My new grow box... Suggestions?

[J Budman]

I just got this new wardrobe from IKEA with the sole purpose of a stealth grow cab. I built my own using MDO and it just wasn't stealthy enough for me. This is going to be perfect with just a few modifications on my part. This is going to be my first box/grow and the reason for this thread is I am hoping for suggestions from those who have built similar boxes, or are just willing to help in general. I plan on using the same scrog grow setup as NGB stealth cab from somewhere on here, just a little bit more spacious. I will post the schematic that I am basing things on, Again please feel free to help me out along the way, I am new to this.....

Thanks,
J

The images attached are of the wardrobe, before/after caulk and paint. And also the schematic I got from the DIY section on here...

 

[J Budman]

Does anyone know how to make the images larger, or make them just appear in my post???

 

[Dr Dog]

advice

keep ballast outside wardbrobe

seal all seams very well

i would run that schematic backwards, meaning flower on left door veg clones on right

Mount floros on top of that sliding door drawer there and put cuts in drawer.

Good luck, measure twice..cut once

 

[J Budman]

Thanks doc. Yeah I was going to do the schematic backwards I forgot to mention that. I am also thinking of dividing the right side (veg area) into two spaces. One for my moms, and one for rooting clones. I figure I have the space in there; why not use it? I was going to put the ballast as well as all other electronics and such in the top of the left hand side (flower area). I have it all caulked up with black caulk (see picture one its the black in all the corners), and then I painted the inside of the two chambers with flat white ceiling paint. I'm going to hang the lights and run the ventilation tomorrow.

Question: I have four 18 inch under cabinet lights (Floro tubes) with daylight bulbs in them. I was going to put two in the Mom chamber and two in the flower chamber along with my 150w HPS. Does that sound like a good idea anyone? I also have a 600w HPS, but I think that is just too big for this cabinet. Any advice is much apreciated. And if any of you guys wanna watch this thing get built, then stay tuned...

 

[gdbud]

I hope that you replaced the cardboard back with plywood!

 

[J Budman]

will that kill me gdbud? I'm only using 150w HPS. I don't think it's hot enough to make a difference. Is that why you're concerned?

 

[junior_grower]

The cardboard back will mold up fast with any moisture. You may want to get a small piece of pond liner to cover the bottom of the cab with and come 6" up the sides to create a waterproof tray. The wardrobe is made of thermal-foil coated chip board and it hates water.

 

[gdbud]

The back is what makes the cabinet stable without the back cabinet will collapse, So will you trust 7, 8, 9 weeks of work in grow great herb to three pieces of cardboard and two plastic strips?

 

[gdbud]

When I built my cabinet the first thing I did to get a 3/4 MDF board to replace the back then I used 1 1/2" x #6 screws and glue to hold it together.
For the width of your cabinet you will need two pieces.

 

[J Budman]

Thanks for the input guys. Before I get too far along I'm gonna grab some plywood. I can just screw it right to the back to re-enforce it right? I already caulked and painted and don't want to ruin it. I was debating on doing it anyways just so I could mount stuff to it, I didn't realize how important it was. That's why I posted this thread. Thanks for all the help guys. Keep the suggestions coming and I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

@gdbud- Did you use the same cabinet?

 

[gdbud]

My next advice will be read Ventilation 101 it's a long thread but worth every page. There is a lot of great information for ventilating cabinets

 

[J Budman]

Anybody have any ideas on light proofing where the two doors on the left side meet? I was thinking like a one by three right where they meet. Something like the pic I have attached. I have to be able to take it off and on so I can get at the plants though. Any ideas will be appreciated...

 

[gdbud]

OK the type of hinges that are on the door are great for making the door light proof.
You are able to adjust the door up and down, in and out from the cabinet and adjust the gap width between the two doors.
I used the white D shape gasket tape.

1: For the gap between the two doors I just ran one strip of gasket down the edge of one of the two doors then adjust the hinge to close up the gap. One thing to remember is to open and close both doors together so that you don't peal the gasket off.

