HydroGarden – Ducting Back Draft Damper Joiner
- HydroGarden – Top British Hydroponics Manufacturer
- Provides extra options when creating extraction systems
- Engineered from lightweight pressed steel
- Incredibly tough and hardwearing
- Can be reused again and again
- Easy to fit, using separately available coupling
- Various sizes available
Overview
The BackDraft Shutter is a cylindrical insert that can be fitted into the ducting of your extraction system to stop air from escaping from the grow area when the duct fan is turned off. Inside the cylindrical insert is centrally mounted support which accommodates two sprung shutters which resemble butterfly wings. When air movement is created by your duct fan, the shutters open up to allow airflow to continue on to the outlet point. As soon as the duct fan is turned off, the lack of air movement triggers the shutters to close up. It should be noted that the shutters may have a very slight impact on the number of cubic metres of air moved per hour by your duct fan, though the effects will be fairly negligible.
We recommend that your extraction system is run continually. For instance, in situations where temperatures are dropping too low, duct fans should not be turned off, but should instead be regulated to lower their output with a fan speed controller. However, it’s advisable to plan for potential worst case scenarios, and it is always possible that your extraction system may at some point be inactive for a period of time. This could be for maintenance reasons or it could be due to a power cut or other failure.
As your extraction system is usually responsible for removing odours from the air via a carbon filter, an inactive duct fan can lead to smells escaping from your indoor garden. In the event that this happens, having a back draft shutter fitted into your ducting helps to stop unwanted odours from finding their way outside, with the shutters acting as a barrier between the growing area and the exterior.
Usage:
The BackDraft Shutter needs to be installed near the outlet point of your extraction system. It can be connected to flexible ducting with a suitably sized duct clip or fitted to rigid ducting and other connection segments using a suitably sized female to female coupling. The female to female coupling is slightly wider than the size of both standard ducting and the backdraft shutter and can fit between the two to create a join which can then be sealed using aluminium duct tape.
Ensure that it is installed so that it is facing the appropriate direction to match the airflow of the duct fan. Positioning it the wrong way will mean that the shutter doors are permanently closed.
Conversions: 1 Teaspoon = 5mL | 1 Tablespoon = 15 mL | 1 Ounce = 30mL | 1 Cup = 240 mL
The Science
Do I need a ducting system?
Ducting is a necessary piece of equipment when creating the air circulation system in a grow room. Ducting is specifically designed to be lightweight and easy to distribute, so you’re not installing heavy piping around your house. Ducting attaches to one end of the fan, to be the intake pipe so the fan can suck air from outside and pump it into your growing room. You will also have another piece of ducting to pump air out of the room so that there is a natural flow of air to keep your hydroponic system breathing.
How Does a Ventilation System Affect Plants?
The main focus of a grow room is to provide plants with a better growing environment than outdoors. This also means providing fresh, CO2-rich air.
A ventilation system is crucial to keep the CO2 content inside the grow room at optimal levels for the plants. As the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is low, a constant flow of fresh air from outside is necessary.
Plants are used to growing in the outside weather, exposed to the wind and elements. When they are deprived of these conditions, it can affect them in unexpected ways.
Check out the following section to learn why the ventilation system is essential for plants in an indoor grow room.
Why Indoor Grow Rooms Need Ventilation
Maintains Optimal CO2 Levels: This is the most obvious benefit from a working ventilation system.
A grow room is all about simulating the optimal outdoor conditions inside four walls. This also means maintaining the perfect CO2 levels for plants.
In a closed system, the plants will soon run out of carbon dioxide as the keep inhaling it for photosynthesis. So you need an uninterrupted supply of fresh air from the outside.
This will only help boost the growth and yield from your plants, regardless of their type or species.
Heat Management
Plants are susceptible to temperature variations. Even a few degrees worth of change can drastically affect the quality and quantity of your harvest.
Outdoors, the primary heat source is, of course, the sun. And the winds provide a cooling effect as well.
In an indoor grow room, we use glow lights to replicate the sunlight. But not all lights are created alike.
Some emit more heat than others. And a stagnant, still air doesn’t do anything to control heat levels.
But a constantly circulating air system will remove a lot of heat from the grow room. This is one of the main benefits of an efficient ventilation system.
Humidity Management
Plants are very efficient humidifiers. Take a tour through a tropical jungle, and you will learn this firsthand!
