The Nuggerator

[danktafied]

Hello ICMAG,

I am sick of paying the price of gold for my "medicine", so I am doing something about it. As I walked by my unused fridge in the garage, it struck me, I could use it to grow my own! Sure, I could use an empty closet or something, but that would be too easy... Honestly, I liked the stealthiness idea of the fridge.

I spent the past few months gathering info off this site. I found that I wasn't the only one who thought growing in a fridge might be a cool idea. Learning from the successes and the failures of both the seasoned vets and the first timers. There is so much great and valuable info on this site and too many helpful posts to name names. I just want to thank everyone who contributes to this site as you have all helped me and countless others get this far. I wanted to give back a little and I am sure i am going to need more help in the future.

* The Nuggerator *

This will be a dual chamber grow cab with a dual phase cooling system.

* CAP NextGen 400/600 digital ballast
* 400 watt grolux
* 6" cool tube
* Sythe Fan controller with temp sensors
* 3 120 MM axial pc fans and an 80 MM to circulate the freezer. The Delta fans have pretty good pressure ratings for what I am trying to do.


I thought about keeping the fridge intact and working but after reading multiple threads and opinions I opted against it. So, I started by completely gutting the entire fridge. After getting all the freon lines and condenser equipment out, I sealed up some of the holes with sealant, taped up the compartment underneath, and painted it black.

I got myself a hole saw and went to work. Two 3.5" holes (that is the diameter of the PVC) at the bottom for air intake.

I use PVC elbows painted black for containing light leaks.

A 4.5" hole (the diameter of the PVC) at the top for exhaust.

The 3" intakes are in place.

The 4" exhaust in place. I am using a 130 CFM Delta axial fan. I hope to order and attach a can filter 705 to the exhaust. There are not too many places online to order such a small scrubber.

Down below is where I have my ballast, timers, and surge protector.

I have 4 fans all controlled by a fan controller with temp sensors.

My 400 watt HPS in a cool tube. Vented with two 4" holes. I have a 130 CFM fan "pulling" the air through the tube and venting it outside the fridge. It runs at full blast to cool this baby. Dont mind the bean...my girlfriend is growing that and put it in my fridge! lol

I added another elbow to reduce the light leaks to the freezer.

I still need to turn these a little. I am really only worried that light will leak into the flower chamber when I open the freezer to check temps or adjust fan speed.

I am able to maintain about mid 70s to low 80s in here.

For when its nighttime for the babies, I added this light to the compartment down below to help maintain a warm temp. The average temp in my garage is in the 40s...

That is it so far. I plan to put a florescent light in the freezer for clones and a mother.

Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

 

[medi-useA]

Th@ is a truly impressive setup man! Kudos to you...

I got an old clunker I was looking @the other day...you may be the straw th@broke my camel's back!....I may be on a project soon!...oh, shit!..not another one!...got too much already

oh, well.....

Can you give info on your temp gauge/controller?


muA

 

[grow1620]

wow nice! I just picked up one of those scythe controllers this week, can't wait to try it out! super nice build, I love fridges.

here ya go muA scythe and here's another one I was checking out.

 

[Fraggle Rock]

Very cool!! I love to see DIY stuff!!

 

[cracker420]

love the fridge!! is that a castorbean?!?! i got some castor beans growing right now, i plant them around my house in the spring, make my place look like a jungle

 

[150wPimpin]

Way to F'n go dude!!

Looking really nice!!

Im going to go out on a limb and say you have much building experience

possibly a contractor


Is that fan going to cool that light?

I know I had 2 100cfm fans cooling my 150watter and they just didnt do the trick at all!

I had to upgrade to the Stanley blower which is enough to cool my light and extract the heat from both of my chambers

 

[ArcticBlast]

this is one of the best first posts i've ever seen, awesome job dude i'm tagging this one for sure

ArcticBlast

 

[iSmokeTrees]

Have you considered a 400w CMH bulb?

 

[danktafied]

MuA - Thanks man. It was indeed a project. I don't want to think about all the time and money that went into it but it should pay off here in a few months as long as I dont mess it up

The fan/temp controller is a Scythe KS01 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998063)
Not sure what the difference is from the one grow1620 linked to.

