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Page 3
Sep 27 2014
I would like to mention, after nearly 5 years of running consistently, how the products held up.
Let's start with the good. Can Fan's, no failures, they are great. That is all I will use after seeing how they are flawless. I use the HO type in 6" and 8". The only bummer with the 8" is using the Speedster fan speed controller, you can't turn it all the way down or the fan will stop running. I am not complaining, there is just not enough power on the lower setting to operate the fan.
I have not had a Speedster controller fail yet, they all work great.
The HydroFarm light hoods I have no complaints with either. Except for the fact that the model I have has a custom pre-wired plug so you can't just simply use a different brand ballast without an adapter. That is my only complaint with the hoods.
The 16" AirKing oscillating fan did recently die and I had to replace it. Just recently so basically it has ran for nearly 5 years, can't really complain about that, it was well worth it. The only downside, I replaced it, but that one will no longer be part of my remodel. I am switching to the clip on type. 10 of the 6" fans will now move air in the remodeled flower room. I do prefer the smaller fans. They are less aggressive and much more gentle with two speeds. Also, they will not be blocking any light between the (2) 1000W lights. I believe this will be an improvement. I choose AirKing because I was so satisfied with the first 16" oscillating fan.
Really, the only thing left is the bad and that is the ballast. They work great, are super quiet, but as far as I am concerned, they are junk. What ballast? The HydroFarms Powerhouse magnetic switchable and the non switchable 8-year warranty ballast. Between each of my flower closets, I have had a 100% failure rate with the ballast. They work great and all, maybe I shouldn't say they are junk, but they do not outlast their warranty. They are overpriced compared to the 5-year warranty made in China models. All of the PowerHouse ballast that i have ran continuously have been either repaired or replaced by HydroFarms. I am 100% confident it is with their product and not how I am using them. They are receiving appropriate power and they are in a nice cool, dry, well ventilated location. There is no excuse for them going bad. At this point, if anyone asked, I would have to recommend their lower end models that are manufactured in China over the PowerHouse which are made in USA and Canada. Pretty sad that I would choose a product made in China over one made in USA. If I order any more HydroFarm ballast, they will be the Chinese made. I am not proud to say this, but it is true.
Other than the issue with the HydroFarms USA made ballast, I have no complaints with any of the products I am using. I quickly learned to have a back up of every single imperative part for the grow room. I was not accustomed to needing a back up. My old home made lighting system (400W HPS) ran for over 10 years without a problem.
I just have to say this, CanFan's are the whoop. Failure free within warranty life.
Sep 28 2014
Time to get started on the updates. Not going to be easy to explain and it is currently under construction as I write this. I am not going for looks, I am going for function and also making it to where my household can function without the distractions of a grow room.
Actually, I want to make it to where the grow room helps my living conditions. It is no good to exhaust heat from the house in the winter. I am going to solve this problem and more.
Now this is a room that is 11' x 12'. The flower closet is a little bit bigger than 4' x 8'. Inside the flower closet there is a small closet. I just painted the door white and keep it closed. I wanted to make full use of this mini closet that resides inside my flower closet. As I mentioned above, I installed an 8" air exchange fan. It exhausts air from the flower closet into the rest of the room to help keep the temperature balanced. I ran the venting through the mini closet. That was not enough use for the mini closet.
Here is a picture of the 8" air exchange fan.
This fan pulls air from the flower closet and pushes it into the main room. There is a damper so it is light proof when the lights and fan are off. It is light proof anyway due to the design.
With utilizing the lower parts of the mini closet, I installed (2) 8" vents with all top of the line HVAC equipment. Everything is completely sealed. These two 8" vents do not have any fan attached, but serve a couple of different purposes. They do not enter the flower closet. The 8" vents allow me to pull all my air from the house if I should choose to. There are vents in the grow room and there are vents in the household that can be opened and closed as needed. In using the pre-hung exterior door and the vents having the ability to be closed, and since I went around and caulked, spray foamed, sealed everything, the entire grow room is air tight. There is a window in the grow room that I can open to pull fresh air from if I should choose. All I do is close the vents and it will only pull air from the window in the grow room. I can also only pull air from the house buy closing the window and opening the vents. I like to have options.
Here is the interior of the house where the 8" vents can vent to the two lower vents if necessary.
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