I've got a small walk-in closet approx. 4ft wide, 7ft long, 8 ft high. I was wondering i were to grow 1 or 2 plants (more likely 1) would i really need ventilation --specifically-- to keep the smell from getting outside of the house? Doesn't matter if you can smell it from inside the house, it already smells like weed in here No door on the closet but a thick sheet or several and some tape or tacks should do the trick
Can't answer your question directly, but a DIY carbon filter system is pretty inexpensive, so if it's not a legal grow, I would say better safe than sorry. Sorry for linking to another site, but two resources are better than one The Best Diy Ez Walmart Carbon Filter for Micro Grows Zen Style
You got to have some vent, perhaps a 4" hole to the roof?...even if you buy an old door to fit, you can put a vent in bottom and top of door? "V"
Hmm well can't cut into any walls. Most i got laying around is some box fans and a 5 inch diameter metal-blade fan
Here's what I would do since stealth does not seem to be a huge concern and you can't cut any walls. There's a good chance you will smell it outside the house so why take a chance? Get a 4" carbon scrubber and fan combo (Could also make one but would be easier and faster to buy). Mount the scrubber and fan up high in the closet to suck the hot air and odor from the closet. Run a short piece of duct from the fan/scrubber to the top of the door frame. This will essentially allow the negative pressure the fan creates to suck cooler, fresh air through the bottom of the door opening and then vent the hotter exhaust air out of the top of the door opening. Not ideal, but paired with a few fans in the closet you should be able to control temps and odor decently and at least exchange some air from the adjacent room. I also second the idea of putting a door on there if possible - it would give you a lot more control over air flow, temps and create more negative pressure in the closet.
It's not just about the smell. Plants need lots of fresh air to grow. Also the lights generate lots of heat, so you have to exhaust the hot air, through a carbon filter. If you skimp on air, expect scrawny poor yielding plants with bugs and powdery mildew.
Well i could use fluorescent lights, they don't produce heat. It's always between 75-85 degrees in my room (i have a thermometer, lol) but almost always 80 degrees exactly. As for bugs, if it's in my closet and theres no open windows or anything, how would there be bugs? If i were to do it the cheapest way possible I do have several box (window) fans and a small fan (Around 5 inch diameter) i could use to suck in some fresh air for an hour or several per day. @EZskanking -- Although i agree and would like a closet door, it's just not an option. First of all my power drill isn't even powerful enough to drill holes in hard woods. I also don't even think it's a standard doorway, and the room is rather small so there would barely be enough room for a door to swing open. The best I can think of other than a door would be a sheet(s) or something similar. It would be hard to keep it relatively "sealed" to ensure proper and constant airflow and still be able to enter/exit. I suppose a Velcro strip on each side would work quite well but I haven't really looked into them so idk Sm00thslp's link to the other site with the carbon filter would probably work, since i have that small fan i could duct tape that to the filter i suppose. Wouldnt make any kind of seal but it might work.
I'm in the process of drafting ideas for another cabinet (my current is LWH: 2'x4'x6'). I don't feel like buying and cutting more plywood, so I came up with two ideas. I use 2"x2" furring strips (actual dimensions are 1.5"x1.5") for structure. I experimented with cardboard and duct tape but the regular gray duct tape doesn't like to stick to pine too well (black guerilla tape works, but what a waste after all said and done). So, I thought about cutting some cardboard down into 1.5" strips. Take some black trash bags exactly to size for each side. Use the cardboard strips on the outer edges of the trash bags, elmer glue the bags and cardboard. Now you have your sides or doors. Take push pins or thumb tacks (push pins would be easier to pull out) to hold the sides/doors in place on the structure. When you need to open the side/door, pull the pins, and voila. Could make the sides/doors as I said above, but velcro the structure around the cabinet, other side of velcro on the cardboard. Stick the side/door on and voila.