setup help 24 x 32 pole barn w/pond water cool? U/C grow 12k

[fluffygrrrl]

Hi everyone. I just won a house on auction with 40 acres and a pole barn in Michigan. :party0033:

Hoping you experienced growers can offer some advice on what you would do w/this space. I have a legal medical grow, can grow 36 plants now, can be certified for up to 72 plants if I get more patients. I can probably only afford to do the 12k grow at first, but I want to build this room for future grows in mind. I want to get all the electricity, water, gas down before I bring in plants.

Insulated barn 24 x 32 has 11' drywalled ceilings, so I am prepared to grow trees. Am upgrading electrical service by adding 200 amps. (barn has 50 now) buying 240v 1000w ballasts.

My main concern is heating/cooling this space properly & efficiently. I have well water & propane in house, will have to run lines. I also have a pond next to barn. Does anyone know anything about water cooling with pond water? (it is approx 75' x 75' x 6'deep) Does that work in winter? Is there a way to use it instead of buying a chiller? Or should I just buy 4 1 ton mini splits for 12 plants? (or 2 2 ton) Would you try to seal this or do a intake/outtake ventilation system? What size heater would you recommend? It does have a wood stove, but I don't think that would work too well regulating heat.

Second on the list is most efficient use of space & keeping plant numbers down. Love DD's system, but I am not handy, so I have decided on an undercurrent system with vertical bare bulb lighting. 13 gallon buckets, not sure about xxl or evolution. Should I go with the evolution 12xxl13 and divide the room into 1/3's and do a flip flop with lung room? I could then exhaust the heat, a/c & co2 from one room to the other. I've only read a few articles on lung rooms, does anyone have a step by step build on one? Or should I just have one big room? I also have 30 400w mh lamps, got any ideas for those? Could I use them around the perimeter of the vertical grow or are they too weak? Have ebb n gro 32 pot system and also have 2 tables.

 

[deacon1503]

PM me and i can help with almost all of what u need. I live just north of ann arbor and would be glad to lend a hand.

 

[fluffygrrrl]

thanks Deacon

 

[ugmjfarmer]

That lake will freeze in the winter. If your gonna use the lake to cool it, you will need to design a closed loop cooling system, which is hose that is laid down into the lake and then water is circulated in this hose. You would also need to use some form of glycol to help keep the loop from freezing as well.

In all honesty it might work great, or might not and be an extra added waste of money. We are approaching winter here in michigan, and cooling with winter air is awesome. I was able to have an exhaust run only 15 minutes a day in my room in the cold of winter, which is in an outbuilding. You could easily just invest in the airflow and use a co2 burner to increase your yields for that kind of money.

The real problem is heating a space like that in the winter. Your gonna need to make sure your rooms dont drop below 60F at night cycles. I would shop around for a good propane based heater, and make sure your plants dont rest on the ground. An elevated and insulated floor is your friend.

 

[fluffygrrrl]

Thanks UG, I appreciate your help. I think I will save the watercooling idea for my next project when I build another pole barn, and get an entire geothermal for house & barn going with heated floors, etc. I think you have convinced me to take advantage of the winter like you do and exhaust, rather than have a completely sealed room. Then seal off in warmer months and use ac.

I've already bought 2 propane heaters and we are starting digging the trench tomorrow to bring in the propane. Also got 1 co2 burner, but will probably need 2.
What did you use to insulate your floors?

 

[deacon1503]

Did u get my email?

 

[ugmjfarmer]

What did you use to insulate your floors?

I personally used tables that were set 1ft up in the room where it was easier to control the temps. The best way is to frame a subfloor with 1-2"x4'x8' insulation panels under a wood subfloor. You can use a pond liner to go over any wood frame to keep it from getting wet. However on the cheap, elevating containers and moving warm air around will help.

Insulation is going to be the key to any outbuilding grow. I like the foam in option that seals up cracks personally, makes things much easier when you get to sealing it up if the walls don't/can't leak. However your existing with a simple subfloor/pondliner might be all that is needed, and you don't loose much headroom adding 2-2".

 

[Tobor the 8th Man]

You could just use the pond water to cool in spring, summer and fall then use cold outside air to cool in the winter. This way no water freezing problems with the cooling system. You could just drain it for the winter.

 

[Bobby Smith]

I've never used a pond to cool a room (but holy shit would that be cool), but depending on how deep it is, I would think freezing wouldn't be that much of a concern.

I know Michigan gets cold as fuck, but couldn't you just run the pipe down 10 or 15', where the chances of it freezing are quite unlikely?

Also, if you're using the pond to cool 12K watts and assorted other electrical in there, that'd be some pretty warm water being returned to the pond - that would also remove some of the freezing aspects that you're worried about.

Personally, if I could use a massive pump, some PVC, and some iceboxes to keep my grow cool, I'd definitely take that over 60KBTUs of AC..........the cost savings (both immediately and ongoing) would more than make up for the initial setup, which should still be pretty comparable to a 5ton AC.

Just my $.02.