Keeping Roots cool

MNXR250R

MNXR250R

I've been having trouble keeping my grow tent temperatures under 85degF (other posts I've made). Some warmer days without the house A/C running constantly (Wife doesn't like that) my temps can reach close to 90degF.  I am using DWC in 5 gallon buckets (2.5G nutrient solution in each). Solution temps eventually reach the same temp as the tent....obviously. Winter is coming and that will help, but only during the winter.
 
Nutrient temps above the mid 70's can cause a lot of problems. I haven't had any yet thankfully.  But I'm trying to build a system that can withstand the variations that normally occur throughout the year. Cold, warm, and hot.
 
So my question for today is.... Which is the best investment to control the nutrient solution temperature; a chiller for the nutrients, or a whole room A/C unit ?
 
For the nutrient chiller, I would use only this to keep the nutrient temps down, while allowing the plants temps to do as they will.... get hot !
 
For a room A/C unit, I would use the main cold air blast the chill the nutes, and have the remaining cold air control the room/tent temperatures.
 
Just looking for advice.
 
Thanks all !
 
Happy Growing,
 
Jeff
 
 
 
willard3 said:
You can move the nutrient reservoir out of the hot grow room.
 
Pipes and pumps are inexpensive.
Click to expand...
 
Yes of course, but I asked about a chiller or an A/C unit.... not how to change the setup.
 
I appreciate the comment.
 
Jeff
 
If you take cost out of the picture then whole room AC is your best bet. The nutrients will remain room temperature and plants love lower 70's temps.
 
On the flip side,
I know cold roots kill the plant but I honestly don't know how a plant would react to roots being cooler than the rest of the plant. 
 
Hawaiianero said:
If you take cost out of the picture then whole room AC is your best bet. The nutrients will remain room temperature and plants love lower 70's temps.
 
On the flip side,
I know cold roots kill the plant but I honestly don't know how a plant would react to roots being cooler than the rest of the plant. 
Click to expand...
Probably fine. The temp a few inches below surface level where the roots are is much cooler than the ambient air temperature on hot days.
 
nutrient chiller is very easy to implement and it's not expensive if you have basic electric circuit knowledge.   look for peltier cooler or thermoelectric cooler (TEC) on ebay, aliexpress or amazon.   good luck.
 
 
 
 
lek said:
nutrient chiller is very easy to implement and it's not expensive if you have basic electric circuit knowledge.   look for peltier cooler or thermoelectric cooler (TEC) on ebay, aliexpress or amazon.   good luck.
 
 
 
Click to expand...
 
 
I've seen these around.  Haven't look into them but I now I will. Maybe just the thing I need.
 
Thanks lek.
 
Jeff
 
the secret to get lowest temperature with peltier device is to dissipate heat.  if heat sink + dc fan is not enough, try this:
Have fun!!
 
 
lek said:
the secret to get lowest temperature with peltier device is to dissipate heat.  if heat sink + dc fan is not enough, try this:
Have fun!!
 
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the link, lek !
 
Not sure how powerful these coolers are. I'm sure they can cool a small system, but can it be scaled up to a 10 or 20 gallon system with ambient temperatures in the mid to upper 80's (DegF) without adding several of them ?  If I needed to any lots of these to cool my system, then I'd just prefer to buy a chiller.
 
So back to the question.... nutrient chiller or whole room A/C ?
 
Jeff
 
I will give you the same advice I give my clients: anything you can do to minimize heat gain is better than the buying and operating expense of a chiller.
 
willard3 said:
I will give you the same advice I give my clients: anything you can do to minimize heat gain is better than the buying and operating expense of a chiller.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the reply Willard. I agree with that of course. But there comes a point when you just can't suck enough heat out of an enclosed environment with sucking out all of the humidity as well (didn't make note of this part in my original post.  I want to keep relative humidity in the 60-80 range. I'm trying to duplicate the environment where most of the Super Hots grow... 80 degF and 80 % RH... roughly).
 
So then with the added information, would it be best to control the entire grow room temperature with A/C, or ignore to temperature in the tent and concentrate on keeping the root zone cool (chiller) ??
 
Thanks again for the reply !
 
Jeff
 
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