Im gearing up to build a grow box. I have the lights ready, I have a seed trying to germinate (will be ordering some anyway), and am designing my box. I noticed some people use PC fans and I can see how useful they would be. Im thinking the box will be 4ft tall, 3ft deep, 3-4ft wide. If I use PC fans, I was thinking three larger ones on the top-right headed out, three larger ones on the bottom-left. My concern is airflow, temp, and how to power them. I know usually, they just plug into the mother board, but without a motherboard, how do you power them? And will these be enough to cool a box of this volume with 2 CFL bulbs?
You splice them with a 12volt phone charger you have laying around. Doesn't have to be a phone charger, those are just the most common for people to have extras for. Needs to be 12v though.
i am building a 30x28x48 box(in inches) and i a usinga 4 inch duct fan from home depot. its essentially the same thing that would be in your bathroom. the one i got was actually extremely quiet and seemed to move a good amount of air. i recommend something like this if you can spend 25-30$ for this you would need a 3 prong power cord and 3 wire nuts... just match the color of the wires and twist the wire nuts on
Can you expound on this? If there are cracks in your grow box to let air in, how do you keep light from getting out?
so my fan will be at the top of the box expelling the hot air while my intake will be passive on the bottom of the box on the opposite side... Since there is negative pressure within the box air will come through the passive intake and into my box... as for the light you make a light trap which just means you need 2 turns of 90+ degrees so the light cant bend around it... and make sure everything inside the light trap is painted matte black so it wont reflect the light
OH! I see. SInce you have a huge enough fan, you dont need the 2nd one, and you make the light trap as you would even if you did have the 2nd fan. Ok, I see. Well, if the cost if the same, or cheaper, thats the way Im going to go. Thanks.
Do you know how loud that exhaust fan is? What is it rated? Or do you have a recording of what it sounds like?
i dont have anything like that... but you literally cant hear a thing... its quieter than my computer
you're most likely going to need more bulbs if you're using CFL's. I think 4+ is recommended for a single plant, depending on wattage of course. Generally 100 watts per plant is ideal... most cfls are 23 i think. Make sure not to go by the "incandescent equivalent wattage"... for instance the box will say, equivalent to a 60 watt bulb, when in reality, its only 23 watts.
Yes, that's true.... the 100 watts is just a general recommendation that should put you in the general vicinity of how many lumens you need. If you know you have enough lumens with just the two bulbs, that's great. You'll be saving on electricity and creating less heat.
Yea i've heard anywhere from 5000-10000 per sq foot..... I'd say unless you're really worried about the electricity or heat, better to spend a few extra bucks and go overkill than to have a plant that produces only a fraction of it's potential. I'd say 4 of the "100 watt equivalent" bulbs would most likely be fine. Remember to keep them close to the plant, but not close enough to burn them, and when the plant starts to develop a canopy, put an extra bulb or two underneath the plant.
hey bro, could ya maybe take pics of your box after your done making it and specifically those light traps? i need to make another box and would love to try this! i understand how it works but im having difficulty imaginig how to set it up. GL on your grow btw