New England Shed Grow

[xtremraptor]

So I'm trying to get my grow moved out of my house and into my shed. The shed however isn't heated in any way. The fact that I live in the Northeast and the winters can get very cold (-10 to -20F sometimes) is where most of my problems lie.

What I want too do is build a heated cabinet in my shed. It will be sealed off so that only the cabinet is heated and not the whole shed (yet anyways).

any thoughts or insight is welcome. i can handle criticism good and bad, all i ask is try to be civil. if you don't like it that's fine you can say so just don't be an ass about it. thank you

So here's the print and I'll explain after that;

Here's the description of things, each number in the print has a listing below for it;

1 - Fresh air intake. This is where the cold air will be taken into the heater box. Although it should be fine during the summer the air will be winter type cold, 20F to -20F, during the winter months. A thought I had is maybe sucking the air up through the insulated floor. Bringing it through the insulation may help ease the bitterness of the air.
Does this sound like it would work effectively?

2 - Heater. This will be the heater for the box. It will have it's own thermostat but can be connected to a thermostat controlled outlet for better control if need be. I plan too use a small electric space heater to control the heat in this box.
Something like a Milkhouse heater:

Do you think this would this be adequate to heat a small area then have the air pumped into the chambers?

3 - PC Fans. 140mm PC fans will feed the warmed air into two different venting systems. One will go to the flowering chamber and one will go to the Vegging chambers. Not pumping hot air directly from the heater but rather the controlled temp (75-85F) air from the heater box.

4 - Warmed Air Intakes. The first box in the heater box will be divided into two sections each fed by their own 140mm PC fan, 57cfm. Each chamber will then be fed into a four inch vent that will go to it's intended chamber.

5 - PC Fans. A pair of 80mm PC fans , 32 cfm, will help feed the warm air into the flowering chamber

6 - PC Fans. 80mm PC fans will help pull the air from the bottom of the vegging chamber too the top. Each will be position in an opposing corner than the one on the level bellow it. Thoughts are it will help move air around in the chamber.
Does this sound effective or should I just leave it passive and let it flow on it's own?

7 - Exhaust Venting. Air will be pulled from the veg chamber through a 4" vent too the scrubber and into the exhaust fan. The HPS light in the flowering chamber will also have it's own 4" vent that will be fed into the scrubber and then too the Exhaust fan.
4" should be adequate to move the air it needs too, yes?

8 - 6" Elbow. Air will be drawn through two 4" vents (one from each chamber) into the scrubber and then be pulled out by a 6" eblow into the exhaust fan which should allow for better air flow.

9 - Scrubber. Carbon scrubber too help reduce the smell. Since smell is not a huge issue where the chamber is instead of carbon pellets, which will restrict air flow, I'll use a funrace carbon filter which will be easier for the fan too pull through.

10 - Exhaust Fan. A modified Stanely high velocity fan will be used for the exhaust. Run on high (which is somewhere around 250cfm I think) it should be adequate to vent both chambers.

Heater Box - This will be the box where the cold air is warmed before being sent too the chambers. The area will be roughly 3'T x 2.5'W x 2'D. The outter walls are insulated and then the box will be lined 1/4" celotex insulation board for more heat retention. The air will be then pulled from here and sent through the venting ducts too the chambers.
As mentioned before do you think pulling the air through the insulation in raised floor will help take away some of the bitterness?

Utility Box - This is where all the Elecrtical stuff will be housed. The light and fan timers, main electrical feeds, exhaust fan, and ballast(s). This area will just get heat from the exhaust fan.
This should be enough if the fan is pulling heat through the chambers at all time wouldn't it?

Flowering Chamber - Three 5 gallon bubble buckets or Ebb and Flow system too take the plants through their final stages. The room will be about 6'T x 3'W x 16"D. The lighting will be a 400w HPS light with vented hood.

Vegging Section;
Mother Chamber - Hopefully I can get 2 or 3 moms of different strains going to pull clones from. The room will be about 30"T x 24"W x 16"D. The lighting will be CFL's, probably 4 @ 26w 2700k

Vegging Chamber - After the clones take root they'll get moved into this section. This section will be about 20"T x 24"W x 16"D. The lighting will be CFL's, probably 4 @ 26w 2700k

Clone Chamber - Once the clones are pulled from the moms they'll be put in a bubble cloner and set here till good roots are taken. This section will be about 20"T x 24"W x 16"D. The lighting will probably be CFL's, just a couple 23 watter should do well enough for here.

