When you’re growing indoor, venting grow tent outside is the usual(and expected) scenario.
But sometimes, you have no way but venting grow tent into the same room. And that might bring on a number of casualties whatsoever.
Now, what are these casualties? And is there any way out to resolve them and make keep the balls rolling?
If these questions are popping up in your mind right now, you’re just in the right place. We’ve broken down the risks, and issues in bite-size chunks, and provided 7 unique solutions for them.
Let’s take a break from whatever you’re up to and dive deep into the topic-
Contents
Venting Into Same Room: How Would It Look Like?
A grow system contains both intake and exhaust ports to take in the fresh air and push out used/hot air into the environment.
In this regard, the exhaust air can’t build up around the tent, as it will prevent the new air from coming it. On the other side, there should also be a source of fresh, cool air supply.
Now, the big problem is- all these demands are hard to meet in case your system is sealed inside a room.
When you’re growing inside a sealed(almost) environment, there are a few possible scenarios that might appear. Have a look-
- You’re inside a sealed room with no windows/holes across the walls.
- There is no closely located source of fresh air supply for the grow system.
- No scope of drilling through the walls or ceiling makes the situation even worse.
- For security or privacy reasons, your window or door may need to stay locked.
See, all these issues might bring on a major collapse to your whole grow system if you don’t find the right solution to sort them out.
What’s The #1 Problem?
You see, your plants are already inside a sealed environment. So, you’ve to manage a supply of fresh air for them which will provide them right CO2(to breathe in), right moisture(to transpire out) and right temperature(to strengthen stems).
And this seems to be the #1 problem when you’ve to manage it all from the air of that same, closed room.
The process of ensuring proper air circulation around the tent includes both exhaust and intake. It means you’ve to take the vented air somewhere out and manage to keep supplying new air as well
Apart from this, there are some other issues that might come on your way. Have a look-
- Smell buildup around the room.
- Heat buildup around the room.
- Dampness and mold buildup on the walls.
- Too humid air around the tent to let the plants transpire.
7 Must-to-follow Tips for A Healthy In-room Venting
This is the sweetest part of the article, where we’ve provided 7 actionable tips to check all of the possible issues while you’re venting inside the same room-
Tip 1 of 7: Make Sure the Room is Large Enough
As long as you’re venting inside the same room, there should an abundance of space in it. Because there are always going to be hot and humid air in the room. And provided that the room is spacious enough, this hot air can always be separated from the cool(comparatively) air down there at the bottom.
Now, how spacious it should be? Well, there is no direct answer to it. But for a grow system of the 5×5 base area, we prefer having at least 150-200 square feet of room area.
Basement grow room ventilation is, however, the best option in this regard. They use to be larger than any of your apartment’s room.
But how to vent grow room in apartment? Well, that’s possible if you’ve a small grow system, mostly with single plants. For venting small grow tent, closets or bedroom would do fine.
Tip 2 of 7: Find the Best Passive Venting Option
There is absolutely no way that your grow tent would be able to draw fresh air without any passive exhaust system at all.
As you’re not being able to push the exhaust air outside directly, you’ve to do it somehow indirectly.
Here are some options to consider-
Vent Grow Tent Out Window
The best option to vent the used air out is through the window. But in most of the cases, you might not have the option.
Reasons? Well, you might not let your neighbors know about the secret hobby of yours. Or you might not have a window at all, specially when you’re doing it all in the basement.
But somehow, if you’re lucky enough to have a window, take a ducting from the grow tent exhaust to the window. Make sure not to vent it just with the air pressure, and place a fan instead.
Duct out to A Different Room
In case you don’t have a window, the next possible option is to vent out the air through a different room. It can be the room next to it or even the adjacent bathroom.
In either case, you’ve to build up a ducting from the tent exhaust to the other door/room. So, there will be a significant fall on the air flow through the duct.
To come over this problem, place a fan at the last end of the vent which has at least 1.5x more powerful than the exhaust fan of the tent. This will maintain constant, uniform air flow throughout the ducting.
Try Venting Grow Tent into Attic/Chimney
Many growers consider it as a good option to vent through. But there are some serious issues that might take place.
Issue 1: First of all, it’s the smell. As the air is going to travel through the entire ceiling, the bad smell can irritate everyone in the house.
Solution: Well, using a good carbon filter right and the end/beginning of the grow tent exhaust is a quick solution to the problem.
Issue 2: Secondly, it’s the mold buildup due to the RH from the grow room air.
As attic is venting air from the whole house(including kitchen), there is always some heat in there. And the RH from the grow tent air is very likely to get stuck with this heat and cause mold on the attic.
Solution: To solve the issue, you can reroute it to a vent which is going out of your attic. This will avoid the build-up of humidity and heat when you vent grow tent into attic.
Tip 3 of 7: Keep the Exhaust-Intake Holes At Opposite Positions
No matter how hard you try, some warm air coming out of the exhaust system will be still there in the room. If you don’t want your plants to breathe it over again, there is a hack.
