Pointers 4 the noobie

[pipeman]

the ol' ceiling space grow huh? you hear about em from time to time but I never seen one myself. mate its cold up there now cause it winter, but in summer it will be a hotbox. you will definitely need some sort of extraction fans up there to control heat. Even roof spaces with whirlybirds get pretty hot. Also, exhausting moist bathroom air into your ceiling may cause humidity problems, I don't know.

 

If you are trying to keep your grow secret from other people in the house how are you gonna explain going up in the ceiling all the time? Also, how will you get water up there?

[Black_one]

16.5 kilo watts an hour On the last power bill can any one tell me how much id the expected hike with a 400watt HPS.........

Or a few CF's

 

Thanks in advance

Pipeman:

Well as I dont currently have a job I can fix up my plants in the day time when every on is out. I was thinking of settig up a hose with some misters to water the plants the hose would go neart the man hole so I only have to pop my head through and cannect the hose to another

Edited August 5, 2003 by Black_one

[pipeman]

rule of thumb is however many watts your light is, thats how much extra $ you pay per year. eg 400W light = $400

 

if you want to work it out properly, multiply number of watts by time used in hours to give total watts used. Divide by a thousand to get kilowatts, then multiply that figure by however much you pay per kilowatt.

Edited August 5, 2003 by pipeman

[Black_one]

$480 extra every 3 months??

maybe i done something wrong Im too stoned to do maths.

I found a small bit of hash I got a wile back

[Guest Field_of_Light]

Pipe...where di you get that info from regarding the 400watts = 400$

 

I think its out by at least 25-55%.....

 

I know someone running 9000 watts and are getting 1200$ power bills per quarter.....1200 * 4 = 4800$

 

People often dont factor in their lifestyles as well....heating...showers...dishes.....lights...standby power.....computers....amps...speakers....cooking

 

Ive got a another friend who missus blames their huge power bill on 4 * 400 watt lights...yet she doesnt look at the fact she had air con running 12 hours a day during summer..heating 12 hours a day during winter...and basically just has poor power consumtion habits...

[pipeman]

well, its only a rough guide, not meant to be accurate. I think you are right though, that rule of thumb is on the high side.

 

btw, if you know someone running 9000watts of grow lights I wouldn't be visiting him too often, you never know who might be following you back to your place

[budsta]

the ol' ceiling space grow huh?  you hear about em from time to time but I never seen one myself.  mate its cold up there now cause it winter, but in summer it will be a hotbox.  you will definitely need some sort of extraction fans up there to control heat.  Even roof spaces with whirlybirds get pretty hot.  Also, exhausting moist bathroom air into your ceiling may cause humidity problems, I don't know. 

I did a 'ceiling grow' years ago in the UK. It can be done but as mentioned temp control can be difficult. I have also noticed that most Aussie houses seem to have a lot smaller headspace in the attic or loft. In UK I insulated the attic room top & bottom with pink batts then panda plastic & wooden boards on floor. In summer it got very hot (yes it can get hot in UK - I hear it's 35 C at the moment over there!) as the sun is directly on the roof. I lived in a terraced house & in winter my roof was the only one in the terrace where the snow melted & didn't settle, even with the insulation - bit of a giveaway & source of paranoia but not one many Aussies need to concern themselves with I guess.

And don't forget the additional wory of a major leak coming thru the ceiling! Also carrying loads of buckets of water up there was a bit of a chore! :angry:

 

Good luck with it.

 

Budsta

: )-~

Edited August 5, 2003 by budsta

[Bubba]

Heya Black one,

 

16.5 kilo watts an hour On the last power bill can any one tell me how much id the expected hike with a 400watt HPS........

 

As I said earlier you can expect your electricity consumption to rise by about 6-7 kilowatt hours a day. I'm assuming that when you said your household uses 16.5 kilowatts an hour (15k grow in the basement eh?) that you really meant 16.5 kilowatt hours a day on average :: So if you grow consistently from now until the next statement be aware that the new average will be around 23, 24 kw.hrs/day. Perhaps even more after we take your own usage into account... another person in the house will use more electricity on mundane things that are taken for granted, e.g hot water

 

But you know, not many people know much about electricity usage, so you can cover it easy ... "oooh we used lots over winter, oooh that must have been my computer or home theatre amp, oooh there's that little space heater in my room"

 

Best o luck.

[Black_one]

I went out today and brought some pots and vermiculite. I also brought a big bag of "Amgrow" Seed raising mix. Has anyone used this? It contains no fertilisers and has Killarney peat in it(Or so it says on the label). I will mix it as normal potting mixture as i have been told to do. I also got a self watering pot, I was thinking of a small experimental bubbler in this. I was searching in the garage (The Garbage ) today and I found my old fish tank Well I have 2 pumps that will move 4000 cc a min, I also have a tropical fish heater. I was thinking of using the tank to germ thew seed's with the heater. Then converting it to a double bubbler, I am also using the seedling mix. Lets see what grows better hey!

[Black_one]

Ok Iv been looking around the net and have nothing but contradicting information on soil mixes. So I will as the experts

 

What is the best seedling to perlite mix for sprouting my seeds?

 

And should I sprout the seeds in a Seedling mix

 

Should this seedling mix be good enough to grow my plants in?

 

Oh and what Cf's are best from the super market?

 

EDIT: And is my Sig to distracting?

Edited August 7, 2003 by Black_one