Grow1620 - Yeah I really like the controller so far. I had to buy some 20 gauge wire spools and 3 pin molex connectors to make extension cords. You can buy some 48" ones premade online but I needed longer... I also had to experiment with different power supplies. The blackberry phone chargers dont put out enough amps and are only 12v. I found that I had to connect up the 12v and the 5v lines on the controller to get it to work. Luckily I have this old cisco router external power supply that has 12v and 5v lines and has plenty of amps.

Fraggle Rock- Thanks bud.

Cracker420 - haha yeah it's some bean from Germany. My girlfriend had some little pot with a bean that had her name etched in it that she got from Germany. We just transplanted it

150wPimpin - Thanks man glad you guys like it. No, I am no contractor. Then only things I have built are computers and networks I am very resourceful.
Right now the temps are very low in the tube so that I can leave my hand on the glass and it wont burn me but that is also probably due to the fact that it is 40 degrees in my garage... So that cool air probably has something to do with it. I am not sure what its going to be like once it starts warming up.

ArcticBlast - Thanks man!

iSmokeTrees - The ballast will do those also but I kinda dumped alot of money all at once on this and was hoping to just use the hps for the whole grow this time around. Another thing is that I am only going to veg these for a week or two. I need to keeps these trees short. I dont have alot of height to work with and I am kinda scared they are going to shoot up too big. Should I use LST to keep em down?

 

[Fraggle Rock]

danktafield - I would use some LST or SCROG and make sure you don't choose a Sativa dominant strain, that would most likely stretch too much for your situation....I really think your setup would be sweet for screen of green...Keep us posted!!!

 

[danktafied]

I could probably use the fridge rack for the screen for SCROG. How far from the light would you set the rack for the plants to start growing through?

If these seeds are what we think they are then they are mostly indica. They grow pretty short for my friend, but I still need shorter...

I made a few small additions to the fridge today. I put in some 3" duct for my intakes, cleaned up some wires, taped a board over the opening to help keep the heat and light in, and added some PVC to my cool tube intake and exhaust.

 

[Fraggle Rock]

Looks good! I would probably plan to flower them after a week or 2 of veg, that will help keep them a little smaller. As you get branches you can pull them down and under the screen to train them to bush out and fill that screen. Keep us posted!

 

[stink.whistler]

Very nice! I'll look forward to seeing how this progresses.

Just a couple comments:

- You definitely look handy enough to be able to make your own carbon filter, check pontiacs DIY thread if you haven't already. You wouldn't have to mail order, and you could build to the exact size you want:

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=40637

...

iSmokeTrees - The ballast will do those also but I kinda dumped alot of money all at once on this and was hoping to just use the hps for the whole grow this time around. Another thing is that I am only going to veg these for a week or two. I need to keeps these trees short. I dont have alot of height to work with and I am kinda scared they are going to shoot up too big. Should I use LST to keep em down?

The CMH bulbs can't be run off a standard electronic ballast, so if you do end up wanting to run one - you'll need a HPS mag ballast.

 

[oldblue]

I built one of these fridges before, but only used 9 cfl bulbs that i setup up horizonally, instead of a hid. One thing you may want to do before you really get growing is, remount the hanging rails mounted on the back, to the lowest positions that you can. Since they are mounted kinda midway right now. This will give you another 5-6" inches that you'll NEED once they get going. And take out the bottom shelves, to give a lil more room and air movement.

 

[Rysam]

Very nice setup, Im currently building a fridge for a buddy, and may steal some ideas.

My only concern/question would be about everything electrical under the fridge. aren't you worried about water getting down there? that was my biggest concern with my build up and moved everything to the freezer area. yeah I gave up some clone room but eliminated more fire hazard.

The more I look, the more I like it, simple and effective.

 

[danktafied]

Looks good! I would probably plan to flower them after a week or 2 of veg, that will help keep them a little smaller. As you get branches you can pull them down and under the screen to train them to bush out and fill that screen. Keep us posted!

I am really liking the SCROG idea. I think that is exactly what I need to control their size.

Very nice! I'll look forward to seeing how this progresses.

