Ok guys, I need some help big time. I've got a 4x2x5 grow tent in my master bedroom closet. It basically takes up half the closet lengthwise only leaving an inch or two on each side for passive air intake. I do live in a condo that I own and only neighbor is below. There is no attic above me, just the roof so I can't really run my exhaust that watch. Right now im using around 250 actual watts of cfl's since its my first grow. In the next couple months I want o get an hps light. But I must get my heat/ ventilation issue solved first. Now my temps are getting up to 85. I have a 4 inch fan(200 cfm) and carbon filter that is blowing exhaust air back into closet an an oscilating fan blowing into the closet. Closet door open and id prefer to keep it closed. My idea is this....my closet is between my bathroom and bedroom. Can I vent my hot air into the bathroom with that door shut and pull air in from the bedroom that shares a wall with the closet? Ideally I want the closet door shut t decrease noise. I want my temps in the mid 70's. Another thing is im planning on upgrading my ducting to insulated ducting and to install a duct muffler. Would all this work and how? What else would I need to purchase? Any advice you guys can give is hugely appreciated. I can upload a picture in a couple hours when I get home. Thanks
What do you mean by no attic just the roof? Is your closet pitched like the roof? If you mean that you don't have pull down stairs, then I would say that isn't necessary. Cut a hole in the ceiling run ducting just into the attic area. If you are worried about smell, add a canister filter in the line.....but everything can be done without going into the attic. If you stop growing a 4" hole is easy to patch.
I def. don't have pull down stairs. I was worried about if i cut through my closet ceiling that I will run into the actual roof. So since my closet isn't pitched like the roof, the space above my closet is probably similar to the vaulted ceiling in the living room. Which would be about 18-24 inches. Would that be a big enough space to vent into? I would love to be able to vent into the space above my closet. Oh and I already have a carbon filter in my setup.
Sounds to me you can actually join the bathroom ventilation route from the closet. Any handy man who's done duct work should be able to help you with that. With that setup you can add a portable AC to your closet
I've got a couple friends who do hvac work but I'm not exactly trying to tell them about whats I'm doing. At this point only my fiance knows and I plan on keeping it that way. Do you think that if my attic area is 2-3 feet that its enough to vent my hot air up there? then I can just cut a 4 inch hole into a wall and bring in room temp air into the closet which will then get pulled into the tent. I think that would be the ideal situation, I just want to make sure its safe to vent into that small of an attic. Should I look around and see if that top area has any vents to the outside, b/c If i know its venting outside then I think it would be ok, right? Again, I appreciate all the help so far. This website has been critical in teaching me how to grow and once i get my ventilation setup correct I will be good, I'm already a week into flowering 3 ladies from bagseed.
but then what happens to the exhaust air that's positively pressured in the attic? The air has to dissipate somewhere I would think...
Yea that's what im thinking. If the attic has exterior vents would I be ok? If not then im back to my original question in my first post. Can I run exhaust into bathroom and pull cool air from my bedroom?
what i plan on doing is create a vent in the closet that joins the existing vent route in the bathroom and hook AC exhaust to it. And since the closet is small I can pick up a 9000 btu unit for cheap. Other than that, i am looking at led panels to further help w/ the temperature and keep the noise level at a minimum.
Im open to any suggestions as im too far into this to want to stop. At this point im feeling like exhausting to the attic is out unless it has outlet vents on the roof. I wouldn't mind joining my bathroom exhaust ductwork but I don't think I can w/o access to the attic crawl space. Please help.
Hmm...you could exhaust into your bathroom, but then the bath exhaust fan would have to be on a lot. If it were me, I would look around the outside of the house to make sure you have some sort of attic exhaust.....it would most likely be in the form of a whirligig on top of the roof or little passive vents under the roof's eave. I'm pretty sure you will find at least one of those. If you are worried about moisture from the plants, use hard ducting and insert it a good foot into the attic to help it dissipate and you shouldn't have any issues. But I still think you wouldn't have to get into the attic space to vent into it. Joining it to the bathroom's ventilation would be great, but that would require attic access. Then again, it may be worth it to create that access for yourself.....you don't necessarily have to put in pull down stairs. My grandparents home just had an hole framed out in a closet with a plywood trap door. My sister and I always had to use a ladder to get the Christmas stuff down for em when we were kids.
I'm guessing that if thats the passive vents that I'm good to run my exhaust into the attic, I know I don't need attic access to vent up there. This forum and its members are very helpful. I hope that it is ok to vent up there b/c thats ideally what I would like to do, it would be the most effective way to control temp. I know I still need to get an intake system going for my closet b/c I would like to be able to keep the door shut most of the time...not a necessity,but would be nice for when the in-laws come visit.
Passive vents just mean vents without a fan. I have seen them as holes w/pvc u-joints or black pantyhose to help block light.....my favorite was someone who raised his floor a few inches off the ground and cut small holes in the floor of the grow - his created enough air flow that he didn't need a fan in the room at all. Video showed all the leaves ruffling lightly in the area. I can't really tell by your drawing, but they vary widely. As long as the hole/holes let air in and don't cause a big light leak it will work. Passive intake isn't better or worse, just make the total area of your intake bigger and the edges of your holes as smooth as possible if you don't use a fan there. This will help with stealth.....reduces the high pitched sound of "wind" entering your chamber.
looked closer.....is that dimpled pattern a bunch of holes? Outside under the eave of the roof? If so, those are passive vents.
As far as the "in laws" go, I completely understand where you are coming from. Both sides of our family are ridiculous about the marijuana issue. My Dad being the most open-minded.....and he REFUSES to be anywhere near it, because it's illegal. His argument against the legalization of marijuana...."it's an illicit drug, so you don't ever know what you are getting." Makes me want to scream.....if anything that is an argument FOR the legalization and regulation of pot.
Yes that outside under the roof. So i have passive vents which makes it ok to vent my exhaust into the attic and that hot air will mix with the other hot air in the attic and go out through those passive vents.
That is the perfect argument for it. I'm excited now since I have my plan for fixing this heat issue. Now my ladies can start to really flourish. They've done the best they could under the not so perfect conditions but now I should be set for everything to really take off.
So if I can exhaust into the attic now I need to bring air into the closet. Is leaving the door open good enough for that? I do have central air. IMO I'd be surprised if thats enough but I'm new at this, especially ventilation. So I'm thinking I'll need to cut a hole in the closet wall that goes into the master bedroom. I know on the bedroom side I can put a ac vent there to make it look normal. My question is would that hole be enough or would I need a fan to pull that air into the closet. If so, what kind of fan, what size, and does it need to duct all the way to the tent? Or can the fan just pull the air into the room and the tent suck it in via passive intake? I'm sorry if all these questions seem stupid but ventilation is something that seems to be tricky for everyone. I appreciate the help big time.