why dont people use cardboard for grow boxes? ive seen HUUGGEEE cardboard boxes that would be perfect to coat the insides with mylar, easy to cut holes in for a/c or anything eles, you can pick them up easy, their durrable, so why have i never seen anyone use cardboard boxes, which, also look quite inconspicuous, for their grows?
Build yer' self a nice wood cabinet and put the "Big Ass Box" over it as a cover....add a few small ones with it fer' cover
well, comeon now, you wouldnt have the bulbs touching the carboard and the radiant heat off those things isnt enough to ignite cardboard, especialy if you have it in a cooltube or something. fire and water? if your geting fire and water all over your grow choosing what medium of box to use isnt your problem...
Cause it's flimsy, and unsafe when electricity, high heat, and humidity/water come into play. . Once you hang a reflecter, and proper ventilation, air scrubber it just wouldn't hold up... If you accidentally spill something the cardboard wicks it up and turns to mush... with 400 watts of light hanging in the middle that's a fire waiting to happen.. You'd need to build supports to hang up lighting, and air scrubbers in a carboard box LOL, so if your going to be needing to builb/design supports you mine as well get a couple sheets of ply wood, and a couple nails for minimal investment, and bang yourself together something proper.
I didn't read this correctly ad first, I wouldn't suggest using on as a grow box because like they said it's way to flimsy.
alright, so say you built a wood (or pvc, i can see benifits to using that too) frame for support and to hang the lights, how bout it then? haha so persistant arent i
cardboard grows have been done before.. you wouldn't be the first. Pics are gone, but it was a grow in a couple of empty cases of beer grown under cfl http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-journals/78608-college-budweiser-stealth.html Just not a good idea in my opinion that's all. If your going to risk jail/fines (most people) for growing herb you mine as well do it safe, and proper, and ensure a good yield as well..... If your gonna do it, you mine as well do what Dr.BudG said... Build your box, or even purchase a cheap prefab cabinet, and if cardboard is whatcha want go ahead and dress it up in a big ole box with a bow and disguise it as a Christmas gift under the tree.... The big refrigerator you always wanted already plugged in and running This way it's sturdy, and just a tad safer.. Ventilation is going to be important though... Gotta get fresh air in, and stale air out.. As long as you can do that, and provide proper temps, as well as sufficient light you can grow in anything.
Ive got a cardboard set up.... it sits up in my closet... a box from the ceiling fan and speakers i got last christmas... stealthy as hell... very small 17"w, 22"deep and 32"h... first lined with aluminum foil, then with paper.... single plant LST, that turned out to be a herm... still got it growin till i get some seedlings up.... no ventilation in the box, but i throw a fan on it every few days.... will be installing ventalation system for upcomming grow.... I am Painting the walls with flat white paint today as I let the hermie bake in the AZ heat....
if you were to do it, you could probably get away with a safe setup using LED$ as they are virtually heat free and use 1/9th the power of HIDs, but they're super expensive. i HAVE seen one grower who used CFLs i think in a cardboard stealth unit in a closet once, but as everyone has said already, cardboard wicks water which doesn't agree with electricity and burns very easily as it's 99% surface area exposed to air. why tempt fate? plastic isn't any kind of fire ratardant either. it burns just as easy, if not easier than cardboard as it melts and gets hotter and even worse, when it does burn, it's surely very toxic. if you are REALLY in love with the carboard box idea, then build a safer wooden box inside it and use the box just for camoflage, but if you're going to the trouble of building a box, why would you need cardboard when you can make a bok that looks like a dresser etc?