My ruck fan just broke my brand new tent WTF??

[Denzil]

Well I set up my brand new DS150 tent 3 hours ago. Now I just came up here to water the plants, I reckon I may have fiddled with the twin smscom which I got today, I can't remember anything leading up to the disaster. Anyway the fan went a bit mental and sucked in the tent walls right in. Been doing this since I set up the tent. Then I heard a noise and saw one of the corners about to fall back on itself due to the tent walls being pulled in. It has literally bent the tent pole where they connect. Luckily I was able to unplug the extraction quickly to stop it going anymore.

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I have had to leave the passive intake mesh bits on the side open even though I have a 4" ruck fan as active intake. I've had this fan running for 2 grows before this one in my 1.2m x 1.2m tent that also collapsed which is why I bought this one. So why is a tent that is 30cm bigger not handling the fan so well. It is the ruck 150 L1 715m/3. Also I had that fan running directly in a plug with no controller so it was running full speed 24/7.'


I seriously don't know what to do. I half daren't go to sleep in fear of waking up and finding a pile of grow tent and parabolic on top of my tent.

Well I done a little fiddling with the SMScom and it seems to have calmed down a bit. The noise has calmed but what's to say it isn't gonna go ape in the middle of the night and repeat itself?

I probably shouldn't of lost the instructions before setting it up.

[Alzy]

OMG
Well I'm running a 5" rvk (think it pulls 365m3ph)with a CF and coolshade connected to it and no probs. I have a broken top zip which is covered by a mat and towel, and I still have negative pressure inside. Maybe the fan is too big.
Why don't you use the 4" till it's sorted(you find instructions on the net) and have a passive intake for the time being.
This is what I would do.
I use 1.2 tent

[the_grey_area]

fuck me mate that as pulled the tent right in, my intake went a couple of weeks ago so i feel the pain

[Denzil]

I dunno about the fan being too big as the tent I had prior to this was a ds120 equivalent which is slightly smaller. I think it may be more to do with the smscom. It's fine now. Really quiet as a matter of fact. None of the fans are running full speed. Maybe the smscom initially runs everything full pelt til it finds it sweet spot were the temperature should be. I better find the instructions to confirm the setting I set it at.

I'm a bit pissed off cos I have an acoustic fan to pick up tomorrow which is a 6" but shifts 1000m/3. I bought it cos my neighbor mentioned the noise to someone else cos she sleeps in the room next to my room but next door. Admittedly it was like a Concorde in there but the smscom seems to have done a top job noise wise for the time being. May have to get my money back from the acoustic fan.

Any smscom experts on here??

[Tony_MonCanna]

If you had 2 tents, one small and one big both with the same size extractor fan (acting as a vacuum pump) in them the bigger one will be more prone to bending the poles as there is more area for the atmouspheric pressure to act on. The reason the tent seems to pulls in is because there is no pressure on the inside pushing out, as the air that was pushing the inside of the tent has been pumped out the air on the outside pushes the walls inwards. Obviously we do this to make sure the higher pressure air always pushes any leaking air with its smells back into the tent.

Here's the maths...

P: Pressure
F: Force
A: Area


P = F / A

We are interested in looking at the force created to bend the poles so rearrange the equation to work out the force...

F = P * A

If P is created by the effect of the fan and the fan size remains the same and the area (size of the walls) increases then so too does the force.


Eg.

Tent A - Size: 1m x 1m x 2m
Tent B - Size: 2m x 2m x 2m

Just consider the effect on one wall of each of the tents...

Tent A - 1 Wall Area: 1m x 2m = 2 square meters
Tent B - 1 Wall Area: 2m x 2m = 4 square meters

Pretend the pressure difference created by the fan is 1 pressure unit (choose any it doesn't matter).


So for the smaller tent, Tent A...

F = P x A
F = 1 x 2
F = 2 force units


And for the bigger tent, Tent B...

F = P x A
F = 2 x 2
F = 4 force units

So a bigger tent using the same size fan creates more of a force than when using a smaller tent. If you've ever worked with vacuum bagging it's simple to understand but also the extra length in the poles, which are the same diameter, means they are easier to bend.



Hope this helps,

TMC

[Up_in_smoke]

Mate, wrong fan for intake.
I've got a ruck 150L1, when I lower my speed on my intake I get mad negative pressure. It needs balancing out with a decent intake, a 4" isn't gonna cut it. 6" low power or 5" high power would be suitable, you could probably slow them down a bit too.
Sorry to hear its fucked your tent though dude

