Interactive Stealth Cab Construction Project

I'd like to introduce myself by saying that, though quite familiar with cultivation of mushrooms and many indoor plants, I am pretty unexperienced with cannabis.

I have been a user for the majority of my life, and would like to grow as a hobby. Having searched a ton of forums, I have concluded that ICMag is above and beyond any other, with a much more helpful crowd. Flaming can get pretty damn old when all you want to do is learn from people who have knowledge drawn from experience.

Anyways, I am in the process in modifying the top of an old armoire into a micro-grow cab. Here's what I have so far:

Started with a finished armoire (only ended up utilizing top portion)


I unscrewed the shelf and primed and painted it.


I applied one coat of outdoor wood sealant, two coats of primer, and two coats of white paint.


I bought a 42W CFL, 2700 lumens.


I have at my disposal:

- 24 hr. timer [125VAC/60Hz]


- Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor Plug into Parallel Duplex Receptacle [Suppression Rating: 400V] [15A 125V AC 60Hz]


- 12V 0.85A DC Brushless PC Fan


- LiquidNails Clear Sealant


- Aluminum Screening


- 4 sets of Velcro Strips (3.5" long)


- Black Tarp Material


- Assorted Nails / Hooks


- Camper Mounting PVC Tape


- Chain (3 ft.)


Some other tools to do the job, including glue gun and saw.



The inside of the cabinet is about 30" tall, 35" wide, 19" deep.

There is a shelf that may be removed, or positioned at about 9", 11", 13", or 15" from the bottom.


And of course, I'd like to establish my final goal in this endeavor:

Sweet, sweet nugs

Can anyone help me get started? I'm adamant about getting the ball rolling on this project, but what has really kept me back is incompetence with electricity. In trying to rig up my 42W CFL with a random light socket fixture I bought and electrocuting myself, I decided that I was not going to mess around with electrical wiring until capable.

If anyone would be willing to help me get started with the materials I have now, or be able to suggest other necessities that I need to buy to construct this stealth grow cab, I'd really appreciate it. I am easily lost in a hardware store, so I may need specific help in acquiring components and assembling electrical systems.

I have read a great deal in preparation for this project, but its very hard to learn the basics of electrical engineering looking at amateur grow pictures and sparse instruction.

I have a ton of knowledge pertaining to growing mushrooms, though, and would be more than happy to assist any one in those endeavors.

You are gonna want more than 1 42 watt bulb in there.

Freezerboy is pretty good with electricity, so is redgreenery, scrub ninja and super pedro. Seek these guys out, all of them are pretty devoted to helping people and they know what they are doing.

I would recommend a cheap Multimeter when doing electrical wire so you can test for connectivity before adding power.Wire your lights in Parallel, Note the third or 4th pic down that shows the back of the sockets.Wire your fan(s) in parallel as well. Also i dont see a power source listed for you fan, do you have an adequate power source picked out.You will need a 1amp 12vdc power source, for example: cell phone charger, router plug in,external rom drive plug,or buy a ac/dc converter from the store.

What electrical issues are you having? I assume wiring the light and the fan??

First, don't wire anything that is plugged in or live- that's the only way to get a shock with the stuff you are dealing with.

Now for the light. Wiring CFLs is super easy. Go to the hardware store, ask for a closet mount porcelian fixture ( ~$4, the most basic one with out plug ins or pull chains). Grab a replacement cord, no need for a grounded one (<$15, two pronged will work). Replacement cords will be with the extension cords- usually 9ft long with only a male plug on one end and two exposed wires at the other end. And if u are going to use more lights u should grab a spool of 18 guage wire, a lil larger if u perfer. 25ft will be way more than enough.

Now take your replacement cords, strip the wires bare, wrap one (white) around a screw on the back of the fixture and tighten down the screw, wrap the other around the opposite screw and tighten. Now tighten in your bulb and plug the cord in - light should come on.

If you want to add more lights, (and i think u should add at least another 42w CFL for that space- as many as four total or more would give u much better results) just run a wire from one screw to the corresponding screw on the next porcelain fixture - gold screw to gold screw, silver to silver. Add another bulb plug it in and now u have 84w of maryjane producing power.

That PC fan is easy too. For a good read on that search "BEginner's guide to PC fans" posted by scrubninja. more info than you will need, but it helped me.

Let me know if this helps.... Anyone else feel free time chime in if i'm leading this poor guy wrong.

Later,
Rumble

How much did you spend for all that crap?
$1000?

look around allot more at other cab designs before you start cutting holes in that nice piece of furniture .
I would utilize the entire thing top and bottom , flower up top and veg and moms and clones down bellow

Just chop the end off an extension cord (I found 12 footers for 1.99 at Home Depot) and wire it to the screws on the back of the fixture. The wide prong is neutral and that wire goes to the silver screw. The narrow prong is hot and that wire goes to the gold screw. The neutral wire should be ribbed or insulated differently to help you pick it out - look closely.

And seconding the more lights suggestion - my immediate idea is to just get a Y socket and run two 42's. That'll get you started. Shoot for 50-75 watts per square foot after a bit.

Lord Doobie said:

How much did you spend for all that crap?
$1000?

Click to expand...

It was all stuff that I already had lying around, except for the light bulb and timer.

THC_Decapitator said:

I would utilize the entire thing top and bottom , flower up top and veg and moms and clones down bellow

Click to expand...

I had to move it to my current residence, and the bottom couldn't fit to make the trip. That was definitely the plan, but I have to adapt.

First Update

First Update

So I made a stop at Home Depot, and picked up the following:

- Bathroom 3-socket vanity fixture
I am going to attempt to follow Green Smoke's instructions in http://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=3076073&postcount=2

- Wiring Simplified


- Lighting Fixture


8 ft. White 2-Prong Electrical Cord


Various Sized Wooden Planks [1x2, 1x3, 1x4]


Got a Jab Saw to cut out the plyboard in the back.


And of course a stop at Barnes and Nobles for my first ever High Times


I'll get to work and hopefully update with the lighting situation soon. Everywhere that I have looked, I have been unable to find Y sockets. I'll keep looking. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Will my SPT-2 type lamp cord properly connect to the VW-1 cords from this lighting fixture? If so, how does the big/small pronged wires from the lamp cord relate to black/white/bare wires from the lighting fixture?

so. Narrow prong = black wire = hot Wide prong = white wire = neutral ?

botanist1 said:

so. Narrow prong = black wire = hot Wide prong = white wire = neutral ?

Click to expand...

Yep

What do I do about the bare copper wire if I only have a 2 wire cord?

Fold it up inside the lightbox and tape it up so that it can't hit any live wires.

Excuse my interrupting like Donnie in the Big Lebowslki (STFU, Donnie) ...

Bare copper wire? From where? That's ground and if you're using 2 wire cord, then it's the unit that has the ground and it shouldn't be bypassed or defeated. Throw out the cord for 3 wire and connect bare copper to Green.