power hub is just a more sophisticated version of what i explained above, but idk, i need some people that are smart when it comes to electricity.
im not sure what you meant but i would charge the batteries in my garage, not at the grow site. obviously i would love some sort of setup where i can charge them at the site so i dont have to haul them back and forth but i know thats probably not possible. im trying to work the stealth aspect more than the save money aspect. if i could just grow out in the open anywhere, i would, but i can't unfortunately, so things are getting done the hard way
If your shed is in the open, you could plant 4 pine trees on all sides of the shed. They would shade the shed year round and give you some overhead cover. You wouldn't have to have the exhaust fans working so hard to get rid of the heat as well. I'd recomend growing with cfl or led lighting also.
its in the woods sort of so i dont need to plant any trees. i am going to use CFL's if i can ever get this grow on the road (still not sure) because they dont use a lot of power and they are cool
You've probably heard of it already, but a lot of growers are using panda film in there indoor hydro grows. It's cheap and you can staple the stuff right up. It will seal up any light leaks also. Definetly get a big pad lock also, with lots of "no trespassing, shot on site" signs.
i just came across an interesting product line of deep cycle batteries that are sold specifically for solar equipment. they have ratings from 350-1750 a/h ratings. after doing some math i've came up with this: watts X hours the light is on 18/6 -125w CFL at 18 hours = 2250 Watt Divide by inverters efficiency rate -2250/.85 (inverters efficiency) = about 2648 watt hours divide by voltage of battery 2648/24 = 111 A/h for 24 volt or 224 a/h for a 12 volt. it would be great if i could find a deep cycle 24 volt battery at a decent price but i dont think i can so its more realistically going to be a 12 volt. how much would a small fan to circulate air and a couple of other small things cost in a/h to run?
hey bud, anyway you can throw a generator out there to recirc the batteries? solar gas hydro?? goin out to the shed every day to change out batteries isnt very "stealth". here is a guy, http://forum.grasscity.com/advanced-growing-techniques/156593-get-harvest-every-2-weeks-2.html DrBudGreenGenes, (much love wherever you are) .. he lives completly off the grid on battery/gen power. the thread is pretty lengthy but at some point he goes into detail about his power bay. just thought it might help much luck Cyrate
the link you posted is to the wrong thread i think but, i remember seeing that thread a while ago and i've been searching for it and couldnt find it. i was able to find it though since you told me the guys name. thanks man + rep
You could use solar power, but the initial investment would be huge. I believe it would be around $10,000 initially.
generally how much sun would one of those panels need? the shed is in the words sort of and its not very sunny there. could i possibly put a few little panels in the tent and get the lights on 24/7 with an autoflowering strain? if something like that could be rigged up it would be a completely portable grow system, power and all.
ummmmmmmmm I think ya'all are overlooking the most obvious powersource of all.None at all or The sun. I'm not sure what the reason for putting your grow in a shed , especially if it's in the woods ( security reasons?), but why not just install a couple big windows into the roof and use the sun for light? If you are growing in a shed you can hook up a automatic shading system to block them out for dark periods, and you will get alot more lumens from the sun than from the most powerful CFL, HPS or any other light
Oh and also worth mentioning is that even though they are "deep cycle" batteries, it's generally not a good idea to fully dischage them like you would be with this. You'll end up swapping batteries multiple times a day.Use batteries or solar for your fans, but use the sun for your light
I imagine they work best under direct sun light. I have no idea how they would work under an HPS or MH. it would be cool if it was enough to run a fan or two. Lets not forget.. The first law of thermodynamics, which mandates conservation of energy, and states in particular that the flow of heat is a form of energy transfer.The second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of an isolated macroscopic system never decreases, or (equivalently) that perpetual motion machines are impossible.
i would use the sun but i cant follow that harvest schedule, plus installing huge windows in the roof of my shed seems like something i cant do. im not sure what all of that means but im looking to do something like how a cottage is run. solar panels charge the batteries, batteries power the lights, lights grow the plants.
It means that's not going to work as easily as you think. You're talking serious solar panels and battery systems to run a bunch of grow lights. But if you're going for it go ahead and throw in a windmill to power the fans.
very valid point Doc. at least til we all have Bloom boxes Bloom Box: Home Energy of the Future ..and CGE's to fuel them MoBluntz, can you give us a little more info on your setup? how far away from the mainhouse is this "shed"? what is its original function? you said "woods" but how rural are you talking about?