I am going to have a 600w air cooled hood/reflector for a space of about the 4x4(MH and HPS), and am going to supplement with a CFL or LED under the canopy level of the plants. I need to exhaust the air in the room through my window through a carbon filter to scrub the smell, but im wondering how I am supposed to do this if the ducting is hooked up to the fan, to pull the heat out of that. If the heat is building up in the top of the room, how is the ducting supposed to pull that out as well? Maybe I have this confused, if someone could please clarify it would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
The cooled hood pulls the majority of the heat out. Im only familiar with a cool tube but it pulls air from the room through the tube then out through ducting which works well for me but i have no cfls and a 400w
I always do intake low exaust high you can go the scrubber up top i hang mine with straps to the right side of my hood
The whole thing is based off the idea that the light creates all the heat. Running air through the light with ducting and a fan, pulls the heat out of the light fixture itself, thereby cooling the whole room down. The scrubber needs to be installed, of course, at the outflow to catch the air coming off and clean it before it's dumped out the window. I'm not real sure what you're asking here. You'll need the ducting and in-line fan for it, but you'll also need fan(s) inside the tent creating good air movement. This also helps to disperse any heat in the tent as well as serving as exercise for your plants to help them become stronger. Hope this helps. Good luck. TWW
I think the worry isn't with the HID but rather his cfls. Atleast that's what i took from it. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
There is basically two different ways of doing it. 1. Using two smaller exhaust fans. One of them pulls air from outside of the tent, through the hood, and then back out the other side of the tent. Then the other fan sucks air through the carbon filter and then blows it out of the tent. 2. Using one larger fan. The fan sucks through the carbon filter, then blows through the hood, and then out of the tent. My preference is with the first set up because the second over works the filter, but it does replace the air in the tent faster, so both ways have their advantage In either set up, you have the filter on the ceiling, and vents open at the bottom to allow air to come in I have a 600w HPS and a 170w LED in a 3'x4' tent and its set up like this
Yes I gotcha, the light makes the heat. The hood has a hole on one side which is what im guessing the "air cooled" part of it means. I think I hook up the ducting to the side of the hood that had the hole in it to exhaust the heat right? because from there it will go str8 to the window and to a carbon filter. Im not using a tent, as from what I read its hit or miss with the brands, and I don't know what brands are reputable and fairly reasonably priced. But Im planning on using the 600w for a space of maybe 4x4 or 3.5x3.5. Will the way im imagining this work? by just hooking up the ducting to one side and pulling the air through one side of the hood, then having the carbon filter attached before the end at the window. Sorry if im confusing anybody, im trying to grasp these concepts. EDIT: How big of a inline fan would you recommend for the area I plan on using, I only plan on using about 4x4 of my room for maybe 6 plants. As I said I figure a 600w MH would be sufficient and I think 4" ducting would work fine, but do you think ill need 6"?
. I think I've answered most of those questions in my previous post so I'm getting the feeling that I wasn't clear enough. . I don't understand your proposed set up. It sounds like you want an in-line filter, but they don't make them like that. The filter is to be inside the tent and to be the very first part of the exhaust system. . My previous post explains the two set ups that are used. You should pick one of those. It doesn't matter if you're using a tent or not, the exhaust system is the same . All tents work, they are all fine. I've had a few different ones. The ones I use now were £50 each (about 70 US dollars) so pretty cheap, and they are flawless. Way easier than building a sealed enclosure yourself . 4" ducting is ok if you have the 2 fan set up like I said in my previous post, but you will need at least a 5" on the cooled hood itself. If you want to run a 1 fan set up then you want at the very least 6" . This is another picture of my set up, perhaps this is clearer. You can see the 5" fan sucking in from the right hand side, blowing through the hood, and back out the left hand side. . Then separately I have a 4" fan sucking through a carbon filter and blowing up through the ceiling .
-Ill go with the 6" because im only trying to use a single fan setup with the carbon filter -I understand how you have yours set up now, but since im seeing that you are scrubbing the air separately, How would you have it set up if you needed the fan as well as the carbon filter on the same hose that the hood is on, all while needing the fan to blow out the window. For right now, id like to have it in an open room, only taking up part of the room with plants and such. -I think what id have to do is have the fan right before the hood sucking air from the room, then the ducting through the hood, then the carbon filter at the end of ducting going out the window. Side note, I was going to buy a vortex fan, but I stumbled upon ipower and ventech and was wondering how you would rate them.
Vortex > ipower > ventech Prefer hydrofarm myself. Good price, quality fan. One of my ventechs began screaming after a few years, turn it on and it's loud as fuck but I can tell it only needs to be taken apart and oiled. Lucked out with my 4" ventech, still running smooth 5 years later but I wouldn't buy another one. You get what you pay for.
