I need tips on keeping temperature stable.

[Mpyers]

I’m just starting I have all my equipment just waiting on seeds. I’ve been trying to get my conditions perfect before the seeds arrive but I’m having trouble keeping temperatures stable. The heaters and temp controllers I’ve tried don’t have a very tight control loop. What does everyone else use? Is it unreasonable to expect tight temperature stability in a tent?

 

[budsofgeorgia]

my temp fluctuates but it stays withen a range so as long as u dont go over say 83 on the high and get down below 70 on the low your ok
but they all gonna say its gonna be 1 temp the whole time and that you need the most expensive stuff on the market and not what u can afford lol

 

[budsofgeorgia]

I’m just starting I have all my equipment just waiting on seeds. I’ve been trying to get my conditions perfect before the seeds arrive but I’m having trouble keeping temperatures stable. The heaters and temp controllers I’ve tried don’t have a very tight control loop. What does everyone else use? Is it unreasonable to expect tight temperature stability in a tent?

and dont put the heater in the tent but in the room the tent is in , make sure u have 1 exhaust fan blowing air out and 1 intake fan blowing air in also get a circulating fan for inside the tent to move air around

 

[Gmix]

my temp fluctuates but it stays withen a range so as long as u dont go over say 83 on the high and get down below 70 on the low your ok
but they all gonna say its gonna be 1 temp the whole time and that you need the most expensive stuff on the market and not what u can afford lol

Nah not all lol I spent enough let alone my expensive magic bean buying habit
summer is more of a problem in tents I have a ac unit for that that cost £0
I’d say most of us don’t have it dailed in with top end stuff.
As long as it’s within a range I’ll get by tbh I don’t find it’s till you hit 85f it slows down

 

[budsofgeorgia]

Nah not all lol I spent enough let alone my expensive magic bean buying habit
summer is more of a problem in tents I have a ac unit for that that cost £0
I’d say most of us don’t have it dailed in with top end stuff.
As long as it’s within a range I’ll get by tbh I don’t find it’s till you hit 85f it slows down

i have an window ac in the summer time , electric heater in the winter , no humidifier and no dehumidifier , and i do not check p,h

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

The heaters and temp controllers I’ve tried don’t have a very tight control loop.

The controllers made by Ink Bird and AC Infinity that I've been using have adjustable triggers and ranges.

 

[Gmix]

i have an window ac in the summer time , electric heater in the winter , no humidifier and no dehumidifier , and i do not check p,h

In winter I just shut my window and am good.
I’m organic bud I never check my ph either no ec or ppm meters needed

 

[JKash]

These are my temps they flucuate... I do not have a heater... I only run dehumidifier in summer with a portable ac... winter time i don't bother to use heat.... I found a lot of my harvests are better in cooler temps over warmer temps....


I as well don't ph check or ec/ppm either....

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I decided not to grow during the summer because it was costly to cool my grow space. I can still do two crops per year, which is plenty for my purposes. My wife likes me to take a break, too, and summer is a good time for it. It's also nice to have some time to clean up my growing room.

Not monitoring pH, EC, etc. mostly applies to organic growers. Even then, it sometimes helps to know the water's pH in case it's way off.

 

[Mpyers]

The controllers made by Ink Bird and AC Infinity that I've been using have adjustable triggers and ranges.

How tight can the trigger be set? I have a vivosun controller that allows 1 degree triggers but in real life it’s more like 3 or 4 degree swings above and below target.

 

[Mpyers]

I decided not to grow during the summer because it was costly to cool my grow space. I can still do two crops per year, which is plenty for my purposes. My wife likes me to take a break, too, and summer is a good time for it. It's also nice to have some time to clean up my growing room.

Not monitoring pH, EC, etc. mostly applies to organic growers. Even then, it sometimes helps to know the water's pH in case it's way off.

I definitely intend to monitor all the things. I want perfection. I want to run this tent like a lab if I can.

 

[JKash]

I definitely intend to monitor all the things. I want perfection. I want to run this tent like a lab if I can.

I am no where near a lab setting... however it's knowing how to react to your plants growth cycle... im pulling half lb plants... my last harvest 4 plants yielded 2.25 lbs...

I'm working on a 32 top mainline... holes in dividers between me and neighbors basement where they keep there basement lights ON 24 HRS... my non tent site is barely regulated compared to my tent. Plants are pretty resilient as long as you can speak their language

I use synthetic nutes... I don't ph check and I DO NOT FLUSH EITHER!

Not trying to sound discouraging but I'm running a "basic" setup and getting amazing harvests....

I have a BIL who is annoyed cause he spent 5x what I did and running way bigger plant numbers and I'm doing half of his harvest with a way lot less numbers in plants and saving my pocket thousands

 

[JKash]

I am no where near a lab setting... however it's knowing how to react to your plants growth cycle... im pulling half lb plants... my last harvest 4 plants yielded 2.25 lbs...

I'm working on a 32 top mainline... holes in dividers between me and neighbors basement where they keep there basement lights ON 24 HRS... my non tent site is barely regulated compared to my tent. Plants are pretty resilient as long as you can speak their language

I use synthetic nutes... I don't ph check and I DO NOT FLUSH EITHER!

Not trying to sound discouraging but I'm running a "basic" setup and getting amazing harvests....

I have a BIL who is annoyed cause he spent 5x what I did and running way bigger plant numbers and I'm doing half of his harvest with a way lot less numbers in plants and saving my pocket thousands

My last picture was harvest before my big plant

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

How tight can the trigger be set? I have a vivosun controller that allows 1 degree triggers but in real life it’s more like 3 or 4 degree swings above and below target.

