1st grow, PC case, general advice needed (possibly image heavy)

[Schafer]

Hello everyone! This is my first grow and first time constructing a PC stealth grow case. I have been doing some researching and have already begun the process of building it. Nearly everything I got was from Walmart and Home Depot, apart from the case and fans. I'm using 3 x 23 CFL lighting, 2 fans (1 80mm intake and 1 120mm exhaust). I have some feminized white widow seeds that I'm excited to plant. I am not expecting much from this at all, but I'm very interested in trying.

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I happened to have a solderless breadboard to connect the fans to. It's powered by a 5V usb charger with open ended wires for easy plugging into the breadboard. I have two fans, one is a 80mm at the bottom for air intake, and the other is a 120mm at the back for exhaust. If I use a 12V DC adapter, or even 9V, the fans become way too loud. 5 volts seems to be enough for the 80 mm intake fan, but it might be running a bit too slow for the 120 mm exhaust fan. I don't actually know very much about wiring and electricity, but I've found a lot of useful threads that have helped me out.

The power strip is plugged into a timer which in turn is plugged into a 15ft extension cord. The wall outlet is a bit far away from the case but that's where the extension cord comes in handy. However, there's a gaping hole in the back where the PC power supply was supposed to go, and I don't know what I can put there to cover it up. Any ideas?

It's still a work in progress. I will admit it looks a bit sloppy as the wires are running everywhere and I used a crapload of electrical tape to patch everything in place, and I still need to fix the light leaks. I'm living with other people so stealth is a big factor. The power strip is mounted on by velcro but it's sagging a bit.

Anything I can improve on regarding lighting, cooling, that big ol' hole in the back etc.? I would appreciate any bit of advice y'all can give me

 

[Aerohead]

Looks pretty good so far, As for what to do with that power supply hole, put another exhaust fan in there, looks like you are going to need it.

 

[Crake]

Are you planning on scrubbing the environment?

 

[Schafer]

Looks pretty good so far, As for what to do with that power supply hole, put another exhaust fan in there, looks like you are going to need it.

You know what, I think I will do just that. I just realized I have two 80mm fans:

Looks sketchy as hell though. I just hope nobody turns the case around and looks at the back

Are you planning on scrubbing the environment?

You're talking about carbon scrubbers right? I have one that I cut to the sizes of the fans. As far as that goes, do I just seal those around the edges of the fans on the inside side with superglue or something?

 

[bonsai]

Ditch the breadboard, tape that shit up. Breadboard + vertical + humidity = hell flakey.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Never tried the breadboard, looks cool. I usually solder but wire nuts are cool too. bonsai makes a good point about the humidity. Maybe you can lend your experience on whether it makes the grade?

I like the fact you removed the pc power supply, much more room to grow. Yours looks as good as any I've seen, enough light to grow dense nuggs.

I hope you don't mind my 2c on the intake fan. I bet you'll get cooler temps with passive intake(s). The only down side is you'll need ~2x the exhaust area size. A case grow limits this opportunity. But if you can do it, it'll run cooler.

If you still have heat issues, an internal 80mm pc fan blowing between the bulbs and canopy will have a cooling effect.

Looking forward to seeing your progress. It's obvious you've done your homework.

And if you can rock with active intake, I'll be the first to say Not that it won't work, it's just more difficult to tune. It's best with the same cfm in as out. Too much in and you'll have positive pressure and your box will stink, lol. Passive intake eliminates positive pressure.

Disregard if you already know this - make sure that 120mm fan isn't rated close to or higher than the mA rating of the adapter.

I know what you mean about the back of the case. You'll just have to make sure nobody is around it enough to investigate. Your woven carbon may not be enough for stinkers. You could make a DIY scrubber with 4" and 5" net pots, nylons/hose and activated carbon for a stink-worthy scrubber. If you have to mount the scrubber on the back of the case, (pushing air) you'll get a muffler effect. You could probably push as much as 1/4" to 3/8" wall of activated carbon pellets with that 120mm fan running on a 12v adapter.

 

[Endur]

just my 2cents,
I used zip ties to secure the power strip, that your cfl's plug into.
other than that, you are on your way to a nice little set up.
just take your time & strive for a clean simple pc case.
Good Luck, and keep us posted on how it turns out.
peace
Endur

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Hardware stores have replacement power cord receptacles and plugs. You could ditch the excess cable and free up some space.

