GrowTutor

Actually, hemi is right. Insulating the sides/top would help keep them from absorbing more of the ambient heat and decrease the load on the chiller when you do need it but, as you point out, it is more work. I'm not sure that the bubble wrap has a very high R value though. Of course it's not required and I understand lazy...but it does help.

I don't think it has a huge r value either. My res got 3 layers. My chiller kicks on every 20 minutes, give, or take, and my room is 75-85. h

well, now that everything is plumbed in and not moving, i'll have to deal with the uninsulated version. my grow room is actually below grade so the room that has the control tub is usually in the 60's anyway.

here are a few pix

hey hemi and GT,
i did have a 5 gal bucket a long time ago (pre chiller) that I wrapped the silver bubble insulation around. to make it even better, i made it a bit loose and then took a can of the expanding foam insulation and sprayed it on between the bucket and the insulation so it expanded. it worked pretty well. the foam probably had a much higher R than just the bubble itself.

Yeah, that expanding foam is actually very good insulation. If I were building a new house I'd use that on all exterior walls at the very least.

i just started seeing commercials here for a retrofit foam insulation company. it looks like they drill holes in existing exterior walls and pump it in. our house is from the mid 80's and i've got to believe that the R value of our walls is pretty low.

prior to this winter, i blew in insulation in our attic and it has made a huge difference. hardly any of the snow on the roof melts now and the upstairs feels a lot warmer too

It's not cheap to do a whole house either but it'd be worth it long-run...

just a quick update. clones are still alive and kicking. doing nicely so far. have dropped the water level to about 1.5 inch below netpot. roots are looking really nice and white and plentiful.

i'll put some pix up when i do a res change this weekend.

What's the big long droopy flex hose for?