[joey]

oh dear , i would be gutted , sorry to see that mate, and thats only a 6'' fan that done that ffs ,

but now i am shitting myself as i a geting my tent set up this weekend , and my tent is smaller than yours, its 1.2/1.2/2.0 and i have a 8'' RUCK RKW 200-L - 1110m3 outake and a 6''RUCK RKW 150-L - 700m3 intake

i can see mine getting sucked straight though the carbon filter ,

i a really not looking forwar to setting it up now

any ways , i hope its a cheap easy fix mate

[Up_in_smoke]

oh dear , i would be gutted , sorry to see that mate, and thats only a 6'' fan that done that ffs ,

but now i am shitting myself as i a geting my tent set up this weekend , and my tent is smaller than yours, its 1.2/1.2/2.0 and i have a 8'' RUCK RKW 200-L - 1110m3 outake and a 6''RUCK RKW 150-L - 700m3 intake

i can see mine getting sucked straight though the carbon filter ,

i a really not looking forwar to setting it up now

any ways , i hope its a cheap easy fix mate

You'll be fine as your intake will make sure it balances out.
However that is pretty big for a 1.2, I'd get a speed controller on each of those and slow em down

[Denzil]

If you had 2 tents, one small and one big both with the same size extractor fan (acting as a vacuum pump) in them the bigger one will be more prone to bending the poles as there is more area for the atmouspheric pressure to act on. The reason the tent seems to pulls in is because there is no pressure on the inside pushing out, as the air that was pushing the inside of the tent has been pumped out the air on the outside pushes the walls inwards. Obviously we do this to make sure the higher pressure air always pushes any leaking air with its smells back into the tent.

Here's the maths...

P: Pressure
F: Force
A: Area


P = F / A

We are interested in looking at the force created to bend the poles so rearrange the equation to work out the force...

F = P * A

If P is created by the effect of the fan and the fan size remains the same and the area (size of the walls) increases then so too does the force.


Eg.

Tent A - Size: 1m x 1m x 2m
Tent B - Size: 2m x 2m x 2m

Just consider the effect on one wall of each of the tents...

Tent A - 1 Wall Area: 1m x 2m = 2 square meters
Tent B - 1 Wall Area: 2m x 2m = 4 square meters

Pretend the pressure difference created by the fan is 1 pressure unit (choose any it doesn't matter).


So for the smaller tent, Tent A...

F = P x A
F = 1 x 2
F = 2 force units


And for the bigger tent, Tent B...

F = P x A
F = 2 x 2
F = 4 force units

So a bigger tent using the same size fan creates more of a force than when using a smaller tent. If you've ever worked with vacuum bagging it's simple to understand but also the extra length in the poles, which are the same diameter, means they are easier to bend.



Hope this helps,

TMC

Bit complex but I can understand what it means. Sure does make sense.

Thanks for that.

[Denzil]

Mate, wrong fan for intake.
I've got a ruck 150L1, when I lower my speed on my intake I get mad negative pressure. It needs balancing out with a decent intake, a 4" isn't gonna cut it. 6" low power or 5" high power would be suitable, you could probably slow them down a bit too.
Sorry to hear its fucked your tent though dude

I was wondering that. The last thing I wanna do is buy another fan. I was planning on selling my ruck 150L1 once my acoustic fan comes. Do you think it may be worth keeping it and using it for intake? Hopefully it won't be too loud if it's on intake instead of at a higher speed on extraction.

I was more surprised than anything. Didn't know a fan could do so much damage.

I'll update this when I switch the fans around.

[Denzil]

oh dear , i would be gutted , sorry to see that mate, and thats only a 6'' fan that done that ffs ,

but now i am shitting myself as i a geting my tent set up this weekend , and my tent is smaller than yours, its 1.2/1.2/2.0 and i have a 8'' RUCK RKW 200-L - 1110m3 outake and a 6''RUCK RKW 150-L - 700m3 intake

i can see mine getting sucked straight though the carbon filter ,

i a really not looking forwar to setting it up now

any ways , i hope its a cheap easy fix mate

Yea it's a bit of a shocker ain't it lol.

Like UIS says I reckon you'll be ok with your fans but consider an smscom to control them both. You'll probably find it'll be running both your fans at half speed and still maintain righttemps. Also noise will be minimal and cut the electric usage down too. Sounds good what you have got, mine will be similar at 1000m3 outake

[Up_in_smoke]

I was wondering that. The last thing I wanna do is buy another fan. I was planning on selling my ruck 150L1 once my acoustic fan comes. Do you think it may be worth keeping it and using it for intake? Hopefully it won't be too loud if it's on intake instead of at a higher speed on extraction.

I was more surprised than anything. Didn't know a fan could do so much damage.

I'll update this when I switch the fans around.

If your new acoustic fan is slightly more powerful than that ruck then hells yeah mate, perfect idea. And given the ruck 150L1 is pretty quiet on full pelt I imagine slowing it down it'll make barely any noise at all, not bad for a 6".

I upgraded to the 150L1 not too long back and when I did and left my 4" 250m3 whilst I was swapping it over, as I said, the neg pressure was pretty mental. My rooms wood as you know so the door was just slamming shut quickly, lol. If I had a tent, similar to yours would probably have happened. Now I have the 150L1 on extract at full pelt and a 6" 590m3 at about 60% speed on intake. Where as the 4" at full pelt was nowhere near powerful enough

[C.W.]

pole looks like it had to much weight on it. not just the amount the fan sucks.

