Poll: Highland Nep. Cooling Methods

[Z_Canada]

Yes, there is a large fan attached to the radiator (from behind, so its not shown in the picture). It is the same fan that I toggle to control the temperatures. It has the added bonus of moving humidified air around the tank to avoid stagnation.

The circuit also controls a system to fill the humidifier and water my plants. There are water level sensors and humidity sensors that detect when things need to be turned on. Unfortunately, the watering pump broke (turns out it wasn't submersible). I'm waiting on a new one, but again all of this needs to wait a few weeks when I'll have more time .

 

[rattler]

The fact people want a completely sealed system worries me a bit because I think the fresh air hardens plants. Despite the high RH% humidity the leaves on my plants were not not soft and supple like plants grown in a traditional closed terrarium but firm and compact.

gotta figure though swords, you live some place with decent humidity......i dont, once you start hitting -10 and lower there really isnt much humidity in the air around here.......hell unless its raining around here the humidity stays pretty low naturally in the spring, even in my basement......when i get my chamber built it wont be completely sealed cause i aint shooting for 100% but its gonna need to be mostly sealed to keep it at 75-80%

 

[swords]

The humidity of my unadulterated incoming air is only 20% for most of the year, that's why I use the ultrasonic humidifier/humidistat set to 80% plugged onto the air vent for the incoming fresh air to make it HL Nep appropriate. If I don't plug on the humidity input all the lids on the Neps will close and that's it for those pitchers.

In the early stages of my design (2001-2002) I had two inputs, one for humidifier input and one for fresh air but it didn't work to have them mix inside the growing area, it had to be mixed in the duct before it reached the plants.

 

[rattler]

really? woulda figured higher than that as im always miserable when i head over your direction....28 years of living on the high plains, i dont tolerate humidity all that well

 

[swords]

When I was a little kid I used to get night time nosebleeds from the dry air. Luckily I seemed to have out grown that.

I'm sure the actual outside is moister since there are ferns, mushrooms and mosses growing in the woods around my condo. But the air circulating underneath the lamps where my plants are is only 20% if I don't do something to change it. Misting the plants raises it to about 36-40% but once the water droplets evaporate it goes right back down to 20% within half an hour.

 

[Mikey3288]

Well since the OP asked for experience with current setups I'll chime in my two cents.

I have a relatively small grow area that I cool using the ice bottle method haha. I'm surprised no one mentioned the ice bottles yet! Anyhow it's about a 35" x 20" x 26" enclosure with an oblong house shape if you can imagine it. I use two 2 liter bottles in the back, and the entire enclosure has a single foam layer 3/4" thick for insulation. With the lights on during this time of year it gets from around mid 70s to low 80s. So I'll wait for about 45 minutes to an hour after the lights are off and put the ice in. It takes a few hours but it can get the enclosure down to the low 50s, I keep it right next to the window so that always helps. My thermometer has recorded as low as low 40s.

And because the ice sucks the humidity I run a ultrasonic humidifier hooked to a humidistat. This system has been working out well for me, specially being a poor college kid on a budget. Hopefully this gives you another option to look at!

 

[GrowinOld]

Thanks!

Thank you EVERYONE!
Of course ALL ideas and thoughts
are welcome and much appreciated!

It would be nice to hear from those who are using other methods
than those already described.

I have wondered about the people using air conditioners,
as I am curious about how cold an AC can get a grow-chamber/room,
as it has a thermostat that limits how cold it can go.

Also wonder about any problems with needing to drain off a ton of water,
lest it pollute ones water supply. (Would the water running over the
copper tubes be enough to really pollute the water runoff?
What about aluminum??) I thought of a system to make use of the
condensed water, since its pure, but I suppose it won't be once run
thru a few condensing cycles.

I AM interested in any of the problems people have with whatever systems
they are using. I think we all know about the hassles of lugging water/ice
bottles every day.

Again, thanks to all of you who have contributed.
Your input is MUCH appreciated.

The only way to bring the cost of Highland plants down, is when its possible
for near everyone to grow them well.

Paul

 

[nightsky]

I have wondered about the people using air conditioners,
as I am curious about how cold an AC can get a grow-chamber/room,
as it has a thermostat that limits how cold it can go.



Paul

I can set mine from 61F to 75F. It is outside my growchamber (cooling the room the chamber is in), and the chamber is humidified. Even still, I only have to empty the condenser water collector about once every two weeks. It works great, but... it can get a bit pricey August.

 

[seedjar]

The condensation/metals question is a good one, Paul - I hadn't really given it too much thought before. I think they make cleanable dehumidifiers that have ceramic condenser plates, though. Otherwise you might be able to treat your cooling coils with something like a thin silicon epoxy to seal them. That would probably interfere with cooling efficiency, though. Maybe Rain-X?
~Joe

 

[cmm889]

I had a small window unit that I just designated for the tank itself, ran the aluminum tubing from the main cooling duct on the AC unit... all I did was turn it to "full blast" basically and just kept it on a timer... it was pretty simple, but if you dont have a window unit/window. I guess this may not be much help..

 

[swords]

That's precisely what I do in the summer, run the duct from the AC output to the chamber - still intersected by the ultrasonic humidifier to make sure the air is well saturated. I leave the AC going most of the day too since I don't like heat any more than the HL plants do! Nights don't get down to 50*F in August. August is likely the hardest month to get below 60*F at night even with the A/C. However, outside of mid June - mid Sept my window duct method is totally hassle free for me. In mid June hook the fan to the output of the window AC (in the window) and I'm done.

"Set it and forget it" is my motto, must be from sleeping thru all those infomercials!

The plants can deal with 60*F at night for those few months and come out all guns blazing as soon as the nights cool down in Sept and grow well until next June when they slow down.

 

[Mikey3288]

Hey swords, I actually liked your idea a lot and decided to mimic it (hopefully you don't mind..)

It helps me out a lot because now I don't have to worry when I leave for the weekends and when I'm on breaks. That ice thing was starting to become a hassle haha. At any rate I'm having some trouble with the humidity. I can't get it above 60%! I use a reptifogger ultrasonic humidifier and it intersects with the ducting before it reaches inside the chamber. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of humidifier you're using? And by the way is it quiet? My grow chamber is inside my bedroom so quiet is a must have.

Thanks!

 

[swords]

There's no problem using any part of my setup. I'm glad it makes things easier for you - that's how I like it - easy!

I just used plain old ultrasonic humidifiers from the pharmacy that hold like 2 gallons of R/O water. My highland chamber had a Vicks humidifier and the lowland chamber had a Reli-on brand humidifier. Both ultrasonic foggers and both very quiet. If they make any noise there's definitely a problem!

I remove the directional output and blocked the hole with duct tape and inserted a length of 1" thick hose to run the fog into the ducting. On the frog board someone used a 2" to 1" PVC reducing coupler to make the hose fit the hole on the humidifier (the directional output of the ultrasonic humidifier is 2") It sure looks way better than what I had so when I mod my next humidifier for the new highland chambers I'm going to do what he did.