The ventechs I've had have had bearing problems. Had one warrantied and its replacements bearings were once again loud after a couple months. I would personally rate ventech very low. I wouldn't put much thought into an ipower either. Both are bottom of the line brands. Right above the no names. Neither compare to a vortex. Nice to save $$ but 9/10 times you'll end up saving in the long run by spending a couple bucks more upfront on a better product.
gotcha guys, Ill keep looking, as there are many many websites. -I think I have what ill need: 1 carbon filter, 6" fan, 6" ducting, and a 6" hood set up the way I stated in my last post. I think that set up will be ok, but im fearing there wont be enough power by the time the air flow gets to the carbon filter at the end of the window. -But, at the same time, my hood is going to be closed, with clear material allowing the light through. Im thinking thatll allow airflow to be stronger than if it was open, but will it reduce the are of light penetration as well as intensity? -What would you recommend?
In order to find out what size fan to use take length X width X height = cubic feet. Most people turn the air over in their grow space 3-5 times a minute. I like to do 5 times. So take the cubic feet X 5= minimum cfm for an inline fan. Now some including myself take it 1 step further by doubling the cfm and using a fan speed controller. This does 2 things. First, it gives you extra environmental control. As temps/humidity rise, turn the fan up. 2nd a larger fan ran at half speed is quiter then a smaller fan running full blast.
I don't understand why you want the filter at the end of your exhaust instead of at the beginning, is it some kind of diy contraption?
-I figured because I would have the blower in front of the fan, if the filter was in front of that, as it goes through the light hood it would re absorb some smell from the grow space, I'm probably wrong though. -So if the fan I was going to use was 440CFM, you would use a speed controller on the highest setting to double that correct? -Ive also read that using a speed controller can help to shorten the life of your fan, but this was on here so im not sure how reliable the information is.
If the fan is 440 cfm you can't double it unless you buy another one. The speed controller only goes up to 100%. Everything shortens the life of your fan. Your carbon filter is the biggest restriction but you still use one anyway because it's a necessary expense. Hydrofarm speed controllers match up with ventechs (I assume that's what you're going with by the cfms) but if you don't need one then don't bother. Some of us have to deal with changing temps and need that extra control. Blowing into a carbon filter will shorten it's life because the inner cylinder has less surface area than the outer one. It will get clogged faster. But like I said, if it's absolutely necessary for you to blow into your filter then what else can you do but eat the expense.
-I think im going to have to go with 2 duct systems, one for expelling heat and one for the carbon filter scrubbing. Since I am planning on doing this in a room, these are the measurements 12'x10'x9'(LxWxH) so I get 1080CFM. divide that by 5 and you get 216, so if I use a fan with around 400, I figure ill have enough power to use a carbon filter and also cool the fan on one ducting line. -If anything, I think a 6" fan for the hood would be good and a 4" for the carbon filter removal if I went with 2. Im just trying to figure out where to exhaust the heat if I did end up separating the carbon filter on a separate duct and fan. -Im not planning on getting ventech, just was using as a measurement, as I have found some vortex for a little bit cheaper and they come with a 10yr warranty. Im thinking this is why people decide to use grow tents, because of the CFM rate of an entire room. By the way guys, thanks for the help thus far, I really do need it. Ive been looking for a fan comparison site, ive found a bunch of different models such as active air. Active Air seems to have decent prices and decent CFM. Besided vortex, what would your second pick be.
Tents aren't necessary but they are convenient. Recommended cfm turnovers are for optimal lighting per sq ft, which you obviously aren't doing so don't worry about it. Another way to rough estimate is to say ~.75 cfm per watt of lighting. Naturally you can go lower than that if temps allow, and it depends entirely on how you set everything up. But this estimate will get the job done barring any extreme conditions. The problem with giving someone a precise equation on this subject is that every situation is different. If you're using a 600w and a cooltube, and your intake temps are around 70f, then a 6" inline will get the job done. It's about the amount of heat being generated, cubic feet alone don't generate heat unless you're lighting it properly. Example: I take the lens out of my 1kw hood, detach the ducting, and run it wide open with nothing cooling it but carbon filter in winter temps. My setup can go anywhere from 4-5f above ambient in summer to 20f or more depending on my needs and how I configure it. Another grower here is having trouble cooling a 400w light in the same exact temps I'm working with. It's not hard to do and I understand you want to get it right the first time, but it's not as complicated as you're making it. If you want to grow weed indoors without calling the hvac guy then ventilation is something you'll have to master. Shit man, I had to learn the hard way how to install a water heater because I couldn't call a repairman. If one 6" fan doesn't do it, buy a second one. If two is too much add a speed controller. Drop in the bucket compared to what you'll be harvesting.
I have never used those fans so can't comment on them. Systemair fans are the best I have tried and ill only use this brand from now on. I have already covered those questions man. The filter is to be at the start of the duct, not the end, that's how it's designed. Why do want it at the end? The grow area needs to be enclosed to create the flow of air that you want, otherwise you will need a bigger fan, because it will have to cope with the whole room instead of just the tent. With a large room, and small fan, the smell will be hard to contain. Filter => Fan => Light => Out