berrydizzle
New Member
How many plants you doing? You gotta remember I have 9 so if you have 2 or three yours wont smell nearly as strong as mine. Nice work with the duct tape btw.
Grow Box Construction
- Thread starter stratlogic
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #62
stratlogic
Well-Known Member
Thanks berrydizzle. I was planning on having one, maybe two plants at the most. The box is only 2'x2' at the base. Do you think I can pull two off in there without being too crowded? Also, if those filters of yours were able to control the smell of that many plants, I don't think I should have to worry a whole lot.
berrydizzle
New Member
Its working well so far, didnt smell anything when I walked in my room after work tonight.
TrickDaddy
New Member
Can't wait to see the rest! I have been scouring the net for the past week looking for plans and I have to say there really is not that much out there!
I'm so glad I finally came across this site and your example. Thanks for taking the time and I have to say yours is the finest and most detailed example I have come across!
Having said that I have a couple of questions or suggestions! lol
Why did you not make the box multi-chambered i.e. Flowering main section and Veging/Cloning Section?
Also I may have somehow mounted the filter on top of the unit and had it force the air through the filter instead of sucking it out!
btw Where did you get those awesome little squirril fan? A electronics surplus store?
Also for that size cabinet I think I would have gone with 1 150w hps and another 150w MH.
Again thanks for the lessons and I will be attempting to start something similar this weekend!
Mine will be more wide than tall with one section on the side for the continuous light and the main section for 12hr flowering light. Just gonna go with 250w hps in that section and 24" fluorescent tubing in the vegetative box! The airflow will be pushed from the bottom of the small compartment and sucked back down the middle of the cabinet and then the same in the main box will be sucked out from the top providing another fan at the top of the main box exclusively for cooling the lamp and circulation of the main box as well!
I'm so glad I finally came across this site and your example. Thanks for taking the time and I have to say yours is the finest and most detailed example I have come across!
Having said that I have a couple of questions or suggestions! lol
Why did you not make the box multi-chambered i.e. Flowering main section and Veging/Cloning Section?
Also I may have somehow mounted the filter on top of the unit and had it force the air through the filter instead of sucking it out!
btw Where did you get those awesome little squirril fan? A electronics surplus store?
Also for that size cabinet I think I would have gone with 1 150w hps and another 150w MH.
Again thanks for the lessons and I will be attempting to start something similar this weekend!
Mine will be more wide than tall with one section on the side for the continuous light and the main section for 12hr flowering light. Just gonna go with 250w hps in that section and 24" fluorescent tubing in the vegetative box! The airflow will be pushed from the bottom of the small compartment and sucked back down the middle of the cabinet and then the same in the main box will be sucked out from the top providing another fan at the top of the main box exclusively for cooling the lamp and circulation of the main box as well!
- Thread starter
- #65
stratlogic
Well-Known Member
Thanks TrickDaddy. I appreciate the kind words. pun intended.
I was planning on eventually making a cloning chamber towards the bottom because after I built it, I realized I did have the room to do it. I wasn't sure if all the other stuff would work out so I held off for the moment but it did so this may give me something to do when I'm bored since the box now is practically done. haha. I have an idea from from surfing online using a cool mist vaporizer for cloning underneath the grow chamber but thats a different thread on a different day.
As far as the filter, I would think that as long as the air gets passed through the carbon, it's getting filtered and you should be ok. I'm not sure though.
I got the fans at a place in Nebraska at surplussales.com for $15 a piece.
And the lights, I still had them from the last time I grew about a year ago and didn't want to but new ones. I was concerned about the heat generated from the 400w so I decided to get crazy with a custom a/c design completely independent of the grow chamber to counter that problem. I figured heat would be the only problem with using powerful lights in a small place. I am going to exhaust the heat from the light exhaust straight to the attic keeping my room and the plant cool. Or thats what I'm hoping. haha
The box you're talking about sounds pretty cool. Be sure to take some good pictures of your work, I'd like to see what you come up with. Your ventilation idea sounds pretty cool. I will definitely be looking forward to checking that out too.
