Who's idea were the big screened vents in Grow tents??

[GrnMtnGrowR]

I really can't understand why these rectangular vents were built into every grow tent I have seen, it doesn't make any sense to me. They are nothing but potential light leaks and even if you cover them with the velcro stuck covers there is still potential for light to leak because I covered mine as well as I could and could still see light through the velcro. Yes, slight negative pressure is good and I know if you are exhausting your air in your tent with a big fan then you need good air intake, but I have always found that you can either put 6" flexible duct in some of the skirted holes, as many as needed, or you can add a fan that blows in just a little less CFM than the fan pulling the air out.
Working hard to keep from having lights leaks is a big pain, so why create light leaks by adding those stupid rectangular vents? It's a totally foolish idea in my opinion, but maybe someone has an idea why those vents are in all tents.
P.S.
Even Gorilla brand duct tape does not like to stick to the surface of most of these tents, not does aluminum HVAC tape. Yes, I was taping my vents shut light tight!

 

[oldskol4evr]

I really can't understand why these rectangular vents were built into every grow tent I have seen, it doesn't make any sense to me. They are nothing but potential light leaks and even if you cover them with the velcro stuck covers there is still potential for light to leak because I covered mine as well as I could and could still see light through the velcro. Yes, slight negative pressure is good and I know if you are exhausting your air in your tent with a big fan then you need good air intake, but I have always found that you can either put 6" flexible duct in some of the skirted holes, as many as needed, or you can add a fan that blows in just a little less CFM than the fan pulling the air out.
Working hard to keep from having lights leaks is a big pain, so why create light leaks by adding those stupid rectangular vents? It's a totally foolish idea in my opinion, but maybe someone has an idea why those vents are in all tents.
P.S.
Even Gorilla brand duct tape does not like to stick to the surface of most of these tents, not does aluminum HVAC tape. Yes, I was taping my vents shut light tight!

tape around the inside of tent were the seams are,those windows are for vegging plants mate,to bring in air while vegging,heat dont bother them much at all and light wont hurt them,flower time difrent story,i tape mine on the inside after done i sit in there till my eyes adjust and any pin holes i slap some tape on it,welcome to tent life mate a whole difrent ball game with them,you should try flowering with forced air,ya a bitch but can be done,i have but one place for my tent,there is no ac or heat there all wind with exhaust and intake air and negative pressure,i grow in cooler months now,i did the summer thing last year and that shit worked me to death hahahh

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

I pretty much just use the tents for flowering, if your vegging you don't really need a tent do you? I have other cabinets made for veg under T5 lighting.

 

[oldskol4evr]

I pretty much just use the tents for flowering, if your vegging you don't really need a tent do you? I have other cabinets made for veg under T5 lighting.

dont need a tent at all is right,but not all can just leave a plant in the open ,your state might be legal but until ole uncle sam take it off the hit list your still very much ilegal,martial law dont give a squat about your state rules if you dig,right were you see the thread on the inside of tent put duct tape around it ,it works,or they do sell the extra wide velcro you can put on all your zipper flaps,had a buddy that got some that was about 4in wide from wal mart and he with neddle and thread sewed it on the outside of his tent over every zipper and done

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

I can't understand how this didn't draw more conversation. I want to hear if people have found these vents to be helpful without creating light leaks because I sure haven't. The duct tape idea of sealing them up is exactly what I did, but it wasn't easy to get even Gorilla duct tape to stick to the inside mylar in my Vivosun tent and on the outside ....forget it, no tape I can find will stick to that black fabric, must be coated with something.
I would like to know who gave the Chinese the idea to put all those rectangular vents in the bottom of the tents to start with. More double socked holes 4", 6" and perhaps 8" depending on tent size, are all anyone would need and removes the chances of light leaking in and get required ventilation.
Who is using those meshed vents in the bottom of their tents? How do you use them and not have light come in during the dark hours? My tents are in a basement with the windows covered over, but if I need to go down there then I have to turn on basement lights.
Maybe I worry too much about light leaks, but even with no light leaks I still have occasional hermaphrodites usually from the feminized seeds, which is another subject for another thread.
My goal....to get these tent manufacturers to eliminate the inspection windows and meshed vents in grow tents!

 

[az2000]

Who is using those meshed vents in the bottom of their tents? How do you use them and not have light come in during the dark hours?

Maybe I worry too much about light leaks,

You might be worrying too much. When cannabis grows outdoors they receive moonlight, starlight, the occasional car driving by with its headlights on. If someone grows a plant in their backyard, it's likely to receive some light from street lights.

