theres a fight: fan/filter vs humidifier

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lvstealth

lvstealth

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is there any magic solution in tuning the environment in a tent? the fan/filter helps the temp stay right, but it destroys the humidity. with it off i can dial in the humidity, but the temp goes up and up.

anyone have any tricks or magic that will help?

would running A/C into the tent help anything or just be one more thing to adjust all day.

right now, if i leave the tent unzipped (it is in a room that is closed off and 10x10), run the fan/filter for 15 min every 2 hours (with the humidifier and little fans going) it does ok, but i would like to actually zip the tent up at some point, lol.

there is an A/C vent and i can run dryer hose from that to the tent, but im not sure to what benefit. if i do that, would it be best to run it to the top of the tent, or the bottom. i am concerned it would chill the bag pots at the bottom, and i have no idea if it would do anything at the top.
 
LexLuthor

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Could you use the 10x10 room for flower and the tent for veg?? I find it is easier to control environment like that.
 
lvstealth

lvstealth

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the only obstacle in that is there is a window (i think i can get a blackout curtain good enough, but not really familiar. then the door, i know there is some easy way to seal light out, im just not sure how.

i will look into that too. id need a light too... or some lights! lol.
 
LexLuthor

LexLuthor

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the only obstacle in that is there is a window (i think i can get a blackout curtain good enough, but not really familiar. then the door, i know there is some easy way to seal light out, im just not sure how.

i will look into that too. id need a light too... or some lights! lol.


A styrofoam board or plywood over the window. The bottom of the door can be sealed with a weather strip thingy. And you can upgrade your lights lil by lil after every harvest or 2. You would be able to harvest every 8-9 weeks (depending on strain). But you would also need to get the light cycles in sync so you would never be able to go in the room during the dark cycle, but you should be able to accomplish everything within the 12 hours of light for the room and tent. Good luck brother.
 
thcoso

thcoso

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is there any magic solution in tuning the environment in a tent? the fan/filter helps the temp stay right, but it destroys the humidity. with it off i can dial in the humidity, but the temp goes up and up.

anyone have any tricks or magic that will help?

would running A/C into the tent help anything or just be one more thing to adjust all day.

right now, if i leave the tent unzipped (it is in a room that is closed off and 10x10), run the fan/filter for 15 min every 2 hours (with the humidifier and little fans going) it does ok, but i would like to actually zip the tent up at some point, lol.

there is an A/C vent and i can run dryer hose from that to the tent, but im not sure to what benefit. if i do that, would it be best to run it to the top of the tent, or the bottom. i am concerned it would chill the bag pots at the bottom, and i have no idea if it would do anything at the top.


WOW! I've had the same problem in my 5x5 in my basement. Here is how I mostly solved it. I'm running a T6 unit. My problems is, if the humidity is in range then the temp is too low and when the temp is correct, the humidity tends to be too high. I havent totally solved the problem, but this helped a lot. I'm in a part of the country where winter gets really cold and is still cold now (3/31/21) and my basement is not finished and maybe 80% sealed off from the outside, so outside temps and humidity is a factor. My 5x5 is completely insulated on its sides, top and bottom with 8x4 ft x 1/2 inch foam sheets.

1st--since I'm in the basement, there my A/C / heatpump duct is right above. I connected a 4inch to the main 12 inch duct running to my upstairs. See pics.

2--I realized that the humid air I was pumping out with the T6 was getting back in the tent because I it was not air tight. So, I used duct tape to make sure all seals, openings and zippers I did not use were all as air tight as possible. To make sure, I added a simple, one-way valve on the 4 inch duct coming in my tent. That way, when I'm in the tent with it zipped up, I can see the air opening up the valve AND it prevents air from getting from the tent into the A/C system going to the house. These ladies are almost 3 weeks into flower, that would be quite a smell to explain to the in-laws--lol. Plus this becomes the source of almost all the fresh air given to the plants.

An extra benefit I didnt realize at the time but is obvious now: due to almost all the air being supplied to the plants comes from the part of the house where we live and BREATH OUT CO2. By connecting a 4 inch duct and sealing off the tent, I mostly solved the humidity/temp ratio issue (not totally--but it's much better now and not worth stressing on), and I provided a rich, non-stop source of CO2.


