First Grow Journal - Wilma System

[Mr. Krip]

Thanks Mr. Krip,

I got a quick question for everyone.

My humidity is reading between 80 and 90 %. I think I am ment to keep it at 60% or lower to prevent bud rot. I put a cup ful of white dry rice to see if it would do anything but it hasn't made a difference. I have read that I might need a Dehumidifier. Is there any other way to lower the RH on a budget?

Thanks

Dig, that humidity is definately too high.

The best way to lower humidity is to increase air exchange, assuming your outside RH is lower. Higher temps help, but there's a limit on how high you want to raise temps. Rice will act as a dessicant, and you could try something like one of those "Damp Rid" buckets, but with either, if you're exchanging the air regularly with air at a high RH, they'll probably do little to help. So, if your outside RH is above 50-60%, you'll probably need a dehumidifier somewhere. Hopefully, that's not the case and you can just improve your air exchange.

 

[digahdee]

Thanks for that bit of info Mr. Krip,
I have a 100mm extract fan setup with a carbon filter but dont turn it on often. Will it help lower if I have this on more.
I noticed the RH is higher when lights are off, I guess thats because the Higher temps from the lights have gone down.
Just checked my RH levels outside the tent and they are 70%. If I need to get a dehumidifier, do you know of any good ones for a 1.2*1.2*2.0 area of space.
Thanks

 

[Mr. Krip]

Thanks for that bit of info Mr. Krip,
I have a 100mm extract fan setup with a carbon filter but dont turn it on often. Will it help lower if I have this on more.
I noticed the RH is higher when lights are off, I guess thats because the Higher temps from the lights have gone down.
Just checked my RH levels outside the tent and they are 70%. If I need to get a dehumidifier, do you know of any good ones for a 1.2*1.2*2.0 area of space.
Thanks

Dig...geez...you must live in a tropical rainforrest or something? Probably just UK weather, though!

OK...so the technical answer is that running the fan more will help, but will only help lower RH down to 70% at best. I don't use a dehumidifier, at least not yet, so I don' want to try to recommend somethinig I haven't used myself.

I have heard people say good things about the EVA units, but make sure you can one of the electric ones and not just one that uses dessicant. An added benefit is that the water extracted is basically distilled water and can be re-used to water your plants.

Here are a couple of cheap EVA units (you'll need to check the effective area), but I'd try to get some advice from some of the growers who are using one:

Eva-Dry EDV-1100 ELCTRIC Petite Dehumidifier with Whisper Technology

Eva-Dry EDV-2200 Electric Petite Dehumidifier (Mid-Size capacity)

 

[digahdee]

Thanks for that Mr.Krip,

I was looking at the first dehumidifier you sent. Im going to do a bit more reading and see if I can improve my air exchange but if nothing has improved by a couple of days I guess I will have to invest in a dehumidifer.

How long will I be able to keep the RH as it is?

Im at day16 since I switched to 12/12.

Thanks for your info once again.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Thanks for that Mr.Krip,

I was looking at the first dehumidifier you sent. Im going to do a bit more reading and see if I can improve my air exchange but if nothing has improved by a couple of days I guess I will have to invest in a dehumidifer.

How long will I be able to keep the RH as it is?

Im at day16 since I switched to 12/12.

Thanks for your info once again.

I don't know that I, or anyone, can answer that question specifically, but the first thing I would do is increase air circulation ASAP cuz' that will help prevent bud rot, which is the first concern.

The next concern would be stunting the growth of the plants due to a possible inability for them to transpire the excess water into the air, which is already heavy with water. I'm guessing that's somewhat strain dependent. If you keep your air circulation in check AND your plants don't seem stunted, you may be able to get thru the whole grow with no problems, but I would do whatever I can to lower humidity.

I can't remember the exact saying I heard, but the gyst of it is that $1 spent on improving your environment beats $100 spent on nutes!

 

[digahdee]

Hi again,

I went down and got a Dehumidifer, details of it are -

Colour: white.
Suitable for room size 15 to 20m²
0.25 litres moisture extracted per day.
0.5litre water tank.
Tank full indicator.
Visible water level.
Auto shut-off.
Removable filter.
Size H29, W17, D16cm.

Grow tent is 1.2*1.2*2.0.

I placed it in the grow tent on the floor and left it on for a couple of hours but the RH only went down to 70%. I thought it would lower it more then this.

Has anybody got some advice on how to use these and get the best results from them.

Thanks

 

[Mr. Krip]

Hi again,

I went down and got a Dehumidifer, details of it are -

Colour: white.
Suitable for room size 15 to 20m²
0.25 litres moisture extracted per day.
0.5litre water tank.
Tank full indicator.
Visible water level.
Auto shut-off.
Removable filter.
Size H29, W17, D16cm.

Grow tent is 1.2*1.2*2.0.

I placed it in the grow tent on the floor and left it on for a couple of hours but the RH only went down to 70%. I thought it would lower it more then this.

Has anybody got some advice on how to use these and get the best results from them.

Thanks

Dig, you may want to try putting it outside the grow tent in the room you're bringing fresh air in from. Remember, if your outside RH is 70%, when you bring in fresh air, you're bringing in air at 70% humidity. Try dehumidifying before you bring the air in.

 

[Mr. Krip]

BTW...I don't know what the rate is that it removes water from the air, since I've never used one, so perhaps you just need to give it more time?

 

[digahdee]

I think the dehumidifer is not to good, I left it on for about 6 - 8 hours and it only dropped a little so am going to take it back and look for another one.

Back to the plants - 4 in tent are 67 days old from seed - 17 from switching to 12/12.

