Best turnkey solution for small 2nd br?

[lucky7]

I live in a major city in a small-ish 2Br condo. I'm looking to grow in the 2nd bedroom/office space. Of primary concern to me is smell, sound, physical stealthy-ness, heat. 9-15 plants would be great to start.

Any recommendations as far as a decent turnkey solution? I've looked at the BC NL's bloomboxes as a pricey option but the heat it seems to generate concerns me. There's a bunch of what seem to be hobbiest boxes on ebay, etc also, but I'm not sure how safe some of those are (not trying to burn my building down either).

Any recommendations?

 

[TexMex McDirt]

If you need it to be stealth I think DIY is the best bet. It takes a while to get it right and can be a headache, but the results are real rewarding. I saw someone looking at the Grow Dresser at pcgrowcase (http://www.pcgrowcase.com/growbox.htm) it's friggin pricey. They also have some turnkey PC systems. I'm a DIY guy, so...

Good luck. Happy gardening!

 

[FreezerBoy]

Define "physical stealthy-ness"

Anyone who sees a bloombox will have one of two reactions. They'll cry "WEED! Gimme some!" or they'll ask, "Show me what's inside that bizarre looking box that has no business being inside your house."

 

[lucky7]

Yeah, the stealth factor is pretty weak with the BCNL products. Perhaps the Supercloset's are a better solution? http://www.supercloset.com/products.php

These also seem to be tall enough to give me some wiggle room.

 

[Securityfirst]

do a vertical stadium

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=153464

 

[FreezerBoy]

Everything is a trade off.

If it has to be, "Open box, plug in, go away." this will work. Just know you're paying Rolls Royce money for a Yugo filled with stuff you don't need.

I'll give it this, it's as close to invisible as you'll find.

 

[lucky7]

do a vertical stadium

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=153464

Hmm...how is that stealthy?

 

[Fuzz420]

Ouch turnkey setups are extremely expensive. For the price of the supercloset you can buy any tool you will need, and all equipment, and could have it a similar setup for 1/4-1/3 the price. I can understand the convience factor, but llike freezerboy said your spending "rolls royce" money for a dressed up yugo. Search through the many cabinet threads and make notes and build your own.That other 2k in price could be used to buy bomb ass genetics

 

[catman]

My cab makes less noise than my PC. All in all it took me many, many hours of planning and at least $600. I would feel silly locked up knowing I could have put in the extra effort in retrospect.

Need more information.

What much do you want to grow?

Have a closet?

 

[SoloGro57]

SuperCloset? Not.

SuperCloset? Not.

Not Super that is. I own one. The Delux. It's a quick way to get an idea about what growing is, but if I had the time and inclination I could have put something together for myself which is way better, and for less.

Somebody up there ^ said that you will be paying Lexus prices for a Yugo. That's a very good analogy. Hat's off to him or her. The reservoir and tray that came with my SC was a couple of cheap nesting IKEA bins with a few holes drilled in them, and inexpensive fittings installed something that anybody with a brain and a cordless electric drill could accomplish.

As far as the quality of the cabinet? They promise beautiful powder coated steel, but its a very third rate powder coat, if it's a powder coat at all. The bottom of the cabinet is already showing rust spots.

I could go on, but I'm guessing you get the drift here. If you're going to be growing for more than a crop or two in ur SuperCloset you're gonnna eventually experience buyer's remorse. I'd be willing to bet.

Good luck with this

 

[qbert]

Ouch turnkey setups are extremely expensive. For the price of the supercloset you can buy any tool you will need, and all equipment, and could have it a similar setup for 1/4-1/3 the price. I can understand the convience factor, but llike freezerboy said your spending "rolls royce" money for a dressed up yugo. Search through the many cabinet threads and make notes and build your own.That other 2k in price could be used to buy bomb ass genetics

I just want to throw in my two cents.

I came here 6 months ago with a similar inclination. 2bt apt. Stealth is priority #1 - smell, sound, and sight.

Looked at the pre-builts, decided to DIY. I've been working on it for 6 months now.


This idea that you can replicate the turn-key units for 1/4-1/3 of the price is simply untrue.

What one can do, is build a unit with top notch equipment built very specifically for the exact space it will live in for a bit less (maybe 1/3 less if you're good, or have done a couple already) than the turn-key solutions.


Of course, that's a double edged sword. I spent months - literally months - researching equipment, and I didn't even get into hydro or CO2 and barely touched automation controllers. That time alone, even at a rate less than my day job, cost more than a whole turnkey unit.