Here is where I pulled the 12 inch main duct back from where it connected to the upstairs. As you can see, the tent is less than 3 feet away. The tent is framed in with 1/2 inch sheet-foam insulation on all sides--even the botttom. And NO that old-skool electrical wire is not in use anymore.
The 2nd pic shows it from the other side. The silver sheet on the right is the sheet of 1/2 foam insulation.
TempImageWHh3Di
TempImageZyb2rJ
TempImagerHrh92
 
lvstealth

lvstealth

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i will have to think on that to see how to apply it to my situation, but i see what you did there. sort of like mine, i could run from the vent to the tent and have air and heat as needed. and if i use the sensor like @JJS009 said, then use some type of flapper thing to control flow... it may work.

right now i have to monitor it and flip on the fan/filter randomly through the day. not like i have other things to do... lol.
 
thcoso

thcoso

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i will have to think on that to see how to apply it to my situation, but i see what you did there. sort of like mine, i could run from the vent to the tent and have air and heat as needed. and if i use the sensor like @JJS009 said, then use some type of flapper thing to control flow... it may work.

right now i have to monitor it and flip on the fan/filter randomly through the day. not like i have other things to do... lol.
Yep, my T6 unit has a sensor and turns itself on and off. It's a great unit. You may want to check it out. T6 Cloudline Temp and Humidity Control System. It's great for the $$.
 
thcoso

thcoso

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i will have to think on that to see how to apply it to my situation, but i see what you did there. sort of like mine, i could run from the vent to the tent and have air and heat as needed. and if i use the sensor like @JJS009 said, then use some type of flapper thing to control flow... it may work.

right now i have to monitor it and flip on the fan/filter randomly through the day. not like i have other things to do... lol.

1 last thing I just figured out this past Sunday is: you can use a rag to stuff in the return that is in my upstairs floor. That allows the tent to either get air from upstairs and from the A/C unit combined or if the rag is installed, all air comes from the A/C pump. It's warm here right now (mid 70's/low 80's during the day) so I have the rag in the vent--allowing the A/C unit to supply more of the air. This seems to help with keeping the tent under 80 degrees while lights are on; however, it's supposed to turn cold again outside (below 32 at night). So I will open up the vent by removing the rag. This will allow the T6 to pull warmer air from the upstairs anytime it needs it and I'll run the heat a little warmer upstairs to help out in the tent.
 
lvstealth

lvstealth

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ok, i am on the right trail! i set out researching the controller. but found that the thermometer/humidifiers i have are smart but on there own app. the smart plugs are on their own app too. one app doesnt talk to the other, naturally. so after lots of googling and testing and alcohol taken internally... i found that smartthings and google home both can talk to each of the other thing. (alexa would have done it too, i think), i got carried away on smart things then went to google for a better interface and more smart routines. so i set things up with the conditional controls and finally have the tent closed with a temp of 75.7 and rh of 55 (im in week 1 of auto flower and am told the humidity should be 50 to 60 - please correct me if that is wrong - while i still remember how i did it all!). i feel like i can adjust the humidity without upsetting the temp now.

also, i did run a dryer vent hose from my ac to make the adjustments work right! it has stayed within +- 3 degrees for 4 hours!! i pretty much have to keep my home at 72, but that is acceptable.

thanks @JJS009 and @thcoso both of you helped win my fight!!! and i get to do it with google home!

@lex0415 ive thought about your suggestion, and i know i need more light and a couple things, but i might can do that, i will have to research what light and all. i was able to block the window as you suggested, and that works. im thinking if i put the veg part in the room, and the flower part in the tent where i can control light better, this might work and i would have both for the future grows! and that sounds wonderful! i can do photos, autos, veg and flower!!!

thanks to everyone!!! i now have two live video streams on the tent using "Alfred," (it lets you make any old smart phone a video recorder stores it in the cloud) and can control everything from my desktop or my phone. i added more smart plugs for everything in case the "automatic" parts dont work i can turn off fans and humidifier and all. i am getting a smart dimmer and some other smart things (im not using alexa stuff, just cheap stuff, but i can connect it all with google home and smartthings, each have interesting smart functions. finally! something worked great!!!
 
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thcoso

thcoso

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ok, i am on the right trail! i set out researching the controller. but found that the thermometer/humidifiers i have are smart but on there own app. the smart plugs are on their own app too. one app doesnt talk to the other, naturally. so after lots of googling and testing and alcohol taken internally... i found that smartthings and google home both can talk to each of the other thing. (alexa would have done it too, i think), i got carried away on smart things then went to google for a better interface and more smart routines. so i set things up with the conditional controls and finally have the tent closed with a temp of 75.7 and rh of 55 (im in week 1 of auto flower and am told the humidity should be 50 to 60 - please correct me if that is wrong - while i still remember how i did it all!). i feel like i can adjust the humidity without upsetting the temp now.

also, i did run a dryer vent hose from my ac to make the adjustments work right! it has stayed within +- 3 degrees for 4 hours!! i pretty much have to keep my home at 72, but that is acceptable.

thanks @JJS009 and @thcoso both of you helped win my fight!!! and i get to do it with google home!

