I need some assistance with my 4x8 flower box. (pics included)

[sneakyg]

I built a 4x8 box out of 2x2's and plywood / OSB.. I regret building it with OSB but its all i could afford. Most walls are plywood.

Anyways, i know this AC isn't installed the way it should be.. But it keeps my 4x8 box cool even though its a fucking sauna outside of the box.. What i want to know is how i can exhaust the hot air from my window AC unit outside.. Any suggestions?

I have an intake from the central ac unit that keeps fresh air in the room that the Unit can draw from. And i keep a tray under the AC to catch all the condensation.

I have quite a bit of work to do on my box, but i need to finish this round of flower first. at day 50 with 6 strains in their under a 1k and some mixed 150HPS/MH lights. Than i'll be pyro bombing the shit out of my house before i start from seed and implement bennie packets + met 52 to combat RA. as well as keeping the house super clean all the time.

I figure this would be a good project to start soon before summer hits and it gets super hot. Suggestions greatly appreciated, K+

sneaky

 

[Theoneandonly Z]

SneekZ, just pondering thoughts while drinking a local brew at an english pub... Why not build a box around ur ac, cut a 6" hole and duct the air out the window, u can even throw in a duct booster to help push the air. I dunno just thinknZ

 

[sneakyg]

i like your idea. i was thinking i could use a cardboard box and than run 6 " ducting to the 2nd whole that i have in the window.. what do you guys think? is a booster fan neccesary to go a few feet to that opening ?

 

[Theoneandonly Z]

me personally, i like to do things 100% the right way, with best efficiency. technically you probably could rig a card board box, but i dont think that would be the smartest thing to do on the back end of an ac unit. not only would the direct heat become a danger hazard, but i dont know how good cardboard would box would stay in place. My opinion is to consider all factors of possible danger first, no one wants a burnt down house. another thing that im kind of skeptical about is enclosing the back end of the unit, thats why i suggested the fan so that way you could have extra force pushing the heat out. i dunno if the unit will over heat with just a 6" hole as an exhaust. I think the absolute best way is by using the sheet metal box ducting, the size that would fit right over the unit and you can reduce it as you get closer to the window. The metal would not catch fire and you can screw it securely to your wall/grow box. you can also wrap insulation around it to decrease radiant heat.

I highly disagree with using cardboard for any type of appliance rigging. Ive grown many years and i have come to realize, you cant skimp out, spending the extra $ and time pays itself off quicker than you would expect. much luck w/ whatever methods you choose.Z

 

[Theoneandonly Z]

^^^ i was trying to read your post, but my eyes automatically keep drifting to your profile pic...

 

[sneakyg]

So sheetmetal it is... Do you guys know if they're is any other custom modification i will need to do besides exhaust the hot air from the back of my window unit? I don't think i'll be able to find an exact rectangular sheetmetal piece to fit on the backside so it looks like i'll have to order one through a custom sheet metal manufacturer.. I'm in a rental so I can't have sheetmetal go all the way to the opening. I need to make ducting removeable incase my landlord decides to pay a visit. In the summer he comes to pick up his fishing boats in the backyard so when he gives me notice he's coming, i usually remove the piece of wood in the window and put up a sheet behind the blinds.. Looks much less suspicious than 2 holes sitting in the window.

 

[vino]

dont think to much. make it easy. just attach a 10" fan on that window and let it go. it will vent the whole room. dont try and enclose the AC. dont start ordering custom shit. costs money. itll end up in the back shed with numerous other "custom" hydro setups. keep it simple. vent the whole room.

take a sheet of plywood. cut two holes - one for room exhaust. one for box exhaust.. cover one side with a black curtain. just looks like you keep your windows closed. its normal to keep windows closed. you cant see the holes because they are behind the black curtain. turn on the fans and your golden. i built the same thing in my rental years ago. by the end of the cycle...guess what..

there were no longer any sides on the box.

use the room as a grow. its already a prebuilt box. more space means air doesnt get as hot. and you just scrub the room and only need one exhaust. i ran 3 1ks in a 12x10x9 room with a 8" x can filter exhaust. not aircooled. dont complicate things.

 

[vino]

i know its fun to build them out though. just not so fun when you have to tear em down.

