I am putting together a grow cabinet in my garage using a cabinet Ive found thats similar to the image below. The problem with the garage is that it gets really hot here, but the space is a perfect space for this cabinet and its the only space that Im going to be able to put this project together in. I have an idea and want to see what anyone thinks about this idea. The cabinet will be against a wall that is the other side of the wall in my close - which gets super cool. I was thinking I would open a vent in the closet low to the ground that I will connect to the cabinet so that my 2 passive intakes are drawing air from the cool air in the closet, then vent the cabinet air into the attic. I will also ensure air/light tightness on the cabinet to make sure theres no garage air seeping in. Anyone have any suggestions for this, or think that this will not work? Any tips would be appreciated. Edit: Forgot to add, Ill have 150w HPS for flowering, and about 5-27w CFLs for mothers and vegging.
Your room will always be the temperature of the air your ventilating into it. If you have cool air going into your 135-150W cabinet, and your exhausting the hot air, you'll be fine
If you get the closet "air-tight" and the vent pulling out and filtering the smell is more powerfull than the other vent letting air inn, than its easier to get enough airflow to make your plants happy. Maybe a tubecooler for the hps if your growing a stretcher... What strain are you growing?
First round of good genetics is gonna be growing G13 Labs White Widow, Paradise Seeds Wappa and Dutch Passion Twilight... Ive figured at least I can get a few good grows in during the winter... and just kinda see where I am once the heat starts up in about May... Right now, my plan is just to grow during the fall, winter, and early spring - hopefully yielding enough for the year. Instead of building a cab or buying this cab, I went for a Homebox XS grow tent (it was economical and easy to use), which is about 32" x 32" x 73"... Ive got a moded Lasko Blower pulling the air out of a 400w HPS in a cooltube...
Really? So if I draw 70F air into a room then that room definitely, absolutely, "always" will be 70F? Even if there's a blazing heat source in that room? No matter what volume of 70F air I'm venting? It's just not that simple. To the OP, you have a good idea, but there is no way any of us can know if it will work well enough, only you can know the answer by trying it. FYI, I grow in a cab in a garage that also gets really hot and I simply don't grow a few months a year (then again I'm not trying to draw air in from the house). You may want to insulate that box -- no matter what the temp of the air going into it, the walls are being heated up and transferring heat to the inside. The stronger your fan the more heat you will move out. Also think about an air-cooled hood for the box.
THanks for the input, toasty... I have drastically modified my approach... the 150w worked great for me when I lived in a condo when i could harvest a couple OZ every few months year round, but with the current setup, that just wont work... Ive changed my approach to be a little more aggressive and going with a 400w cooltube in a Homebox XS (perfect size for my space) and a modded Lasko blower (from Lowes rated 480 CFM with 3 settings.. so guessing the lowest that im using is about 240 CFM more/less)... Hopefully, I can get my yearly needs (with some good yielding genetics) in the cooler parts of the year from mid-fall to mid-spring... /cheers