@lex0415 ive thought about your suggestion, and i know i need more light and a couple things, but i might can do that, i will have to research what light and all. i was able to block the window as you suggested, and that works. im thinking if i put the veg part in the room, and the flower part in the tent where i can control light better, this might work and i would have both for the future grows! and that sounds wonderful! i can do photos, autos, veg and flower!!!

thanks to everyone!!! i now have two live video streams on the tent using "Alfred," (it lets you make any old smart phone a video recorder stores it in the cloud) and can control everything from my desktop or my phone. i added more smart plugs for everything in case the "automatic" parts dont work i can turn off fans and humidifier and all. i am getting a smart dimmer and some other smart things (im not using alexa stuff, just cheap stuff, but i can connect it all with google home and smartthings, each have interesting smart functions. finally! something worked great!!!

I'm glad I could help. I almost killed (cooked) one of my 8 ladies testing different ways to heat the tent. I spent about 3 weeks stressing on, and trying to control, the temp/humidity and the answer was less than 2-3 feet outside the tent. It sucks I had to cut off half a plant in the process, but we live we learn.
cheers,
 
Edinburgh

Edinburgh

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Fan! A humidifier in tent can cause mold, did a winter run with rh of 20% left a small pot of water in tent to evaporate.
 
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lvstealth

lvstealth

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i have used some ifttt and some smart plugs and a smart therm/hydro. i ran some a/c and heat from home into the tent. i have worked out about what height to put the a/c, some smart sensors to open and close them and have a cheap auto climate control now... well... as long as i keep the house at 72f, lol. so, funny thing, now i have boards across the floor vents in differing amounts to make the room exactly 72f, as long as nobody moves my boards! but i am working out a solution
 
thcoso

thcoso

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Fan! A humidifier in tent can cause mold, did a winter run with rh of 20% left a small pot of water in tent to evaporate.

If you need humidity, an electrical one is NOT what you want, or really need. Humidity is caused by evaporation from either heat OR airflow over water---especially when the water is spread out.

Step one: use a pie-style pan (low and wide)
Step 2: add water to pan
Step 3: use anything to make a simple frame over the water (2D is all you need) it needs to be 8-12 inches above the water (PVC) is my go to for any type of low-weight baring stuff.
Step: 4 get a towel long enough to have about 1/5 of the towel in the water
Step: 5 connect towel to top of frame (the towel will act just like a wick of a candle, pulling the water upwards due to water being a polar molecule-same reason water has surface tension. Once the water has saturated the towel from bottom to top, we have to use a force strong enough to break apart that surface tension.
Step 6: force water droplets into the air by breaking its polar bond. The amount of heat needed to do this w/o wind helping would probable cause one of two problems: too much heat--may stress the plants, at the least cause you to water more frequently--but if your tent is not well insulated and in a cold month, it may be just warm enough energy to get to the 70's, keeping them from cold stress but there is irony--when water's surface tension is broken; option 2; or you place one of the small 8-10 inch fans blowing directly at the cloth. The fan should be on high. That causes evaporation, but when water's polar bond is broken--it cools the water--it's why it always feels cold when leaving the pool, even in mid summer. The kinetic energy of the blowing air breaks apart the polar bond. At the Issac Newton predicted this exact email, toI would have to one day compose this email conversation using a
 
thcoso

thcoso

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If you need humidity, an electrical one is NOT what you want, or really need. Humidity is caused by evaporation from either heat OR airflow over water---especially when the water is spread out.
the first half of this post is serious (steps to fix RH up); the second half is fact based stuff like- chemistry, black magic, (why does magic have to be racial? So, white/hispanic/brown, green and purple-people eater magic has to be the reason Issac Newton created calculus, and how he used calculus to help a God write a book to save lizards and two-tone multi-beasts curtsy of: Gorilla Glue--it sticks to the brain.