[joey]

Yea it's a bit of a shocker ain't it lol.

Like UIS says I reckon you'll be ok with your fans but consider an smscom to control them both. You'll probably find it'll be running both your fans at half speed and still maintain righttemps. Also noise will be minimal and cut the electric usage down too. Sounds good what you have got, mine will be similar at 1000m3 outake

to right its a shocker, all i an say is it must of been a bloody good tent, as in air tight ,

you can not use a speed controler with my fans matey , as there temp controled, says not to use any kind of other controler with the m

[Anthrax]

I have a newish dr150 and to be honest the poles are weak as shit, more so where they join, am suprised they hold the weight of my gavita pro 1000w light as its an all in one light, as they bend quite a bit.

[Denzil]

If your new acoustic fan is slightly more powerful than that ruck then hells yeah mate, perfect idea. And given the ruck 150L1 is pretty quiet on full pelt I imagine slowing it down it'll make barely any noise at all, not bad for a 6".

I upgraded to the 150L1 not too long back and when I did and left my 4" 250m3 whilst I was swapping it over, as I said, the neg pressure was pretty mental. My rooms wood as you know so the door was just slamming shut quickly, lol. If I had a tent, similar to yours would probably have happened. Now I have the 150L1 on extract at full pelt and a 6" 590m3 at about 60% speed on intake. Where as the 4" at full pelt was nowhere near powerful enough

I bet you're getting brilliant air exchange in there. I've thought about it and i will use both 6 inch fans for this tent. Il have to leave my room door slightly ajar with an oscillating fan blowing air in the room outside the tent hopefully out the door so I'm not circulation stale air seeing as I have nowhere to vent the extraction. Making a hole into my loft isn't really an option seeing as it's tented accommodation.

[Denzil]

pole looks like it had to much weight on it. not just the amount the fan sucks.

It's not much to do with the pole as the weigt is in the Center of the tent with the parabolic hanging off it. It's just the sheer intensity of the vacuum in the tent mate.

[Denzil]

I have a newish dr150 and to be honest the poles are weak as shit, more so where they join, am suprised they hold the weight of my gavita pro 1000w light as its an all in one light, as they bend quite a bit.

I agree 100%. although mine is the dark street version which isnt as good quality as the dark room version. It is the the latest one which is the DS150 II which is the improved version. Although the zips are now light proof and no pin pricks in the Walls. The poles are shite. So weak, my tent feels so weak. They should make them stronger. I'm surprised that your dr150 has the same issue with it being the higher spec model. Might send the company an email withthe pics of my tent to show them the potential problems their other customers may get.

[C.W.]

lol..i doubt any fan sucking would colapse a tent. the weight may be in center but its all supproted by the legs. they have a weight resriction on them. the fan may have caused movement to colapse under the weight but to suck a tent down?...id think would need a huge turbine to be able to do that. im running an 8 inch 900 cfm fan in a 4x4 and it dont suck walls down.
or maybe it had a flaw or was already slightly bent and didnt see it so had a week spot
all tents eventualy tear seams and zippers. the heat and conditions we put the stitching and material through is tough on them.
like buddy said above if you werent over weight and it was newish or not to old id talk to them. most places will take care of you if your a worthy customer...even if its our fault something broke
used many tent and yet to see this happen without over loading weight limits. i think the 4x4 i run is 100 total pounds. i just hit my limit i think with 2 6 inch hoods and a 6 inch vortex fan hanging by it. was huge sag on my bars and upright poles. now i moved the fan oiut and made it an 8 inch to vent 2 tents and lightened the load alot

[billy_bong420]

Maybe nothink to do with this but reading through got me thinking, I used to work with high vacuum tankers we used to vac up materials from water to cement, stones, powders liquids and the odd ocassion my arm, but with us working with 4" to 8" pipe the difference in the vortex created in the sizes was night and day, the 4" was more powerful because the air was condensed down and would be noisy and would rip things up no problem though this would add more pressure to the motor as it was working harder, the larger the pipe the less noise and aggressive nature, this has nothink to do with it sucking in the tent but when buying fans and ducting then changing different size ducting or attaching a reducer from say a 8" to a 6" the pressure is greatly increased, also the same for the fan you have to consider if the fan is working to hard, I understand my comments are off topic a little bit but when it comes to force and invisable pressure one should take into account all aspects if you make a small alteration at one end of the system by time its doing its cycle the overall outcome may well be completely different, most products I suspect come with its limitations and manufactors guides, I guess what am trying to say is be careful and actually read the fans specs, just adding higher volume fans alters the whole dynamics of the set up, sorry to here about your tent very hard to see one of these fans bending a pole, to vac a tent so it implodes maybe you would have to block all the vents up maybe this is what happened, though am only judging on how we used to work I may be completely wrong just somethink to consider sorry for the waffle