Climate control in GH with fogging, swamp coolers and ventilation - Orchid Board

daddydoall · #1 06-14-2016, 01:48 AM

I grow in a small GH in Bay Area, and have similar problems to others trying to create tropical environment in a Mediterranean climate (cold wet winters, hot dry summers) and find happy spots for hot, intermediate and cool growers in the same enclosure. I think this discussion will be most relevant to W coast orchid growers. Who are trying to achieve too much with too little.

I solved the problem with overly cold winters with a tight enclosure, grow lights and warm benches and cautious watering.

Summer overheating is improved with shade and the addition of massive wall vents that open automatically and a strong fan. Problem is Temps can still reach 100F and with increased ventilation humidity drops to low for many of the plants. So the benefit of fresh air can be offset by lost humidity.

I found automated misting created to much moisture with algae, black spot-rot etc in some areas and now only hand mist.

So now I am in process of adding a DIY large Swamp cooler, which I expect will keep down the temps, the vents will open less and the humidity will climb. (I am using a design similar to the 5g bucket cooler, but using a 20gal trash can, duct fan, and an autofill feature). Google DIY swamp cooler if you're interested.

Now the questions.
Should I add an ultrasonic fogger to really push up the air moisture content? Fog particles are 1-5 microns, much finer than mist. They tend to evaporate, not settle, there will be additional cooling but I suspect they have unique beneficial effects aside the cooling and humidity.

My thought was to put the fogger in the reservoir of the swamp cooler so the fog just gets blown in with the same set up. I could fairly easily put the fogger on a separate humidistat (set at 80%?100%?) with the swamp cooler on a thermostat set at 80F?

Anyone with thoughts or experience really appreciated.
Sorry it this is long and technical.