2-DRAWER FILE CABINET BOX

[Spin]

...and here we grow!
I am getting box together, so many details, but, I gotta start. Some posts already in cannabis infirmary...

Plan is gutted file cabinet, door on back, CFL lights, PC fan exhaust, low profile for apartment living. 1-time soil grow for test run on everything. Damn this is a good website !

 

[BC Chronic]

VERY nice work spinlooking forward to this thread for sure...
ICMag is a great place for sure
keep up the great work!!

 

[Spin]

Thanks BC.
This is surely a great site!


I am now rigging and testing the box and of course, have ventilation issues!
The intake you can see on my door is old darkroom design, from days gone by.
It consists of 3 sheets luan, overlapped 2/3 and leaving 1/3 opening. The sheets are spaced 3/4". I did math on the opening, 25.5 in sq. My exhaust duct is 4" PVC, over a 120mm fan opening, so, 12.5 in sq. I figured the 2x intake rule would work, but i think there must be friction and turbulence in my luan design...also, the 120mm fan specs are immediately degraded by the 4" PVC exhaust diameter. (120mmm=4.5 inches...) But my clamp-on door is exhibiting suction attachment, so I am going to add intake port. I think I will try another luan construction, and install it above the first one in my door. I will invert the second vent, to place intake opening along the upper level of the box, where the lights are.

Heat-producing wattage in the box. I installed 8 pony cleat sockets for CFL's in the 20-25W range...right now testing 8@26W daylight bulbs, 6500K for veg stage. 1600 lumens ea. totals are 208W and 12,800 lumens. Maybe I have to go with 6...hmm.

I am running a Delta FFB1212VHE fan. specs are 12V 1Amp 151 CFM 11.3 mmH2O 151CFM and WOWSER! 53 dB-A!!!! loud...I am using a Rheobus, but have not lowered voltage yet since temps are too high. Also thinking i can add 3 more fans through the Rheobus if deemed helpful. Power is a 12V 5A AC/DC adapter that came with 4pin molex plug, seemed cool to me! And not expensive, here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013OJOE0/ref=oss_product

Interior cab temps running 8-9F degrees over ambient. Hot in apt these days, 80+ with no AC running... My cab is about 2.5 CF, so this fan should be capable of emptying that air ONCE PER SECOND! (151/2.5=60.4)

I am not happy with internal temps, and I am running straight pipe exhaust! no scrubber yet. Scrubber is crucial to my design for odor control, and as a light baffle ...
I have been reading the PC fan thread, ventilation thread, etc, and doing math.

so much stuff...

veg seedlings in closet doing better since re-potting in colder soil, now have 2-40W 2600 lumen 4100K bulbs over them, but no more fans, since I copped their rheobus and power for cabinet assembly...i'll get a small ac fan on them tomorrow...

 

[Spin]

WOW...so much stuff.

Am wishing I read through everything, but DAMN, it's a big forum!

I am now thinking that the dumb-down make-it-happen approach might be wrong, depending upon the skills of the builder....although I am BIG fan of KISS method.

It seems that isolating heat ventilation issues might pay BIG DIVIDENDS when 2 exhaust systems at least... are employed.

MAIN heat issue is from lights, and if I can isolate heat exhaust of lights from odor-control etc, from grow chamber....it's WIN-WIN! (OR WIND-wind, if you get the drift...)

Now I am thinking about a positive-exhaust chamber (for even my low-wattage CFL source which seems to make TOO MUCH HEAT!)...which must be somehow vapor-excluded from my less-ventilation hungry grow chamber...

CAN I adapt my doofus-designed cab to a deuce-exhaust?

And avoid the stress on weeds caused by way-too-high airflow that serves heat-exhaust at the expense of my babies my plants, who dislike the CFM's ruffling them constantly in the interest of removing heat?

WOW. Stay tuned to this channel. I am full of thoughts.

 

[big twinn]

Im really liking that exhaust bin idea...is that too dampen the fan noise? I may have to incorporate it in my design!

 

[someotherguy]

high Spin, here are a few links to threads for PL-L's,
a type of remote ballasted CFL that will work like a
dream in your little box for several reasons.

first, with standard, twisted bulb, CFL's the ballast is
part of the bulb and there is no easy way to remote
it from the grow, ergo, no way to remove the heat
generated by the ballast.

secondly, these bulbs are straight rather than twisted
so they are more efficient.

Remote CFL Ballasts....aka PL-L's

PL-L reflector shapes

"the high-pod" - inefectualize

220w pl-l coco scrog cupboard - ScrubNinja

C-99 under 220w of PL-L CFL lamps - Hydro-Soil

believe me, each of these threads has something you
want to know.

also, here are a couple pics of my little clone box and
the PL-L's i'm using which are 4x 55watts for a total
of 220watts.



if you want to see more details check the link in my sig.

peace, and stay safe, SOG

btw, when i bought my PL-L's i payed just over $100.00
for a Workhorse 8 ballast, 4x 55watt bulbs and 4 sockets,
and that included shipping to my door.

 

[Spin]

Hey, Big Twinn. thanks for noticing, but that bin is not my idea! Came from another thread on this MINEFIELD of information! I'll make a link post when I figger out who it was....

 

[Spin]

thank yoU--thank you--thank you......someotherguy!
I am for sure going to read all those links...I know I need it.
This site is an EFFING FOUNTAIN of information, and I have spent more time in the build room than I should have...READING IS FUNDAMENTAL!
damn.