My AC Infinity Controller 69 Pro has a trigger and a buffer. (I don't know what Vivosun calls them.) So, I set my heater trigger to 76º and the buffer +/- 2º. That means it centers the temperature on 76º, turning on at 74º and off at 78º. I tried a 1º buffer, but it was turning on and off too frequently.

Setting controllers is mostly a matter of tweaking till you find what works best for your situation. Some variance is unavoidable because devices like heaters and humidifiers are either on or off. Because of that, they cycle on and off between low and high settings. That's why we see a "sawtooth" pattern on the graphs.

It's usually not good on the equipment to be cycling it on and off too frequently.

I definitely intend to monitor all the things. I want perfection. I want to run this tent like a lab if I can.

Hmmm... I'm not sure how to respond to that. I've never had a "perfect" grow. Shit keeps happening and I keep trying new things every grow. I learn with every grow.

 

[JKash]

My AC Infinity Controller 69 Pro has a trigger and a buffer. (I don't know what Vivosun calls them.) So, I set my heater trigger to 76º and the buffer +/- 2º. That means it centers the temperature on 76º, turning on at 74º and off at 78º. I tried a 1º buffer, but it was turning on and off too frequently.

Setting controllers is mostly a matter of tweaking till you find what works best for your situation. Some variance is unavoidable because devices like heaters and humidifiers are either on or off. Because of that, they cycle on and off between low and high settings. That's why we see a "sawtooth" pattern on the graphs.

It's usually not good on the equipment to be cycling it on and off too frequently.


Hmmm... I'm not sure how to respond to that. I've never had a "perfect" grow. Shit keeps happening and I keep trying new things every grow. I learn with every grow.

I have found a lot of people are having their fans blow out after around 5 years when being used by a controller... my inline fans are not controller regulated and run basically 24/7... they are 15 years old and still pushing air

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I have found a lot of people are having their fans blow out after around 5 years when being used by a controller... my inline fans are not controller regulated and run basically 24/7... they are 15 years old and still pushing air

I haven't had an inline fan fail yet. I have had several oscillating clip fans die, though.

I keep mine running on low settings. Things with motors will eventually fail, though. Running continuously might keep the bearings lubricated, or maybe it has to do with heat and tolerances. The fan motor in one of my humidifiers screams in agony until it warms up. Then it runs quietly. I'm waiting for it to die, but so far it just keeps going.

 

[Mpyers]

These are my temps they flucuate... I do not have a heater... I only run dehumidifier in summer with a portable ac... winter time i don't bother to use heat.... I found a lot of my harvests are better in cooler temps over warmer temps....


I as well don't ph check or ec/ppm either....

This is comforting

My AC Infinity Controller 69 Pro has a trigger and a buffer. (I don't know what Vivosun calls them.) So, I set my heater trigger to 76º and the buffer +/- 2º. That means it centers the temperature on 76º, turning on at 74º and off at 78º. I tried a 1º buffer, but it was turning on and off too frequently.

Setting controllers is mostly a matter of tweaking till you find what works best for your situation. Some variance is unavoidable because devices like heaters and humidifiers are either on or off. Because of that, they cycle on and off between low and high settings. That's why we see a "sawtooth" pattern on the graphs.

It's usually not good on the equipment to be cycling it on and off too frequently.


Hmmm... I'm not sure how to respond to that. I've never had a "perfect" grow. Shit keeps happening and I keep trying new things every grow. I learn with every grow.

I’m a perfectionist. I just want to know every parameter and if anything ever goes south I’ll know exactly when and how and I’ll risk mitigate on the next one. But I am doing this as like a personal challenge. I want to obsess over the details.

 

[JKash]

This is comforting

I’m a perfectionist. I just want to know every parameter and if anything ever goes south I’ll know exactly when and how and I’ll risk mitigate on the next one. But I am doing this as like a personal challenge. I want to obsess over the details.

I'm picking up what your throwing down... I used to stress over environmental control and everything... but after doing for looooong periods of time it took the fun right out of it...

It's better to focus on plant training and feeding regiments and everything else will fall in line... not discouraging or anything just giving out a personal opinion.... less stress over this and that = more fun and appreciation

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I’m a perfectionist. I just want to know every parameter and if anything ever goes south I’ll know exactly when and how and I’ll risk mitigate on the next one. But I am doing this as like a personal challenge. I want to obsess over the details.

Obsess away, if that is to be your growing style. I'm not criticizing your intentions. I like the details, too. It's just that these plants are living things that don't always do what we want them to do. I agree with @JKash, focus on the growth factors and enjoy watching them as they grow. My crops usually take 4 to 6 months, from seed germination to storing the cured buds.

Does your controller do notifications? That's one (sometimes annoying) way to know when a parameter goes out of bounds.

 

[Mpyers]

Obsess away, if that is to be your growing style. I'm not criticizing your intentions. I like the details, too. It's just that these plants are living things that don't always do what we want them to do. I agree with @JKash, focus on the growth factors and enjoy watching them as they grow. My crops usually take 4 to 6 months, from seed germination to storing the cured buds.

Does your controller do notifications? That's one (sometimes annoying) way to know when a parameter goes out of bounds.

No the heater controller didn’t. I had notifications from my fan controller with temp and humidity though. Then I bought a space heater with WiFi and ditched the controller. But the space heater has the same slow loop flaw. You guys have made me feel comfortable it’ll be ok how it is. But I’m gonna tinker with it some more. Insulation and moving the heater out of the tent is going to be my next step. I can’t change the temp of the whole room the temp is in. And when I had it outside the tent previously it wasn’t enough to heat it up. Too much lost to the outer room even right up against my intake. So I might build a little box to put the heater in outside the tent and have the intake fed from that box.