Small 2 x 2 grow "box" with environmental controls

Question

Small 2 x 2 grow "box" with environmental controls

Bzdp (Electrical)

(OP)

7 Mar 22 18:35

Hello,

I am not an engineer, I am an electrician. I have created an insulated 2 x 2 x 4 grow box. It has a 500w heater with Temperature control. The box has survived winter nights maintaining a 75degree plus minus 3 degrees when air temp outside box has been as low as 38 degrees.

Well summer is coming and I am looking for ideas to cool that space to maintain the 75 degree when outside air temp can get as high as 110 degrees. The humidity in the box can be co trolled in winter by adding a jar of water, but it is hard to control humidity in summer. 50 to 70 RH inside is optimal.

Any ideas that don't cost an arm and a leg?

IRstuff (Aerospace) · Answer 1 · 2022-03-07 18:45:37

The cheapest thing would be a swamp cooler that you can get from Walmart for $20. Humidity will limit its effectiveness, though

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IRstuff (Aerospace) · Answer 2 · 2022-03-07 18:47:10

Please refrain from double posting

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Bzdp (Electrical) · Answer 3 · 2022-03-07 18:48:45

Sorry, did not know that different sections were shared. I put this in agriculture and HVAC sections. Won't happen again.

Bzdp (Electrical) · Answer 4 · 2022-03-07 19:00:03

A swamp cooler would work well in a dry environment, I live in a high humidity area. Would an evaporative cooler work in high humidity?

IRstuff (Aerospace) · Answer 5 · 2022-03-07 19:20:02

It's a matter of effectiveness; a swamp cooler would simply not cool as much as it might have.

https://piec.com/5-ways-humidity-affects-evaporati...

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IRstuff (Aerospace) · Answer 6 · 2022-03-07 19:23:14

It might just be easier to crab a room AC onto your enclosure: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arctic-King-5-000-BTU-1... and it's not THAT expensive, although for your stipulated enclosure size, it might actually get too cold.

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miningman (Mining) · Answer 7 · 2022-03-07 20:36:52

I'm going to out on a limb here, and I could be 100% wrong, but your project sounds very much like a small localised marujana grow op. ARe you prepared for the complaints from your neighbours and the visits from the local police authorities.??? Your winter conditions will not generate much air exchange from your box , but that statement will not be true in the middle of summer!!

Bzdp (Electrical) · Answer 8 · 2022-03-07 21:13:01

It is completely legal here, if that is what this is for. There is no product o. The Market, cannibus or other horticulture, that allows for a complete grow environment in an area with no environmental controls.

This could be used to flower orchids in the summer, cultivate lettuce in the winter, or grow what ever recreational or medical flowers you wish.

I thought maybe adapting a refrigerators cooling system, but the air exchange poses a problem. A mechanical engineering student I have been in contact with seems to think that is the biggest problem. I may have to construct a lung box, but I was hoping people smarter than me may have a better working idea.

IceStationZebra (Mechanical) · Answer 9 · 2022-04-09 18:44:18

One option is thermal mass like rock, depending on how cool it gets at night. Could make a bed of rock with a tube running thru the middle that pulls night air thru it to cool it down. Then during the day it will absorb heat from inside the grow box. Depending on how complicated you are willing to go could add dampers/fans to better regulate the temperature. Many options/variations are possible.

Similar to above but using a liquid. This could facilitate better regulation but would require heat exchangers, fans, pump, etc. Would need to prevent algae and such if using pure water. I got a used 250 gallon tote to store rainwater for $35 - YMMV. Might even be able to use pool water but it will require a lot more flow due to the higher starting temperature.

Probably not practical, but something we did on the farm was take advantage of the fact that we used 100's of gallons of water a day that came out of the ground at 54°. We used it in a water/milk heat exchanger to drop the milk temperature before it went in the bulk tank, then the water was fed to the cows. This would only work if your water comes out of the ground cool enough to be effective and you use enough to be useful, like maybe irrigating the lawn?

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Small 2 x 2 grow "box" with environmental controls