As you know, warm air is likely to be in the upper section of the room because of their light density. So, the air at the floor area will be comparatively cooler.
So, make sure that your exhaust system is at the top of your tent. And the intake hole is at the bottom of the tent.
Fortunately, most of the good tents come up with this exact setup. In case your’s one doesn’t make sure to make up the holes by yourself.
Tip 4 of 7: Use An AC Unit for the Room
Having an AC unit for the room where grow tent is housed will solve many problems of yours. In these cases, a mini-split AC is preferred instead of window ac or split ac.
Here are the perks you’ll receive from a good quality mini split ac in the room-
It’ll Keep The Temperature Down
Remember how temperature build-up is one of the challenges of venting inside the same room? Well, an ac unit can be the savior here.
It can Dehumidify Your Room(for A Price)
In ac units, there is a part where condensations form on a coil as the system runs. It will, therefore, fetch the moisture from the air and drips to a drainage system.
However, you’ve to keep a sharp eye to make sure that the air doesn’t get over-dry.
It Keeps Supplying New Air
ACs can’t take the air out, but it definitely can bring new air in. And that’s a great perk as you’re struggling with venting the tent inside the same room. In case you can’t bring on freshly new air from some other places, the ac can solve the problem.
Tip 5 of 7: Don’t Rely on Passive Venting
Sometimes, you might think that an open door would be sufficient enough to take the exhaust air out of the room. But that’s a complete fluke!
Exhaust air is pretty much hot, and they are most likely to stay stuck to the roof of the room. Unless or until you’re draining them out with an active exhaust for the grow tent ventilation system, it will be going to ruin up the whole plan.
Just use a ducting till the window/door/attic/chimney to take the exhaust air out through these openings.
Tip 6 of 7: Use A Premium Carbon Filter
We all know how important carbon filter is for a grow system. But when you’re venting into the same room, the role of these filters becomes even more. Because, coal dust might be recirculated around the grow area/room in such cases, which is bad for both the air and the plants.
Pay a bit extra for a premium quality carbon filter. Do a little bit of research and find out filters with Australian activated coal. Here is a guide on carbon filter 101.
Tip 7 of 7: Set the System Right for the Light/Dark Cycles
Plants are likely to transpire when there is darkness. And they do photosynthesis during the light cycle.
Also, heat buildup is more regular when the lights are on. And humidity buildup is more regular when the dark cycle is on.
So it’s very important to understand what your air circulation/temperature/humidity should be at these two stages. As you’re sourcing the intake air from the same room, you should keep these requirements in mind.
Also, make sure to circulate the air with inline ventilation fans with a proper timetable.
Possible Issues and Remedies
If you’ve managed to bring the whole system to stability, there are still some things that you’ve to keep an eye on. Here is a list of possible issues and remedies-
CO2 Filter Not Working
Sometimes, you might see the carbon filter not working actively. Means, the exhaust air won’t be smell-free at all.
The reasons can be either of these two-
- The activated carbon is saturated.
- The activated carbon can’t work in spite of not being saturated.
Remedies
In the first case, there is no other way except replacing the carbon filter or making a new carbon filter anyway. Before that, make sure to learn how long does your carbon filter last.
In the second case, it might be the humidity in the air who’d turned off the activeness of the carbons. In those cases, using a dehumidifier inside the tent would be the remedy.
Mold Buildup on Wall
Over regular venting into the same room, the wall of the room itself can get damp and build up molds. In case your walls aren’t with enough protective coatings, this is even more likely to take place.
Remedies
There is no other way except parting the wall from the humid air. You can try using a whole house dehumidifier to keep the air dry enough. Also, some ACs come with a built-in dehumidifier, which might help.
However, look for whether you’re venting through those little holes on the wall or not. Because these holes are there to protect the wall cavity, not to vent damp air from inside the room.
Imbalanced Cooling/Heating
When you’re using a mini-split ac unit to cool down the room where the tent is located, the cooling should be matched with the heat coming out from the tent.
Otherwise, an imbalanced heating-cooling ratio will cause either too humid or too dry air system.
Remedies
To calculate the heat, you can measure the temperature inside the tent, and make it 5-6 degree less outside. It will keep the supply of cool air on.
Another tip is- watt is watt, no matter it’s LED light or HPS light. As long as the power is the same, both LED and HPS will produce the same amount of heat.
Quick Grow Tent Ventilation Tips Before We Finish
- Keep an eye for any kind of temperature flux. Using cheap thermometers will do the job.
- If you can manage to connect the room with central heat and air conditioning, that would diminish many of your worries.
- Keep the doors and windows(in any) open for as long as you can.
- Don’t vent through the small vents on the wall of the room. These are there to protect the wall cavity from mold buildup.
- Be more careful about the condition of the whole venting system during summer. Comparing to winter, summer brings on more temperature and more humidity to any air system.
You still reading? Don’t finsih yet. Have a look at the complete grow system setup for a sealed grow room-
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