painfreeliving Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Hey all, I'm 5 weeks into my first grow in a tent, in the loft. As predicted temp control has been challenging and a big learning curve! Had an idea and welcome thoughts - I may build a small Ply/MDF box/room around the tent, maybe a foot or so bigger. Add in cut outs for ducting and a hole for the wiring, then run a fan from the house into that space - either adding air in when its cold or extracting in the summer. My thinking is its probably easier to regulate the air temp around the tent - which should stop the extreme swings without having the expense of insulating a massive area of roof and loft. I could just insulate the box room. The total air volume shouldn't be too big for a 6inch fan to supply as obviously the tent will have its own air supply to it and takes up the majority of the space. Think it would work?! My loft temps this last month swing between 12-13 and up to 37-38 Finally I'm regretting not getting a temp probe controlled extract fan as my night time lights on temps fall if the fan is left on the same setting as during the day...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kronic420 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Have you insulated the tent ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painfreeliving Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share Posted June 23, 2021 1 hour ago, kronic420 said: Have you insulated the tent ? Yes, I have with some of the silver bubble wrap insulation sheeting. It has helped keep kept down a bit so far. Just thinking i may bite the bulllet on another 6inch fan with temp control and then use the current one to help the climate around the tent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannaboy_420 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 (edited) Insulate really well, pull your air from the coolest room you have upstairs and try and exhaust your air straight outside Edited June 23, 2021 by cannaboy_420 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painfreeliving Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share Posted June 23, 2021 Just now, cannaboy_420 said: Insulate really well, pull your air from the coolest room you have upstairs and try and exhaust your air straight outside I cant justify the cost of insulating the whole loft and thats my issue really. The tent has air feed from a cool room and vents outside already, just thinking I can add another extract or intake to an enclosed room around the tent if it would help stabilise the climate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kronic420 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Insulation boards around the tent is what I’ve done, been growing in the loft a good few years and you’ll always struggle without insulation. On the hottest days in the summer it still gets hot in the tent but I still do just fine plenty of air flow and good watering is key. Intake air from from the house helps a lot both in summer and winter . If you do get insulation board get the thickest you can afford iv got 75mm thick ones but thicker would be better. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonge Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 Hi there, I loft grow..I used to try everything to keep things stable, duvets taped around tent etc for the winter … all never really worked and had mediocre harvests till I upgraded a few things…. you defo need a fan controller with probe to keep air temps sorted .. I also have 2m sq. 110w underfloor heating mat from most diy shops under some laminate floor and set on a thermostat around 20c.. keeps the roots cosy ..massive difference to my grows as these two things keep environment pretty stable in my 1.5m groom. 2 less things to knacker up.. good luck wi growing.. nothing beats yer own…cheers g 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 On 23/06/2021 at 7:43 PM, painfreeliving said: I cant justify the cost of insulating the whole loft How long do you think you will be using the loft? It doesn't have to cost a fortune, I used the rockwool type stuff and boarded it with plasterboard. If you're using it for a few years it's a no brainer. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie117 Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 Personally I'd take the hit and buy some 70mm (minimum) insulation board and build a room around the tent as you say, a AC infinity fan with the probe sensor would be a good addition too I'm in the process of building a 1.2m x 2.4 loft room and I've opted for 70mm kingspan boxed in with 12mm ply then wrapped the whole room in superquilt aluminium wrap hopefully that will be sufficient but time will tell! Underfloor heating, air drawn from the house and a good capable extraction fan will make a big difference to environmental control 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painfreeliving Posted June 27, 2021 Author Share Posted June 27, 2021 2 hours ago, Rookie117 said: Personally I'd take the hit and buy some 70mm (minimum) insulation board and build a room around the tent as you say, a AC infinity fan with the probe sensor would be a good addition too I'm in the process of building a 1.2m x 2.4 loft room and I've opted for 70mm kingspan boxed in with 12mm ply then wrapped the whole room in superquilt aluminium wrap hopefully that will be sufficient but time will tell! Underfloor heating, air drawn from the house and a good capable extraction fan will make a big difference to environmental control 13 hours ago, KC said: How long do you think you will be using the loft? It doesn't have to cost a fortune, I used the rockwool type stuff and boarded it with plasterboard. If you're using it for a few years it's a no brainer. Thanks both, the loft is about 20m x 4 or 5m in total so insulating the while thing would cost me far more than I smoke I dont need to be growing massive amounts but I do really enjoy the process and it keeps me with something to do so willing to invest where I need to. I'm not sure how long i will continue up there either, may pull out over winter and move into the house if I can Think youre both correct, insulating a smaller area is going to be necessary if it stays up in the loft, along with a temp controlled fan and root heating, defo so in winter when temps drop. My plan for now is going to see how it goes with these 4 who are at week 7. With the weather being more stable this last couple of weeks its been ok and now consistently between 23 and 28. It was them sunny blasts that caused me the biggest issues, right when I was learning how to control things better so it took its toll on the plants. Going to crack another 4 and get them ready to enter the tent when these are finishing and then they may be all i need (and probably way more besides) until next spring time. Thanks for all your input 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSZZ Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 On 23/06/2021 at 5:16 PM, painfreeliving said: either adding air in when its cold or extracting in the summer. You'll want to be extracting all of the time regardless of time of year. As for the intake fan, you could turn it on during the hotter months and turn it off, leaving it passive, during colder months. Building a box around the tent with insulation will help you out loads, personally I'd probably make it a little bigger than a foot across all around just incase you wanted to add stuff later like external heating or a water tank, or even if you fancy a bigger tent - you'll be gutted if you shoot future you in the foot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painfreeliving Posted June 27, 2021 Author Share Posted June 27, 2021 2 hours ago, GSZZ said: You'll want to be extracting all of the time regardless of time of year. As for the intake fan, you could turn it on during the hotter months and turn it off, leaving it passive, during colder months. Building a box around the tent with insulation will help you out loads, personally I'd probably make it a little bigger than a foot across all around just incase you wanted to add stuff later like external heating or a water tank, or even if you fancy a bigger tent - you'll be gutted if you shoot future you in the foot. Yeah the tent has its extraction on 24/7 dont worry, Im new to it but not that new I've just started a grow diary after meaning to since I joined up here should anyone want to take a look 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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