I cut a piece of cardboard (about 1.5'x4') and painted one surface flat black. I prop that against the base of my 4x4 tent to shade the side vent.

For your basement light, you can replace it with an inexpensive green CFL or LED light. Apparently, cannabis doesn't "see" these lights. I use one in a clamp-on reflector to tend to the plants during lights out. I try not to do that. I don't trust that the plants see absolutely none of the light. But, I do it occasionally. Never noticed a problem. (For your concern about the basement light, this should work well.).

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

You might be worrying too much. When cannabis grows outdoors they receive moonlight, starlight, the occasional car driving by with its headlights on. If someone grows a plant in their backyard, it's likely to receive some light from street lights.

I cut a piece of cardboard (about 1.5'x4') and painted one surface flat black. I prop that against the base of my 4x4 tent to shade the side vent.

For your basement light, you can replace it with an inexpensive green CFL or LED light. Apparently, cannabis doesn't "see" these lights. I use one in a clamp-on reflector to tend to the plants during lights out. I try not to do that. I don't trust that the plants see absolutely none of the light. But, I do it occasionally. Never noticed a problem. (For your concern about the basement light, this should work well.).

So do you use the vents? That's what I am trying to find out...does anyone find any need for them? Do you remove velcro cover over inspection window every time you want to look in on them or do you just unzip the door?

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

I have a guy who has a factory in China. Maybe I can get him to start building some grow tents the way I think they should be built. Nearly all grow tents are made in China and the stupid part is, they can't grow weed and really don't know anything about growing weed, this guy has told me this over and over again.

 

[az2000]

So do you use the vents? That's what I am trying to find out...does anyone find any need for them? Do you remove velcro cover over inspection window every time you want to look in on them or do you just unzip the door?

I don't do anything to not use the vents. My side vents (around the base of the tent) don't have velcro. They only have a free-hanging flap on the inside which block direct light from entering. That's why I lean the black cardboard on the outside, to help reduce the directness/intensity any light hitting the vent.

I think the question is whether being perfectly dark matters. I don't think it does. Or, it's a diminishing return.

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

I don't do anything to not use the vents. My side vents (around the base of the tent) don't have velcro. They only have a free-hanging flap on the inside which block direct light from entering. That's why I lean the black cardboard on the outside, to help reduce the directness/intensity any light hitting the vent.

I think the question is whether being perfectly dark matters. I don't think it does. Or, it's a diminishing return.

OK, so you are saying you don't use them for your venting, right? And the inspection window in the door? Does anyone use those windows? I'm trying to design a better tent!

 

[Animal Chin]

My tent's main use these days is for drying but when I do use it to grow I'm kinda backwards about it and use it for cloning and vegging plants while the rest of the room space is for flowering. So in those regards I'm looking to keep light in the tent and prevent it from leaking out.
I dont use those vents and keep the flaps down. My tent is a Grow Lab brand and has velcro on the flaps. No light leaks from them on my tent. I cut the screen on the backside so I could run electric to an outlet behind the tent and with the flap down and no light comes from it.
I do like the flaps and windows on the doors though. When my clone machine is in there, it's pretty much a set it and forget it deal where I just need to see that things are not dead so it's ez to just peek in there thru those windows rather than unzip the front doors for a quick look.

 

[az2000]

OK, so you are saying you don't use them for your venting, right? And the inspection window in the door? Does anyone use those windows? I'm trying to design a better tent!

My side vents (bottom perimeter) are not sealed. (So, I'm using them.). I only lean black cardboard against them (outside the tent) at a 45-degree angle to create a darkened tunnel for the air to be pulled into the tent (while shielding those vents from direct roomlight, reducing the intensity of any roomlight hitting those vents).

I don't have an inspection window in the door.

IMO, the only thing that could be improved (re the bottom perimeter vents) would be if they had an outside flap to create a light baffle. A flap that wouldn't draw tight as air is pulled in. But, not as open as nothing at all. (There is a flap on the inside. But, I think something on the outside would reduce the intensity of the light that can enter though those vents.).

I don't think it's a big problem either way. How do these things grow under moonlight, star light, city light, etc?

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

Good stuff.
Thinking now that people use these tents in different ways makes me lean towards having tents with more options, like the vent's having baffles that velcro on the outside and designed in such a way that air can move freely but since light can't bend and only reflects, designed to keep light out.

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

I don't think it's a big problem either way. How do these things grow under moonlight, star light, city light, etc?

