Freezer build off?

[chewwy]

I have come across a side by side stainless freezer(not working)


IDEA: turn non-working stainless steel freezer it into a flowering box, build a veg box to put on floor next to flower box (on left) and keep this whole thing in unheated attached garage, in winter and summer, Easy right (lol)

PLAN: build vegg box, set up venting for both boxes and lights. control temp.

VETALATION: I have access thru garage wall into house. (house temp always around 65-70 deg.) So I thought I would run 6" insulated flex duct from inside house then into bottom of vegg box, out the top of vegg box and into the bottom of big flower box and then out top of flower box into a carbon scrubber in attic and out the roof vent. The top of this freezer has a 9" fan on it, witch draws air out of freezer. So my hope is, that it will be enough cfm to pull air from house into vegg box into freezer(flower box) and out to roof vent

TEMP CONTROL: for winter my hope is the house air will do a lot of the heating, lights will do some as well. (More on that under lighting) When lights are off it may get cold in winter so thought I would put small elect. Thermo controlled heaters in both boxes. AS for summer air being pulled from house comes from a cool basement and house has ac. If that's not enough ill add ac unit for boxes.

LIGHTS: MH. For vegg and HPS for flower box. Both lights will be the vented kind with ballasts on top of the big freezer. My plan was to draw cool air from garage to cool lights and and y it into the scrubber with the outgoing freezer vent . Thought I might even put the light vent fan on a thermostat to help keep temp when lights are on . So plants get cold fan for lights turn off, plants to hot light fans turn on.

QUESTIONS:
1, What size lights would be good for vegg box (3'wide,2.5' deep 4'tall)
2, What size lights would be good for flower box (4.5' wide,2.5 deep, 59" tall)
3, Is the size of my vegg box seem ok(I have not built it yet)
4, How much cfm will be needed to draw air from house thru 20' of flex duct into and out vegg box and then into and out flower box.
5, what stains would be suitable for this kind of set up in dirt, I was hoping to do ak-47.
6, what have I missed? . This is my first attempt at this, I have become come a caregiver for a friend. I am builder buy trade, so I can make just about any thing. This sounded like a new challenge. And if it works out it helps my friend. I just need a little direction and help from someone out here. Lets build this together and I will post pics. as it progresses.

 

[Velodrone]

Welcome brother!

That fridge will make a awesome cabinet for sure! I'll offer up what I know. Hope that it helps.

I will start off with saying that you can never account for everything when it comes to this hobby. No matter how much you plan, do the math, and think that you have thought the whole thing out. It will throw you for a loop at one point or another!

What size lights would be good for vegg box (3'wide,2.5' deep 4'tall)

You have 4' of height. A 250w or 400w MH would be ideal I think. That leads to the question of heat? That light in such a small space is going to throw some heat. Venting that heat is going to be the number one priority! There is NO way that you can go non-ac with this box using a hid setup. So, if you figure a 4" AC hood with all the flex duct work, cords, hangers and plants. You might find that things get a little crowded! Knowing what it takes to set up a air cooled system, I think that your space should steer you away from a HID setup in veg.

There are three(mainstream) choices that are left for you!

#1-L.E.D. These things are really starting to make there mark on the growing arena. They have made huge leaps and bounds over the last few years and they are starting to become a viable option for many! They come close to the light output of a HID for a significant drop in the wattage. They are also expensive up front. You will recoup that money in the long run w/ your reduced electric costs. There is still some heat involved with the use of LED lights as well. Given your space this would be option number one in my book, assuming that the budget is there!

#2-HO-T5 These are starting to replace the MH as the standard for a veg light. They come in numerous configurations to suit most any space. They do have there limitations though. Search the forums and you will find more information than you could ever really use! They do put off some heat, not near as much as a HID or LED though. They are relatively inexpensive for the sizes that you might be looking at.

#3-CFL- Brother, just do a search. There are so many people rockin it w/ CFL's on this site. The options are endless. Some people like them some don't. Your choice.

What size lights would be good for flower box (4.5' wide,2.5 deep, 59" tall)

A single 1000w HPS. Keep it high and that thing will grow some nice looking plants. Heat is going to be a issue. You have the room to air cool though.

Is the size of my vegg box seem ok(I have not built it yet)

Seems OK to me given the space requirements that you have to work with in flower. Remember, some strains can triple in size when you flip the switch to 12/12. Most double. If you veg a plant till she is 24" tall in veg. By the time that she is ready to be chopped she will be 4' high. That would only leave you with 11". Then you throw your light in that mix, she will be in the lights for sure. NOT GOOD.

How much cfm will be needed to draw air from house thru 20' of flex duct into and out vegg box and then into and out flower box.

Figure out your cubic feet and add 15%.

what stains would be suitable for this kind of set up in dirt, I was hoping to do ak-47.

Just about anything really. As you learn what is what. You will find what works for you. Then again, it really is up to the patient and what THEY need. I would say start with a really good Indica if that works for your friend. They tend to be more forgiving, stay short, and produce a higher yield!

what have I missed? . This is my first attempt at this, I have become come a caregiver for a friend. I am builder buy trade, so I can make just about any thing. This sounded like a new challenge. And if it works out it helps my friend. I just need a little direction and help from someone out here. Lets build this together and I will post pics. as it progresses.

