Hi GC, I picked up a 5 drawer dresser off of craigslist that I plan on gutting and turning into a stealth grow cab. Going with computer fans into carbon scrubbers with a light trapped passive intake. Going to slice the drawer faces off, wood glue them in place and caulk them. Lighting will just be CFLs (only gonna run one plant in a SCrog in there.) Anyhow, for anyone who can toss out some ideas, I'm having trouble figuring out what to do for the door. I'm removing the back panel from the dresser (it's about 1/8 ") and hoping to make it light-tight using weatherstrip tape. I'm going to glue a hinge on the inside of the box for the panel to swing, but I'm not sure of the best way to keep the door closed, easily open-able AND light tight. I should add that I'm not a woodworker or craftsman of any type and that there is probably a simple solution that i'm overlooking. Thanks for any input fellas, -Bear
Magnets maybe.. Put like 2 x 2 on the inside of the dresser. Then the magnets on that. I would drill a couple holes an make rope handles to save money, an so u can push the dresser flat against the wall.. Then jus put magnets on the back piece an put it back on. I did it to the front of a speaker box grow cab.. but I cant find the pics GL op Dutchie
What about securing the drawers completely and then just opening the back up? Like put in a small door on the back so that you can easily get full access in the back? I would put the whole thing on easy movers (those things you put under furnature and can slide across carpet easier) and leave them under the dresser for easier moving the dresser to get behind it. Just one man's idea lol. Good luck!
i would glue the front drawers on and then use a piece of mdf board on the back at greatkitsune said. Also the magnets work really well to hold it closed i use a combo of roller catches and magnets on my doors but i have weather stripping for a light seal.
Thanks for the responses guys! Sorry, I'm a tad new to posting and thought I'd get notifications if people responded. Maybe I need to subscribe to my own thread or something. Anyhow, I've removed the drawer face pieces from the rest of the drawer and gorilla glued them in place. I left the bottom drawer intact, as it is the bottom of the dresser. I popped off the back panel which is a thin piece of weak wood. Picked up a hinge that should function fine from inside the dresser, as well as some weather stripping (the kind with the ridges) to make a seal. I have a gate latch that will sit outside of the dresser (could even get a lock for it if I so desire.) My beans arrived today ! Blue mystic feminized from nirvana. If anyone has experience with ventilation in a grow dresser, I'd be grateful if you could brief me on your set up. My plan is to use a 4 inch computer fan (I think one will suffice?) wired to a 12v A/C adapter with a 3" passive intake using a 90 degree pvc elbow. I plan on pulling through a diy carbon filter that will sit inside the dresser. Thanks for any input fellas
Thanks for the idea Dutchie, I was planning on doing something similar but with magnetic cabinet catches. I went with the gate latch so that I may force weather stripping on the door into weather stripping on the dresser to make a better seal instead of relying on the strength of the magnets. If my idea doesn't work I may go back to the magnets though.
Vent FAQ Pulling air thru is more effective imo I have a seed starting box thats like 2 x 2 x 2.5 I use a duct booster fan. I had a 120mmpc fan but the noise from a booster fan was alot louder. Worth it tho bc the pc didnt cool the box. You want to replace the air in the grow space every 5 min. Like the latch idea. But think about putting some wood inside there like in the pic.. Helps prevent light leaks and you can weatherstrip that too
Thanks, I'm planning on pulling air through the filter. I'm hoping that the pc fan will be enough to cool the cfls, as I want to minimize noise. I'll probably be running four 23w at a time. I actually stumbled upon that FAQ earlier heh, for some reason it didn't pop up in my first search.
Ur gonna need more to cool the box bro.. Like I said u wanna replace the air every 5 min. That stale air in a confined space (vs a whole room or big tent) will choke your girls! Run the lights on an vent system on with thermo in there.. With NO PLANTS. Jus make sure u can keep the dresser cool before u thro plants in there
I've read through the FAQ multiple times and determined that an axial fan will exchange the air just fine, but probably wont cut it for keeping temps in order. My space is approx 1.5' x 2.3' x 3.5' I'm looking at 4" inline duct fans but am worried about noise/vibrations...
You could run weatherstripping around the booster fan. The parts touching wood.. Or run ducting and suspend the fan... Those booster fans are made to fit on couplings. Then those couplings are to fit inside the ducting.
I think i'll run weatherstripping around it, have some already and seems like it would work nicely. Do you by any chance have experience with how loud a 4 inch booster gets? Might be worth it for me to go bigger if it means quieter and if the price gap isn't too large. Thanks a ton for all of the info so far Dutchie, I really appreciate it.
They are loud enough that if nothing else is making noise, someone will ask what is.... The cost rele is no diff as you said.. You could always purchase or rig up a speed controller EDIT: If you go with a controller, that menas u can even run a 8" or something large enuff to cool lights, an to cool grow space.. I have a passive air inlet and a 4" exhaust in my seed starting box. an it keeps temps mid - high 70's. Alot of blades are here to help. Thanks for rep. When u post a pic of the finished dresser ill rep u
Ha, thanks I'll try and get one up. I'm working on the door right now. When you say speed controller, would wiring it to a dimmer switch be comparable? I may just go with the 4" and have my oscillating fan on top of the dresser to make it seem like that fan is the one that's making the noise. No one is really going to come upstairs anyhow, it's just a bedroom.
I was thinking that for my fan.......... Not sure, give it a go an lemme kno haha. Walmart an lowes sells dimmer switches for <$10
Think this would do it? 4" Inline Duct Booster Fan 100CFM Exhaust Blower 4 Inch Cooling Vent Hydroponics | eBay Pulling through a diy carbon filter as well?
I ordered it, I was originally going to complete this grow with CFLs, figuring it would be easiest to control temps that way. If that fan can handle it, I'll try running my 150 watt hps in there.