Air pumps

[jade]

Hi, i'm new here.
Just had a question about air pumps. I have a 48 bucket dwc i'm working on. Currently have two 120 watt eco plus air pumps (1 per 24 buckets). They are putting out sufficient air pressure but seem to be putting out too much heat. I have 1 air 6" air stone in the bottom of each bucket, and the air seems to be heating the inside of each bucket too much(air inside bucket feels noticeably warmer than the 78 degrees of my room). Any suggestions, including different pumps that might work better, would be much appreciated. Oh yeah, I have two 1/4 hp water chillers, 1 per 24 buckets, and water temp isn't the issue, just the temp of the air coming through it.

[Smitty]

I would say that if the water temp is OK, the air temp isn't that big a deal. I do DWC and I only see issues if the water temp gets too high. But then I never paid attention to the air temp in the bucket. Are you sure the air temp in the bucket is from the air pump, or the light striking the top of the bucket?

You could always set up another bucket as an air chiller. Coil 20 or so feet of air hose in the bucket, add water and chill the water in it as well. That way the air has time to chill before entering the grow buckets. Problem solved for very little $$

[c-ray]

the stock manifold that comes with those is too restrictive (at least the ones that came with the 80 watters), if you can find some fittings that will work and run larger lines however you will to reduce any air flow restriction problems that should be helpful

[jade]

Hey thanks, I like the bucket air chiller idea, might try that if I can't get things dialed in soon. I've got the pumps rigged to 1/2" poly, skipped the manifold, but I don't know. Just one more little thing to figure out with a new system.
The girls are doing good, but i'm glad I planted some clones in soil as backup for now, though. Oh, yeah, the pumps are definitely pumping hot air, when I let it blow on my hand it feels at least ninety degrees. I think they're the main reason my water chillers are coming on. With the bucket idea, would I use a bucket that has my nute solution going through it so it gets cooled by the chillers?

[Smitty]

If your chillers are chilling the nute solution, then I suppose you would use a bucket with the nute solution. The idea is to chill the air before it hits the grow buckets. Your chillers will run more regardless due to the extra heat load