Hanging Mylar Box Tent Using Cheap PVC

[Harry Red]

I came up with a really cheap way to make a suspended mylar box thjat will surround my plants.

I took four 10 foot long 1 inch diameter PVC tubing ($1.50) and cut them in half, giving me eight 5 foot pieces. I then cut the mylar into 8 foot sheets, folded and taped the ends to create a sheath that the PVC can slide through (just like a curtain and a curtain-rod). I did this on the top, as well as the bottom, so the weight of the PVC on the bottom would keep the mylar hanging straight. Created four of these. One for each side of the box.

I then just used coat hangers to suspend each side. I plan on eventually using his as a flowering room. It turned out to be around 4.5 x 4.5 area, but it could be easily expanded by adding more sections.

This is the completed box, shot from the outside, with lowlight settings on the camera.

The plants through the opaque mylar.

It looks like it's gonna work pretty well and as a side benefit, it produces and trippy water lighting effect on the walls of the main room when the fan ripples the mylar.

The entire box cost $25.00.

Any comments or suggestions for improvement is welcomed!!

 

[FreakNature]

Great ingenuity! PVC is a good building material for things like this.

You'll (obviously) want to make sure there are no light leaks if you use it for flowering.

 

[Harry Red]

Thanks FreakNature! It works well for my purposes.

You can bring the sides in on the top and get more of a tent shape, which will give better light coverage.

Since this box/tent is in a dark, cool basement, I don't have to worry about light leaks. There is no light coming in down there. I happen to have a heat/air vent just above it to help with temp control and I wanted it open at the top and bottom for good air flow.

I guess with a little more care an effort, you could use black/white or panda film and button it up.

I do plan on using another corner of that basement for a veg room, so all I have to worry about is the two outer sides. I can handle that by tacking thick black/white poly from floor to ceiling and not bother with PVC.

 

[PHATBLUNT420]

haha i just made one of these for like 30 bucks including b/w poly

 

[Harry Red]

Necessity is truly the mother of invention.

One nice thing about this design is that it's easy to walk all the way around the box and get to each plant for watering, adjustments and inspection. It also has excellent air flow, when compared to an enclosed space/cab so there is no need for any extra ventilation, at least in my case.

You do need a large, light tight room for this kind of setup.

Using BW poly is nice. While not quite as reflective as mylar, it should be very durable and a lot easier to clean.



Harry

 

[LadyLiberty]

I am confused because if you can see what's inside of it then that means light is leaking through it. How could Mylar be so called 95% reflective but be so transparent at the same time??

 

[420fied]

Just found this. I recently made very much the same thing. Great job!

 

[Ms.Fox]

This is a great idea. Thanks for sharing Harry Red!

 

[McBudz]

I am confused because if you can see what's inside of it then that means light is leaking through it. How could Mylar be so called 95% reflective but be so transparent at the same time??

There is see through and non see through mylar. I feel like the see through mylar may not actually be in the 95% reflectivity range.

 

[Harry Red]

I am confused because if you can see what's inside of it then that means light is leaking through it. How could Mylar be so called 95% reflective but be so transparent at the same time??

Well, 5% of the light passes though. If you have 100,000 lumens on the inside, you will have 5000 lumens passing though, which is quite a lot actually. It's almost like having a 100 watt bulb in the room outside the box. Whether the 5% passes though or gets absorbed by some backing material, it doesn't really matter. That 5% is lost either way and the remainder gets reflected back.

 

[L8tNightSkunk]

that is a good idea! i like your creativeness!

 

[Racefan]

If light gets out, light can get in. might work well for veg but I question it's use as a flower room.

 

[Harry Red]

Racefan, the box is only suitable because it's hanging in a light tight room.

I have such a large light tight room, there was no reason to construct a flowering area that was light tight as well so I had the freedom to construct it this way. The idea was just to confine the light as much as possible with reflecting, movable walls and still maintain plenty of airflow and ease of access.

I think this is a much better approach than building a light tight cab when the room you have is already light tight.



Harry

 

[TorturedSoul]

Might think about tightening up the mylar so as to remove wrinkles and the "trippy water lighting effect on the walls of the main room when the fan ripples the mylar" as I'd think you would have uneven potential and the possibility of hot spots.