5 SLH are 25 days old from seed. Growth seems slow with these due to only using a 125w CFL. I want to put them under a 400w MH but the electric is costing too much

Heres a few pictures.

 

[digahdee]

Ok, got the humidity sorted out now. I went and changed the dehumidifier I had for a different one and its now keeping the RH at 50%.
Just wondering how long any one who reads this leaves theirs on for? "if they use one".

 

[Sky Rocket]

Ok, got the humidity sorted out now. I went and changed the dehumidifier I had for a different one and its now keeping the RH at 50%.
Just wondering how long any one who reads this leaves theirs on for? "if they use one".

Dig I run my frigidaire demudifier on 24/7 in order to maintaih a rh anywhere between 35 to 55%. Where I live I havve to keep it on for 24/7. If I don't use it the rh will run up to 90%. When I run the dehumidifier on it takes less than 30 minutes to drop it from 90% to 50%. I hope that helps.

 

[digahdee]

Thanks for that Sky Rocket,
When I have mine on it takes bout 30 mins to get to 40% from 80%. I was just wondering if I could get away with having it off during the night as its all set up in my bedroom and it makes quite a bit of noise.
Thanks again

 

[Xlr8]

Hey Dig - sounds like you have quite a battle on your hands with the humidity. Probably not the answer you want, but if you are dealing with that high of humidity, you are going to want to keep running it 24/7, in my opinion. I sometimes battle humidity, too. What I do is have a decent sized humidifier (45 pint) running outside of my grow space. it's about 2 feet tall, and 1 1/2 feet wide made by LG. I think it was around $200 US. It keeps the humidity in the room outside of the grow space in check. I need to add that I've had good luck with my LG, but many have not, so if you end up needing something like that, check reviews first.

In addition, I have the EvaDry Petite dehumidifier that was mentioned in another post that I put "in" my grow space. I also have a pretty small grow space currently (2'x2'x3' tall or so). Between the two, I'm able to keep RH between 45-50% throughout flower.

As your plants get further into flower and start putting some weight on the buds, your humidity issue will be critical. It's a must that you keep humidity below 60% at all times late in flower. Otherwise you will be susceptible to mold and bud rot issues. I prefer to keep RH between 45-50%. I'd hate to see you lose your crop due to humidity issues - you've put a lot of love into them I'm guessing.

It sucks, but my dehumidifier is noisy too. However, I use it to my advantage as the noise also conceals other fan noises in my grow space. Nobody questions the noise of a dehumidifier, but they might wonder about mysterious noises that are coming from a concealed space.

my friend!

 

[digahdee]

Thanks for that Xlr8,
The bud rot is what I'm worried about most. Im either going to have to put up with the noise or move the flowering plants in to the bathroom and bring the SLH's into the tent.
The new dehumidifier specs I got are __

Suitable for room size 15 to 25m²
10 litres moisture extracted per day.
1.5litre water tank.
Tank full indicator.
Visible water level.
Auto shut-off.
1 speed setting.
Continuous drain facility.
Electronic control panel.
Removable filter.
Size H42, W33, D26cm.

It seems to work well and gets the humidity levels down quite quickly.
Well I'll see what the end of this coming week is like and then decide if I am to move them or not.
Thanks for your input.

 

[JimmyMac65]

Nice Grow Dig......Yes Keep your Humidity below 40% , Lower the better, thats what helps the crystals to form in force, the lower humidity.
Helps to prevent bud rot, keeps pests away, they too like a humid enviroment.
I keep my Humidity around 30% for the strain I'm currently working with which is a NL/Williams Wonder Cross and a blueberry

 

[digahdee]

Thanks JimmyMac,
The new dehumidifier seems to be doing the job - just makes abit of noise. Do you keep yours at 30% throughout all of flowering or only last 2 weeks?

got a few new pics - females in tent are getting quite big i think.

4 in tent are 68 days from seed - 18 from switching to 12/12.
SLH are 26 days old from seed.

I've upped the E.C to 2.0 now aswell, going to be the highest it gets. PH is at 5.8.

Is it ok to leave the dehumidifier where I have left it in the tent?
I cant make any other space for it, also will the heat from the light damage it?

Thanks

 

[Xlr8]

Hey Dig - I agree with JimmyMac that lower RH is often better, but it can get too low, too. Some plants aren't completely tolerant of RH as low as 30% (Hemprocket had a few problems with an RH that low, for example). If you are able to keep it around or slightly below 50% you'll still get nice frosty buds and a great harvest with low risk of mold and problems (assuming all else is good). I'm guessing it would be a difficult task to keep it super low for you, anyway.

Personally, I do like to have my lowest RH toward end of grow for the reasons JimmyMac mentioned. He goes a little lower than me, but has a great point about how it can help frost 'em up a little, too.

 

[digahdee]

Hi Xlr8,
I seem to be able to keep the RH within 35%-45% quite easy now, so think all is going to be ok with the RH. The new dehumidifier is doing its job well.

I have read that some strains suffer with stress when the RH is as low as 30% thats why I wasn't too sure.

Theres so much new bits going on when I check my plants when I wake up. I have one question, I pinched a few branches that was getting close to the light about a week ago. They have recovered and growing upwards and looking healthy. I was wondering when they gets close to the lights, can I pinch the same branch again but not in the same place?

Thanks

 

[Mr. Krip]

Dig, nice job on getting the RH under control!

 

[JimmyMac65]

Nice Job bringing down the Humidity , I control mine through the use of a Exhaust Fan vented outside through a carbon filter first for the obvious reasons, My house is usually at around 30% Rh unless I turn on the humidifier which I haven't had to due for a while. My fan is on a thermostat so I kill three birds with one switch, Humidity, odor and Heat set it and could almost forget it. Well Done Brother....