Picking a stealth grow box

Discussion in 'Grow Room Design/Setup' started by WeedUsername1, Nov 24, 2014.

  1. #1 WeedUsername1, Nov 24, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 24, 2014
    Sup everyone, first post but probably read at least a thousand threads here over the years.
     
    I want to try growing in a stealth grow box in my new apartment I'm going to be moving into soon and need to choose a grow box (or tent or whatever will work for my situation). The growbox must emit zero smell and ideally wont make my electricity bill noticeably high.
     
    Please suggest to me something I can buy (would rather not DIMyself unless it is pretty easy and guranteed zero smell) that is pretty easy for a first time grower that emits no smell! Thanks:)

     
  2. They make small enough tents, and a carbon filter will create neutral smell (but blow carbon dust everywhere). Redneck engineering cheat for that is simple...on your exhaust duct, mount a scented HEPA quality air filter. If you start smelling weed, turn off the fan, soak it with Febreeze, let it dry, turn the fan back on.

    Ghetto as hell, but it works.


    Power drain...damn, that's a fun one.

    A "1.4 amp max" fan is 140 watts, not counting inefficiencies. Call it 160 watts to be safe. True watts on your light sources, figure 10% inefficiency (same for any other equipment), so if it claims to be 100 watts, expect actual draw to be 110 watts. That's heat loss or vibration, or losses in the process of doing its job.
    If you go HID, the best digital ballast on the market draws 10.4 amps constant, 10.8 on startup for a 1,000 watt light. That's 1040 kWh per hour lit on constant.

    A normal HOUSE in America pulls 35-40 kWh a day. Use 4 cfl "23/100" bulbs (1600 lumen bulbs), a 1.4 amp max fan, a digital timer (usually 25 watts), you're using 365 watts an hour. If EVERYTHING is on an 18/6 cycle for vegging, you're adding 6.57kWh per day to your bill, or a 16.4% increase in use if you're in a high consumption average HOUSE. Gonna be higher for an apartment, since average use will be lower, for non-growers.

    Noticible.

    And that's a CHEAP consumption system that delivers nowhere near what I'd consider "proper light intensity", since I firmly believe the healthiest plants come from doing your best to mimic outdoor conditions.

    Don't let that deter you. It's just answers to your question...look at them, and decide if it's worth trying anyhow. If it is, if it's not, it's not.
     
  3. Thanks man, alot to take in but I read it a few times haha as a begineer I guess there is no simple way unfortuanatley, going to do alot more research!
     
  4. Actually, just to get 'em to grow IS simple. What you need to know in order to get progressively better is what gets involved.
    That's something you'll NEVER stop learning about.
     
  5. I decided im going to make a grow box  :D 
    I'm planning the smell as that matters a ton.
    I'm going to use a carbon filter after a powerful exhaust fan but what do people usually do for intake? does no smell go out the intake hole and what usually is a intake hole? I know it will be at the bottom but just having a hole at the bottom doesn't seem right. Sorry if it is a stupid question
     
  6. #6 Indie-Kah, Nov 26, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 26, 2014
    No stupid questions.

    Small vents along bottom, lots of them, so negative pressure pushes outside air in...the fan sucking air out and blowing it out of the enclosure will create negative air pressure, which helps cool (expansion cools, compression heats).

    If you can, run a duct from the intake side of the fan to the lamp, so it SUCKS air across the lamp, not blows it...if there's suction, it's because there is less pressure in the direction the air is going than where it is....it's "expanding", and cools better.

    Lower air pressure also means less efficient transfer of heat...this is why serious gaming computer builders mount all front and rear fans blowing OUT, and side fans blowing directly in on the heat sink (some will do it so it's one intake per two exhaust, but, generally speaking...). Reason is the lower pressure air inside resulting from moving air out faster than it comes in means what air DOES come in expands rapidly, becoming cooler than it would otherwise...wherever it's most concentrated, it "absorbs" heat most effectively ("blow direct onto heat sink").

    So passive intake is a more distributed, more gentle "intake" breeze, instead of the storm force winds you get from a fan, while you use every trick in the book to suck the most heat you can up and blow it out of the tent.

    Under negative pressure, the air being passively pushed in by higher outside air pressure is also in a position where it has to expand rapidly...keeping the bottom of your medium (soil or water solution) cooler than the average temp in the tent...your grow medium should ALWAYS be quite a bit cooler than the air, if you can manage it. Down to 50 degrees F at 1 foot depth if you can manage it.
     
  7. Get a pantry or storahe closet for like 200 for metal.. I ..suggest mounting all fans to 90 degtee 6 inch pvc elbows for light proofing
     

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