If you're willing to consider custom length wiring, look at different types of receptacles available. There are two basic wire lug types. One is a machine screw, you have to bend bare wire to a shepherds crook, orient it clockwise and tighten the screw. This is 120vac so it's important to avoid a crappy clamp job. Counter clockwise crook orientation can squeeze the bare wire from beneath the screw head and result in a poor connection. Frayed wire from poor twist only needs a single rogue strand to possibly short and cause trouble.

The other type of lug is best. It's a straight wire clamp. You strip 1/4" of insulation, stick the straight, bare wire in the hole and tighten the screw. The bare wire is secured with a clamp. It makes a professional job you can sleep on every time.

 

[headseed]

It's still a work in progress. I will admit it looks a bit sloppy as the wires are running everywhere and I used a crapload of electrical tape to patch everything in place, and I still need to fix the light leaks. I'm living with other people so stealth is a big factor. The power strip is mounted on by velcro but it's sagging a bit.

Anything I can improve on regarding lighting, cooling, that big ol' hole in the back etc.? I would appreciate any bit of advice y'all can give me

First off let me say looking pretty good so far.

I would zip tie the cfl bulbs/socket adapters into the powerstrip, just pass the zip tie through or next to the glass tubes and around the back of the powerstrip and cinch it up.

Then you can rest easy knowing they aren't going to fall out and ruin things.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

IMO, horizontal mount all but eliminates the chance of bulbs falling out. Even if you have to spread legs of the plugs 1mm apart, it takes a few pounds of force to remove. Far more than bulbs weigh.

That said, a secure strip is paramount.

I guess there's the chance your socket leads are too thin for the strip. If that's the case, I bow to headseed. The sockets I have are surprisingly secure and even hang vertical.

 

[Schafer]

Wow! Thank you everyone for the quick and detailed responses, I appreciate it.

I hope you don't mind my 2c on the intake fan. I bet you'll get cooler temps with passive intake(s). The only down side is you'll need ~2x the exhaust area size. A case grow limits this opportunity. But if you can do it, it'll run cooler.

So what's the difference between active intake and passive intake exactly? Does passive intake just mean that all the fans are exhaust instead of having one fan actively suck in air?

Disregard if you already know this - make sure that 120mm fan isn't rated close to or higher than the mA rating of the adapter.

I didn't know that actually...my adapter says 300-400 mA 5V, the 120mm fan says .16A, and the two 80mm fans say .51A each. If I'm understanding correctly, if my one adapter is powering all 3 fans I have to add up the total amps on the fans? And that should be less than the output of my adapter? If that's the case then I need to find a more powerful adapter...I think


I am liking the zip tie idea- I thought velcro was strong enough to keep the strip and lights perpendicular to the case wall, but it's actually more like 70° to it.

Should I get rid of the breadboard? I have very little experience with electrical stuff so the breadboard lets me experiment with the wires and quickly change things around without having to solder anything. But I also don't want humidity to damage it or cause a fire or something :S I might just have to suck it up and tape it all up.

 

[Arthur Dent.]

Looks good to me, Plants should be very happy, and very small.

Namaste

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

So what's the difference between active intake and passive intake exactly? Does passive intake just mean that all the fans are exhaust instead of having one fan actively suck in air?

Yep.

active intake - has intake fan(s). You either have equilibrium (hard to do unless you match fans. Even so, back pressure of any sort will render positive pressure. Your case will stink. You'd have to match fans then scale down the intake fan in ratio to the back pressure of the air flow to achieve equilibrium.) Otherwise you're either starving your exhaust (too little active intake) or over driving your air flow from intake side (too much active intake.) Your room for error is about this big - >||<

passive intake - with 2x passive, you satiate the exhaust w/o risking stink from positive pressure. Won't prematurely toast your exhaust-fan bearing either.

I didn't know that actually...my adapter says 300-400 mA 5V, the 120mm fan says .16A, and the two 80mm fans say .51A each. If I'm understanding correctly, if my one adapter is powering all 3 fans I have to add up the total amps on the fans? And that should be less than the output of my adapter? If that's the case then I need to find a more powerful adapter...I think

Well, lets see...

160 mA + (51 mA x 2) = 262 mA

262 / 300 = ~87%

Your fans are drawing 70% of the adapter's output. You should be fine.

I am liking the zip tie idea- I thought velcro was strong enough to keep the strip and lights perpendicular to the case wall, but it's actually more like 70° to it.

Should I get rid of the breadboard? I have very little experience with electrical stuff so the breadboard lets me experiment with the wires and quickly change things around without having to solder anything. But I also don't want humidity to damage it or cause a fire or something :S I might just have to suck it up and tape it all up.