2: Remove the doors then you need to place the gasket slightly off center towards the outside of the edge.

Then a strip on the door about 1/4" from the edge this will make this gasket sit side by side to the gasket in the frame when the door is closed.
You can see at the top the two gasket do not meet up but one is on top of the other dubble gasketed. I did the same on the bottom.

Here is the hinge. The off set gasket on the frame will seal the light from the henge and the gasket in the door will stop the light from escaping from the space between the henges.
My cabinet is now light proof after reworking it three times.

I hope this helps for a cabinet that size you will probably need 4 packages of gasket material each package has 17 feet of gasket.

 

[gdbud]

@gdbud- Did you use the same cabinet?

No I used a similar type of cabinet, But I did look at the same cabinet at Ikea.
I finished building my cabinet in Dec. and I'm currently doing my first grow in it.
Check out my grow journal for my cabinet design.

 

[J Budman]

I am all plywooded up. Ready to figure out the best light configuration for what I have. I have two 2' home depot T8 Floros and four 18" under cabinet lights with daylight light bulbs in two of them. I was thinking the two 2' floros on the walls in the flower chamber with the 150w HPS and the four 18" floros in the veg cab. Again if anyone has any better ideas please feel free to let me know before I hang them tomorrow.

@gdbud- as far as light proofing I'l take a picture of what I did and run it by you. It works perfectly. I ran a 1" by 3" vertically down where the two doors meet and actually attached it to the left hand side door. Then on the inside of the 1" by 3" are to slide bolt locks to secure it in place. Then the right side door has a key lock that locks to the inside of the 1" by 3". It's kinda hard to explain, I'll post the pics in the morning. They'll make it all make sense...

 

[afroman25]

I am all plywooded up. Ready to figure out the best light configuration for what I have. I have two 2' home depot T8 Floros and four 18" under cabinet lights with daylight light bulbs in two of them. I was thinking the two 2' floros on the walls in the flower chamber with the 150w HPS and the four 18" floros in the veg cab. Again if anyone has any better ideas please feel free to let me know before I hang them tomorrow.

@gdbud- as far as light proofing I'l take a picture of what I did and run it by you. It works perfectly. I ran a 1" by 3" vertically down where the two doors meet and actually attached it to the left hand side door. Then on the inside of the 1" by 3" are to slide bolt locks to secure it in place. Then the right side door has a key lock that locks to the inside of the 1" by 3". It's kinda hard to explain, I'll post the pics in the morning. They'll make it all make sense...

Nice looking cabinet. Whats the name of the cabinet? I looked on Ikeas web site but couldnt find one similar to that. I'm looking to build me an NGB style box as well

 

[J Budman]

It's called Kullen from IKEA. That's all I remember. The thing is perfect. It only cost 150 bucks too. It's the cheapest wardrobe they have at IKEA. I built myself a little NGB box from the schematic I posted at the beginning, then I remembered a wardrobe I had bought from IKEA at one of my past apartments, the rest is history. Now I'm almost ready with this one. I'll keep you all posted on how it's coming along. Stay Tuned

@afroman- I hope that helps you out. This wardrobe takes al the hard work out of it, which I like...

 

[J Budman]

Here's the pics of what I did to light proof it. The first just shows the 1 by 3. The second shows how I attached it to the left hand side door...

More to come, hopefully I'll be working on it all day...

 

[J Budman]

More pics of making it air tight, light tight, and putting the locks on to stop prying eyes...

Any suggestions on the lighting scheme that I came up with anyone?

 

[gdbud]

Nice looking cabinet. Whats the name of the cabinet? I looked on Ikeas web site but couldnt find one similar to that. I'm looking to build me an NGB style box as well

I think that one has been discontinued. Last few time I've been at Ikea it has not been on the showroom floor, But they have had them in the stock area, center area where you can't miss it. Portland, OR store. (shoot I gave my location away )
If you have an Ikea near you go take a look.