I have been able to do some work too it so there is progress. all the framing was done last week on my days off for turkey day and the sheet rocking was done over the weekend.

this is the cabinet area. everything has been insulated and then plywood was put up so that it will be easier to hang things where ever I want too

this is where the heat box is gonna be

electrical stuff, exhaust fan, scrubber, main power all in this area

flowering chamber

vegging chambers

Now onto the rocking

the ceiling has a layer of plywood and then the sheetrock hung over it. needed something solid for the lights and ducting to hang from. NO CRASHES ...

these two top holes are for the exhaust ducting

everything comes in and out of this end. intake on the bottom and exhaust on the top

the floor ducting. the one in the back is for the flowering section, it will have two ducts that feed the chamber. the front one is for the vegging section, it will probably have just one bigger vent since the area is smaller

the duct fits nice and snug through the hole i drilled. it will still have to sealed around it though

this is where the heat will be fed into each pipe from the heating box.

just the other end. nothing special on this wall just sheetrok

 

[redspaghetti]

looking good so far bro, cant wait to see the finish shed.

cheers,
Red.

 

[boroboro]

Good luck. It seems like it might be difficult to balance the heat among 4 different chambers. Might need to adjust the airflow from the heated box to the clone / mom boxes vs. the flower chamber.

Hope it works for you. I thought about something similar, but worried about noise, explaining airflow vents, and foot tracks in the winter.

 

[xtremraptor]

this is the way i have it figured.

each side will have it's own electrostatic thermostat that will control a fan in the heat box connected to the heat vducting for that area. the heat box will stay at about 75-80F all the time (fingers crossed) and when a section needs heat the thermostat will kick on the fan pushing the warm air too the chamber.

stealth is not that huge an issue for me. no close neighbors and none are comming any closer than they are now. my land is pretty private as well so how things look only matter too me cause no one else can see.

 

[Sleepy]

wow...looks like a huge challenge!!

keep it safe up there!

 

[Lazyman]

Good luck man, I'd put a damper on anything that goes outside so it doesn't allow cold air to leak in. It may never even need to open, but hey, if you seal it up tight maybe you can use a propane CO2 generator (albeit a small one) and keep it around 85*F?

 

[ArcticBlast]

yeah this should be interesting! looks good so far dude

ArcticBlast

 

[archie123]

good luck,gonna watch this,,also a king of new england???

 

[xtremraptor]

thanx for chiming in appreciate the interest.

got a little more done yesterday.

got the partition wall put up between the veg and flower chambers;

sheetrocked both side of it and drilled the hole for my exhaust ducting;

and finally the first coat of mud went on. i hate mudding sheetrock, fricken tapers always make it look so easy;

today i plan too get the heat box framed up and ready for the celotex insulation board. hopefully get another coat of mud on too

 

[xtremraptor]

mornin'

little more done too the space

first off i put another coat of mud on the walls. i think it should be good enough now. the rest can be sanded down and just painted.

then i got the heat box done, except for the door anyways. i had too finish framing it out, insulate a couple wall sections and the floor, put in plywood on the floor and ceiling, lined the box with 3/4" celotex, and then used expanding foam too fill the cracks and corners. after the foam has done it's thing i'm gonna cut it down and tape the seams and corners with aluminum tape as an added measure.

i also sealed up the subfloor area with the foam to help prevent any minor leaks.

and last but not least for the day was too cover the outside with plywood too hide the framing and insulation.

