First UC grow!

[GeneticFreak]

Hello farmer! I just thought i would give a run down of my new system and some test numbers. I havent started plaants yet because im still dialing in the room. Anyways heres what im working with.
Room dimensions 10W x20L x 10H sealed
18 site evo xl 13 using only 12 to 15 site.
1/4 ecoplus chiller. (I have more chillers if needed)
6 Blockbuster 8" non vented hoods.
2 60 pint dehumidifiers
Titan atlas CO2 controller w/ propane burner.
5 55gallon drums for water changes and res.
300gpd RO
Ocilating fans
2 vortex 8" on filters w/mufflers
2 2ton mini splits
AN sensi with additives

Temp test
Ac's were set at 70 and my temps with lights on got to 84f at the surface of the bucket.
Lights off the room got down to 66f. This is a big swing and im wondering how or if it would be better to run verticle instead. I also have more lights i can add in.

Please poke holes in the system if you can. I will throw up some pics as soon as i have a chance. My experience has been with ebb tables and some soil. So im a lil nervous about the uc. Thanks in advance!

 

[GanjaAL]

my guess is that the hoods are holding in the heat and not letting it dissipate.

 

[GeneticFreak]

Thanks GanjaAl, i was thinking that may be the case. So are you thinking i should vent or go vert? I have never ran an unvented system and definately never ran vertical lighting.

 

[smokie]

Just 1 of many options
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0uRrMvfucY

 

[GanjaAL]

Sealed venting I think would do the trick as you can get some use out of your hoods. I will be using adjust-a-wings for mine as they help with heat issues... so with that... I would think vertical lighting should work. Best to get ahold of UC crew and see what would be the best layout for the amount of lights you have. Hope this helps brother and best of luck to you.

Iceboxes are another option... but I opted out due to condensation problems and not wanting to use hoods in my grow. Mind you... this was based on what I had seen from other peoples grows and what I have read.

 

[smokie]

I use sealed venting with 4 Raptors and it still does have radiant heat so make sure to use Insulated ducting. I learned the hard way. I am also thinking of using those heat shields to place on top of my hoods. Every little bit helps.

 

[UCMENOW]

Instead of AN Sensi, go with a proven nute in the UC...

Dutch Master, Canna, Ionic or the new line from CC when its available.

AN is an awesome nute, just doesn't translate that well in water culture.

 

[GeneticFreak]

Sealed venting I think would do the trick as you can get some use out of your hoods. I will be using adjust-a-wings for mine as they help with heat issues... so with that... I would think vertical lighting should work. Best to get ahold of UC crew and see what would be the best layout for the amount of lights you have. Hope this helps brother and best of luck to you.

Iceboxes are another option... but I opted out due to condensation problems and not wanting to use hoods in my grow. Mind you... this was based on what I had seen from other peoples grows and what I have read.

I have ran sealed venting on all of my gardens until now. Thanks for the input.

 

[GeneticFreak]

I use sealed venting with 4 Raptors and it still does have radiant heat so make sure to use Insulated ducting. I learned the hard way. I am also thinking of using those heat shields to place on top of my hoods. Every little bit helps.

I agree 100%

 

[GeneticFreak]

Instead of AN Sensi, go with a proven nute in the UC...

Dutch Master, Canna, Ionic or the new line from CC when its available.

AN is an awesome nute, just doesn't translate that well in water culture.

The situation with AN is that they are left over for my ebb n flood grow and i have alot. But if you guys say not to use them then i will look into the other brands. i would like to be able to at least use my big bud and bud candy if posible. Whats ur take on those products?

 

[GeneticFreak]

76 with added more ocillating fans. Ac's set at 70F. Just threw my co2 monitor in the room and the waterheater puts me at about 1020 ppm's!

 

[hogan400]

hey GeneticFreak,

I ended up doing almost the same as you did. evo15xl13 with two 2ton minis and 10k, room sealed. What a.c.'s did you use? "klimaire" for me and they are barely doing the job. I have been debating on changing out 4 reflectors and sealing them and venting them as well...my room is 12wx18lx 10h with a 70pt dehuey. Good luck to you!

 

[GeneticFreak]

hey GeneticFreak,

I ended up doing almost the same as you did. evo15xl13 with two 2ton minis and 10k, room sealed. What a.c.'s did you use? "klimaire" for me and they are barely doing the job. I have been debating on changing out 4 reflectors and sealing them and venting them as well...my room is 12wx18lx 10h with a 70pt dehuey. Good luck to you!

Very similar rooms with the exception of 4k watts more light. Im using Aura mini splits. From the looks of my lighting footprint i think 6k covers 15 sites pretty good. If it doesnt work well then ill take off 3 buckets and have 6k over 12 sites.