 

[Theoneandonly Z]

Vino's got a point. sometimes i get lit and think of good problem fixes. i would try his method before you spend to much $, you never know, might just do the trick

 

[sneakyg]

Vino i really like you where you are going with using the room as a box.. than i could simply panda plastic everything.. the problem is i can't hang an AC out the window.. i don't want to do any damage to the rental which is why i built the box.. didn't wanna put anchor screws ect into the ceiling.. and for now i only have 3000 watts that i can get from the room itself without making any changes to the electrical box. I mean i could do the exhaust with you're room concept, i just don't think that would cool the lights sufficiently in the summer.. With you're concept would I need intake from outside? or would leaving the thermostat at a cool temperature for the whole house ac be sufficient intake? Any ideas on how i would keep the room cool without having an ugly AC hanging out the window?

 

[vino]

i'm going to be brief. i'll post pics later of my before and after box.
and AC out the window is normal. if it gets hot there. your running 1k or 3k? i ran 3k with no ac no problem. that was in SF. in my rental. on the 3rd floor. your not running anything crazy to have an AC. more money, more problems.

attach screws? thats normal in wall/ceiling. find your studs and screw a 1x2 runner or a piece of plywood. then attach everything to that.

you like building things. well use that plywood as a tray. lay a sheet of 2ml plastic on the floor. put your 2 sheets of plyood on top. screw 2x3 aroudn the perimeter. wrap plastic around that. then buy a $9 tarp and line the tray you just made. the good ole $15 tray trick. your carpet is saved.

are you in ca? dont sweat your landlord. you building a shady firebox in his property would scare him a lil more than you asking to have your window ac attached, or screwin a few holes.

your box just in plywood is about $100.

what size is the room? 2k lights is probably enough. especially if you got em in that box already. just cos you up the size of the room, doesn't necessarily mean to up the size of lights.

 

[sneakyg]

i'm going to be brief. i'll post pics later of my before and after box.
and AC out the window is normal. if it gets hot there. your running 1k or 3k? i ran 3k with no ac no problem. that was in SF. in my rental. on the 3rd floor. your not running anything crazy to have an AC. more money, more problems.

I have a total of three 15 amp circuits available too me.. So i'm guessing max i could run would be about 2k in lights with AC, exhaust fans, ect . The Ac i would probably want to put on its own dedicated 15 amp right?
I currently have one 1000 watt light that works, the other is broken. But i'm have the resources to afford more if needed. Ideally my dream someday would be too run 4 600's in that room if possible.. The thing is, an AC might not look suspicious by itself. But if i have a piece of plywood with a cutout for my exhaust holes, and an AC both it might look more suspicious. The house has central air / heating so it might pose some questions as to why i have the holes in a cutout And since my only option exhausting head from my hoods would be to go outside.. i'm stuck with a predicament. No attic access really sucks.. maybe pull the carpet up and look for access to the crawl space below the house?

the room is about 10x10 with a small closet 2x3 attatched.. It is facing direct sun through the window ( backyard). I always figured that yield was determined most by not having bug problems and more wattage ( assuming you can ventilate and keep a cool room).

 

[vino]

more wattage always doesn't bring more yields.
what are you temps during summer? 80?90?
run your lights from 8pm-8am. for veg use 600s.
dont be so hooked on this AC.
you have central air? what? why not just use that?

from what it looked like. those blinds are already recessed into the windowsill. just put them a touch further in. and put a plywood with a black sheet on it behind it. just as i put earlier. no one could ever see that. and now your room is sealed. put the intake and exhaust attached to the plywood. windows covered. sheet acts as a filter. hot air is going out. and midnight air is coming in. aircool 4 600s

canfilter scrubber - > AC Hood -> AC Hood -> AC Hood -> AC Hood -> 10" exhaust

and then have a hole to bring in fresh air.
cost of running that AC will buy you those hoods.

 

[vino]

ok so heres the only photos i could find. I wasn't joking when i said i built a box. I had to carry all this shit up 3 flights of stairs too. back breaking.

This was a box i built a years back. I covered that window with the plywood trick. At first I covered the whole box in plywood. Then by about week 2 I took all the sides/top off and just had the studs which was helpful. The fan on the right was my intake. 6" vortex. I dont have a photo that shows the scrubber but that is on the left window.

it was 3 1ks, and I believe I used a canfilter 100 with 8" exhaust. vortex 6" intake. and I think it was 8x8.

I didn't use ducting straight to window. get one of those galvanized steel ducts at home depot. like $8. goes from circle - rectangle. standard thing. then attach that to ply.

I kept poly up around box though to keep reflection as tight as possible.

And i think it yielded a gram a watt or close. good genetics. good environment. That size space anyone would say to add another 1k. i had enough grams per watt to not need that though. bewing greedy causes problemoooos!