Off the Shelf, Airtight & Light Tight Doors?

[Douglas.Curtis]

Must be air-tight and light tight when closed, must be long wearing and of good quality. Basically a seal which will last 5-10 years.

Are there any pre-built doors, or replacement doors for some type of cabinet available? I'd like to seal/mount doors to a cabinet I'm building, and not have to deal with light proofing and making it air tight.

Surely there's something out there which is perfect or can be retrofit without too much trouble?

 

[Dropped Cat]

Likely depends on your budget, I use a gasket trim sold by the foot.
0.75" aluminum casing with neoprene bulb seal:

About 7 bucks a linear foot, works for me.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Daaaaang, that's out of my budget. lol Looks like great stuff though, thank you.

Perhaps I do not have the budget for pre-made stuff, and thinking wood and door insulation strips might work fine. Build an interior frame, stick the insulation to it, then use a latch on the door to press it tight.

Some day, you'll be able to shop "Micro Grow" parts. lol

 

[Rab.C]

great thread Douglas Curtis i am looking to lightproof some doors

 

[maraudeur]

Daaaaang, that's out of my budget. lol Looks like great stuff though, thank you.

Perhaps I do not have the budget for pre-made stuff, and thinking wood and door insulation strips might work fine. Build an interior frame, stick the insulation to it, then use a latch on the door to press it tight.

Some day, you'll be able to shop "Micro Grow" parts. lol

Demonstration on my solution, extremely cheap. I didn't proof it all the way, but this method was 100% effective for that door spring. My vegging chamber and hospital for my plants and herbs.

That's just one strip cut up. There is very little friction when closing, so it does stay in place. Would probably smack a bunch of these up all around the inside, with excellent glue.

 

[GatorGumbo]

Using adhesive-backed rubber gasket strips would be my first instinct.

More info on how the door is set up would help, is it only the one, how thick is it, how does it open, etc.?

 

[CannaRed]

I asked a similar question once a day someone recommended pre-made zip up tent door.
Guess it won't work for this project but its a good idea for future builds.

I'll try to find the link.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Good stuff, thanks.

The fitted weather stripping looks awesome, I'd want to use an adhesive which will still be easy to remove 5 years down the line. Black rvt silicone comes to mind...

The tent zipper idea would be great for some things, but I need a complete air seal on this one. I want to severely limit traffic in or out of this cabinet which won't fit through a HEPA filter.

Door type, weight, size, these are good questions as well. I'm looking at a 2'x4'x 3'-4' cab, so the door can be up to 2x4 in size. I'm sure there are plenty of lightweight plastic and metal doors available, it's the air-tight factor which excludes most of them. At this point I'm thinking stick frame box, supporting a thin plywood exterior.

As for hinges, whatever is appropriate for the solution. I may use a simple panel, with twist lock fasteners or something and completely skip hinges. The fitted weather stripping would work great for something like this.

Light-tight has always been an issue for me when building cabs, adding air-tight is just more frustration than I care for.
Thanks for helping out.

 

[CannaRed]

Good stuff, thanks.

The fitted weather stripping looks awesome, I'd want to use an adhesive which will still be easy to remove 5 years down the line. Black rvt silicone comes to mind...

The tent zipper idea would be great for some things, but I need a complete air seal on this one. I want to severely limit traffic in or out of this cabinet which won't fit through a HEPA filter.

Door type, weight, size, these are good questions as well. I'm looking at a 2'x4'x 3'-4' cab, so the door can be up to 2x4 in size. I'm sure there are plenty of lightweight plastic and metal doors available, it's the air-tight factor which excludes most of them. At this point I'm thinking stick frame box, supporting a thin plywood exterior.

As for hinges, whatever is appropriate for the solution. I may use a simple panel, with twist lock fasteners or something and completely skip hinges. The fitted weather stripping would work great for something like this.

Light-tight has always been an issue for me when building cabs, adding air-tight is just more frustration than I care for.
Thanks for helping out.

That's right. I forgot everything you do is hepa. Guess a Tent door isn't going to work for you

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Not everything I do is HEPA, but the majority definitely is. lol I really like the idea of the tent zipper door. I'm eventually building a veg cab for hydro roots, and this will work great for the door. Thank you.