I was planning on eventually making a cloning chamber towards the bottom because after I built it, I realized I did have the room to do it. I wasn't sure if all the other stuff would work out so I held off for the moment but it did so this may give me something to do when I'm bored since the box now is practically done. haha. I have an idea from from surfing online using a cool mist vaporizer for cloning underneath the grow chamber but thats a different thread on a different day.
As far as the filter, I would think that as long as the air gets passed through the carbon, it's getting filtered and you should be ok. I'm not sure though.
I got the fans at a place in Nebraska at surplussales.com for $15 a piece.
And the lights, I still had them from the last time I grew about a year ago and didn't want to but new ones. I was concerned about the heat generated from the 400w so I decided to get crazy with a custom a/c design completely independent of the grow chamber to counter that problem. I figured heat would be the only problem with using powerful lights in a small place. I am going to exhaust the heat from the light exhaust straight to the attic keeping my room and the plant cool. Or thats what I'm hoping. haha
The box you're talking about sounds pretty cool. Be sure to take some good pictures of your work, I'd like to see what you come up with. Your ventilation idea sounds pretty cool. I will definitely be looking forward to checking that out too.
berrydizzle
New Member
You always want to pull air through a carbon filter, not push it through! More surface area.
TrickDaddy
New Member
That what I was referring to!
- Thread starter
- #68
stratlogic
Well-Known Member
I have wired the squirrel fans and tested them to confirm they were in fact working.
The next step was to make all the holes in the box airtight with duct tape. Especially around the filter to prevent any unfiltered air from escaping smelling the joint up.
I also taped the inside just to be certain no air can escape without being filtered.
All the holes and wires air taped up and the wires are secured to the box.
Here, I didn't have to cut the end of the power supply that connects to the squirrel fans because I got it to work without having to. It saved me a little time and the hassle of using any connectors.
I even taped the base inside and door jambs
One very cool feature about this particular power supply with the selectable voltage, it acts as a variable speed control for the fans! Sweet!
After I got the wiring of the fans done and made them airtight, I installed some CFL's that are only going to be used for the early stages of vegging. I picked up two cool socket splitters by mistake thinking they were the socket adapters for the outlets. Luckily I found a good use for them. I mounted two power strips on opposite sides of the box. I screwed extra screws to the sides of the box giving me the option of adjusting the height of the power strips later on if I need to.
The wieght of the two lights looked like a bit too much for the socket adapter to handle given how it is mounted, so I used some zip ties to secure the lights and prevent them from falling out.
The next step was to make all the holes in the box airtight with duct tape. Especially around the filter to prevent any unfiltered air from escaping smelling the joint up.
I also taped the inside just to be certain no air can escape without being filtered.
All the holes and wires air taped up and the wires are secured to the box.
Here, I didn't have to cut the end of the power supply that connects to the squirrel fans because I got it to work without having to. It saved me a little time and the hassle of using any connectors.
I even taped the base inside and door jambs
One very cool feature about this particular power supply with the selectable voltage, it acts as a variable speed control for the fans! Sweet!
After I got the wiring of the fans done and made them airtight, I installed some CFL's that are only going to be used for the early stages of vegging. I picked up two cool socket splitters by mistake thinking they were the socket adapters for the outlets. Luckily I found a good use for them. I mounted two power strips on opposite sides of the box. I screwed extra screws to the sides of the box giving me the option of adjusting the height of the power strips later on if I need to.
The wieght of the two lights looked like a bit too much for the socket adapter to handle given how it is mounted, so I used some zip ties to secure the lights and prevent them from falling out.
- Thread starter
- #69
stratlogic
Well-Known Member
Here is what the box looks like now. All I need is glass and intake holes for the grow chamber!
I was thinking of using the two daylight CFLs up top on the splitter and one CFL of the lower spectrum just below delivering a fuller spectrum. Is that a good idea? Any thought? Thanks.
I was thinking of using the two daylight CFLs up top on the splitter and one CFL of the lower spectrum just below delivering a fuller spectrum. Is that a good idea? Any thought? Thanks.
berrydizzle
New Member
Dude, you fucking rock. This is so sweet. What you have built looks perfect to me. You created a complete growing machine by yourself. Its awesome.