I have wondered this before, but if you were to post a question on any forum, " Why am I getting hermies" the first answer will always be, " You must have light leaks during your dark period". I wonder if anyone has really tested how much light leaking causes a plant to get stressed into becoming a hermaphrodite..??
But by the logic that light leaks don't matter, then who needs tents?...?? As far back as I can remember and the first growing book I ever read, light leaks were said to be the culprit of hermaphrodite plants. In the late 90's I was a member of Devil's Harvest forum and most all of the top growers would say the same, that hermies were caused by light leaks or the plant was stressed in some other way. I wonder if there is any real research done on the subject..?

 

[az2000]

I have wondered this before, but if you were to post a question on any forum, " Why am I getting hermies" the first answer will always be, " You must have light leaks during your dark period". I wonder if anyone has really tested how much light leaking causes a plant to get stressed into becoming a hermaphrodite..??
But by the logic that light leaks don't matter, then who needs tents?...??

Not to discount the importance of darkness, but tents are good for odor control (containing it, extracting it from the enclosure through a carbon filter). Reflecting light back at the plant is another attribute of a tent.

I don't know how important absolute/perfect darkness is (compared to a low amount of light, like starlight/moonlight/ambient city light from street lights, signs). I try to reduce direct light getting into the tent. But, I'm not maniacal about it. I assume there's a point of diminishing return.

I think hermies come from any stress (heat, overfeeding, harvesting later than earlier). Light could be a factor. But, I bet it's more than a persistent level of light, and more about sharp changes in light. Like, I've forgotten to close my tent door, and the plants received more than just a "leak" for 4-6 hours in late flower.

I don't know much about it. I think there's a difference between light being more direct, versus coming though a baffle and being softer. If the flap on my door's zipper is propped up (not covering the zipper, I think light coming through that can be more intense. Even though it's not much light, it's more directly coming from a source to the leaves. More like a beam. If the flap covers the zipper, light still enters (i.e., you can orient yourself within the tent. You can see where the zipper is). But, it's softer, less direct light.

That's what I try to accomplish with the flat-black cardboard leaning against the outside bottom of the tent. I can still identify where the vents are (standing inside the tent). But, it's a gentler glow. Without the cardboard, it can be more like direct light.

Maybe it is worthwhile to create perfect darkness. I've never tried it.

 

[jumpincactus]

I can't understand how this didn't draw more conversation. I want to hear if people have found these vents to be helpful without creating light leaks because I sure haven't. The duct tape idea of sealing them up is exactly what I did, but it wasn't easy to get even Gorilla duct tape to stick to the inside mylar in my Vivosun tent and on the outside ....forget it, no tape I can find will stick to that black fabric, must be coated with something.
I would like to know who gave the Chinese the idea to put all those rectangular vents in the bottom of the tents to start with. More double socked holes 4", 6" and perhaps 8" depending on tent size, are all anyone would need and removes the chances of light leaking in and get required ventilation.
Who is using those meshed vents in the bottom of their tents? How do you use them and not have light come in during the dark hours? My tents are in a basement with the windows covered over, but if I need to go down there then I have to turn on basement lights.
Maybe I worry too much about light leaks, but even with no light leaks I still have occasional hermaphrodites usually from the feminized seeds, which is another subject for another thread.
My goal....to get these tent manufacturers to eliminate the inspection windows and meshed vents in grow tents!

I would suggest rather than vent here (no pun) start the convo with the tent mfgrs. It is what it is and until you or someone can change their design we all have to make do.
you stated your concerned with having to turn on lights to go in the basement. I get that and and easy fix would be to buy a green spectrum light and use that. Rather than your cellar lighting.

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

I would suggest rather than vent here (no pun) start the convo with the tent mfgrs.

I don't think I was venting, sorry that I sounded like that to you, just researching an idea.... I was just asking a question or questions. What the hell is this forum for if not questions?

 

[Mr.Juice]

Ha I thought the same thing about vents and wondered why no one ever uses them.

My thought is that, I would suggest the vents are there for different applications. People who grow other plants. Just a wild guess

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

My thought is that, I would suggest the vents are there for different applications. People who grow other plants. Just a wild guess

You are right! I wasn't realizing at first that people are using these tents for different applications, but I guess that makes sense. I'm sure there are a few ways to improve these tents universally so they can be used in more ways and to meet everyone's needs. I will probably let this thread die out now though, I got a bit of a negative reply by a Premium Member.

 

[Kingjoshh]

I have used those meshes to help keep the airflow nice when I feel there isn’t enough but I definitely think tents have too many useless holes