 

[big twinn]

Add my thread to the list (its in my sig.) still on my 1st run, but it may give you ideas.

 

[Spin]

Still at it

Still at it



Thanks Big Twinn, and I hope you're riding something VINTAGE!

I am still working through someotherguy's links, WOW, etc...

Here's what I did, and what I'm thinking...
This first-time box might have to become a veg chamber!
I was pushing the envelope RE watts vs heat, etc...

The PL remote ballast setup looks to be superior RE lumens : heat etc...

I think I was overshooting with lumens-desire.

Anyway, I improved my intake area by 60% with same design port. Whew.
I built a new door, #3 so far...
I will post details of light-trap for anyone interested, although others seem to do well with 1" PVC traps.
At fan FULL-BLAST, no scrubber, this set-up is holding around 2F over ambient.
A VAST improvement over previous door/intake setup, which was holding 9F over ambient.

I know from skim reading other threads that I am being way way repetitive, but my hands-on things is the way I really understand!

To any other newbie reading this thread, check the LINKS POSTED earlier, might save you some time, materials, and labor.

This box probably needs lower watts, (lumens too), for stealth operation.

For flower chamber, I think flouros need to be isolated, glass, 2 exhausts, etc, but same issues exist for veg, it seems.

I am not needing huge yield, but all these issues point towards perpetual-grow / cloning setup in the long run.

Sigh.

I am planning to save my five seedlings with a flower grow in this box, whatever it takes. I may have to live with apt. odor, or loud ventilation noise.

I am already thinking of second stealth cab for flower production, and convert this one to mother/veg grows.

Good good stuff on this site, way too good!

 

[someotherguy]

I am already thinking of second stealth cab for flower production, and convert this one to mother/veg grows.

Good good stuff on this site, way too good!

lmao, it wasn't that long ago i started out wanting a
budbox to grow some herb, now i have a mother box
and a clone factory to go along with it, oh, and a lil'
dry box too, lol.

for real, growing is way more addictive than smokin'!

...and evey box i've built had to have some element of
it redesigned after initial construction, everything is
a work in progress.

right down to the soil, the pots, the lights yada yada
yada, lol everything is a work in progress.

peace, SOG

 

[Spin]

Quit that---lmao--SOG !
I'm fabbing this shit at 100F + humidity!
My sweat is PROFUSE!
Bad time of year for manual labor, but a TRUE test of cab ventilation issues!

My new door, with larger intake light-trap, has been running for 3 hours at approx 2 degrees F over ambient avg 88F.

What do you think about that? Pushing a 120mm fan mounted on cab ceiling, out 4" PVC pipe, 90 elbow and straight out the back...no scrubber yet. My fan is LOUD! Mostly woosh...from uncapped 4" PVC, but plenty of motor sound in there too!
Delta FFB1212VHE...specs are HEALTHY, 151 CFM, 11+ mmH2O, runs on 12V, got it on a rheostat but so far no reason to lower voltage!

I thank you for your efforts!!!

Can I introduce exhaust-limiting carbon scrubber and still maintain reasonable cabinet temps? How many inches of carbon fragments do I need to exclude backflow of light in that 4" PVC? AND, function efficiently as vapor scrub??

I'll test it all, but help is WAY appreciated!

 

[someotherguy]

high man, just gettin' up so still groggy, lol.

anyway, here is a link that you may not have seen,
and i think you'll like it.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=86726DIY Micro Carbon Filter; Cheap, Easy and Quick.

peace, SOG

 

[Spin]

SOG...thanks so much for your attention to my newbie efforts!

I have rebuilt my door and redesigned intake vent, which increases intake port area by 60%, but still cant run exhaust through a DIY scrubber without raising cab temps too high....10 or 12F over ambient...

Am I missing something here?
I have pulled CFL bulbs to lower heat/wattage...

Simple questions:
1-Is it better to PUSH air out of chamber with fan at exit hole and through inline carbon filter after that...or
2-PULL air through exit duct with fan mounted inline AFTER carbon filter?

My test fan seems plenty worthy, 150CFM, 11 mmH2O pressure, and over 50 db NOISE!

but so far testing yields unacceptable temps in the box...
My carbon scrubber design does not seem much different than others I have found on this site, might be better than some for airflow.

Thanks again!

 

[someotherguy]

high man, don't let your setbacks get you down,
they are only obstacles, learning experiences
that will make you a better grower and a stronger
person as each time you struggle through you
learn something about yourself too.

anyway, my bandwidth sucks so i didn't look at all
your pics as close as i would have liked but that
link i posted in my last posting is a very nice little
DIY scrubber, i'm really surprised it isn't used more
than it seems to be.

...and i hate to do this to ya man but i'm gonna give
you a few more links you need to scan through, lol.

i feel a little like a freeken teacher handing out more
homework, lol.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112862Ventilation 101

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=100823Understanding air flow

ICMAG'S OFFICIAL ~DIY~ LINK-O-RAMA

those first two are excellent threads dealing with
air-flow and keeping a cab cool.

...the last is one you may have already seen before
but, in case you hadn't already found it i post it here
as one of the best resources for DIY projects of all kinds.

good luck man, and have fun, if it ain't fun it ain't worth it!

peace, SOG