Winter heating in tent

[Olderfart]

FWIW, I use one of the heat buds in my 2x2 in my basement and my temps sound similar to yours. I didn't have an inkbird for it, so I just set it up to turn on when the lights go out. It keeps the tent at ~21C or so during lights out which is good enough for me.

If I had an extra inkbird, I would have used it, but the lights keep it warm enough when they are on, and the heatbud does the job without a controller when the lights are out.

In my 2x4 I have a fan heater on its 750 watt setting controlled by an inkbird. The thermostat on the heater would do a reasonable job on its own if I chose to use it, but the inkbird is easier to set up due to the digital control.

As to whether to use fan heaters, I have used them without issues. In the 2x2, the heatbud directs its output into a corner so that the air joins the airstream from the computer fan located there to stir air in the tent. In the 2x4, the heater is mounted near the ceiling, again, so that it does not blow directly on the plants, and its heat output joins the other fan circulation in the tent. I think the main thing is to have lots of air movement from other fans, and don't point the heat directly at your plants.

Good luck with it.

 

[DCLXVI]

Thanks! Great to hear it works. The plan was to direct it into a corner where another fan is already blowing the air away and around.

 

[BII]

Wow, thanks for all the reply everyone.

The basement where the tent hides stays at or above 17-18c / 64-66f, inside the tent with the light driver it only reaches 22c/72f currently. It has gotten much colder down there in the recent weeks. At the beginning of my grow it was holding steady at 22-25c / 72-77f but recently dropped considerably. It never got "too cold" but I was looking to add a few degrees to keep it above 20c/68f during the lights off time.

I have an inkbird controller to regulate the heating unit and hold a range. I do have the exhaust on 24/7. I turned it down to the minimum setting to help try and keep the warmer air inside the tent. I do have a temp/humidity regulator sensor on the exhaust fan. It is an ACInfinity unit. However, I found too much smell was escaping during the exhaust "off" periods so I had to set it continous.

I had been browsing the chicken coop style heaters. @Ryno_nuggs I'm glad to hear they work well for you. I was unsure if they put off enough heat. It is a very small 2x2 tent so I think I will give one of those a try.

Thank you everyone!

It sounds like some additional insulation and sealing would be a big help. You wouldn't need to run the fan continuously due to odor, if the tent was sealed well enough, and adding some insulation at the same time could only help.

 

[DCLXVI]

Yes, it's an inexpensive tent. I think there is a quite a bit of leakage. I did test with the exhaust on high speed and the walls sucked in. Other than that, there is a distinct odor around the tent and in the stair area, it's hiding under a set of stairs. I've been taping up the inside at all the seams with aluminum foil duct tape.

Back in November temps were perfect so hopefully the heat issue is going to be temporary just through Jan/Feb.

 

[The Iconoclast]

How is the RH? and VPD? I ask that in case maybe a dehumidifier might heat the air enough and solve and RH problem at the same time if one exists.

 

[DCLXVI]

Hey there,

The rh in the basement stays steady at 45-50% and is controlled with a large dehumidifier. I put a humidifier in the tent, controlled with an inkbird sensor/power strip, and kept it around 60% through most of veg and recently brought it down through the 50's during flower.

I vaguely looked at vpd charts but being my first grow I did not invest in an ir thermometer to check leaf temps. However it looked like I rode the edge of the zones for vpd based on air temp and rh but I know that's not the whole picture for that.