The light penetration issue would as you say depend on the ambient lighting of the room it is set up in. If only 5% of it is getting in... I'd hate to guess wrong and screw up my flowering cycle BUT I guess that you could have a small light in the room that was bright enough to read by if it were pointed away from the... the... Harry, you've got to give this contraption a NAME lol. BTW, was that the thin mylar or the good stuff? If the thin, would the thicker block/reflect more light or just hold up better?

+REPs for doing a quick and dirty DIY and showing others how you did it!

$25 for that, add the cost of a good air-cooled light, a year's worth of nutrients, a decent homebuilt hydro setup, a fan for air/plant movement and misc. and you're at what, $500? $600?

And a Bloombox is $3500?

Hmm... lol.

 

[Harry Red]

Might think about tightening up the mylar so as to remove wrinkles and the "trippy water lighting effect on the walls of the main room when the fan ripples the mylar" as I'd think you would have uneven potential and the possibility of hot spots.

The light penetration issue would as you say depend on the ambient lighting of the room it is set up in. If only 5% of it is getting in... I'd hate to guess wrong and screw up my flowering cycle BUT I guess that you could have a small light in the room that was bright enough to read by if it were pointed away from the... the... Harry, you've got to give this contraption a NAME lol. BTW, was that the thin mylar or the good stuff? If the thin, would the thicker block/reflect more light or just hold up better?

TorturedSoul, thanks for the reps and I agree about the wrinkles. When I initially put it together, I should have been a little more careful. That mylar is inexpensive and I have plenty. When it gets dirty and worn a bit more, I'll simply change it out and be more careful of wrinkles next time. I haven't really noticed any problems with hot spots and those mylar walls really make a world of difference, in terms of containing the light in a small area. I'm sure the thinner mylar isn't as durable the thicker stuff but it has all the reflectivity I need.

There is no light getting in during flowering because the room that contains the hanging mylar box is 100% light tight. I don't go in there during the dark cycle so I don't have to worry about light contamination.

I actually decided to build a light tight veg room in there as well. I placed it in a corner so I would only have to construct two walls. It was built entirely with panda film, duct tape and staples. I have a 6" inline exhaust fan at the top, with two 6" intakes at the bottom and a 400w MH light. Total cost was under $200.

So, since the larger room I'm in is light tight, I went just the opposite direction as most people. I ensured my veg room was light tight to avoid contaminating the flower room. The reason I did it that way is because it's much easier to deal with small vegging plants in a confined area than it is to deal with 4.5' tall flowering plants in large buckets in a confined cab. Using this approach, I can easily get to each of the big flowering females to water, adjust, move, stake and such. I can walk around the area 360 and easily get to each plant.

I'm just lucky to have a very large light tight room to start with and I felt this was the best way to utilize that space to my advantage.



Harry

 

[greengo840]

Hey Harry, nice work, I spent 220 on my Darkroom tent and yours looks almost the same.

Well seeing how long ago this thread was started and assuming youve been using this device since has me scratching my head...I swore I had read PVC leaked toxins and kills pot plants. You seem to prove this to be a fairytail; so do you, or any of you, know where this rumor might've started or maybe explain more on the topic?

I know it's a weird one but why the heck not...

 

[TorturedSoul]

His "tent" isn't constructed entirely of PVC materials - only the frame.

BTW, what you read about the toxin release, did the PVC in question have to be heated or was it offgassing regardless of its temperature?

 

[greengo840]

Ok I done found where I got that. When researching for my tent Hydro Hut and Darkroom and another company all advertised "no reflective PVC" warning of "potential to leech and outgas Thalates"

That's where I had read it in the past...truth or marketing ploy designed to influence an already paranoid stoner in his purchases...I'll look into it some




Oh and resistance is futile!!! LoL

 

[WeedyMcWeedWeed]

harry what mil is your mylar? i can only find 1 or 2 mil and doesnt seem nearly as thick as yours

 

[Harry Red]

This stuff isn't that thick. I believe it's only 2 mil but there's much thicker and more durable stuff out there, I'm sure. It has served my purpose well though.