Hi GC, I need some FAST help with my grow. I'm setting up a grow really soon and I need to know some advice on the lighting temperatures. I'll be growing in a room that is 6x9x7, and is made of concrete (which absorbs heat better if I'm not mistaken) But for the lighting I want to know if I can pull off an uncooled 1000W MH light in this room? The average outside temperature (don't know the inside, but should be cooler) is 70-75 degrees during the daytime and drops to about 65-70 during the night. So can I pull that light off, or do I have to get an air cooled one? I know HPS are hotter but could I pull that off too? The budget is tight and I want as many W as possible with the least $ spent. I could add a 740CFM blower to serve as the exhaust for the room if that would help significantly. Thanks and please hurry as I need to start ASAP!
The 1000w light puts out some heat man, expect that room temp to climb if you don't bring in fresh air and send out the heat.....(You need both to be effective) or setup a chiller and water cool the light heat...?
Well, I can afford air cooled lights but that leaves me very strained for other things like nutes/pesticides (I'm going with organic) and other things. Thing is I want to set up a perpetual grow, so I'm ordering two lights, one HPS for flowering and one MH for vegging. The HPS will illuminate about 3-6 plants (I'm aiming for 3-3.5ft tall at harvest) and the MH will be illuminating 3-6 plants (1.5ft before flowering) and 3-6 small clones (after they've rooted of course). I can get the lights, but if I can cut expenses as much as possible that would be excellent. P.S. Wouldn't a water cooler be more expensive than the two lights with air cooled hoods and a 740CFM inline fan for the lights? (Only one fan, I'll duct the lights together).
However I'm thinking about ordering the 1000W HPS for the flowering (air cooled) and a cheap 400W MH for vegging (I'll only be vegging 3 plants and cloning 3 for the first few months, then when I get some cash I can invest in some more lighting/cooling, but that'll be until after 1 or 2 harvests)
Once your setup, run a test for a few days...that gives you the time to work with whatever you need to do to dial in the right temps...Your going to have to bring in fresh air and exhaust the hot air no matter what. I was checking out a chiller setup at a local shop and it was really nice. The air coming out was around 75 I believe. 400watts-800watts units I think he said. The one they had setup was cooling a 400mh and 600hps nicely (verses airconditioning 1200-2500watts) There was some heat still radiating off the glass, but that was a managable amount of heat. I am going to get the chiller setup by the time I am ready to flower. $320-$350.00 intial cost, but cheaper then airconditioning units for sure...
Thanks for the help, I'm ordering my lights right now. I'm getting the 1000WHPS and 1000W MH with 6" air cooling and an 8" Valueline 745CFM fan (with reducer, so that should increase air pressure in the ducting) as well as insulated ducting (to further minimize heat) and I'll be using that as my primary ventilation (should I have the fan blow or suck?) and I'll be experimenting as you said. Plus, winter is coming (and while I live in a region that doesn't get too cold) temperatures WILL drop significantly within the next few months. It's already gone down about 3 degrees in the last two weeks alone).
Nice setup man...There is many reads on here and people who know much more about indoor setups then me. I do however know you need to duct that heat outdoors and be pulling fresh cool air into your room...It's just running your test setup and allowing the lights to run on the schedule you intend on running and then dialing it in with temps, humidity. What is your plans for odor control?
With a room that size you would only need about an 80cfm fan to evac the room every 5minutes 6x9x7=387 / 5 = 75.6cfm , why waste the wattage if you don't have too. While the room would probably stay cool in cold climates, bet the available co2 would be pretty minimal with no fresh air intake.
Thanks for the responses everyone, I will be letting as much fresh air in as the plants could possibly want. And I'll also be using supplemental CO2 (Yeast method). As for the lights, I'm not going with 600 because of two reasons: a. They're almost the same price, and b. I want to make this into a commercial grow after the first harvest or two, so why buy 600 now, only to buy 1000 5 months from now? As for the fan, yeah I could use a smaller one, but the smallest one that I can find is 160CFM and is $60, while the 740CFM one is $100, so I figure, better bang for the buck, plus that way I can add a fan speed control and keep it super quiet.
scratch that, I'll be getting a 435 CFM fan instead ($65! plus I don't have to buy the duct reducer, b/c my lights will use 6" fittings). Is 435 enough to evacuate a 6x9x7 and a 5x6x7 room together? including both 1000 watters? I'm looking to maintain temps at or under 82 degrees if possible.