So I’m growing in an uninsulated shed. Maryland winters can get into the 30s routinely And sometimes the 20s and even lower. I’m in a 2x2x4 Tent and I just got the AC Infinity Thermoforge To warm it up a little bit, But I don’t think that’s going to cut it once it gets cold. I thought about Velcroing Some foam board insulation to the outside of the tent. Do you guys think that would help or is it a waste since I have to have the Ventilation ports open?
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How big is the shed? If it’s not huge it would probably be more effective to insulate the shed. Then you may get away with just an electric heater. Styrofoam insulation is expensive for relatively low R value compared to fiberglass batting.
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Plant is going to require an influx of fresh air which will defeat the purpose of insulating the tent.
I would suggest maintaining a heater in the grow space and you might consider adding one more to the shed outside the tent.
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My thoughts and curiosity.
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So putting up insulation while leaving holes is an exercise in futility? That’s kind of what I suspected. I thought about trying to truly seal it up and not have all the vents and other holes letting any air in. I considered the fresh air thing; I wondered if the heater would provide that air. The heater sits outside the tent and a hose blows hot air into the tent. Probably not enough?
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Man…I wish I could. It’s pretty big, like 12x12 x12. It’s just not financially possible right now.
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What about a tent inside of a tent - Tentception 
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You will need a lot of insulation for a shed that big mine is a 12x12 and I just finished hanging that itchy insulation last week. Now covering the walls with panels and I’m going to install a mini split. I understand about the cost 
I’ve been trying to finish this for several months now. Heaters, maybe sealed oil filled would be helpful to get you thru this grow. It’s starting to get cold here now. Hope you get a successful conclusion
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That was my intention. I built a box; just pvc wrapped up with that silver insulation - radiant barrier I think it’s called. It was 2x4x4 to allow the 2x2x4 tent to fit in it. Built I got finished building it and realized it wasn’t going to work. Insulation won’t keep enough heat in and there’s the fresh air problem. I can exhaust out, but anything coming in is going to be very cold
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Not sure of your current situation money wise. Just wanted to let you know it would around 200 us dollars to insulate the shed with bat insulation. That seems as cheap if not cheaper than some of the alternatives I hear talked about.
We have done that and covered it with cardboard. Cardboard is free. Go to a appliance store and have them save the fridge boxes for you.
I figured about 10 rolls of this.
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That is pretty big I can definitely understand why your looking for other solutions. . For 12x12x12 space you would need 18 rolls if you skip the floor and had no waste so more like 19. The thermoforge is only a 500w heater. That’s not much. Then tent in a tent idea and a second heater might work but you might need a second circuit to run all that. it depends on breaker size and what else you have on that circuit. Adding thermal mass may also help. Things like rocks, bricks, and the like will help hold heat and make your heating more efficient and it’s free. There are also some cheaper diy options like straw, paper or carboard pulp and vapor barrier if you can get it cheap, but it must stay dry and far away from your heaters. For airflow you don’t need a whole lot of fresh air, but it does need to be independent of your heat. Is the thermoforge capable of automatically switching to fan only? An air change every minute would only be 16cfm run continuously.
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Im in a metal shop. I built rooms and insulated. I do have 2 fresh air intakes and a 8 in exhaust. My flower room is 12x8 and my veg room is a 4x8. I use my flower room as a lung into my veg. Use oil radiator heaters and not forced induction or infrared. They will dry the air out too much. Humidifier wont keep up.
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Your right I left out a whole wall.
Also left out half the roof. Brain fart. Still think it is the best option if he lives in an area like mine. Would spend 3 times in fuel than would if not insulated properly. The floor unless elevated off ground should hold heat. Problem is trying to figure without knowing wall hieght or roof pitch. 8 ft walls 7/12 pitch. Undrer 400 US. Still think it is the cheapest option for the long hall. Would be cheaper than the extra money spent on heat. IMO
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I will add that you do want to seal your room. Also use something to keep the pots from having direct contact with the floor (polyboard or similar). If youre doing 12x12 i would suggest a 12in exhaust and 8 in fresh air. I have 2 4in intakes and one 8 inch in each room and i need to upgrade the flower to a 12 inch.
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Oh man that’s great. $200 isn’t nothing but I could sell it to the wife as home improvement, increasing the value of the house lol. Thanks for that, I’ll look into it
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Nope, it’s heat only. And yea I don’t think it’s going to cut it. I got to like 55 last night and it couldn’t keep the tent at 72. I’ve got one of those radiant oil heaters in there, but it seems to only raise the temp by about 10 degrees. It’s just such a big space.
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Tent in a tent would work? I built a pvc frame and wrapped it in radiant barrier. I miscalculated and didn’t buy enough radiant barrier, then lost hope that it would work so I abandoned the project. I would have to leave holes in it for fresh air I guess, and I imagine a ton of heat would escape
You say fresh air intakes…what do you mean? Is it just holes opened in the room to let air in from the surrounding room? I’d worry that the heat would escape from the holes, or the cold air coming in would drop the temp. No?
And man I’m glad you said that about the heaters. It was cold last night so the thermforge ran all night, and I didn’t make the connection that that’s why my humidity was so abysmally low
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Yea the tent is on a table so at least there’s that lol. Damn, that’s a lot of exhaust. The tent is only 2x2x4 so I’m just rocking 4 inch exhaust. I’d love to just build a smaller room to put the tent in. I just don’t really understand the airflow thing. If the room is sealed, doesn’t that mean there’s no air coming in or out?
If you look I had to revise that. If you sell her on the 200 though. Get it do it then say oops I miss calculated. She would probably be ok with the rest. Just saying I do it once in a while. Then she says ok because she don’t want what was already invested to get wasted by not finishing.
Sorry dear.
And sorry for my miss calculation on this forgot a wall.
Read post 12.
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