First Indoor Grow, can I get some recommendations on inexpensive but good ventilation system and fans? Thanks!!
What do you consider inexpensive? Around 100 bucks gets a nice 6" set up with venting on amazon.
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Share some details (size, lighting) … ventilation exhaust should be calculated as cubic feets / meters per hour.
My grow tent is 10 ft x 5 ft x 8 ft. Using 5 x 600w LED lights.
I have zero knowledge on what to get but I’m assuming these are ones I can get.
Assuming this is for intake of fresh air.
Assuming this is to take out the old air and the carbon filter.
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I prefer passive intake unless you have a long run. Everything else is super cheap so buyer beware.
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That first booster fan with vibrate the mortar out of your foundation. My grow is about 250 cu. ft. yours is 400 cu. ft. I use a 600w open wing sodium lamp and a 100w UFO led. The fan I use is a typhoon (nice and quiet) rated at 420 cu/ft. per minute, with a restricted inflow (to give me a negative room pressure). This setup really handles the heat well, just to give you an idea. I would assume your led setup would be a little cooler than what I run, so 600 cu ft/ min. rating should be plenty for you. Cruise some of the site for ventilation ideas, lung rooms, negative flow co-efficients etc.
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Thanks. This has been the most informative response.
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Glad to help. I read for hours on one of the forums (Not sure if it is OG) posting from a guy who really knew his HVAC stuff. Fact sheets, flow rates, negative pressures from the aspect of maximum cannabis leaf expiration rate at particular temperatures and CO2 saturation. Holy crap, made my brain hurt, but he was an expert. Inlet size (if your room is sealed) was a 3:1 inlet size : outlet size( I can’t remember exactly) to maintain a slightly lowered room pressure. In order that there is no airflow from danky room to the area outside the room. I have a leaky (air) room, so I have a small inlet vent (same as my 6" fan outlet) as well as the air leaks around my door. I cover the door with white black plastic (hydroponic stores have it), secured with velcro on 2 sides. When my door is closed the negative air pressure in the room, seals the curtain tightly around the leaky door frame, Light and airtight, room exhausts only thru the vent, making it much easier to control odour. I have no AC, but only on 90 F days does the temp in the room creep up to the mid eighties, up here thats only for 2 or 3 weeks out of the year so, not an issue for me. It is worth the cash to buy a good ventilation fan. I have been running mine 24/7 for 3 years now, it was worth the 180 bucks.
I could post my homemade charcoal filter Indoor/outdoor all season Cheapo design if you like. I see you have shown an in-line canister type, My design is kinda crude but suitable for homeowners without nosey houseguests, works like a charm if you vent outside, and only wanna spend 20 bucks, LOL Not suitable if you have to be 100% discrete with growroom odours, its about 90% efficiency though, and I vent inside in the winter (to use the heat the lights produce).
I think we should post some of the diy stuff in case the feds tighten their grip again.
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I have absolutely no knowledge or understanding on this subject so please, any info would help.
Good brands of inline fans are vortex - i use these guys. Top quality. Best customer service. Sick fans for everyone (i have the sline 600. Super silent) , hyperfan - amazing super small powerfull fans. All of them come with a fan speed controller and they are super quiet. Active air - amazon fan cheap, loud , wont let you down though. I have a 4 inch for veg and intake and its great. Soler and palau is on amazon. Cheaps fans. Good quality. Low cfms on most of their fans but they have more expensive ones that are better and push more air. Any specific help you need on lighting feel free to ask here or pm me:)
Much Love
Lotus💜
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I use vortex or max-can. I think vortex is the most reliable if that helps. When it comes down to ii i buy what i can afford at the time. Being able to adjust fan speed is important for managing temperature.
So then would I use the same fan to blow out air from the tent and same fan but a 2nd one to take in New air?
nah. just use the fan to exhaust hot air. passive intake has done me fine for a few years:)
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Just one fan with a passive intake will do, Ventiletion 101 is a thread on IC forums. Lots of info.
As for a quick rundown on a charcoal filter. Get a large tupperware or other plastic tote in a 100L size with a lid. Cut a hole the appropraite size for your vent hose in the bottom of one end. If using in-lline, cut another proper size hole near the TOP of the opposite end of the bin. If using at end of line (outside or indoor), do not cut hole in opposite (outlet) end, simply drill half of the top with a hole saw swiss cheese style (making sure to equal inlet area. EX. if a 6" exhaust hose is approx 20 square inches. Cutting 20 one inch holes (in half the top) will be fine. Install hose in the bottom hole and seal with tape or silicone with 2- 4 inches of hose inside bin. Locate some 1/4" galvanized screening and cut to size to fit in the bottom of the tub above the hose. The screening is rigid enough to form a down turned lip to fit around the bottom of the bin. Now take natural rough lump charcoal or coarse activated charcoal and fill the bin to the level of the outlet hose, or to the top. Its a bit messy but after a few days, this works great for me. I put it under the deck outside in the summer but use it indoors in the winter, changing charcoal (always leaving a bit of used stuff in) every 6 months. You can either use the old stuff for a campfire or put it in the compost heap. Not the best for apartment style odour elimination but works fine in the suburbs. Takes a large 25 lb bag to fill her up, Use plain charcoal, even stuff from the fire pit works as long as you don’t have plastic food etc. contaminants. Trick here is the huge surface area of charcoal the air encounters.
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Hole works cost 30 bucks and reloads for 10 bucks, filters and such are up to you but I don’t use them with this baby
Infinity or vortex s-line for the win on a secret garden?
Just curious on people’s take on these two inline fans for descreet gardens what’s y’all stake?
I was always under the impression that Activated Charcoal is what you needed to have an efficient Air Scrubber.
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Activated charcoal is just aerated charcoal (like an Aero bar. Efficiency is due to increase surface area from aeration process yes that would be more efficient, definitely. The idea with my filter is cheap and there is a wholelarge bag of charcoal in the bin. I get surface area coverage by using 10 times the media that a bought filter has, making up for any surface area deficiency. It isn’t 100% effective, but brings odour level to unnoticeable outdoors. I change my charcoal twice a year. I also don’t restrict flow and have no pre-filter. This is a filter not a ‘scrubber’.I figure you would need a filter and then ozonator to completely eliminate odour, 100% efficiency is not the target with this setup its more like 90% efficiency and 5% of the initial cost and media change Y’know for cheap asses like me lol.