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Thread: Dialing in the tent

  1. #1

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    Default Dialing in the tent

    I've been tinkering. Just wondering if these conditions seem good to go.

    1.2 x 1.2 x 2.1m tent
    600W MH vert parabolic
    402 cfm 6" exhaust fan venting out window

    Passive intake:
    Two 6x12" mesh vents w/ 100 micron filter
    6" duct w/ 100 micron filter.

    AC 1100W
    3G humidifier

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    Trying to tax the AC as little as possible $$$, and to reduce the exhaust fan frequency of ramping up and down (was an issue).

    Currently I have things as follows:
    AC, in room with tent, set to 68F/20C
    Humidifier, in tent, running at 75%(full is too loud), only gain about 8% humidity (coupled with the exhaust speed), but does lower temps 2 degrees. At 50W max I think it's worth it for the cooling effect?

    Also have a 7" fan on the floor, aimed straight up at the bulb.

    The exhaust fan is running steady at 68% power
    Set to ramp up if temps hit 81F/27C
    Holding strong at 79-80F.

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    The 100 micron filters on the mesh ports only raises temps 1 degree. I think that's a fair trade for critter insurance.

    I wasnt expecting to need so much passive intake, though. Makes me think something is off. I dunno. Maybe 600W MH is just hot as hell.

    I guess if I want to shave a few degrees off I'm gonna have to lean on the AC more.
    ~It's a violent universe~

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  3. #2

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    MH can be hot as hell. For the same power draw, less light = more heat. Have you tried using a 600w hps to see how the numbers compare? Modern day hps lamps are way better than the hps of yesteryear. Much more light with a corresponding drop in heat. It used to be that 50w hps psf was the minimum. Now the minimum is 37.5w hps psf. MH doesn't seem to have advanced as much. (An exception being 315w cmh.) The plants prefer blue light to red but they'd much rather have lots of red than not much blue.

    An easy way to check the passive intake is to listen carefully when opening the tent. If you hear the pitch of the fan drop, that means the extra air available is giving the fan more work to do and the passive inlet needs to be larger. If the fan doesn't drop in pitch, then the passive inlet is large enough.

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  5. #3

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    Thanks, man. I'll give a listen to the fan.
    I was still getting negative pressure FWIW. Not as pronounced as when I tested with a single 6" passive in. Thought the stitching was gonna pop. Lol
    I'll try opening another 6" port,

    Only reason I'm trying MH is to hopefully reduce stretch. I do have a 600 HPS at the ready, so yeah, that needs a test run for comparison. I'm on it.

    This may have just helped me realize a blunder.
    The placement of the fan controller sensor should be at the intended canopy level, right? I've had the sensor 10" from the bulb, with the parabolic as high up as it goes. Was originally testing to see conditions if the plants grew that tall. But, duh....it wouldn't be a MH bulb running by that point anyway...

    The world's so lucky I'm not in charge of anything.

    Will be testing later. Thanks, again.

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    I've not used temp control with a fan, I prefer the noise level to be constant. I use an IR thermometer to measure the top of the canopy.

    The parabolics I used are a different brand to yours. I found the sweet spot to be having the bright band of light on the walls about 8" above the canopy. So good guess on 10" from the bulb.

    The paras do cost height so you'll need to do something about that. I did scrogs to control the height and in a 4x4 tent, getting to the rear plants was a pain.

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    HP's and mh are hot as fuck
    I use mh for most of veg and hps for flower.

    The temps will be at canopy level that's right.
    I'm surprised your getting such high temps and not enough passive with that many flaps open.

    One port is usually enough for me in same size or slightly smaller tent. :/ But I could just be lucky in location...

    If heats an issue look into led down the line

    I'd say stop testing at this point and just go for it.

    Fwiw I the humidity also goes up with pots in the tent. As they're moist too

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    Parabolics are good for reducing the heat from hid. Infra Red doesn't bounce so the reflector gets the IR heat instead of the plants.

    With a bedroom grow during a good summer and using an open cab, the ambient temps were 24'C and the canopy was 27'C. The reflector petals were in the 30s.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Farmer Geddon View Post
    I've not used temp control with a fan, I prefer the noise level to be constant. I use an IR thermometer to measure the top of the canopy.

    The parabolics I used are a different brand to yours. I found the sweet spot to be having the bright band of light on the walls about 8" above the canopy. So good guess on 10" from the bulb.

    The paras do cost height so you'll need to do something about that. I did scrogs to control the height and in a 4x4 tent, getting to the rear plants was a pain.
    Gotta say, the cloudline s6 is really quiet. I cant notice any sound difference when opening the tent. I do have one of those IR's in my amazon cart.

    Dont think I can do a scrog, gonna be trying autos first. Planned to top once. I'll have about 3' to play with from top of the pots to ~10" from bulb. In terms of heat alone I feel like the plants could probably get even closer, but maybe I can lean/bend colas out of harm's way if needed. Sounds like a good problem.


    Quote Originally Posted by Karsa View Post
    HP's and mh are hot as fuck
    I use mh for most of veg and hps for flower.

    The temps will be at canopy level that's right.
    I'm surprised your getting such high temps and not enough passive with that many flaps open.

    One port is usually enough for me in same size or slightly smaller tent. :/ But I could just be lucky in location...

    If heats an issue look into led down the line

    I'd say stop testing at this point and just go for it.

    Fwiw I the humidity also goes up with pots in the tent. As they're moist too

    Sent from my J8210 using Tapatalk
    Having these temps with all those flaps open surprised me too. I was expecting a single passive 6" to do the job, based off journals I've read. I'm in a south east facing bedroom, which I think is a good thing. I shouldn't get pounded with midday sun during peak summer (around harvest time).

    Believe me, LED is on my radar.
    Good point on the humidity.

    I'm just taking a bit more time to get a feel for things. Planning to go same day as the Pepsi challenge.


    Quote Originally Posted by Farmer Geddon View Post
    Parabolics are good for reducing the heat from hid. Infra Red doesn't bounce so the reflector gets the IR heat instead of the plants.

    With a bedroom grow during a good summer and using an open cab, the ambient temps were 24'C and the canopy was 27'C. The reflector petals were in the 30s.
    Appreciate the reference.
    I spent a good part of today testing with the hps. Straightened the ducting a bit and fixed some previously unseen ducting pin holes.
    Also thought I should better replicate grow conditions by moving the 7" fan to just above the sensor/canopy. It was previously on the floor pointed up at the bulb. Still need a few little fans.

    Spare ya every detail. I think the best results came from the following:

    AC cooling the room to 70-71F/21-22C
    600w hps
    402cfm fan running at 68%
    Humidifier (in tent) constant at 75% power.
    7" fan just above canopy (will add more circ).

    That got things to a stable 77-78F/25-26C ~10" from the bulb.

    Decent I think?

    Gonna retest with MH later tonight.
    Appreciate the input, guys.

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    I wonder, could you swap out that ducting for hard duct instead? It would improve the efficiency a little (Not a huge amount though!)
    It's Not What You Know, It's What You Can Prove

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    Sounds like ya are getting things dialed in. Real smart of you to get the enviroment dialed in first.
    Can't wait to see ya growing some ladies.

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    Quote Originally Posted by M_C View Post
    I wonder, could you swap out that ducting for hard duct instead? It would improve the efficiency a little (Not a huge amount though!)
    Hmmm...didn't think of that. I'll have a look.

    I did straighten it out some.
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