Really hard question to answer. Figure out what you really want to do, how you want to do it, and what your budget is and go from there!

 

[chewwy]

thanks for looking ,your advice and your quick reply.
I can make vegg box as big as needed to accommodate mh if needed, or like you say go with leds or ho-t5s. what do you think is best h0-t5s or leds? how many plants can i expect to get into flower box? sorry for all the newb questions, just rying to build best set up i can using this freezer.

ps. should i line the inside of freezer or leave it stainless steel?

 

[BassPlayer]

Hi Chewwy and ...Im likin your idea for a build and i'll be watchin progress for sure...im new to farming but given your space issues and concurring with Velodrone, I would recommend veggin with cfls...I do it and then flower with hps in my limited experience I do not feel it compromises anything using cfls...some people even seem to think i do ok too, for a beginner that is and bp
Medijuana - DIY Cabinet, Perpetual Grow, Airpots, Soil w/LST

 

[chewwy]

bassplayer, what watt cfls,and how many do u use, what is your space size?, and how many plant do you vegg in it?

thanks man

 

[BassPlayer]

chewwy take a look here Medijuana - DIY Cabinet, Perpetual Grow, Airpots, Soil w/LST should hopefully answer most ur questions bp

 

[SnowBender]

Nice score!
cutting through that stainless is not going to be easy...

 

[chewwy]

ya i know ,but i have alot of cool tools, lol.
how may plants in dirt do you guys think i can keep in that freezer(flower box) ? trying for ak -47 unless there is a better choice

should i line it or keep it stainless?

thanks for helping this soon not to be newb.

p.s ill be starting this after deer season, end of nov. ill post pics along the way with some help from u pros.

 

[SnowBender]

2-4 SCROG /LST
6-8 in large pots
24-36 SOG

Personally id leave it stainless, but some would say you might get hotspots from odd reflections.

 

[chewwy]

ok i was not looking for this but i came across it buy accident, i plan to partition it in half and use half for vegg box and half for air mixing box and storage. need to figure out ventilation as this will be out side winter and summer in garage. could use some help with picking a good air moving fan for constant venting, any ideas? each box is about 50 cubic so 100 cubic feet total plus it has to push threw scrubber

 

[chewwy]

here is pic of vegg box and flower box together
ventilation ventilation, ventilation, please submit ideas?

 

[chewwy]

Ok how about this for an idea. I will poll who ever is watching this forum thread, on things like ventilation, fans, home made or store bought scrubbers, lights,soil, strains to plant, nuits,and ect. and i will do as poll says and build and grow in this thing and post pics along the way. it will be like your virtual grow cabinet that you can check on now then.

 

[Velodrone]

Ok how about this for an idea. I will poll who ever is watching this forum thread, on things like ventilation, fans, home made or store bought scrubbers, lights,soil, strains to plant, nuits,and ect. and i will do as poll says and build and grow in this thing and post pics along the way. it will be like your virtual grow cabinet that you can check on now then.

Hey brother, novel idea in theory. Here is my suggestion for what it is worth. Go with the biggest inline fan you can. They make controller's that give you infinite adjustability. Make sure that your hood is compatible. Otherwise you will need reducers or expanders. I think a 6" would be more than enough. You choice though!

I noticed that you said "push" the air through a scrubber. Why not "pull"?

 

[ChicagoJoe]

YES, the filters work best when the air is pulled thru them, not pushed. it's called negative pressure.

 

[420]

I noticed the title of this thread

freezer buid off?

Would you like me to fix it for you?

Are you attempting to say Bud or Build or something else?

 

[SnowBender]

skip the intake and exhaust and instead go sealed with water cooled instead. then you will only need to drill a few small holes for water in/out and a few for power cords.

course youd need to add C02 then....

 

[chewwy]

yes, please fix to build.

thank you

 

[chewwy]

ok so i have started to partition off the veg box on the left into two compartments. My thought was to draw cold air in from the top, of left compartment of vegg box (witch i will call air mixing compartment from now on) have small heater in mixing box in winter and ac or heat exchanger in summer. air will be brought to temp and enter bottom of vegg box. mixed more by small fan and then out top of vegg box and into bottom of flower box. mixed by small fan and out top. all done with 6" duct, and fans. maybe one forcing air into mixing box and one pulling from top of flower box. all fans adjustable controlled and heaters and ac on thermostats

although i do like your idea too snowbender. but boxes still need to be connected via ducts to be able to use one heat source or ac unit. and have in and out fans to circulate air from one box to another. have you ever seen a set up like that?

so i guess question now is what method or variation of methods should we use?
give me a little feed back and ill build it. keep in mind out side temps here range from 0 to 90 f.

thanks for your idea guys.

 

[freetheweed]

::drooling::

 

[SnowBender]

no need for actual vents with an external water chiller and a heater core inside. - kinda like the fridge was originally designed to work, only way more cooling power.