Just a couple comments:

- You definitely look handy enough to be able to make your own carbon filter, check pontiacs DIY thread if you haven't already. You wouldn't have to mail order, and you could build to the exact size you want:

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=40637




The CMH bulbs can't be run off a standard electronic ballast, so if you do end up wanting to run one - you'll need a HPS mag ballast.

Wow those DIY scrubbers are pretty simple. I think I can handle that. Im going to try to put one together this weekend.

I actually dont even know what a CMH bulb is. I thought he meant just a regular MH. Thanks for correcting me.

I built one of these fridges before, but only used 9 cfl bulbs that i setup up horizonally, instead of a hid. One thing you may want to do before you really get growing is, remount the hanging rails mounted on the back, to the lowest positions that you can. Since they are mounted kinda midway right now. This will give you another 5-6" inches that you'll NEED once they get going. And take out the bottom shelves, to give a lil more room and air movement.

Good eyes you have there oldblue. I was kinda putting that off until I needed to lower it but I took your advice and got it done I didnt think the glass shelf was blocking air too much because it had openings all around but its not needed so I took it out just in case.

Very nice setup, Im currently building a fridge for a buddy, and may steal some ideas.

My only concern/question would be about everything electrical under the fridge. aren't you worried about water getting down there? that was my biggest concern with my build up and moved everything to the freezer area. yeah I gave up some clone room but eliminated more fire hazard.

The more I look, the more I like it, simple and effective.

Thanks man. That's mainly why I posted this, take all the ideas that will work for you.

Honestly, I hadnt even considered the potential fire hazard from water getting in there, but you make a great point. That is the last thing I need. So far I have been taking the pots out and watering them on a table then I put them back on there drip pans in the fridge. Eventually I will have to water them inside the fridge and I guess I just better be VERY carful about any spills. I might just throw a towel over the intakes while im watering just in case I spill.

Here's a pic of the girls.



This one has some weird redish color on the new growth...

 

[oldblue]

Looks good! U may want to even hammer in or cut those bottom railslides a bit, and lower the rails down to the very bottom. Looks like you can get another few inches out of it. Trust me, you'll need every bit of height you can get. ;-)

 

[danktafied]

Looks good! U may want to even hammer in or cut those bottom railslides a bit, and lower the rails down to the very bottom. Looks like you can get another few inches out of it. Trust me, you'll need every bit of height you can get. ;-)

When I need to lower them further than the rack will allow, I plan on just placing them directly on the fridge floor. I probably wont be able to fit all these but we will see.

 

[bigtopsfinn]

Looks great!

If I may give my two cents, get some chicken wire for the scrog instead of the refrigerator rack... you'll be losing a decent % of light with those thick bars.

Also maybe you can use some more tubing elbows on the inside of the growing chamber so that your intakes face downward, then you shouldn't have problems with water falling down to the electricity, right?

Keep up the good work

 

[danktafied]

Looks great!

If I may give my two cents, get some chicken wire for the scrog instead of the refrigerator rack... you'll be losing a decent % of light with those thick bars.

Also maybe you can use some more tubing elbows on the inside of the growing chamber so that your intakes face downward, then you shouldn't have problems with water falling down to the electricity, right?

Keep up the good work

Yeah, chicken wire would work better.

I put the elbows on the outside so I would have more room inside the box. Not sure if I want to take up that room yet.

Originally Posted by stink.whistler
Very nice! I'll look forward to seeing how this progresses.

Just a couple comments:

- You definitely look handy enough to be able to make your own carbon filter, check pontiacs DIY thread if you haven't already. You wouldn't have to mail order, and you could build to the exact size you want:

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=40637

I made a scrubber tonight. I spent about 25 bucks on the supplies I needed. My design was based on this thread. http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=48949

I used two pencil holders from Office Depot = $10
Carbon from Pet's Mart = $9
Stalkings from Walmart = $3
4" PVC coupler from Home Depot = $2?
Aluminum tape
Weather stripping = $3




immediately I noticed how much it constricted the air flow. Air was flowing through but not enough. My temps went up to 90 degrees at the plant tops very quickly I removed it and since I have been writing this post the temp is back down to 82 degrees. I guess I am going to need a bigger fan. I could also drill holes in the bottom of the scrubber. Good thing these babies dont smell yet.

Here's a pic of the girls.


I changed the light to 12hrs a few days ago.