In a completely sealed, aircooled lights, how many hoods do you think are capable of being ran with a 3 ton a/c unit. Obviously this is a rough estimate, but if I only have access to a 3 ton, do you think it may be sufficient??
What is your "rule of thumb" when it comes to chilling the units..Any tips?
Unfortunately the correct answer to this question relies on some unknown limiting factors... first one is, what size bulb do you want to use?... The second is the temperature of the air moving across the bulbs... Third would be the size of the ducting/cooling flange on the hoods. Also the total length of ducting with the total amounts of 90's/bends. This is necessary to determine the amount of static pressure in the line and properly size the fan or fans cooling the lights... Fourth is whether the A/C unit you plan on using is dedicated to that room alone or has other duties as well. For example, an A/C that is used to cool your dwelling (home) as well as your grow room... Fifth would be, what is the maximum outside air temperature during the hottest time of year in the region that you want to grow in?.. sixth, how many square feet is your room?.. Last would be whether or not you are using a Co2 burner and how many lights you plan on daisy chaining together.
With all that being said, If you had a properly sized fan moving 65 degree air or less across 1k watt bulbs with a dedicated A/C and a maximum outside air temp of 80 degrees you should be able to cool a moderately sized room with 12-14 1k watt lights while using a Co2 burner with a 3 ton A/C assuming it is rated at 36,000 Btu or better.
In regards to chilling the
Under Current systems, again it all relates to limiting factors... What is the maximum room temperature? How much water needs to be chilled? Does the system sit on concrete? (Concrete absorbs heat very well). What brand of chiller will you be using? (Not all chillers are created equal). Etc, etc,etc...
Simple questions.... Not so simple answers...:icon_dizzy:
Haha i was kiddin with ya.
I just wanted to switch, gh is a good nutrient, and i had plenty of good results with it. But with the UC it doesnt really seem to do well. The good thing about it was i ran the system completely sterile. Then i had bad gene that hermied and was very slow in veg phase. So i got some new stuff in and figure i should try something else. I was thinking of canna, but nah i went with
house and garden. I had like half of the stuff on my shelf already.
BTW, can you tell me more about the
great white? what do you mean by crown feeding it?
My raskal super skunk is waiting on my drain table until i see some roots coming out of that 4x2.5rw cube and its time to play.
I didnt mean pointing the finger in a bad way :) my b
HaHa! All good...
To crown feed is to apply nutrients/beneficial bacteria directly to the root crown located just below the base of the stalk of the plant. I do this using an electric sprayer.
bd
Oh man... Every time I see that custom cooling coil I get chills down my spine... Very clean Ben. Looking forward to some wall to wall bud shots... :cool
HaHa!
pun Intended i'm guessing...:smiley_joint:
Hey Ben
Thanks for the continued updates and details. Your setup for Mother plants looking sharp. Did you have those buckets made specifically because of their larger capacity?
I'm curious about controlling the flow to each cool-coil. Do you have temperature controlled valves at the cooling manifold that adjust the flow in each line to thermostat each line individually?
Also, in the veg. setup return line design that you mention a few posts above, what was the motivation for that modification? To keep things less busy in the epicenter?
awesome work man, a huge inspiration
Max
Thanks!
In regards to the buckets I had made, the answer to your question is yes. That and I wanted something with a uniform foot print and a low profile.
As for the
Cool Coils they are thermostatically controlled by the chiller which has a thermostat. I am able to control the temperature of each individual
Cool Coil by slightly closing the shutoff valves leading to each
Cool Coil and restricting the flow of water through the
Cool Coil.
The motivation behind designing my veg. system was purely from size restrictions of my room and the amount of plants I needed.
Hey ben, where did you get custom made modules, do you have a link you can share?.
beautiful grow.
Thanks!
These are not an off the shelf Item. When I used the word custom I meant it in every sense of the word. They are made from polypropylene and are not cheap.
ben,
spectacular!
i notice that you seem to be keeping your water at 66 degrees. i was wondering (after seeing your other thread) if you've tried running the water colder, and if so, what was the difference?
also, can you tell us more about using the coil in the reservoir. i understand its advantage when running several systems off of one chiller . . . but if you were setting up only one system would you consider using it over running the nutes through the chiller?
Papa
Thanks man!
66 degrees is low as I go with my water temps so far...Any cooler and it is possible for the plants growth rate to slow.
As for the question of using a
Cool Coil if you only have one system... My answer would be yes. It is more efficient to use a
Cool Coil rather than run your nutrient solution through a chiller. Not to mention that the salts in your nutrient solution will cause the chiller to prematurely ware out unless it is thoroughly cleaned between each harvest. Another benefit to using a
Cool Coil is that you can/should run propylene glycol (food grade antifreeze) through the chiller and coil which cools down faster and stays cooler longer then water. Also the propylene glycol will keep your chiller and pump lubricated and in turn help them last longer.
bd
Probably US Plastics or TankDepot.....bet that was at least $100.00 per bin with the lid, pricey.
No and No...:giggle But they were pricey... more then $100 per bin...not economical for most but, these bins will last a lifetime...