In that case, I'd remove the breadboard. Unless you're able to perform diagnostics (watch and see whether is fails) 24/7. I didn't mean to contradict the gent who said lose it. I incorrectly assumed it was a go, at least test worthy. I wouldn't blaze a trail with components w/o somebody's past experience saying it's cool. That's why I suggested you comment on your experience after beta testing.

Now that you mention it as a new experience, I'd lose it for something less susceptible to moisture. Wire nuts will keep you from having a bad day. Electrical tape cool for DC if the connection is done properly. Black tape stretches off the roll and will unwrap itself after it's wrapped. Cut a piece of tape and allow it to relax before wrapping. It won't unwrap itself without the energy of stretching it.

If you connect AC wiring, please use wire nuts and or extra precaution over DC connections. Shorted DC can possibly zap components. AC shorts can maim, kill and or cause fire.

 

[Crake]

You're talking about carbon scrubbers right? I have one that I cut to the sizes of the fans. As far as that goes, do I just seal those around the edges of the fans on the inside side with superglue or something?

I've read quite a bit about other PC growers struggling with odor control. The real crux of the situation is that the air really needs to pass through a real scrubber (not an air filter like you've got there) and the total surface area of the scrubber needs to be large enough that the exhaust fan (usually a PC fan) can exchange enough air to keep the interior temperatures within tolerable levels.

It seems that about an inch of activated carbon is enough to handle removing the odors, but the performance of scrubber itself will degrade in time due to particles getting caught in it, which means either a pre-scrubber filter is necessary or the carbon must be accessible to change.

An inch of activated carbon presents some technical difficulties when dealing with PC fans. A PC fan has no real "torque" when it comes to fighting static pressure (static pressure, of course, meaning the resistance your fan faces when trying to push or pull air through a porous surface). This means that the surface area of the scrubber has to be large enough not to hinder the CFM of the fan (there are some formulas out there if you start searching around the forums for scrubber designs). Of course, nobody wants to have a big apparatus sticking out of the back of the case... so the scrubber is either moved inside, significantly reducing the volume of grow space, or the engineer decides to attempt a fan that can produce greater static pressure (see Scrubninja's PC fan post).

Some combination of inline PC fans as well as the proper surface area for the scrubber may get you there. If it does I'm really curious to see your design. I have a feeling that most PC growers make some serious compromises when it comes to odor control--they either drop the scrubber, drop the watts, or drop some stealth.

Cheers,
Crake

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Schafer, I'm sorry I botched the math on your mA draw. You're closer to 87% on 300mA but I noticed you've got a 300/400 so everything should be kosher. Sorry about the math error, I corrected it in the post.

 

[Schafer]

Schafer, I'm sorry I botched the math on your mA draw. You're closer to 87% on 300mA but I noticed you've got a 300/400 so everything should be kosher. Sorry about the math error, I corrected it in the post.

Although, .51A is really 510 mA and not 51 mA, no? Just wondering.

 

[bandit650]

1A is 1000mA
so...
51A is 51000mA

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I thought your ratings were mA. You may want to check the spec sheet and see if the mA is listed. If you don't have the spec sheet you can probably find it online.

 

[KroNik224]

cut the back panel off the psu with a dremel.so all you left is the back of psu plate,fan,and plug.again using the dremel on the plug,cut out a hole for you powerstrip cord.shoot power strip cord thru it and into wall.power strip i have blk and is pertty close to same diameter of psu power cable.integrate the psu fan into you cooling as exhaust between the girls and the lights by wiring it in with your other fans.prolly might want to get rid of 1 of the fans you already use for the psu mod fan.i use 1 92 mm zalman in the psu mod,and an 80 mm thermaltake for intake in front.remember the only thing you want power to in psu mod is fan.use the psu screws to attach it to case and BAM.you just got rid of the ghetto ass fan sitting in the empty psu window.
1 other thing i did was cut off the female part of psu cable and bore a hole with dremel and shot power strip cable thru it.glued it in place(not the powerstrip cable but the female plug into the psu mod)so it looks like its the real deal.it was a bit of a pain in the ass but im happy with it..
i hope you can picture all this in your mind brotha..ill dig out my camera and set some pics up.it will help ALOT.LOLOLOL good luck

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Why would you want the big ass psu in the way? Here what I did.

This was the big ass psu I cannibalized and substituted with a wall wart.





The mall wart can be plugged in the wall or mounted outside the case for more room. I just keep little plants for cuttings and don't need the extra light.

Third pic fro top is the multiple outlet strip cable cut and soldered to the psu off/on switch