CannabisJohn said:

100% correct.

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are mr slims reliable enough that you can get them off craigslist or best to get them new?

CannabisJohn said:

If open hood then 2 lights per ton so a 5 ton will do 12 lights 99% of the time assuming room is properly insulated. Need 7.5 to 8 tons for 16 lights. You can look for a unit with an economizer for outside air. Wouldn't recommend it if you want a sealed room. Mini splits only come in 3 ton max for a single zone unit. The multizone 4 ton units are way too pricey.

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if im up in the nw and setting up a basement would i want to properly insulate the room? or would it be a good idea to throw up walls and ceilings with no insulation so the heat can dissipate faster ( im going to go open hood) ? I would still seal off the room so i can use co2 just trying to decide i was just reading a thread
https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/sealed-room-insulation.66002/#post-1325436
where it seemed like alot of insulation but then i was curious in a situation like the nw where it is really only hot (90s) for two months it seems like you would be trapping more heat in the room ?

cc503 said:

are mr slims reliable enough that you can get them off craigslist or best to get them new?

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Get them new unless you are getting them from a HVAC tech. Make sure they were pumped down correctly.

cc503 said:

if im up in the nw and setting up a basement would i want to properly insulate the room? or would it be a good idea to throw up walls and ceilings with no insulation so the heat can dissipate faster ( im going to go open hood) ? I would still seal off the room so i can use co2 just trying to decide i was just reading a thread
https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/sealed-room-insulation.66002/#post-1325436
where it seemed like alot of insulation but then i was curious in a situation like the nw where it is really only hot (90s) for two months it seems like you would be trapping more heat in the room ?

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You can do what you like on insulation but I don't believe you would be served best by not insulating. No rooms that I have worked on weren't insulated.

Hi CJohn. I have a few questions and I really hope you can help me.
I'm reorganizing and I've got my eyes on one of these for an 18KW room:

This room is pretty packed with plants and I have issues during the dark hours with humidity. Right now, I'm venting during the dark hours but I'm not so happy with that because in a few months, it's getting too cold outside.

I looked into adding dehumidifiers but buying 205 pint Quests is quite an investment. :/

Now I heard that it's possible to let an a/c air-handler also operate as a dehumidifier if I add a heating element. Is this true? Or do I need a different type of air handler for that?

It doesn't sounds very energy efficient but apart from that, would it work if the ac is cooling (and therefore dehumidifying) and re-heating it afterwards? I need the heater anyways.

And if that does work, what would then (more or less) the capacity be in pints for this 10 ton unit?

I also saw something that in order to let an air-handler dehumidify, it needs to have a variable fan speed. Is this true? Or just more efficient?

I'm asking because if adding a 30KW heating element can avoid me from buying dehumidifiers, that will save me a ton of money.

MarcoTC said:

Hi CJohn. I have a few questions and I really hope you can help me.
I'm reorganizing and I've got my eyes on one of these for an 18KW room:

This room is pretty packed with plants and I have issues during the dark hours with humidity. Right now, I'm venting during the dark hours but I'm not so happy with that because in a few months, it's getting too cold outside.

I looked into adding dehumidifiers but buying 205 pint Quests is quite an investment. :/

Now I heard that it's possible to let an a/c air-handler also operate as a dehumidifier if I add a heating element. Is this true? Or do I need a different type of air handler for that?

It doesn't sounds very energy efficient but apart from that, would it work if the ac is cooling (and therefore dehumidifying) and re-heating it afterwards? I need the heater anyways.

And if that does work, what would then (more or less) the capacity be in pints for this 10 ton unit?

I also saw something that in order to let an air-handler dehumidify, it needs to have a variable fan speed. Is this true? Or just more efficient?

I'm asking because if adding a 30KW heating element can avoid me from buying dehumidifiers, that will save me a ton of money.

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That's the theory. That air handler isn't variable speed. The air handler must be able to dehumidify. By that I mean it must have proper controls and wiring to run proper equipment ( air handler, condenser, and reheat). This is very complicated stuff. The only way to do that out of the box is gonna be a computer room unit from some place like Liebert. They can dehumidify,cool,heat, and humidify from one unit. They are also very expensive. I think you'll find dehumidifers are cheaper.

Hello cannabis John,
first off let me say thank you for taking the time to read and reply to everyones posts/questions. alot of work involved in all that. Anyways this is kind of a long explaination of my problem but i hope you can help or point me in the right direction.

I have a Payne 5 ton split unit from around 2011. Everything was working fine until the other day when I plugged something into the same circuit unknowingly(its a rental). I would have never done this if i had known it was the same circuit as the air handler. Later on i noticed that the handler and condenser were off and it was super hot in the room.

