Hello and welcome to my new project. To be honest, the code name "Mother Earth" is the one I made up for GC - at home it has another name related to the womb;-P OBJECTIVE: Create a highly efficient grow system that is all inclusive. It must have a small footprint and be as self contained as possible. It should also not look very conspicuous. I am researching 2G11 lights for this system for their intensity and for the fact that I can locate the ballasts seperate from the grow room thereby reducing heat. I have seen and been pretty impressed by "NBG" style boxes and my design will borrow from these heavily. 4 x 55w 3000k 2g11 = 19,200 lumen - 1 Fulham Workhorse 7 ballast - 4 50w 2g11 lights 4800 lumen each UPDATE! Project Mother Earth has been revised to include this criteria: - Box must have multiple lighting options for the cooled lighting areas. - see illustration sketch Note: Utilizing this option in design, I believe I have effectively created a system that I can build up gradually as more available monies become available. This way, I will be able to light this box with the lighting that I currently have.
I have received the 4 55w 3000k 2g11s and the ballast and after I ordered them I began worrying about the color temperature being above 2700. 2700 being the temp I am currently working with for flowing with cfls. Then I looked up the color tem for HPS which is around 2000 - 2100k. So I found myself an all red led panel for a modest price. I think this will make a good supplement to my flower room set-up. Here's an early sketch:
Some details from earlier. I've got much more worked out in my head. When I get them down on paper or in 3D, I will up load them. These 2g11's look good - has any one else had any experience with them?
Ventilation - the toughie! My experience thus far when it comes to ventilation has been pretty rough! I do know the formula which is take the total area of the space to be ventilated and multiply by 5 to get the optimal cfm rating for an exhaust fan. My calculated cfm rating should be 135. So, from Grainger's I have been looking at these models: VENTILATION PSC Blower,115 Volt - 273 cfm HVACR > Blowers > Small Centrifugal Blowers > PSC Blower,115 Volt : Grainger Industrial Supply $92.10 Grainger Item # 1TDR3 - 273 cfm - Inlet Dia. (In.) 4 5/8 - Outlet Height (In.) 3 5/8 - Outlet Width (In.) 4 1/8 - Overall Height (In.) 9 7/8- - Overall Width (In.) 7 11/16 - Overall Depth (In.) 8 7/8 CFM @ 0.000-In. SP 273 CFM @ 0.100-In. SP 245 CFM @ 0.200-In. SP 230 CFM @ 0.300-In. SP 210 CFM @ 0.400-In. SP 183 CFM @ 0.500-In. SP 135 -------------------------------------- Blower,,115 V - 134 CFM Grainger Item # 2C647 Price (ea.) $66.75 Inlet Dia. (In.) 4 1/2 Outlet Height (In.) 3 1/8 Outlet Width (In.) 3 Overall Height (In.) 8 Overall Width (In.) 5 5/16 Overall Depth (In.) 7 7/16 CFM @ 0.000-In. SP 134 CFM @ 0.100-In. SP 126 CFM @ 0.200-In. SP 117 CFM @ 0.300-In. SP 107 CFM @ 0.400-In. SP 96 CFM @ 0.500-In. SP 79 -------------------------------------- PSC Blower,115 Volt 146 CFM Grainger Item # 1TDP7 Price (ea.) $79.65 Inlet Dia. (In.) 3 1/8 Outlet Height (In.) 2 3/16 Outlet Width (In.) 3 1/4 Overall Height (In.) 5 3/4 Overall Width (In.) 6 5/16 Overall Depth (In.) 5 3/8 CFM @ 0.000-In. SP 146 CFM @ 0.100-In. SP 140 CFM @ 0.200-In. SP 126 CFM @ 0.300-In. SP 124 CFM @ 0.400-In. SP 120 CFM @ 0.500-In. SP 110 -------------------------------------- PSC Blower,115 Volt 148 CFM Grainger Item # 1TDR6 Price (ea.) $81.05 nlet Dia. (In.) 3 3/4 Outlet Height (In.) 2 5/8 Outlet Width (In.) 2 15/16 Overall Height (In.) 7 5/8 Overall Width (In.) 6 Overall Depth (In.) 7 1/8 CFM @ 0.000-In. SP 148 CFM @ 0.100-In. SP 144 CFM @ 0.200-In. SP 136 CFM @ 0.300-In. SP 134 CFM @ 0.400-In. SP 130 CFM @ 0.500-In. SP 124 CFM @ 0.700-In. SP 114 CFM @ 0.800-In. SP 106 CFM @ 0.900-In. SP 95 CFM @ 1.000-In. SP 86 CFM @ 1.200-In. SP 44 I've chosen the last model rated at 148 cfm. Why not pay $10 more and get the 273 model? Well, I figured in these factors. I will be using cfls and leds and all of my baffles will be located away from the growing chambers seperated by glass. So even though the calculations say that 135 is what I need, I am willling to bet that I could probably get by at or around 100 cfm because of low temps and smaller areas where the plants are. If I have to run the fan full speed, the noise may be more of a factor. Also, this fan has a greater range from 44 cfm all the way to 148.