 

[ALLegal420]

1 Watt = 3.4btu (6000w x 3.4 = 20,400btu of heat)
1 ton of a/c is 12,000btu (4ton x 12,000 = 48,000btu of cooling)

There are other factors involved so worst case scenario in mind (100+ degree summer days) I prefer to call each 1000W / 5000btu worth of heat. Even then your still only at 30,000 btu worth of heat with 48,000btu worth of cooling, you should have zero issues. How well is the room insulated? How hot is it outside where the a/c condensers are located? Those hoods not being vented is killing you... How many fans in the room (oscillating, on the wall, ground... Blowing at the lights? Hopefully some pics!? :hi lol

We're running 4-site DIY UC with 5-1000w vertical with a 20" fan under each light pointing up and 2 fans on the walls . The A/C units that are in the room are less efficient wall/window shaker style... 1-15,000 btu unit and a 5000 or 6000btu little guy we got for free. Currently with 4,000W burning I can get the room down to 70-72 degrees if I wanted to. We have the room sitting around 76-78 degree's lights on (little guy on max and 15k isnt working to hard) and 67 at night with a space heater that's set at 68, we'll see what happens when we turn the 5th light on, think I might be able to swing it. I have a thread in DIY with pics... Its just getting your light and plant layout right to maximize the vertical lighting and trying to surround each plant as much as possible...

-ALLegal420

 

[ttystikk]

several issues;

1. first and foremost, do you have a carbon monoxide detector in there, to tell you if the CO2 from your water heater is also trying to kill you? If not, get a digital one so you can see levels, and MAKE SURE.

2. Sealed and vented hoods are definitely the most straightforward route to take. Put your fan downstream of the hoods, they'll run a LOT cooler that way. If you need insulated ducting there is a problem.

3. I run a chiller-cooled sealed room setup, using a 2 ton chillking 'window' style unit. It is extremely efficient, and I use it to chill the RDWC systems (mine are DIY, but run like UC) plus cool the room air. If you go with something like this, do not put an Icebox inline with the hood venting, that's just a total waste of power. Instead, use a maxfan to push room air through an Icebox, and hang both from the ceiling, at an angle so any condensation will drip out.

4. Adjust-a-wings are cool running, and very light efficient for open style hoods. If you go with them, be sure to have adequate cooling. They should run cooler than the units you mentioned.

 

[hogan400]

ttystikk is on point with the monoxide detector!! When I go into my room its sealed and just breathing in it noticeably raises the co2 levels. Just imagine the rapid increase in co2 levels when that pops on.

 

[GeneticFreak]

Wow thanks guys I didn't even realize that was a risk. Is Monoxide the hot air that's expelled out of tthe top of the heater? Should I tape the joints on tthe ducting for that part of the heater. I'll pick up a mono monitor tomorrow. Scarey!
On another note im in the process of testing the uc. It leaks a bit so im dealing with that. I was real surprise to see that the return line connections were only heald in with what looks like super glue and not pvc glue. Should be able to get things going this week. I'll throw up some picks soon. Thanks for all the help guys

 

[ttystikk]

Carbon monoxide safety

Carbon MONoxide (CO) is a byproduct of incomplete combution of hydrocarbons- carbon DIoxide (CO2) is a product of complete hydrocarbon combustion. The difference is that CO2 is an organic molecule and your body knows how to deal with it- in fact, you exhale it constantly. Unless it goes over 4000ppm it's not toxic. Plants won't be able to use more than 1000ppms, 1200 at the most under ideal conditions.

Carbon monoxide is extremely toxic even in low concentrations, as little as a 100ppm can lead to serious health problems, and levels not far above that are considered deadly. It kills by replacing oxygen molecules in your blood's hemoglobin, at a rate 35x faster than O2 does, so it doesn't take much of it to really screw with you. You get headaches, get tired, sleepy... and then the fire dept finds your grow with you dead in the middle of it. No fun at all.

The reason I harp on this is because I see too many growers, newbie and otherwise, using gas dryers, water heaters and even furnaces to generate CO2 for their rooms. These appliances are not designed for this purpose, and if the gas jets in them are designed wrong, or dirty, or even if the natural gas in your area has impurities in it, any of these can lead to having soot and carbon monoxide issues. This goes for running dedicated CO2 burners from a natural gas source, too- you have to be sure your burners are kept clean and properly adjusted. If your flame is blue, you're cool- if runs yellow, you got problems, fellow!

The exhaust from your gas space heater/water heater/gas dryer is where all these gasses come from; CO, CO2, soot, etc. I'm not trying to scare anyone, so much as educate people to the potential risks.

Best way to protect yourself is to get and keep a digital carbon monoxide detector around where you're going to be. Read the insructions thoroughly. They're like $40 at home depot and they're battery powered, very small and easy to move around. Cheap insurance, for sure.

 

[GeneticFreak]

Got the meter set up and no alarms so far. The biggest problem Im having is leaky uniseals. The seals at the bottom of the epicenter where the drain and air defuser intake are.
I cant help but to think this is underdesigned. Just seems like theres another way to install the tubes and keep em from leaking?

 

[smokie]

If it is the uniseal for the T for the air intake to the 9 in air diffuser, then lift the epicenter up slightly on the T side of the module and put like a paint stick or something about the thickness of a quarter under the bucket closet to the Tee for the air intake. If it is that, it should relive the pressure on that uniseal and stop the leak.

Not sure if that is your problem but it worked for me. Hope it helps.