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Post by Maiden on May 27, 2015 18:17:15 GMT -5
What a bad day :-(
This morning, when i wokeup i realize i didnt hear any a/c sound... So i checked in my grow room and my A/C was stopped. Broken.
-panic-
The temperatures was at 29C inside the tanks, for many hours. I ran to my local home depot and bought a 500$ A/C 12000btu new unit for my plants. Now everything is installed, and running. The temps are now ok, but i hope my heliamphoras will not be affected ...
I have some unique specimens impossible to find again, so i hope...
:-(
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Post by WillyCKH on May 27, 2015 18:41:31 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps installing a temperature alarm and a backup system (in case of power shortage, etc.) to prevent this to happen again?
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Post by Maiden on May 27, 2015 18:58:26 GMT -5
Yes its a good idea. In the next few weeks, i will repair my old A/C, and i will use it as my backup system.
Sometimes growing cps is fun, but when a collection start to gain some money value, its very stressfull when the summer heat strike. Its 32C right now in Montreal.
Winter, where are ya !
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Post by lloyd on May 27, 2015 19:15:07 GMT -5
I wouldn't think that 29°C for 1 day would damage the plants. An easy fail safe is having a thermostat turn off the lights.
Maybe a bunch of those cold packs at the bottom of the terrarium acting as a temporary heat sink.
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Post by Maiden on May 27, 2015 21:31:01 GMT -5
I wouldn't think that 29°C for 1 day would damage the plants. An easy fail safe is having a thermostat turn off the lights. Maybe a bunch of those cold packs at the bottom of the terrarium acting as a temporary heat sink. Yeah, i hope the couple hours at 29C will be a joke for my lil guys. Snappy grow them sometimes at 30C+, so this give me hope! Maybe im just a lil bit parano also.. For the icepaks, yes i add 2-3 icepacks in each terra every nights, this help a lot. But the key here is to find a good balance with temperatures, and RH%. Because ice suck up all the RH% in a closed tarraria.
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Post by shoggoths on May 28, 2015 8:27:30 GMT -5
For the icepaks, yes i add 2-3 icepacks in each terra every nights, this help a lot. But the key here is to find a good balance with temperatures, and RH%. Because ice suck up all the RH% in a closed tarraria. I'm not sure I'm following you well on this. Cold air will hold less water than hot air that's why when temperature drop after lights close there's usually condensation on the glass. Why would lowering the temperature with ice pack would suck the RH differently from dropping the temperature with AC ?
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Post by Maiden on May 28, 2015 8:52:20 GMT -5
The RH% in the tanks remains the same whatever if my a/c is running or not.
Im not sure if i understand well your question martin.
But i can say, if i put too much icepacks in my terras, the RH% drop at 30%. So i have to find the right balance between temperatures and relative humidity.
I think ice suck up much more RH% than cold air.
By the way, i dont have a scientist approach, i have a horticultural approach. Im not trying to understand everything, i just test n try, and i stick with whats is working in my setup.
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Post by lloyd on May 28, 2015 9:09:28 GMT -5
Lowering temperature in a closed system should cause condensation and lower the absolute humidity. If condensation occurs the relative humidity should already be close to 100%. Since the system is not closed (to air, water or heat), we'll have to rely on empirical evidence.
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Post by shoggoths on May 28, 2015 9:11:03 GMT -5
Yeah, it is alright but it still tickle me.
Do you think the drop of RH could be caused by the fact that you open your terrarium to put the ice in ? And don't have to do so with the AC ?
I think I'll make a test at home. It is revelent, I was thinking to add ice pack to my heli set-up because I don't want to lower all my growroom RH with a AC unit. My plants are not all in a close environment.
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Post by lloyd on May 28, 2015 9:18:57 GMT -5
I suppose cold packs (if there isn't much air flow) could remove water while causing only local cooling, possibly lowering RH. Experimentation is best.
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Post by Maiden on May 28, 2015 9:44:38 GMT -5
I can confirm: ice in tanks bring the rh% at a very low level. For example, if i have 2 identical terrariums, and i open both of them, but adding 2 icepacks in the first one, none in the second. And i close both of them at the same time, the terra without icepacks will have a rh%drop because i removed the lid, but the rh%will raise up at 100% in the next 10minutes.
The one with icepacks will drop and stay at 30%rh all night long. Thats why i have to monitor how many ice i have to add in.
Another observation ive made: when i blast my a/c cold air flux directly on my closed terra, the rh% raise at 100% also, very fast.
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Post by WillyCKH on May 28, 2015 11:25:26 GMT -5
Here's my 2 cents... Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. As we all know, the higher the temperature, the faster water would evaporate into the air, until there's a point where there are too many water particles (rh 100%), then the evaporation reaches an equilibrium (where water going into the air and leaving the air have the same rate). Ice-packs take away thermal energy, hence "cooling" the surrounding environment. Since the ice-packs take away energy (lowering temperature) from the air around them, and from where they are contacting, the condensation rate increases (water leaving the air> water entering the air), leading to a drop of humidity. There are also more complex factors to it, such as the temperature imbalance would lead to an internal air circulation inside the terrarium (hot air goes upward, cool air goes downward), causing the water vapor in the air harder to stay in the air.
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Post by cory on May 28, 2015 12:29:44 GMT -5
Simply put
The ice packs are inside the tanks. The reason humidity spikes when temps drop outside the tank is because the tank cools at a slower rate.
Humidity increases are easier to creat in opposing temperature environments.
Like a glass of ice water condensating like mad in the summer sun.
If the room is warm and so it's the tank (possibly and probably warmer) all the ice packs are doing is equalize temperatures between the tank and ambient room temps.
Equalized temps equals your humidity drop
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Post by vraev on May 28, 2015 23:00:18 GMT -5
DOn't worry Francois. I am sure one night should not be too much of a problem. I used to have my UHL neps in my big tanks run without AC for prolonged periods (intact most of 2 summers ) before I got an AC.
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