i was a little iffy at first but after seeing actual pictures, its looking real good, and i like your whole light trap/ventilation design. it looks really good so far. cant wait to see it full of greenery.
Thanks - good lookin' out! I too was iffy...but because my current set-up isn't quite steathy nor efficient (light-wise + ventilation-wise), I decided to bite the bullet and make it happen! I have to admit, I am not the best carpenter, but this suckka is coming out above my expectations!
I just read about somthing on ICMAG, called overpowering. Its where you wire the ballasts in serial to give the fluoro tube extra voltage. supposedly it dosnt harm the tube, but puts out 75% more light! I havent seen it done on PL fluoros however, but given they're already exceptional light output, i would think its worth looking into!
Getting close! I am expecting my t5 components on Monday - can't wait! When I get the t5s I can finish my wiring of the mech room and then I can do a full test! I have the 2g11's in place and the leds - I also have the exhaust fan wired and hung. Upon preliminary testing, it should run quieter than my existing box which uses twin tandem 120cfm computer fans! I cannot truly test the fan until I seal all the air leaks in my box - I will be using silicone weather sealant in all the seams and will use foam weather stripping for the doors. Here is some pics of my status:
Got my t5s yesterday, but I've been suffering from build overload! I'm just a bit overwhelmed with the little adjustments that I've had to make such as one of my glass panels is just an 1/8th of an inch off. I aim to get this suckka at least to the testing phase by Friday. I am having MAJOR problems with my existing box and heat.
Looks like I've got a bunch of light leaks to seal up, a shelving system to complete and a couple of doors to hang - but THAT'S IT! Let me tell you something - so far this mutha RUNS cool! I may not have to run my fan continuously. This means that it opens up the possibility of doing some experimentation with CO2 in the future! I am psyched! In order to get an idea of how good my lighting might be, I took a reading of my current lights using one of those cheesy 3-in-1 soil ph, wet or dry, light meter gadgets. My current hood has uneven lighting so I took my benchmark reading from its brightest area and compared it to my new box. Results showed a slightly higher level, which is cool with me because I am happy with my current level of light! But what DID impress me was that throughout the entire space the levels were dead even!
damn! if you could possibly pm me all the information i need to build one of these myself! want a full detailed blueprint please and what you did step by step if it isnt a big problem.. its looking great man!
I will probably do a re-cap of the build process in this very thread when it's all up and running. To tell the truth, Even though I did some 3-D visualizations to get an idea of what to do, I didn't ever draw up any full plans. I'm not that organized! But, thanks! I am glad you are impressed with my efforts - I hope they pay off!
Testing is in progress! Due to my lack of carpentry skills, I am having problems hanging the veg/clone room door. I am also filling and re-filling gaps, checking and re-checking for light leaks. I also revised my plans which included sliding drawer-style shelving that could be raised to different levels to just adjustable shelves. A slight loss, but I am actually very happy with my new adjustable shelves.
Still being lazy! But I am confident about having solved my light leaks! I still need to re-hang my veg/clone room door and test that it doesn't leak light into my flower room. Will the little niceties on this project ever end!