I'm loving this root oil and do **not** like washing off dirt. lol

 

[smilley]

How about a regular interior door and jamb with a tent zipper door on the inside attached to the casing? Wouldn't be perfectly air tight but very close.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

That's a good idea I've often thought about a hanging curtain behind the doors, but a zippered door would be much more light proof and easy to work with. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[GatorGumbo]

How about a regular interior door and jamb with a tent zipper door on the inside attached to the casing? Wouldn't be perfectly air tight but very close.

I like this idea. On top of that, you could line the inside of the door with open cell foam like is used for window AC units. It's completely (indirect) lightproof for me at around 3/4" thickness, grey/black colour foam. Use double sided masking tape to not mess up your paint, glue the foam to the inside of the door on the tape and not the frame itself so you preserve the size of the entrance. Even if you go out and buy a door for this, use tape, you'll want to be able to reposition and tighten things up for a perfect lightproof fit.

Still wouldn't be airtight, but that's actually why I like to use it sometimes. Depending on the fitment of the door you can hook an intake fan up to the doorknob hole in a closet and use this DIY liner. Fresh air in through the hole, old air out through the foam liner. No drilling holes in walls or anything needed. It's a decent minimalist semi-stealth tactic, won't be growing dank weight with it but most DIYers don't really need to. I resort to it when I suddenly need more space for a grow and just take over a closet temporarily.

 

[Iamnumber]

Good stuff, thanks.


The tent zipper idea would be great for some things, but I need a complete air seal on this one. I want to severely limit traffic in or out of this cabinet which won't fit through a HEPA filter.

whats your plan with ventilation? constant positive pressure in cabinet will cause costant airflow through the zipper > this will keep the room safe while zipper is closed.


Big issue is to avoid contamination as you enter the area to tend to plants ( as we were talking about hepa )

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

whats your plan with ventilation? constant positive pressure in cabinet will cause costant airflow through the zipper > this will keep the room safe while zipper is closed.

Zippers let pollen out.

Big issue is to avoid contamination as you enter the area to tend to plants ( as we were talking about hepa )

Yep, this is for cabinets so I'll have to be clean when I tend them (at least from the waist up. lol). Good point.

 

[Iamnumber]

Zippers let pollen out.

Yep, this is for cabinets so I'll have to be clean when I tend them (at least from the waist up. lol). Good point.

ah.. the plot thickens..


I am sorry but bastard within me just took over my hands.. .. in op you were asking about air tight doors.. air tight door do not resolve the issue of you attending the plants..the pollen will get out when you open the door >> contamination.


OR


is your setup indeed up to keeping plants happy for the duration of pollen ( contamination) ( == no need to open door .. what loss will happen is acceptable?)

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

What? You can't figure out how to build a cab with neg pressure?

Seriously though, using a fan as your outtake will allow air in when tending. I'll be keeping the air in the room fairly clean, so contamination possibilities are greatly reduced.

 

[Iamnumber]

What? You can't figure out how to build a cab with neg pressure?

Seriously though, using a fan as your outtake will allow air in when tending. I'll be keeping the air in the room fairly clean, so contamination possibilities are greatly reduced.

indeed.. .. which makes the OP (and comments) more and more confusing.. AS you know you can control pollen and other contamination's with negative pressure same works for zipper doors and cabin doors with gaps big enough for pencil.


one can build a airtight frame and door from second hand scap items for 10$ to 20$ .. getting everything second hand can be too much so small budged to get something..


The downside is that these can be bit more complex to operate than standard door ( depending on requirements and design)


I do hope I have worded my message so that you will not take offence from me jabbing at your post. I dose push my buttons when person ask a question when he has actually needs answer to different question.


I do recall reading your past messages which were helpfull/insightfull .. something told me (famous little bird that sits between the lines) that what you are asking and what you problem is are two slightly different things.



as said.. the bastard too kontol of my arms and today is a publich holiday with required alcohol conzuption minimum..


so... central contaminated/dirty zone with negative pressure connecting to 1...n chambers of clean rooms with positive pressure? problem solved?

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

indeed.. .. which makes the OP (and comments) more and more confusing.. AS you know you can control pollen and other contamination's with negative pressure same works for zipper doors and cabin doors with gaps big enough for pencil.

Not confusing at all. I want to keep un-filtered room air out as much as possible. There's a huge difference between a few minutes of exposure to room air when tending the plants, vs. constant pinhole or gap leaks of room air 24/7.

 

[Elliot33]

In order for the air not to enter or leave the room, it is necessary to install good windows that will be sufficiently airtight. My windows are old and they let air in. I'm gonna change them.