Another issue is the cost of materials. Its not anywhere as cheap as I expected. Perhaps obviously, for smaller cabs that could get away with all particleboard it won't be as bad (but start adding hinges and drawer slides and it adds up REAL quick), but in my case I'm building a 56" x 32" x 78" cab. I spent $100 on 1x3's for making a frame alone. The exterior nice-faced plywood is going to cost $200-300 at least. For sound damping I'm getting some rubber and foam that while not car audio expensive will still add up to over $100. Crap, the drawer slides for the one shelf to hold the plants were like $40 (2 pair, heavy duty). I'm closing in on $1000 of materials alone. That's after spending $1500 or so on actual grow equip (light, hood, fans, nuts, etc, etc, etc).


Now, tools. Ha. Just last week I spent $500 on clamps because I didn't have many at all. That $500 got me a surprisingly small amount of clamps. Not having much for wood working, I had to buy a circ saw and a router, which I paired with a rail system to help me be accurate, quick, and safe in a small space without spending thousands upon thousands, though I still spent close to $1500 on that stuff.


So, despite the fact that I go a little overboard and aim for perfection, I've tried to ensure that I'm buying from the lowest price suppliers, and I try not to buy too much unneeded stuff, and I'm still thousands of dollars in, enough to buy one of those superclosets.


But here's the thing. My cab will (should) be a hell of a lot better than the supercloset. It has and does EXACTLY what I want, and I know every last detail has been thought through extensively. It will look exactly the way I want it to so it blends into MY space (and everyone's space is a little unique). Oh, and it was a big long complicated project that's required lots of personal investment on various levels, so at least for me that has value itself.

Some day here I'll finish it.

 

[Helis]

qbert, you can't count the cost of tools into the creation of something... and I'm sorry that it has taken you months. I built my cab in a week for less than $500 and was very pleased with the result. It's infinitely upgradeable, because I designed it like that.
I figure I am a beginner grower, why not *leave* room for the upgrades later instead of sinking the time & money in now? One of those "it's better to just get started than sit around fapping about it" things.
And if I think it's a piece of junk? I can salvage all the internals and take apart the cab, throw it out and build a new one.

It sounds like you are aiming very high-end, but are a beginner grower, or at least beginner with cabs? 6 months is long enough to design build and grow in a cab, decide it's crap and build another.

Planning before building is important, yes. It probably took me a month to solidly design my cab, but it's not like I was losing time doing that. You have to realize once you start going you will realize your cab can be better, no matter what...

DIY is cheaper, if you know what you're doing. There are always people who just can't figure it out.

 

[FreezerBoy]

qbert, you can't count the cost of tools into the creation of something...

helis, tool cost MUST be included. Time, too. Not everyone has been stockpiling tools for 35 years and, while I have, my 4" hole saw has never been used for any other purpose than cab building. It's cost belongs solely to the cab, same as my PVC pipe cutter.

I've re-built my DIY scrubber twice now. Not re-packed but, disassembled, resized and rebuilt. Even at a lowly $20 an hour, you could purchase 3-4 units for that had you simply gone to work at your job. But, that's the cost of getting just what you want.

 

[Helis]

Fair enough. I apologize I don't know where my head has been. Employment for me is not a normal job situation and I never regard hobby time as a cost...
What you are saying is that building things cuts out of your work time. I finish my work then do my DIY work. I build on my days off or when I have finished a major job - then it's time off For me building things is a fun endeavor and I usually manage the time, but work and family always come first.

And you are right, I forget that stockpiling tools is not an every day thing. Perhaps I do it more than others, but all I have in my home is a $60 drill, a $60 jigsaw, $20 worth of bits, a $10 hand saw (all big box hardware store) and a $9 hole saw set from Harbor Freight. Panels were cut at the store, and a few things were done on a friends table saw. That's $169 for cab building tools.
Oh and a staple gun.
The $500 figure for my cab figures in all materials. It's still less than $700 with tools. It is the size (roughly) that would manage the op well and designed with a home office space in mind.

You are correct, there is always the extra tool instance or run-in with having to fix something, though.

helis

 

[FreezerBoy]

And for sounding so snippy, I'll apologize too.

Everything's a tradeoff. Some are willing to pay a premium for convenience that other's are not. As long as he knows it's largely bargain basement equipment, our job is done. Note I have more than my fair share of bargain basement equipment but, I paid bargain basement prices and saved my money for the important stuff.

If savings aren't reason enough to DIY, I submit DIY builds better growers. It forces the builder to know more of the hows and whys involved. Like learning to drive on a stick, you can always switch to an automatic; Learn on an automatic... let's hope no one needs a doctor.