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So What's the Stand on a Portable AC For Your & My Grow Room?

hi GreenArmadillo . i have a set up similar to yours (closet instead of br). i inherited a portable AC unit similar to the one you posted. i can say, if my experience is any indication, unless you vent that AC with ducting somewhere else, it will be too hot/cancel itself out. mine came with 15ft or so of ducting and one of those window placards to hook up the ducting to to vent outside.

one thing i haven't seen mentioned is a swamp cooler. i have never used one, only seem them on growing forums, but these are a totally DIY thing that supposedly lower temps and humidity--google 'swamp cooler' or search on the main GWE site--somewhere Nebula has a section on them in one of her temp/RH/exhaust tutorials. sorry but i can't put my keys on it rt now. idk if that'll help but it might given your market/customs considerations.

oh, and the little reservoir on the AC fills up *fast*--mine is only about half a gallon, if that. lasts about 3 hours or less before needing to be emptied. good luck to you!
 
Super details here bro! Thank you very much.

I already considered swamp coolers btw. But I read that they increase humidity in the room. That's because the way they cool the air is by evaporating water, so the evaporated moisture ends up in the room I believe.

I just looked up Nebulas articles and it's as I believed. She recommends swamp coolers for those who have high temperatures and low humidity.
Unfortunately mu humidity ranges between 35-50%, so I don't wanna add any more humidity in. Actually, i'm trying to lower it to boost dem trichomes on my last few weeks flowering.
 
bobsakamoto OzBud

I actually had a vision last night, and boy has it got me excited. I think I may have found a way "around" this little venting issue.
What do you think of my diabolical plan?

Basically, my grow bathroom has a little room next to it. And next to this little room is the washing room, separated by a door. Now in this washing room there is a built in exhaust fan with a little window.
Here's where it gets funky. I checked out this door that separates the washing room from my grow room, and there is like a 1/2 inches worth of space underneath the door. I managed to get an extension cord going underneath very easily.
What i'm thinking of doing is getting the AC, putting it in my grow room, hooking up the back of it where it blows out the hot air to the duct that comes with the box. Now, at the other end of this duct, i'm gonna tape it up to a black bin bag, so that the exhaust air comes out of the duct, through the bin bag, and out the open end of the bin bag. Now this bin bag will be put underneath the door. That way the air will blow through it and out of the grow room, into the washing room, where the exhaust will naturally vent it outside.
How's that for a DIY solution? You think it will work? In theory it should be all good, at least i'm hoping so. :cool::joy:

I'm prbbly gonna buy the unit tomorrow if this idea gets thumbsed up. I just need a little nudge to get me to take that leap of faith. :eek::wink:
 
hi GreenArmadillo . that plan sounds good. if it were me, i would at least try it out so long as you can return the AC if for some reason it doesn't work. other than that i can't think of anything else i would worry about. it sounds to me like you have a lot of options with that side room so it sounds like it's just a matter of mcgyvering to find out the right set up that works for your space.
 
Hello greenarmadillo, the room I have the ac unit in, also doesn't have any venting options... aside from a short door to a storage area (then small wall vents from that room). I run the included ducting into that door, then use towels to "semi-seal" the rest of the door's opening. Then point the ac fan at my tent's intake. It's a bit clunky, but works.
 
Air conditioners are HEAT PUMPS, they cannot create or destroy heat, they can only move it around. You want yours to move heat from indoors to outdoors, which is why an outdoor vent is absolutely necessary. The compressor pump uses quite a bit of energy which creates more heat, so if you just lock one in a closed room it acts as a heater. There really is no way around this. If it's a possibility, you might consider a 'real' window or through-the-wall unit (expensive, but very effective). Maybe air condition a living space next to your grow room and blow some of that cool air in?

A dehumidifier pulls water out of the air which does provide some evaporative cooling, but not nearly as much as an air conditioner. It requires moist air to work at all, and pulling all the moisture out of your grow room may not be good for the plants. You could also mist a little extra water into the grow room, which would both make the dehumidifier cool better and keep the plants hydrated. Bottom line is there aren't many simple/cheap/effective answers.
 
Good luck with whatever you chose. Please be careful, though, if you are trying to keep the grow secret from your landlord. This may end up with a big spike in electric (in addition to the lamps etc.). which could cause some inquiries. I am sure they keep track of how much they are paying per unit for electricity. Also, consider having your "lights out" period during the hottest daytime hours.
 
yeah sounds like it would work as long as you can keep the open end of the bag from widening due to airflow thus pulling the ends out from under the door
 
it will pump the hot air into the room that you are trying to cool if you do not vent it out. the a/c will be fighting itself the whole time it's running.
 
look into a mini-split a/c system. it is an a/c unit in the summer AND a heater in the winter. you can get one for under $1000. you will never look back after buying one. i have a portable unit that will be going into my room this summer. after a few rounds i will invest into a mini split. a friend of mine loves his..it's always sunny and 77 degrees in his room.
 
My portable ac sits outside the tent with a duct hose running to one of the openings blowing inside, no worries about heat since it sits outside the tent!
 
It's sad to hear this, but it definitely is much better to be told the truth, rather than sugercoating it.
Thank you very much for the information.
 
I'll keep that in mind. I'm gonna try fiddling with setting it up tomorrow, and may the lord help me achieve what it is I am in need of. :)
 
haha, love how you instantly got my back OzBud . You the real MVP!

Yeah, unfortunately adding a split ac is not an option. Too much modding involved, and i'm not allowed to change any part of this rental apartment.
 
Daaaamn, I don't know how that didn't cross my mind. Having the unit outside the grow room, and blowing the cold air in!
And i'm supposed to be an engineer by profession, haha.

Love that idea. I might try experimenting with it. If that were the case, i'd have to find a way to direct all the cold air coming out of the ac underneath the door and into the grow room. hmmmmm. Maybe have a bin bag attached to the ac air output and underneath the door?
 
I think that the heat issue for indoor growing is one of the stickiest points of all, and I don't mean that in a good way. I have had to spend the most money on creating an environment that isn't too hot in my grow room. It is one of the reasons that I installed solar panels (got a nice chunk back from the govt, but still an expensive investment), so that I could lower my indoor temp. As I've written before, I didn't want to install a window AC unit because it would compromise the security of my crib. The chiller was another $300, and it works great: I don't regret that purchase at all.

I think that we cannabis growers are going to have to get real creative about how we grow indoors if summers continue to heat up to higher and higher temperatures...
 
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