ventilation

[grannyT]

Hi everyone ! I have a 4x4 grow tent only 3 ft tall ...today when I checked it was 88 degrees in there...I unzipped the tent for the time being to help with the high temp... the exhaust fan is one that was sent with the tent , it's a 6 inch inline fan, the box says 160 cfm free air flow and 250 cfm booster flow, what is booster flow ?
Almost forgot this info, 2 by 2 T5 light and 2 fans. Do I need a bigger fan or what to do. 27 percent humidity. I put a bowl of water in the tent.. also lights out at 11 pm back on at 5 am.
I do appreciate any advice or opinions.
Thanks
gT

 

[CO Finest]

Re: ventilation,

A booster fan is for non restricted air flow or inline with another fan that is far down the line. The booster numbers are higher for the reason that it is helping air movement with another fan inline. That fan is not made to pull air threw a filter by it self. The reason they are sent with small tents is bigger fans can cause to much negative air presser. Now a normal in line fan would work but should have a controller box on it to adjust air flow to not over pull. The reason your tent did not come with that is it makes price to high for most buyers and is not needed in some case's. Now back to your set up. Do you have a cooler place near by to run a vent line too? Also just a tip. Set lights to turn off during the hot times of the day.This tends to help two problems. Plants getting to cold during winter and to hot during summer in most cases. What is open on your tent that the fan is bringing cool air in? Also How is the fan hooked up? meaning are you using it to pull or push air from tent? Sorry for all the ? I am trying to get a pic of your set up in my head to help you with best info. Without pic we have to ask a ton of ? to answer our thoughts about problems. I will be waiting for your answers. I wish you the best.

 

[Obi Wan]

Re: ventilation,

Hi gT,

Below are a couple images of 4 inch inline fans. The first is a light-duty inline fan often placed further down a duct to improve/boost performance of the main system fan. In some cases this is enough for a simple, small grow box with light ventilation requirements. These fans are quite weak. They do not have the power to push/pull air through long lengths of ducting, especially if there are corners and curves in the duct run, not to mention the extra drag caused by filters.

This second image shows a heavy-duty inline fan. These have a much stronger motor that can better handle the work load of moving air through duct work and carbon filters. There is a trade off though. With more power comes a larger size and more noise. Due to it's larger housing these fans can be troublesome to fit into small grow area. Many people opt to place them outside the grow box/tent so they don't lose valuable grow room height. There are also many ways to insulate the fan to help control the noise.

Another must have companion to these heavy duty fans is some type of speed control unit. These fans can move a lot of air very fast. Sometimes too fast causing excessive noise, low humidity issues and other grow room problems. A speed control unit will allow you to set the fan speed from 0 to 100% letting you dial in the sweet spot for your setup and conditions.

I hope this helps give a better idea about the differences between the two types of inline fans.

Good luck to you and happy growing,
/Obi-Wan Cannabinoid

 

[Obi Wan]

Re: ventilation,

One more quick note about speed control units. You will need to do a little research to make sure you pair up a proper speed control to the model of heavy-duty fan. Some units will cause the fan motor to hum very loud when set to less than 100%. Sometimes louder than the fan would be on its own. I first used a Speed Bully on my fan and was very disappointed with the result. It had received favorable reviews but just didn't work for me.

 

[grannyT]

Re: ventilation,

Thank you Obi wan and CO Finest for the info and help in understanding these things...
I am almost 51 on disability because of several back surgeries. The so called male friend that said he would help me is gone with the wind, so having to do this by myself and it's so hard to get it all set up. The members of 420 mag have been a big big help.
Thanks again Obi wan,
gT