 

[high4free]

You've done a really great job man.It looks great, hope the heating system works for you.
cheers

 

[headfortrinity]

The build looks great, very nice job. I grow in an outdoor shed as well, it doesn't get as cold here but still a challenge.
I've got a little bit different method to keep the girls warm, my veg/clone/mom chamber intakes and exhausts into the main flower room using pc fans, then I use an exhaust fan hooked up to the HPS hood (like in your drawing) I put the exhaust fan on a thermostat so the veg area keeps the flower area warm at night and the exhaust fan runs enough to vent during the night no problem. When the HPS runs the exhaust will turn on fairly quickly. The exhaust from my cab is then vented into the shed to help keep the area warm, There is enough air flow through my shed to not need intake or exhaust for the shed itself but I might add an exhaust fan on a thermostat to keep the air in the shed moving when things warm up. Heating the shed this way will also help to keep the plants from getting frostbite when you open the doors. A propane co2 generator would be a great investment for you, added heat and you wouldn't have to vent the shed much. Home some of this helps.

headfortrinity

 

[xtremraptor]

thanx for the compliments guys

my veg/clone/mom chamber intakes and exhausts into the main flower room using pc fans, then I use an exhaust fan hooked up to the HPS hood (like in your drawing) I put the exhaust fan on a thermostat so the veg area keeps the flower area warm at night and the exhaust fan runs enough to vent during the night no problem. When the HPS runs the exhaust will turn on fairly quickly. The exhaust from my cab is then vented into the shed to help keep the area warm

i hadn't thought of running the lights at night originally but it was suggested by another member in a different forum. this will be a good idea to help reduce the use of the heater

using the veg chamber, which will be on almost all the time anyways, to help heat the flowering chamber is another good idea. once the CFL's in the veg warm up they should be able to keep it warm enough in there. however i think the supplimental heating will still be required in my area.

had too buy a car last week so money is tight this week. probably won't get much done so there will be more updates next week.

i really just need to do my doors (whatever i come up with) and transfer all my equipment out there, then things should be ready for a good test run.

here's what i have growing inside. they just went through their 8th week and now i'm just waiting on the trichome color to go amber. they are at about 40% right now and i would like too see them go just a bit farther.

the group;
media: soil and perilite 50/50
nutes: occasional MG, reduced mix about 50%
seeds: bag seed
lighting: under CFL to start but switched too 150w HPS cool tube now

Left to right
plant 1

plant 2

plant 3

almost there

 

[stillsmokin843]

Good job man. Looks like ya got some good carpentry skills keep up the good work.peace

 

[northernlightss]

Its going to look awesome when its done. What light are you going to use for flowering? Im guessing 400 watt with that space? Ok. Just read that. I use a 400 watter in a 3 foot by 20 inch space, and I'm very happy with the light intensity. Good luck. Keep up the great work

 

[xtremraptor]

for lighting i have a single 150w HPS but just came across another one for extremely cheap. how cheap? free type cheap. I think i'm going to combine the two of them together under a hood for 300w. if that still isn't enough i'll add some CFL's to go with it.

I'ld love to buy a new 400w light as originally planned but the budget is getting a little thin so this will have to do for now. at least till i can get a new light.

 

[badbeans]

I'll be keeping up with your thread, please keep us all updated that is a great build and I think it will work well for you.

that being said, I hate to be a downer on your thread. But have you considered a different type of heater? those electric fan driven space heaters give me the creeps from a safety point of view. I use one of these radiant heaters http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=oil+filled+heater&hl=en&cid=17516136978739976761&sa=title#p and I also think they are safer and probably a little more energy effiecient as well. Even if the thermostat has power turned off to this heater, the oil retains the heat quite a while longer.

just a thought...

bb

 

[xtremraptor]

i actually have been looking at those oil filled heaters. the little heater i showed isn't going to work for me. my boss has one and i've had a good look at it.

for one it has a built in fan that i don't need it too have. the fan on the heater might push the air back out the intake (whatever i come up with) and that's going to be waisted heat. and the fan won't shut off, if the heater is on the fans on. i want too pull heat out of the box not push it.

and yeah i'm not crazy about the efficeincy of the thing either.

does that heater have a fan to push the air or does it just heat the air? if it does have a fan can it just be turned off and the heat run alone?

 

[badbeans]

does that heater have a fan to push the air or does it just heat the air? if it does have a fan can it just be turned off and the heat run alone?

The one I linked to appears to be an updated model to the heater I have, my heater has no fan. It heats just like a regular hydronic heating system only this little space heater is oil filled instead of using water. Its a great little heater, I own two of them. My father heats his entire 1200 sq ft house with two of these heaters.

bb

 

[badbeans]

any updates on your shed/grow build?

bb