Water cooled grow room

[Mr_GreenGenes]

Fuckin badass! MGG

 

[tweedy]

I'm in the US.

 

[ttystikk]

Could you explain what a pigtail is......:banghead:

A pig's tail looks a bit like a corkscrew. That coil shape is how they fit a long enoug Freon to water heat exchanger into the small box of the AC unit, hence the name. This component replaces the cold side radiator inside the AC unit- so the blower fan is also no longer necessary, as the water now does the job of moving heat.

In all other respects, a chiller and an AC unit are exactly the same. Hope that helps...

BTW, water cooling is much more than just 10% more efficient, due to the fact that water is some 900 times more thermally conductive than air. After all, they use 'dead air space' as an Insulator, right?

 

[GrowMaster]

Nice job Racker, I love seeing and building rooms like yours, keep up the awesome hard work and stay safe................GM

 

[Racker]

Ok, i think i got it....It's like a coil.

Opticlimate also makes the same unit in a split unit version for people who don't have enough water. The watercooled version is 10% more efficient than the split unit. Me Bad.

Thanks GM

 

[clockworx]

Your on your game 4sure, the usa might have the strains but when it comes to efficient setups and shear innovation I've always been impressed with the dutch and overseas in general...the dutch are like poseidon when it comes to working with water so I guess its only right they would master the flood n drain... Very nice indeed, I love finding something I learn from and you are a wealth of information. Its also goes to show how ridiculous the whole 20 bottle nutrient thing is over here in the usa..:dead: those buds are just as dank as any bullshit advanced nutrient line pull ive ever seen..thanks for taking the time to share all this info and answer a 100 questions.

 

[Racker]

@tweedy,

Maybe this helps?



It's not the exact same product but i think it might do the job. Together with calcinit it should be a complete fertilizer.

@clockworx and Growmaster , Thanks for nice replays...

 

[bobby34]

Racker,, Do you need to add humidity when using the opti or would it place too much pressure on the compressor or effect the cooling capacity in any way??.

 

[Racker]

No Bobby, At the start of grow i regulate temps and humidity with the lightcontrol. When the canopy is closed, the humidy is 60/70% with all lights full on and cooling running for the whole 12hour daycycle.

Moist air has an effect on cooling.

 

[bobby34]

Ok Cool cheers racker,, Ive got an opti set up and have been adding humidity during lights on with a fogger but i am worried it may stress the compressor! Would you be able to go into a bit more detail as in how you regulate yours please?.

 

[Racker]

First let me explain something,

A cold water fogger doesn't make your humidity go higher. It makes a mist of very small waterdrops that are lighter than air. When these drops evaporate in air your humidity goes up. This takes time. When you don't see the mist, the drops are evaporatet.

In most cases the airconditioning or opticlimate will eat the fog before it is evaporatet, almost all the water that you aply to your fogger comes out at the condensation outlet of the unit. The water contains lime and other stuff that sticks to your evaporator and fan. Water that is not evaporatet condensates on your walls, reflectors and plants. for me a nono......

How i do it?

I set the maxi controllers dim temp lower than the set temp from the opticlimate. In this way the temps are regulated by the lights (they dim)
The lights dim before the opticlimate kicks in. There is no fan on and no airconditioning to make the humidity go low. RH% is more than 80% than.

Every day i dim less, making the RH% go down and lights go brighter. After one week the RH is 50%. I do it as fast as the plants can handle. In the first few flowering weeks the plants make new leafs and adapt to the enviroment. In a full grown field of plants the humidity is 60%/70%. (no this not to much)

The high humidity doesn't destroy your compressor. The fog from your humidifier can destroy your fan and clogges your evaporator.

 

[bobby34]

Thanks very much dude, I havnt got the dimlux ballasts yet but i will do soon! and im running the maxi controller for my Co2 so i understand now!!. Much appreciated!,

 

[nuttso]

Hey welcome back racker.

salts salts salts. hahaha.

Did you noticed any degrease in yield with calci and krista compared to other nutrients?

 

[SpudBoy]

Hey Racker,

Great to see you are still adding to this great thread! :-)

As is quite obvious I'm a new to THCF however I've been following your personal grow reports in other forums for a while now and don't mind admitting that your systematic approach and tech-supported grows have inspired & encouraged me to tackle something similar (but much bigger relative to my personal experience).

I really appreciate that you've taken the time to share your knowledge and techniques in some detail here and elsewhere and I've tried to glean as much as I can from the specs and images you've posted over the past couple of years but as I prepare to spend some significant moolah on the same kit I wanted to quiz you on a few points so that I might avoid frikking it up..! ;)

My order will be for an OC 6K along w/ Dimlux, Philips Greenpower 600w, MaxiController, oversized Softbox etc.

What I am curious about (and some of these questions relate to how you have modified your op since first using an OC) is:

1. Silencer - you no longer use one between the OC and the air-hoses - am I right to assume that the 'new' plenum deals with any noise concerns at that juncture?
2. Extract - what size softbox and filter do you use now? I think it used to be a 2650m3 softbox running at 100 rpm via a frequency controller just to create a negative pressure.
3. Inlet - Do you have a dedicated passive or mechanical inlet at all?
4. Wall lining - my new grow room is a refurbished structure and so has plenty of new construction material content, therefore I'm conscious of any potential 'off-gassing'. What type of lining have you put up, is that 'double foil single bubble' liner you are using?
5. Reflectors - Adjust-A-Wings were your thing (set narrow as I recall), now you run Gavita Hortistars (which I like), but while my supplier sells both and has nothing but good to say about them he is recommending NOT to use the Gavitas as their belief is that they are best suited to deeper penetration and 'trees'. They are suggesting A-A-W or (for a cheaper option) Diamond hoods. I gotta say that your results speak volumes and as I plan on running a SOG too they were my first choice. So the question begs... why did you drop the A-A-W shades for the Gavitas as back then you seemed to be getting awesome results from those as it was?
6. Hard Water - are you in a hard-water area? I am and was wondering what the long term effect of it would be on an OC unit... and last but not least....
7. What ARE those vertical black rods attached to your walls? Are they for the plant netting??