Step 1: use a pie-style pan (low and wide)
Step 2: add water to pan
Step 3: use anything to make a simple frame over the water (2D is all you need) it needs to be 8-12 inches above the water (PVC) is my go to for any type of low-weight baring stuff.
Step: 4 get a towel long enough to have about 1/5 of the towel in the water
Step: 5 connect towel to top of frame (the towel will act just like a wick of a candle, pulling the water upwards due to water being a polar molecule-same reason water has surface tension. Once the water has saturated the towel from bottom to top, we have to use a force strong enough to break apart that surface tension.
Step 6: force water droplets into the air by breaking its polar bond. The amount of heat needed to do this w/o wind helping would probable cause one of two problems: too much heat--may stress the plants, at the least cause you to water more frequently--but if your tent is not well insulated and in a cold month, it may be just warm enough energy to get to the 70's, keeping them from cold stress but there is irony--when water's surface tension is broken; option 2; or you place one of the small 8-10 inch fans blowing directly at the cloth. The fan should be on high. That causes evaporation, but when water's polar bond is broken--it cools the water--it's why it always feels cold when leaving the pool, even in mid summer. The kinetic energy of the fan th air breaks apart the polar bond. At the Issac Newton predicted this exact email, and that we would have this exact issue--hundreds of years ago. And he did it while inventing calculus, which he used like the Help and Friendly Book--a way to gain all of the knowledge inherit in the universe--it's a magical book that helps you avoid doing things that smart people dont-and that makes you not dumb. "For every action there will be equal but opposite reaction. As the water droplets are freed by the fan blowing, the surrounding air continues to break apart the polar bond, which cools the molecule, which in turn cools the surrounding air. While playing inside a box of rain, the air within your (box) or tent, just needs a small, tent-size rain.
 
lvstealth

lvstealth

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LoL, no... I don't need humidity, but thanks. I need control of it and temp.
 
thcoso

thcoso

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LoL, no... I don't need humidity, but thanks. I need control of it and temp.

It just turned frozen here, so cold that my tent was getting down to under 55. After some trial and error, I discovered that if I placed a hair dryer upstairs in the floor vent where I spliced the tent's air, if the air dryer runs 7 minutes out of every 40-45 minutes, the then stays between 65-75. So, I have it on a timer, pointed in the vent set to high heat / med speed. And since it is upstairs, not really a fire hazard. And the dry hear knocks the rh down too. Heat up / RH down. try it!!!!
 
thcoso

thcoso

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If you need humidity, an electrical one is NOT what you want, or really need. Humidity is caused by evaporation from either heat OR airflow over water---especially when the water is spread out.
the first half of this post is serious (steps to fix RH up); the second half is fact based stuff like- chemistry, black magic, (why does magic have to be racial? So, white/hispanic/brown, green and purple-people eater magic has to be the reason Issac Newton created calculus, and how he used calculus to help a God write a book to save lizards and two-tone multi-beasts curtsy of: Gorilla Glue--it sticks to the brain.

Step 1: use a pie-style pan (low and wide)
Step 2: add water to pan
Step 3: use anything to make a simple frame over the water (2D is all you need) it needs to be 8-12 inches above the water (PVC) is my go to for any type of low-weight baring stuff.
Step: 4 get a towel long enough to have about 1/5 of the towel in the water
Step: 5 connect towel to top of frame (the towel will act just like a wick of a candle, pulling the water upwards due to water being a polar molecule-same reason water has surface tension. Once the water has saturated the towel from bottom to top, we have to use a force strong enough to break apart that surface tension.
Step 6: force water droplets into the air by breaking its polar bond. The amount of heat needed to do this w/o wind helping would probable cause one of two problems: too much heat--may stress the plants, at the least cause you to water more frequently--but if your tent is not well insulated and in a cold month, it may be just warm enough energy to get to the 70's, keeping them from cold stress but there is irony--when water's surface tension is broken; option 2; or you place one of the small 8-10 inch fans blowing directly at the cloth. The fan should be on high. That causes evaporation, but when water's polar bond is broken--it cools the water--it's why it always feels cold when leaving the pool, even in mid summer. The kinetic energy of the fan th air breaks apart the polar bond. At the Issac Newton predicted this exact email, and that we would have this exact issue--hundreds of years ago. And he did it while inventing calculus, which he used like the Help and Friendly Book--a way to gain all of the knowledge inherit in the universe--it's a magical book that helps you avoid doing things that smart people dont-and that makes you not dumb. "For every action there will be equal but opposite reaction. As the water droplets are freed by the fan blowing, the surrounding air continues to break apart the polar bond, which cools the molecule, which in turn cools the surrounding air. While playing inside a box of rain, the air within your (box) or tent, just needs a small, tent-size rain.
My dad has multiple degrees in chemistry and mathematics. I've accidentally or maybe vicariously gained a fair understanding of chemistry because of that. He spent his life running labs for major OTC and Pharm. But not the bad opiate Pharma.
 
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