Lord Mong
New Member
I did some reading and having the full spectrum can be very good....i was recently looking at a combined Veg/Flowering lamp 600watt....has an amazing write up!
+rep...fantastic construction
+rep...fantastic construction
TrickDaddy
New Member
Looks like she's pretty much ready to "Rock n' Roll" man!
Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
^you could start your own thread and take us through the process.
TrickDaddy
New Member
Ok could do but I really didn't want to because most of what I will be doing stems from the original poster. Dont want to steal anyones show! I am still trying to figure out home to insert images?
I have upload a few iimages in the MY section. Thats as far as I can get!
Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
I have given this thread a 5 star rating! Ya gotta love ingenuity.
- Thread starter
- #77
stratlogic
Well-Known Member
Its all good TrickDaddy. A great deal of what I have done to my box mostly comes from ideas from other people on this site. That's why I'm here, to learn from others and share my own ideas, making us all better growers in the end. Everyone wins!
Thanks Moose for all the stars, I just noticed them today! You rock dude!
Thanks Lord Mong for the info about the lights. I appreciate the help. I will definitely do that with my CFLs. That works out good because I cant take them back since I opened them so I'm glad I can still use them. haha!
I must say thanks to everyone for all their helpful suggestions and just being cool. The box will be done pretty soon here after almost two months! I just need that glass eventually. I won't need it right away since I will be using the CFLs for the first two weeks.
I just hit up the hydro store today on my way to work and picked up all the nutrients, rocks and a couple of other items and will be starting a grow journal any day now. I haven't even starting growing yet, and so far it has been a blast!
I did a sound test with all the fans running and my closet door closed and didn't hear anything! I woke up this afternoon and forgot I even had the box on! Partly why I chose MDF wood instead of plywood was to help muffle the sound but wasn't sure how well it would. Turns out it works pretty good.
Thanks Moose for all the stars, I just noticed them today! You rock dude!
Thanks Lord Mong for the info about the lights. I appreciate the help. I will definitely do that with my CFLs. That works out good because I cant take them back since I opened them so I'm glad I can still use them. haha!
I must say thanks to everyone for all their helpful suggestions and just being cool. The box will be done pretty soon here after almost two months! I just need that glass eventually. I won't need it right away since I will be using the CFLs for the first two weeks.
I just hit up the hydro store today on my way to work and picked up all the nutrients, rocks and a couple of other items and will be starting a grow journal any day now. I haven't even starting growing yet, and so far it has been a blast!
I did a sound test with all the fans running and my closet door closed and didn't hear anything! I woke up this afternoon and forgot I even had the box on! Partly why I chose MDF wood instead of plywood was to help muffle the sound but wasn't sure how well it would. Turns out it works pretty good.
- Thread starter
- #78
stratlogic
Well-Known Member
I just added up all my receipts and had a grand total of $334.17 for the total money spent on the box. I will admit I was pretty high some of the times and bought shit that I didn't need, (I did find a use for those socket splitters though haha) so this is just a ballpark total. I also still need to purchase the glass. I ended up buying too many lightbulbs, extension cords, an extra fan (that I blew up anyway but was worth it) and a few other items. Many items I could have done without and still had a functional box but I couldn't help but pimp it out. So it is possible to build this box for cheaper. I hope this thread gave you some cool ideas for your own projects.
- Thread starter
- #79
stratlogic
Well-Known Member
Here are the CFL's in action. As you can see, I used two bulbs of the higher spectrum up top and one of the lower spectrum just underneath to broaden the range of light. I could easily add more bulbs but this should be enough for the one or two plants I will be growing for the first two weeks before I kick on the HIDs.
Here they are just warming up.
Here they are just warming up.
- Thread starter
- #80
stratlogic
Well-Known Member
This is the flexible duct I am going to use to exhaust the heat from the lights to my attic. This cost me about $11 at home depot for 25ft. Plenty of extra for the next time around. I am going to use duct tape and tape one end to the box and that should create a good enough seal from the box the the exhaust hole in my closet.
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