Shite, I guess seven questions is waaay too many for a 1st post so - that's all I wrote... :wideyed:

 

[ttystikk]

@SpudBoy remember;
Duty Now For The Future
You must Whip It, Whip It Good
To grow a new Beautiful World

Now, get out there and Work It!
The Girl U Want? She's miiiiine.... lol

 

[SpudBoy]

@ttystikk ... Holy crap it's another 'Spudboy' :D !!!

Dude I did NOT see your signature! Another THCF member who has experienced DEVOlution... haha!

I lie not when I say they are still numero uno for me... (much to the disdain of everyone else around me)... they just don't get it man!

Still remember being totally baked and hearing 'Are We Not Men' for the first time... whoa!

One of the best live gigs I ever saw also - and we are talking waaaay back when dinosaurs wore short pants >>> DEVO Tour 1982 Auckland NZ (http://www.huboon.com/images/1982-01-00_01.jpg)

Sad one of the original line-up just died this year - Alan Myers

Anyhoo, pleased to meet ya :)

 

[ttystikk]

He was a Mongoloid...

Planet Earth will miss him.

It's a pleasure to meet you, too.

We are De-Vo

 

[Racker]

Hey Racker,

1. Silencer - you no longer use one between the OC and the air-hoses - am I right to assume that the 'new' plenum deals with any noise concerns at that juncture?
2. Extract - what size softbox and filter do you use now? I think it used to be a 2650m3 softbox running at 100 rpm via a frequency controller just to create a negative pressure.
3. Inlet - Do you have a dedicated passive or mechanical inlet at all?
4. Wall lining - my new grow room is a refurbished structure and so has plenty of new construction material content, therefore I'm conscious of any potential 'off-gassing'. What type of lining have you put up, is that 'double foil single bubble' liner you are using?
5. Reflectors - Adjust-A-Wings were your thing (set narrow as I recall), now you run Gavita Hortistars (which I like), but while my supplier sells both and has nothing but good to say about them he is recommending NOT to use the Gavitas as their belief is that they are best suited to deeper penetration and 'trees'. They are suggesting A-A-W or (for a cheaper option) Diamond hoods. I gotta say that your results speak volumes and as I plan on running a SOG too they were my first choice. So the question begs... why did you drop the A-A-W shades for the Gavitas as back then you seemed to be getting awesome results from those as it was?
6. Hard Water - are you in a hard-water area? I am and was wondering what the long term effect of it would be on an OC unit... and last but not least....
7. What ARE those vertical black rods attached to your walls? Are they for the plant netting??

1. No. Depends on the location. In some growrooms you hear everything, in some you don't.
2. Almost the same answer. No i use iso max inline fans. Rule of thumb is that you can refresh your room 5x/hr
3. Passive inlet but very small. (under a door or something) You need vacuum and keep co2 in the room.
4. The liner comes from airsupplies. It's has more sheets and is mainly made from alluminium. (you need metal to keep gas out)
5. Adjust a wings are to big and i lost a few because the socket burned down. Gavitas are small and wide, not deep. (they only look narrow)
6. Calcium and iron particals will block the heat exchanger after a few years. Opticlimate sells stuff to clean it inside. A filter is the way to go.
7. Rods are for netting. The meshnet goes fully up and i lower it after 3weeks 12/12. When i harvest, it goes up again. I never destroy it.

 

[bobby34]

First let me explain something,

A cold water fogger doesn't make your humidity go higher. It makes a mist of very small waterdrops that are lighter than air. When these drops evaporate in air your humidity goes up. This takes time. When you don't see the mist, the drops are evaporatet.

In most cases the airconditioning or opticlimate will eat the fog before it is evaporatet, almost all the water that you aply to your fogger comes out at the condensation outlet of the unit. The water contains lime and other stuff that sticks to your evaporator and fan. Water that is not evaporatet condensates on your walls, reflectors and plants. for me a nono......

How i do it?

I set the maxi controllers dim temp lower than the set temp from the opticlimate. In this way the temps are regulated by the lights (they dim)
The lights dim before the opticlimate kicks in. There is no fan on and no airconditioning to make the humidity go low. RH% is more than 80% than.

Every day i dim less, making the RH% go down and lights go brighter. After one week the RH is 50%. I do it as fast as the plants can handle. In the first few flowering weeks the plants make new leafs and adapt to the enviroment. In a full grown field of plants the humidity is 60%/70%. (no this not to much)

The high humidity doesn't destroy your compressor. The fog from your humidifier can destroy your fan and clogges your evaporator.

Hey Racker,

Sorry bro another question!. Regarding the actual temps you set the opticlimate and the temps you set the lights to dim at??. How big a difference is there ? and what temps do you actually set please??. And what % do you start the lights dimming at??. Do you go as low as 35% and take it up 5% a day??.

Cheers Bro

 

[green bastard]

im not sure if I understand this 100% but this is amazing great work bro