Edit: Not worried about too much heat. Worried about not enough. I am trying to figure out how soon I can start my seeds. I'm planning to grow 2 autoflower plants in my basement, and will be growing in a 4'x3'x3' styrofoam cooler. Currently the basement temp is 60F. That temp should be pretty constant for this time of year. Planned lighting is 8 total 26w CFLs (4 per plant). The inside of the cooler will be ligned with mylar. I have a 4 inch 100 CFM vent fan, and am thinking 2x4 inch passive intake ports. Other than that, the cooler will be pretty much sealed. Any guess on what the CFLs will do to the temp inside the cooler? I do plan on running a no plant test to check the temp, but am just trying to get a rough idea on when I can start. The max temp in the basement, even at high Summer temps is probably about 72F. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.
You are not going to roast them with some CFL's If you are worried about heat why use a container at all? Autos will stay warm with the lights on all the time.
Not worried about too much heat. Worried about not enough for decent production. ETA: You make a good point. I should really edit my original post. Thanks.
Ok well start the seeds tonight, they will be fine. you may as well get started so you can get everything dialed in and just where you like it. You are concerned if you have enough light? More than fine to get started. That's easy enough to upgrade as things progress. Grow space is always a work in progress at start up so just be prepared to tweak things. I grow in a basement and it was cold but adding more light helped my raise the temperatures. LOL you can get a tan now.
Haha. I believe I am fine for "light" to get started. Just wondering if I will have enough "heat" from the lights without a supplemental heat source. Air temp right now in the basement = 60F. Others can chime in, but I thought a grow temp 75-ish would be best. I know too much heat is very bad also.
Get your set up going now for a dry run for a day. Even without seeds planted you can add some milk jugs full of water and run your lights and check the temperatures and see how bright the lights are.
Yep a little simulation will give you a solid set of data to take your next step. Any thoughts on the autoflowering strains? feminized?
Vision Northern Lights Auto Fem, and Vision Super Skunk Auto Fem. I chose them because they are advertised as being easy to grow, and this is my first grow. Already looking at different strains for my next grow. Checked the temp in the room this morning. It got down to 54F last night.
A dry run will tell the story, but I'm guessing a 100 CFM fan venting such a small space (~36 CF) will remove all the heat before it has a chance to build. Not sure I could get away with a ~35 CFM muffing fan. Any thoughts on a black plastic bucket with an aquarium heater inside? I know this is the opposite problem most people have. I am actually trying to add heat. Curious if replacing the CFLs with a 150 or 250w HPS would be the way to go.
Haha. I may have been over thinking this. Amazon has a small/narrow oil space heater for < $50. Would fit in my space well, and would work better than any MacGyver solution I could come up with. If my dry run shows that I need supplemental heat, I will probably go with this. Thanks for letting me ramble.
My cooler idea got scrapped. I got the cooler out of storage and it's not as big as I remember. It's still huge for a cooler, but not for a grow space. Going to go with a tent setup which will also let me add a plant. Since my first post, outside temps have fluctuated from single digits to 40F. The room where the tent will be located has been between 53-55F. Still going to do a dry run after I get the tent, but not going to order a tent until I get my seeds (hopefully any day now). No sense in getting a tent if I have nothing to grow in it.
So if you are getting a tent are you getting a real light? I can tell you it seems like a basement is a light sucking cave. I run 2 1,000w and could use 2 more.
Haha. Still going with CFLs at the moment. Only going to grow 2-3 plants. 2,000w for 2-3 plants? Serious question because I am a noob. I will be growing autos this first round.
If you are buying a tent you can get a real light. If I had $300 to spend to grow I would spend $250 on the light. When I mentiond 2k watts I was just saying that its not that much light. you might want a 400w hps for a tent.
WDIK - you could hook your fan up to a thermostat so it only kicks on once the space has hit 75* or whatever you want it to sit at. You might have to get creative with it.
Thanks. I have looked into outlets that will do what you are talking about. As mentioned above, I am going with a tent. It should arrive this week so I can do some testing next week. Got my seeds today also. Happy day!