alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:30 pmHere's the IKEA cabinet I have, by the way.
The Rudsta has a cult like following in the Reddit Ikea Greenhouse group. It's a good setup.
alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:30 pmI also found that some people put frozen water bottles in their terrariums to drop the night time temp. Is that really all that effective?
It depends on how many water bottles you use, where you place them, and the size of the cabinet. It can work. Fans over the frozen bottles work fine. But I would suspect you need closer to gallons in size for a Rudsta, over liters. But just be prepared because you can't go on vacation, unless you find someone who wants to take over that nightly, and morningly, chore.
I've seen some people that put the plants every night into a cooler with a few water bottles. I think that works better, overall.
Keep in mind that I don't know anyone that has done this for an extended period of time. For obvious reasons.
alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:30 pmI also found this but who knows if that actually works as advertised.
It does, to some extent. It's an evaporative cooler. Works best in low humidity environments. It's also sometimes called a "swamp cooler." If you go to Walmart and see the cheap $15 "coolers" you can put on your desk, that's what they are. They are effective enough that industrial size ones are used in greenhouses. But they're pretty large, use a large amount of water and electricity, and work best in already dry climates.
alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:30 pm I'm having a hard time finding something a little more compact to cool off a cabinet.
That's because it doesn't exist.
It's the biggest hurtle to keeping ultra-highlanders for the average grower.
You've probably looked at all of the available options, but as I mentioned above, you have to look at your limitations in budget, diy ability, and space.
Of the options I've seen discussed:
1. Water bottles - cheap, but very labor intensive, useful for small spaces.
2. Swamp coolers - cheap, but not very effective. can probably drop an area a few degrees, but if you have a humidifier going not likely.
3. Peltier coolers - not too expensive, but not very effective. can probably drop an area a few degrees.
4. Small AC unit - not really cheap, but plug and play. can drop a cabinet to almost any night temp you want. but uses alot of electricity, space, and noise.
5. Water cooled radiator fan - depending on the water temp, can work fairly well to drop down to the 60's. But water isn't cheap.
6. Glycol cooled radiator fan - not cheap, but low on labor intensity, uses a good amount of space though.
7. Keep something other than an ultra-highlander.
Hope that helps.