New Grower - What's the best way to vent this small Sterilite Cabinet?

[Buddy McNugs]

Hi,

I am new to growing and working on my first grow. I am trying to figure out the best way to vent my cabinet and keep it as stealth as possible. I have a Sterilite plastic storage cabinet that measures 26"(W) x 18"(D) x 36"(H). Here is a picture of the inside of the cabinet with the lights in:

I am using a 120mm PC fan for an exhaust and was planning to use a passive intake. I am using another of the 120mm PC fans to circulate the air around the plants which you can see in the picture below(this is only the air circulation fan, the exhaust fan is not in the cabinet yet):

Both fans are going to be hooked to a fan speed controller. From what I have read, the intake needs to be bigger than the exhaust. I was thinking of drilling holes along the bottom of the back of the cabinet for the passive intake and use a baffle to keep light from getting through. I am going to drill enough holes to be at least double the amount of open space the exhaust fan will need. The exhaust fan would then be attached with ducting to an exhaust area at the top of back of cabinet that is a bunch of drilled holes in a square shape a little bigger than the fan. So, does this sound like a good plan? Right now I am running the lights with the doors open and it gets about high 70s low 80s at top of plants. This cabinet is only going to be used for veg and I will be moving the plants to another taller cabinet for flower. I don't assume I will have much problem with smell but if I do I will put together some kind of odor neutralizer at the exhaust, but for now I am just worried about venting for heat control. I am going to use some vent filters to keep out bugs at the intake.

I would love to hear from anyone to either confirm this is the best way or with any suggestions of an easy alternative that would be better for my cabinet. Thanks!

 

[gonegoodbye]

Nice setup. Should be a great veg box.

You could do with only 2 fans instead of three, giving you a bit more room in the cabinet, by having an intake fan and an exhaust fan and letting the intake fan do the job of circulating the air.

 

[Antics]

You shouldn't have much of a smell for Vegging plants. Only time I really smell them is after handling them, defoliation, etc..

I'd put all the fans at the top, blowing out the back, with an intake at the very bottom. If the doors aren't airtight, just do exhaust, and it'll naturally draw air in through gaps around the doors.

 

[maxinmaine]

To be honest, I would set it up top, then bottom, and see which does the job best. When you notice a nice flow of fresh air going through you're all set. Basically, trial and error is the best way to learn. And, use this site as a resource, it's a powerful one. There is definitely someone who has a real similar set up in one of the posted journals. Try searching your set up specs.

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Thanks for stopping in and for the advice.

Daddymac - I think you are right, I will try just one exhaust fan at first and see how that does. I am hoping that will be enough but if it isn't I will add the second fan in.

Antics - That is great to hear that there shouldn't be too much smell from vegging plants. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do much for odor control on the veg box, maybe a dryer sheet on the exhaust vent or some ona crystals. I will keep an eye on it and be ready in case it starts smelling later. I am planning to do some extra sealing on the doors so I will keep the exhaust fan at the top and will cut an intake at the bottom(probably drilled holes)

Max - Good idea on doing some more research on others with the same size cabinet to see how others have done it. Trial and error is one of my favorite ways to tackle a project, so I will try it out and see how well it does and adjust if necessary.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Ok, I think I have figured out my ventilation. The plan is to drill a line of 1/2" holes across the very bottom of the back of cabinet and that will feed into a thin flat blacked out box with a hole cut in the top with a vent filter or two covering the hole. Then the exhaust will be in the center of the top and will be a 6" x 6" square of 1/2" drilled holes that will have a PC fan hooked to it via about one foot of duct that will be painted black inside and bent in an elbow to trap light. I know PC fans don't do great with duct, but a short bend of duct shouldn't be too much of a problem, should it? If so, I could do maybe a shoebox in the top of the box with the fan attached to one side blowing into the blacked out shoebox that is attached to the back/holes. I am drilling holes instead of cutting out big holes because I think it will be less obvious than having a couple vent covers attached to the back.

I would love to hear others' opinions of my plan or suggestions/alterations.

 

[Antics]

Just keep in mind, PC fans are pretty weak. Adding ducting reduces efficiency and CFM, and in a small cabinet, without fast efficient exhaust, you're going to run into heat problems.

Don't over think it too much! It doesn't have to look pretty, it just has to function efficiently.

Super Stealth goes hand in hand with security and lack of access. We have stealth grows in a PC case, and Speakers, who opens a speaker? lol.... What steps are you taking to prevent a curious party from just opening the doors on the cabinet? If that's all it takes to blow your cover, then all the thought put into a ventilation system won't help.

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Thanks for the advice, you make some good points. I will try it out and see if it is too restricted and will open up more if needed. I have a lock on the cabinet and it is in a room that is not gone in often. Yea the PC fans probably are not the best choice but I already had some nice silent 120mm ones with a controller so I decided to go ahead and use them for this cabinet and will probably have a stronger fan in my flower cabinet. A speaker would be great, just not tall enough for what I am doing. I am going to get some kind of pantry cabinet to use for flowering.