Newbie temp problems - Tent 40 Degree C!

[jt2142]

Hey guys. I purchased this tent kit off amazon:

It's all set up and running but I've done some temp tests and after about 30 mins it's ideling on 40 degree C! I already have seeds germinating so this is an absolute nightmare.

Could a cool tube be the answer to my problem?

Thanks guys any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Hi and welcome to 420!

Where in your tent do you measure the temperature? and what's the temperature outside the tent?

A cooltube might help a bit, but probably only a few degrees maybe 5.
Try having a fan blow on the bulb from below it might help.
Active inlet and a load icepacks in a bucket of water can also lower it a bit.

Try posting a pic of your tent the way you set it up.

 

[jt2142]

Hi and welcome to 420!

Where in your tent do you measure the temperature? and what's the temperature outside the tent?

A cooltube might help a bit, but probably only a few degrees maybe 5.
Try having a fan blow on the bulb from below it might help.
Active inlet and a load icepacks in a bucket of water can also lower it a bit.

Try posting a pic of your tent the way you set it up.

Thanks for your reply. I measured the temperature in the plant pots underneath the light, and also in the corner of the tent. Similar temps. I will try the fan directed to the bulb but I have 15 degrees to lose so I dunno if that is the issue I have took several photos of my setup. Hopefully it is just a rookie mistake in the setup that will sort it. This is my first grow so a lot of it is guess work. Thanks!

 

[jt2142]

Sorry I forgot to say. Temperature outside the tent is around 22/23. So a big difference!

 

[rhetorrikz]

Setup looks good try adding an intake fan instead of just a passive intake. Cool tube aswell and then youll probably be ok. but thats adding 2 more fans really.. and setting up the cool tube properly drawing outside air accross the bulb and venting that air straight back out of the tent .. u no what i mean .. Thats probably the cheapest route otherwise led is simpler but costs$ to get the wattage

 

[PurpleGunRack]

A 150 mm cooltube running with a small fan at intake and maybe one more at exhaust so you get the 22 degrees air flowing past the bulb could be the way to go. And perhaps add an active intake if more cooling is needed.

The tent is a bit small for that light, I think I read somewhere that 400w is recommended for that size tent and that 600w is recommended for the 1,2x1,2 tents, but it shouldn't be that big a difference.

Hope you can find an affordable solution so you can get your plants going soon.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Ye basically a cool tube or any other air cooled hood/reflector will greatly help

That requires another inline fan & more ducting tho to make it work - a bit more expense.

 

[jt2142]

Thanks for your help guys. Would it be worth me trying a 400watt bulb first? I've spent a lot of money and buying a cool tube and another fan and ducting is gonna cost me nearly another £100
Or would the 200watt not make a 15 degree difference of heat?

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Have you tried opening all the square inlets and pointing the fan directly at the light?

It's not recommended to run a 400w bulb on 600w ballast, so unless you have dimmable ballast and it'll cost you more than the cooltube setup and it's not gonna make a 15 degrees difference anyway.

I also have a little heat issue and I think it's beacause my extraction fan isn't powerful enough, but I'm not sure yet.

What's the airflow on your fan (m3/h)?

 

[jt2142]

Have you tried opening all the square inlets and pointing the fan directly at the light?

It's not recommended to run a 400w bulb on 600w ballast, so unless you have dimmable ballast and it'll cost you more than the cooltube setup and it's not gonna make a 15 degrees difference anyway.

I also have a little heat issue and I think it's beacause my extraction fan isn't powerful enough, but I'm not sure yet.

What's the airflow on your fan (m3/h)?

Just tried opening the inlets and putting the fan on the light. Still 30+ degree C after 5 mins
My extraction fans airflow is 180/245 m³/h.
So it seems a cool tube is the only answer?

 

[PurpleGunRack]

That could be part of the problem, mine is 300-350 m3/h and I think it's semi-weak.

 

[jt2142]

That could be part of the problem, mine is 300-350 m3/h and I think it's semi-weak.

I see. What type of extractor fan would you recommend mate?

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Ah more stuff...

Ye ya got budget kit hence £170 more likely not very ideal ?

We're gonna have to work on this which may come at a little extra cost, i just think of it as if ya get a couple of oz its paid for, the next grow ya break even & pretty easy to achieve.