After some trouble shooting i discovered that i had probably overloaded the circuit that the air handler was on. the breaker hadnt tripped but i reset it anyways. still nothing. Breaker was really old so i just replaced it too but to no avail.

after more troubleshooting, i find the outlet on the same circuit as the handler wasnt deleivering a full 120v... somthing more like 80v.. being in a pinch i decided to just wire a whole new circuit to the air handler, easy because my sub panel is only ten feet away. After wiring and double checking everything, i went to flip the breaker. low and behold the unit fired right up, BUT, it was makiing a very loud humming noise from around the control board. fast foward 20 seconds and POP! sparks and burnt electroincs smell.
flipped the breaker off and dove right back in. took off that panel covering the blower and control board and found that my transformer had blown. it was obvious that it was the transforemr because there was black char around the cover on it and the burning smell was comming from there for sure. after removing the transformer for closer inspection i found that it was the 120v side that had fried. Does this mean anything, such as the short is on the 120v side as opposed to a short on the 24v side?

So Today i ordered a new transformer from the interwebs because it was impossible to find one locally that wasnt at least 3x the cost of online. After ordering the transformer I went to have a look at ALL the wiring including the condenser and the thermostat. as far as i can tell everythign looks good and matches the wiring schematics in the manual for the handler and there was no visible damage to any wires. Im afraid that when i put the new transformer in, it will just blow again.

Thanks for reading
Madmangos

did you check the new wire to make sure its just 120v ? i had a transformer go on mine not long ago,we lost power and i ran it off a generator for almost 2 days no problem.then when i got my power back and flipped everything back to normal,that transformer and a cheap powerstrip on a totally dif circuit both cooked.my hvac guy just replaced it and its been fine.im sure @CannabisJohn will be by shortly.peace

Sounds like a possible short On your high voltage side is air handler 120v or 220v the 80v sounds like you lost a leg to maybe a short would look for a short before putting in new transformer

thank you both for reading and replying so quick

SixString, I did not check the new wire to see if it was 120v. dont see how it could be anything else. 20amp single pole breaker to 12/2 directly to air handler. also at the same time i wired another 20amp single pole breaker to a new wall outlet, and that works flawlessly. I will check that now tho just to make sure.

Blazer, I was thinking the same thing about the first circuit, unfortunately that circuit goes to a different panel thats pretty far away/in another room. which is why i wired the new one from the closer panel. I'll take closer look with a digital multimeter and see if i can find a short somewhere on the high voltage side.


Thank you both again
i'll report back with my findings

madmangos

Yeah would definitely double check volts to air handler improper voltage to the transformer can fry it also

It appears your may be right, forgot to mention an important detail. this is a 3 phase 300 amp sub panel. upon further research it appears i may have put the circuit on the high leg, causing it to run at 208v. havent' checked yet but am going to do so now.

thanks you guys :)

Damn Wild leg!

Well you guys were right! Just tested the circuit I wired to the air handler and it was at a staggering 277v. Totally my fault! I can't thank you guys enough I wouldn't have been able to solve this mystery with out you both.

Transformer is coming in Monday. Going to move that breaker off the high leg in the meantime
I'll update yall

madmangos said:

Well you guys were right! Just tested the circuit I wired to the air handler and it was at a staggering 277v. Totally my fault! I can't thank you guys enough I wouldn't have been able to solve this mystery with out you both.

Transformer is coming in Monday. Going to move that breaker off the high leg in the meantime
I'll update yall

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Glad you got some help. I've been busy as hell. Trying to get shit done before I go on vacation in a week. Always check circuit voltage before u put a load on it. I'm sure u learned that. Make sure u wire the transformer up correct. It may have multiple input high voltages that is can use depending on wiring.

Yup @madmangos @CannabisJohn brought up something important to check make sure your transformer gets wired to correct voltage(some come with multi taps(multi leads) for different line voltages ie-120v,230v the low voltage side should just only be 24v good luck!

replaced the transformer and rewired the circuit Monday.
She's purring like a kitten again :)
Thanks blazer and six string
And thanks cj for making this thread possible! I really hope you enjoy your vacation

Now I just need to build a few light traps out of 12 in duct and throw em into flower

madmangos said:

replaced the transformer and rewired the circuit Monday.
She's purring like a kitten again :)
Thanks blazer and six string
And thanks cj for making this thread possible! I really hope you enjoy your vacation

Now I just need to build a few light traps out of 12 in duct and throw em into flower

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Sweet man, do up a journal for us :)
peace

madmangos said:

replaced the transformer and rewired the circuit Monday.
She's purring like a kitten again :)
Thanks blazer and six string
And thanks cj for making this thread possible! I really hope you enjoy your vacation

Now I just need to build a few light traps out of 12 in duct and throw em into flower

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You're welcome. Get those girls in flower.

Hi guys, I'm in need of some cooling expertise for my next project. Going to build a sealed room setup. 12,000w air cooled, ballasts outside the room, CO2 with tanks to start with, roughly 400 sq ft. This is going down in the mountains where temps during winter range from 10s (rarely but it happens) to 50s, 60s. What are my options here? Installing condensing unit outside not a problem, but wondering if there is a more efficient route...

RG