Just finished this bad boy this morning. 2 stacked rubbermaid storage bins. 1 cpu intake fan, 2 larger cpu fans for the exhaust, shit load of power strips, using the carbon per filters for odor and lightproofing exhaust. I will set that up after i germinate. Used reflective insulation gurella tape and flexfit tape for the lightproofing. 4 inch net pots, 5 gallon shallow water culture unit. Large air pump, 2 small air stones. The unit is in the corner and it is impossible to view the cords or fans unless you pull the unit away from the wall. Starting a grow journal soon, still waiting on my seeds in the mail. My camers kinda shit sorry about picture quality. Getting a new one soon.
Looks very nice, im wanting to do somthing very similair, but im having doubts on the lighting and ventilation, i got the soil and lighting process down its just all about location of the lights, your idea is new to me and i like it, but as far as ventilation, whats is the size of that fan and what do u have planned for smell. Also will a 12v charger run that size fan?
I have 2 130mm CPU fans taped together for exhaust which is the fans positioned in the middle. The duct that is flexed downward has a smaller fan in it. I pulled it out a trashed pc so I don't know its exact measurement. I am going to use the carbon pre filter fabric they sell at most super stores for air purifiers. I am going to tape it to the outside. I was going to tape it onto the inside but it takes 2x the amount to cover the fan and it takes up space in the grow chamber. They also have febreez sent free carbon filter plug in stand alone things for the bathroom. I also plan on getting a big bottle of ona gel and drilling a few holes in the top and letting it sit inside the grow box. I am thinking about getting a air filter/ionizer to set on top of the grow box. The fans work great, I have ran it with all my bulbs (flowering and vegging) and it maintain a cool temp. I know people say pulling air is better then pushing for carbon filters but these fans seem to work just fine pushing air out. To answer your last question I have a 12v adapter running all 3 fans. They run very strong however the adapter gets a little warm, but, I don't really see it being a problem. I will post some pictures tomorrow once wake up and get some energy.
Looks fairly close to my setup. Goodluck! Oh, and I love the whole fire hazard picture with all of the cords and such.
I soldered the wires and taped them up real good. I think the power strips break off if they get too hot. So it should be straight. I have been checking to see it they are getting warm in the back. All the cords and power strips out of the grow chamber are cool to the touch. The only thing kinda warm is the 12v dc adapter. I think I might get another one to split up the load from the fans.
Nice idea using power strips as the means to control the height of your lights. How light-proof are those windshield sun-screens? I really thought about using them on mine. What do your tempertaures look like inside the grow box? That was the biggest struggle I had. I went with two 3" passive intakes, and 1 4" PC fan exhaust and I had a lot of trouble keeping it below 90*F.
For starters the Y splitters that hold 2 bulbs in 1 socket amplify heat. So You will notice I do not use any of them. The 2 exhaust with the one intake seems to be working just fine. However my res was spray painted black to prevent light from penetrating. The light gets though the reflective tape and heats up the inside of the res (radiant energy not visable light). I am going to need to insulate it with the same material used on the walls and see if that helps. I also simulated a full 12 hour cycle running my box with all lights I am going to use for flowering. This caused the box to heat up a little. I would estimate around 80-85 degrees. I am thinking the plants will absorb some of that heat but it has me worried. I am going to research to find the coolist running CFL's and I am also thinking about installing a CPU AC unit. YES They have little computer air conditioners now! Check that shit out! I think it is going to save all us micro growers a lot of energy when trying to figure out how to cool off our grow boxes.
I'm too lazy to measure but my intake i believe it is a 4 inch CPU fan. My 2 out take fans were the largest sold in the CPU store and they look about 5inches in diameter. I'm so busy with work and school its taking away from the quality of my posts . Over the weekend I will bust out the ruler get the measurements right, and take some more pictures. But for now time to roll a nice phat daddy spliff and melt away my stress.
For the windshield sunscreen. That is actually a type of insulation they sell at Home Depot. But its the same stuff used in the windshield thing. Its light proof but its hard to seal all the light in between the cracks. You cant use reflective tape. The light will get through and you will have all these holes everywhere. Aside from that the power strips posed a problem. I have them epoxied to the sides. When the light gets into the 3 prong openings it shines through the wall on the outside. So I ended up biting the bullet and painting the outside black. You can use black gurella tape for the seams and cover it with reflective tape. But you will probely still have leaks here and there.
Now you have me thinking I'll spray the inside flat black, then try to the Reflectivix using spray adhesive to hold it on. I taped every square inch of my rubbermaid with foil reflective tape, and I still have minor light leaks. I'm looking for an alternative. Check out my Rubbermaid grow box if you get the time.
I would go with a flat white. It will take a few more coats but it will not absorb the light. I learned that from my SWC res. The black under the reflective tape is attracting heat and making it into a little oven type atmosphere inside.There are other factors that could be causing this that I need to check into. But for now its my best conclusion. p.s. I checked out your box, looks very nice!
I would do both if you have the time. I like the cool shiny look. But I think a few coats of flat white either way will do the trick. I did my lid in flat white and it took about 5 coats or so just to make it light proof. Which ended up being about 2 bottles of spray paint. Make sure you let the paint dry before you start taping or anything, and if you do fuck up taping don't fix it. The paint will rip right off. You will prob need less coats considering you already have it taped up.
I used; Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Flat White "ideal for indoor & Outdoor Wood, Metal, Wicker & more"
that suff will peal off and my start to release its self. ive been playin around with spay bombs for 25 years. i been building scale models for at least that long. the rust-o is good stuff if it doesnt move or flex, use the fusion it literally bonds to the plastic, although that alui. foil tape may still pull it off, that stuffs really sticky. lookin good killer
I like your setup and am going to do something very similar. I like the idea of the power strips running up and down the side of the box and actually had planned to do the same thing, but I have one question for you. How far apart are your lights from end to end? Will the branches grow out to a length where the leaves will touch them?
Thank you, if you look at the top you will see I have power strips running along the top of the box too. I am going to fill toughs up with lights when I begin flowering. I am also going to throw a screen of green in there when the time comes. so by that point I wont be using the side lights anyway.