Mmm i'm not in favor of using hps for seedlings even tho it can be done, i would be more tempted to use 6500k (kelvin) cfl or T5/8 tubes for veg. I use em cause they are cheaper on electric & get the job done for vegging than the rather more expensive MH bulbs or HPS & the dual spectrum counter parts !

Using a suitable cfl or T5/8 tube will reduce temp big time, it will do for vegging the girls or in till ya find the extra dosh to sort out the 600w hps issue.

Which i'm reasonable sure an air cooled hood will sort out the problem but all exhaust needs to be placed out side of the room ya growing in !


Oh by the way...

I use a 400w hps in a 90cm by 90cm by 180 cm tent it is good for 4 plants most of the time standard bush grow my ambient temps via passive vents are around 20c to 22c with lights on i hit hit on average 26c to 27c but could be a few C higher on hot days in summer. I don't use air cooled hoods at the moment ! my fan size is 5 inch does 380m3 per hour it is dual speed fan with 2 settings.

 

[jt2142]

Ah more stuff...

Ye ya got budget kit hence £170 more likely not very ideal ?

We're gonna have to work on this which may come at a little extra cost, i just think of it as if ya get a couple of oz its paid for, the next grow ya break even & pretty easy to achieve.


Mmm i'm not in favor of using hps for seedlings even tho it can be done, i would be more tempted to use 6500k (kelvin) cfl or T5/8 tubes for veg. I use em cause they are cheaper on electric & get the job done for vegging than the rather more expensive MH bulbs or HPS & the dual spectrum counter parts !

Using a suitable cfl or T5/8 tube will reduce temp big time, it will do for vegging the girls or in till ya find the extra dosh to sort out the 600w hps issue.

Which i'm reasonable sure an air cooled hood will sort out the problem but all exhaust needs to be placed out side of the room ya growing in !


Oh by the way...

I use a 400w hps in a 90cm by 90cm by 180 cm tent it is good for 4 plants most of the time standard bush grow my ambient temps via passive vents are around 20c to 22c with lights on i hit hit on average 26c to 27c but could be a few C higher on hot days in summer. I don't use air cooled hoods at the moment ! my fan size is 5 inch does 380m3 per hour it is dual speed fan with 2 settings.

Thanks mate. What fan do you use? A two speed one with more extraction power like yours might be what I need.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Thanks mate. What fan do you use? A two speed one with more extraction power like yours might be what I need.

I use a 5" wolfnado 2 speed 215 m3 & 385 m3 per hour.

Prima Klima, rhino are other brands worth looking at also which are 2 speed.


Ye i used an old RVK 5" about 210 m3 so i got the wolfnado even with 385 m3 the extra air flow really only made about .5 / 1c difference in temp.

 

[jt2142]

I see...I am thinking of investing in an LED lamp. A 600 watt one. Would this fix the temp issues? As they run quite cool.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

I see...I am thinking of investing in an LED lamp. A 600 watt one. Would this fix the temp issues? As they run quite cool.

I'm runnin 2 mars hydro reflector series approx. 600 watt draw @ 230v and my 120x120 Tent gets up to 33 degrees with outside being 22 degrees.

 

[jt2142]

Hmm do you think with 1 600 watt I could maintain the temps at around 25/26? I'm only growing 2 seeds you see

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Hmm do you think with 1 600 watt I could maintain the temps at around 25/26? I'm only growing 2 seeds you see

Sorry last post was from my phone, the two panels draw 600 watt combined.

You can get a 150 mm cooltube and a 150 mm intake fan and 10 meters of 152 mm ducting for a bit over 100 euro from growland, and probably similar price from a UK growshop. Or check out ebay.
I think it's the the way you'll get the most cooling for the least money and you can then add add more cooling gadgets as you go along.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Mmm a basic air cooled hood set up would work like this...

Carbon filter > fan > ducting > air cooled hood > ducting to exhaust point - it is about as basic as it can get but need passive vents open at base of tent.

A tent your size with the above set up may require a 6 inch fan/carbon filter plus ducting... appears slightly over gunned but one most include negative draw pressure through filter/ducting etc & the fan used !


More advanced set ups may include the following...

1. Filter > fan > ducting to exhaust point, may include a 2nd fan for intake tho !

2. Fan > ducting > air cooled hood > ducting to exhaust point, fan can be placed either side of hood/reflector tho i don't think it makes much difference ?


Just an idea to play with