Imagine the situation inside a grows room with zero air circulation. All day long, the plants will be expiring water vapour.
Humidity attracts a lot of insects and other unwanted pests. It can also have a damaging effect on the health of the plants themselves (unless they are tropical species).
Along with the excess heat, a ventilation system also dumps out the excess moisture in the air. Dry air also takes away some of the water from the upper parts of the plant.
This forces the plant to absorb more water through the roots,.Along with the water, the plant also takes in more nutrition from your hydroponics system.
The net result of this process is slightly improved growth.
Pest Control
Still, stagnant and humid air has a negative impact on all surfaces in your grow room. The topsoil, or the soilless medium of your choice, is particularly vulnerable.
In stagnant air, the medium will remain damp and humid. This can very well attract fungi, mould, mildew and several insect species.
Dry soil slows down the growth and reproduction of pest populations. To maintain a healthy level of dryness in the topsoil, you need a steady supply of relatively dry air.
Also, still air allows flying pests like gnats free access everywhere. If you have fans maintaining a breeze inside the room, the insect activities can be controlled further.
Strengthens Plant Stems
Human muscles are strengthened through exercises and resistance training. Something similar also happens to plant stems that grow outdoors in the wind.
The non-stop swaying in the winds strengthens the stems of many plants. This will help them bear a load of fruits or seeds later on.
Plants reared indoors in the closed air do not have this conditioning or strength. They are rather like unused or atrophied muscles: weak and unable to bear any weight.
So, incredible as it may seem, if you want your plants to be able to grow upwards without bending and breaking under their weight, a ventilation system is essential.
When To Install A Ventilation System
If you have an indoor grow room, in all probability you will need a ventilation system of some sort.
Do note that by indoor grow room; we mean a closed setup inside four walls. If there is no clear entryway for air circulation, a ventilation system is necessary.
A ventilation system for indoor grows needs to be tailormade for the grow setup. It has to take into account the heat and humidity requirements of the plant variety being grown.
And no, you cannot depend on the existing structural ventilation systems, like grilles, vents, or ducts. You may incorporate these into your system, but you will also need strategically placed fans.
Different Ways To Ventilate Your Grow Room
The Basic Setup:
At the bare minimum, you will need two kinds of fans for a basic ventilation setup.
These are:
Extractor fans, you can also call them exhaust fans. These are installed to take away the hot, and humid air from inside your grow room or tent.
They are used along with ducting to channel the air away from the room. Ducting fans can be found cheap online for this purpose.
Extractor fan
Oscillating Fans: These can be your average pedestal fans. Their main purpose is to keep up a nice and gentle breeze inside the grow room.
Oscillating fan
Their setup is relatively less complicated when compared to the exhaust fans. If you have a larger grow room, you might have to use multiple fans.
Testimonials
Dave Bonner:
“Item arrived within 48 hours, well packed. It is well made and rugged so will last. Simple design means it is fitted in-line horizontally and by turning the whole thing the sensitivity of the shutter is adjustable to match how strong your extractor fan is.”
John A:
“It works, just make sure it’s the right way up, there is a notch that indicates the correct orientation. No clatter when it’s windy outside.”
“Very simple to fit and does the job perfectly. No springs or other complications to go wrong so hoping for a trouble free lifespan”
About HydroGarden
From the HydroGarden website:
“HydroGarden is a company that is dedicated to challenging conventional thinking by using its available resources and developing new technologies to help drive positive change within the hydroponics industry. We want to help educate our consumers and provide a range of innovative products that meet the needs and requirements of the hydroponics market. Our goal is to be innovative, positive and commercial.”
About HydroGarden
HydroGarden has been supplying specialist Hydroponic equipment to the trade since February 1996. We have become a leader in the market and regularly supply products and services to retailers within the UK and abroad, as well as to an ever-increasing number of commercial growers and research organisations. As we do not supply direct to the public we are able to focus on providing the reseller with a service and product range unequalled in the market. We are a customer orientated company with a mission to bring innovative and high-quality products to the market.
HydroGarden not only distributes world leading brands but we also manufacture our own range of products, giving you the greatest opportunity to source the best hydroponic and horticultural products in the world. Our range of added value services and marketing initiatives give our clients the edge in an expanding and increasingly competitive market.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.