how much does this suck?

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by Thatguythatgrows, Sep 23, 2011.

  1. #1 Thatguythatgrows, Sep 23, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2011
    please have a look at my exhaust setup and let me know if it sucks or blows. just recently swapped out the black fan in the bottom cause it was too warm in there. used to be similar, just smaller. as i was doing this i couldn't help but get this overwhelming feeling that i am trying to grow super dank dankitydank with crappy equipment. being a single father i just can't afford much at all so my entire exhaust, top and bottom, was only about $25. i will be building a carbon filter very soon, but should i just tear out this entire system and start over? i was thinking about doing the same thing in reverse, to help create that negative pressure i keep hearing about. give me some input please. i have a feeling i may end up tearing the entire mess out very soon.
     

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  2. that plant looks mega stretched.... is it just the one light in there?

    and that fan could work... but its not light trapped... so you will end up with a hermie.... so put some ducting on the exhaust side and bend it in a S shape to keep the light from getting in or out

    what kinda temps man? and you need 100 actual watts of lighting in there, not replacement value
     

  3. Looks like it will work for a small grow man. Those little black honeywell fans move decent air. I would use it as a second exhaust fan though, and just have a small hole for a passive intake. Negative pressure is simple to get going, just have more air moving out than your inlets are capable of taking in. Make sure to seal off everything you can inside as well. I dont know what type of fan that is as your exhaust, but if it is anything like the bath vent fan I used at first, they really dont move crap for air, the honeywell may do better for you in that regard. You could use both as exhaust like I said, then build a box on the outside to cover both exhaust into one area, then run that into a 6" or so tube to connect a filter through and have the filter in a blow through setup rather than a draw through configuration like is typically used. It may not not be as efficient, but as long as you have the air moving across carbon before it goes back to the normal atmosphere, it will work fine.
     
  4. thanks for the input.. the bottom has a 400 watt hps and the top has 4 38 watt cfl... 38 or 36 or something. i can't remember. there is no light in the room at all during dark hours so i am not worried about that.. i do think i will have to invest in another black fan to put in the top. i do have one of those bathroom exhausts in the top, and it isn't moving really good... so what is the purpose of the negative pressure?
     
  5. #5 Doc-J, Sep 23, 2011
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2011
    The only real purpose of creating negative pressure is odor control. By having more air moving out than can easily be taken in, it causes any small gaps to become air intakes. Therefore all the air inside your cabinet, aka the stinky air, must go through your filter before venting back into your home, or outside. Without negative pressure, all of your air will not necessarily get filtered because it can seep back out any small gaps that you may have missed.

    Example, mine is a closet grow. When I open the door to my closet, the smell creeps back into the room my closet is in. As long as the door is closed, I have a negative pressure from the exhaust fan and any gaps around my closet door flow air into the closet, rather than back out into the room. This causes all the air in the closet to be pulled through my carbon filter before being vented into the attic and none of the smelly air goes back into the house.

    To some extent, the same could be said for heat as well I suppose, without negative pressure hot air could be pulled back into the room your getting your colder intake air from. However, I dont think that would be as noticeable unless you have huge gaps in your box. If you get a smelly strain even a little leak can be noticed outside the grow box. Mine, even in veg could be smelled throughout the entire house, and within about a 10ft radius outside before I hooked up the fan and filter.

    Make sure everything is sealed well too, I had a small gap where my ducting connected to my carbon filter, causing some air not to get filtered. I soon found out it was pulling that unfiltered air into my attic, and back into the main part of the house causing my place to smell like a Tommy Chong fan convention.
     
  6. makes perfect sense... thanks for that clarification... i am going to take it all apart tomorrow i think... i just don't feel it's working good enough. thanks for all the help.
     
  7. it is stretched because it is root bound pretty bad... it is almost a 4 year old strain that has lost almost all potency. i kinda gave up on it, but my w.w. and sour cream are coming up and i need to get this closet a little better.. thanks for the help.

    check out thatguythatgrows below to see the closet a little better
     

  8. No problem man, good luck with it.
     

  9. what do you mean by saying it's 4 years old and has lost almost all potency?? as far as I know it is a real issue but it takes a few thousands clones (and I mean clones of the clones of the clones etc) to even get a hint of loss in quality....
     
  10. thats exactly what i did... clone from a clone from a clone and so on and so on. for a time i didn't even have a mother. i would just take 2 clones from each plant before i induced flowering... i am at least 30 generations away from the one original bag seed.
     
  11. I was just wondering because I heard many controversial views on that topic.... from the guys who say it's a fairytale to people like you who (from experience) report that problem happening..... good to know it was from bag seed though.... in theory a strong, genetically sound, plant can take thousands of clones before starting to deteriorate..... those stories scared me anyway so i decided to keep mothers ... Nice one...
     
  12. yea.. the plant started out great... an ounce per plant of super skunky skunk... now its down to an eight per plant and smells like cucumbers. still gets plenty high, but the yield and the "wow" is gone.
     
  13. If you are not tooo worried about oder control I think what you have will work. yes you could stream line it a bit but it will work as is in a pinch. Exp if you have something going already.

    quick question on your light, can you move the 400W up and down?
     
  14. well, with winter time coming up, and the air going into my attic, i don't have to worry about it much. the air in the attic is guaranteed to be hotter than the air outside. once it escapes the attic, it will rise on outta here. plan to get a good carbon filter and probably new exhaust after i get through christmas... hoping to get a new 600 watt hps too...
     

  15. yeah can't wait til winter too. that way I can grow alot without worry of smell and no heat issues.
     

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