Tube heaters

[murphyblue]

Just now, Eldo said:

@murphyblue that looks like an effective solution.

 

Have you found the tube heaters have lowered your running costs?

 

Obviously they use less power when on but with thermostat I'd imagine they stay on for longer than the oil rad and may even out

 

To be honest i doubt they been on that much yet anyway the temps not dropped much here yet and lights are on 24hrs at moment so they are helping.

Take no notice of the temps on the controllers pic was taken when i first fired everything up in the cab.

I just checked the 2 govees one in the flower cab and one in the veg cab and both roughly the same 29/24 the 24c i checked was middle of night.

Its because my fan and filter side of the cab is right next to the open window i hate condensation.

If it gets too cold will close window and run de-humidifier in the room my cab is in (mancave) it worked well last year.

I suppose it also helps that i placed my cab directly above my boiler so all the pipes for the upstairs radiators are also heating the box when the heating is on.

If it gets mega cold can always move the tubes into the growing spaces and stick the backup oilrad in there but i really DON'T want to do that.

 

Insulation i still say is the key to keeping a small space cheap to run the better the insulation the cab will have better heat retaining properties which in turn will cost less to heat up that space.

For me a tent just doesn't cut it No insulation at all at lights off great if u got plenty of money to waste.

 

 

In my opinion if you only need a small amount to grow u won't go far wrong with an old large double wardrobe kit it out and jobs a good un.

 

 

[Clubs]

Tubes seem to be the way forward, eh? My oil rad was set on an Inkbird and set to 24.5C as setting it to 27/28C would have cost something stupid. Even set to that temp  my smart meter was reading over £11 a day, and that's a small LED fixture in the bedroom. The plants looked like shit when I switched it off but when I swapped it for a 45w heat mat and a 45w tube heater, they started looking better than they were before. The leccy meter is down to around £3.50 a day. I don't think tube heaters would quite cut it in Scottish winter with active intake though so that's why I'm thinking about sticking to the warmer months, of which we have one up here 

 

[Military Grade]

@Slippy One  Actually I Labeled that wrong , I made the right label but added the one previously by mistake.

 

This is the real 2 weeks

 

She's has been a fast grower from the day I put the seed in dirt, Sprouted in 24hrs

 

Since she's been in that new pot she's taken off even more, I was gonna start scrog training last night, but the new net I had bought was shit so ordered a new one.

[JonDaMon]

I utilise 2x80w tube heaters inside my grow room. 

my grow room is approx 3ft wide, 7ft long and 8ft tall. It’s a walk in wardrobe built into the house. 

I use an analogue heater controller which switches them on if the room drops to under 24C and I use a temp sensor fan speed controller for my fan. 

 

I added a 1 to 3 power adaptor to be able to plug both heaters into the same controller. 
 

works well for me currently on 12/12, thermostats are at ambient side of the room away from direct heat of the tubes. 
 

temp gauge at ambient level is hi 26C lo 21C approx. 
 

haven’t measured direct canopy temps etc but would assume a little higher. 
 

during winter I block off my external intakes and allow the air to come in under the door rather than from outside. 
 

 

 

[JonDaMon]

@Clubs there is also a lung room option like @Slippy One mentioned earlier. 
 

 

this is where you control the lung room, this could be a box built in your shed that acts as a lung for your intake air. 
 

 

intake air comes into the lung room and the lung room heats or dehumidifies the air. 
 

By controlling the lung room environment (which is usually a lot smaller than your grow area) you can effectively manage the incoming air temps before they are being drawn into your tent/grow area. 
 

Intaking circa 24C air from the lung room is then easier to maintain the stability of your tent. 
 

you could even try recirculating the air in the shed space. 
 

quite often enough passive fresh air will be drawn in to the area to keep Co2 from depleting etc.  

[Clubs]

@JonDaMon yes, that was what I was planning to build a box for, to make it long enough for an intake fan and a tube heater. I've already made a 125mm vent in the shed from which fresh air will be pulled but it will enter the shed before being drawn into the lung box. The real question is whether or not a tube heater will pack enough punch to make a difference in this configuration. 

I think I'll put 2x 135w in the grow space and an additional (maybe 80w one) in the lung box. Surely that will be more than enough if the outside temps aren't too cold, maybe May onwards. 

I'm not a fan of recirculating air tbh, I've always seen better results with good air exchange. 

Love your set up, very well thought out. 

[Strawberry Fields]

If you want to test some tube heaters amazon do 30 day no questions asked refunds.

 

Ive 3 in a 110cm square room in the loft.  They work OK but once winter kicks in i need my 500w radiator on too.

[JonDaMon]

@Clubs yeah I get you. 
 

it may be beneficial to allow your tent to passively pull the air from the lung box by only having an exhaust fan in the tent with passive intake from the lung box. 
 

you can use an active intake fan to push into the box. 
 

 

thanks for the kind words about the setup. 
 

I finally revised this setup in 2022. Had a lot of alterations to this area since starting to grow in 2009  

 

 

[MidgeSmith]

4 hours ago, Strawberry Fields said:

If you want to test some tube heaters amazon do 30 day no questions asked refunds.

 

Ive 3 in a 110cm square room in the loft.  They work OK but once winter kicks in i need my 500w radiator on too.

Is it not very well insulated, or does it just get that cold?

[Strawberry Fields]

On 25/11/2023 at 11:55 PM, MidgeSmith said:

Is it not very well insulated, or does it just get that cold?

 

Its insulated with 50mm board. It would be much better if i insulated the whole loft but i just dont have the funds at the moment, maybe next year ill get to it.

 

Ive not explained that well though, the 500w is in a sectioned of lung area and only kicks in at night. The tube heaters keep the roots zone warm at night but they do kick in during the day during cold days in winter.

[MidgeSmith]

Oh I see! Yeah. I used to grow in a loft, but many years ago and only in summer as there was no insulation.

[murphyblue]

Well impressed with the couple of 1ft 60w tubes i bought gonna get another for inside my flower cab.

I defo won't have to fire up the expensive oilrad then which is 650w compared to 180w from the 3 tubes which i can put where needed in my cab.

I think myself tube heaters are far better at putting heat where needed in smaller spaces and much more economical.

In larger spaces though will probably work out cheaper with an oilrad.

[Clubs]

@murphyblue "Well impressed with the couple of 1ft 60w tubes"  

what's the make of these tubes mate?  That's quite powerful for a 1 footer, could save me some materials and space if I could build a lung box to accommodate one or two of these. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Clubs

[Satchitananda]

17 hours ago, Clubs said:

@murphyblue "Well impressed with the couple of 1ft 60w tubes"  

what's the make of these tubes mate?  That's quite powerful for a 1 footer, could save me some materials and space if I could build a lung box to accommodate one or two of these. 

 

If you search Amazon for "1 foot tube heater 60w" you will find some.

 

 

[murphyblue]

18 hours ago, Clubs said:

@murphyblue "Well impressed with the couple of 1ft 60w tubes"  

what's the make of these tubes mate?  That's quite powerful for a 1 footer, could save me some materials and space if I could build a lung box to accommodate one or two of these. 

 

Just checked as couldn't remember the make is "Morris" got em from the big river site the 1fts are 60w and about £23.

My little lung space inside the cab is about 400x400x600 and got 2 in there and they are doing a cracking job so far.

Gonna get another one to put inside the flower cab.