Use of a humidifier

[SirGrowAlot]

I am having trouble keeping the temp down and keep the humidity high in my closet. I was reading through some blogs and I found someone reccomending a humidifier. Is this something that would be a good idea? it does seem that it would put humidity in the air, and maybe cool it down some?

Thank You in advance for your input

[ilikebike]

yes get yourself a cool mist or visible mist humidifier, they start at about $40 you can get them at walmart. Set it at half power and put it on a timer to run a full hour on then one full hour off. And repeat. that should give you the proper amount of humidity. After i stuck a small humidifier im my grow room it instantly brought the humidity up. the only thing that stinks is you gotta refill it like 2-3 times a week

[SirGrowAlot]

Cool. Im glad I did it now. The one I got dont have a timer though.. Maybe ill return this one and get one that does have on.
One thing that worries me though is what if the water vapor touches the lights or light bulbs? Could that be a fire hazard?

Thank You

[ilikebike]

ya just try to direct it away from the light bulb, the mist is very fine so it would have to be like directly on the lamp to fuck it up proably. Make sure your humdifier is a cool mist not a warm mist, because that will make your grow room HOT! and i ment to just buy an outlet timer to keep the humidifier on a timer. I didnt mean you needed a humdifier with a timer built into it. you can buy wall outlet timers at walmart for cheap

[SirGrowAlot]

Ohh okay.. about how muh do the outlet timers cost??

[SirGrowAlot]

Also, what do you tihnk the lights would do if some water did get on them? Would they just stop working? explode? or catch fire?

[ilikebike]

most likely it would short the ciricuit and probably "pop" the breaker. I guess it depends on what kind of enclosure you have but some are rated for wet locations. You'd have to be really trying to fuck something up in order to do so.

[OG13]

What kind of lights? HID's would most likely explode if water gets on the bulb, that's why outdoor fixtures have cover glass. T-5's and CFL's won't care unless they go swimming.

[ilikebike]

I use a humidifier in my grow closet, and im using an open winged reflector, i just have it pointed away from the bulb, nothing bad has happened and its been like that for over a month. No doubt it will probably blow up obviously electric and water dont mix. im sure you can point the humidifier out of the way and still be safe.

[SirGrowAlot]

I have some flourescents without a cover and a HID but it has a cover..
But all of that was good news...
What other ways do you all know of to cool off a room and add humidity?

[ilikebike]

cool room = ventilation fan or LED Lights or Cool Tubes or A/C or a combination of a few of these

Increase humidity = Humidifier or Bucket of water or combo of both

[OG13]

google swamp cooler.....it will work if your humidity is low and temp high. It is basically the same as a wick type humidifier