small cab grow

[whitejamaican]

New guy here and thought I'd throw in pics of the cab I made recently and am about to fire up in my first grow in 10+ years. Looked at lots of the designs here, some really good stuff and tons of ideas to build with, and made this basic box.
The only thing I did that I haven't seen (I'm sure it's here somewhere) is the low profile light trap on the bottom using PVC cut in half. I think these are 1-1/2" elbows cut longways and sprayed flat black inside.


Holes cut in bottom of cab ([16"x24"x32"?] Closetmaid cabinet on sale at Home Depot) are 2". Pipe pieces are caulked in place.


I cut the bottom rear strip of wood into 4 pcs and made it more of a light trap and added some 1/4" square hardware cloth to keep the mice out.


Installed a three socket base and drilled a hole in the side to run the wires out inside the cabinet.


Made a carbon scrubber from a dryer vent cage and a small PC fan I had lying around. I will switch the fan to the inside/cage to outside cuz the fan is too noisy. I have 3x 55W CFLs ready to light 'em up.

Put some weather strip on the door and it's nice and leakproof for the most part, little shows at the hinges but not sure what i can do about that right now. I have Red Diesel, Heavy Duty Fruity, Darkstar and some decent genetics from back in the day in wet paper towels right now and will be dropping in later this week or whenever they pop.
Wish me luck!

 

[someotherguy]

good luck! ...and have fun too.

peace, SOG

 

[StupidBoy]

Very nice looking cab whitejamaican! Well thought out and put together. Could you supply a bit more detail on how you made your carbon scrubber? Fan size, materials...
Keep it green

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

I have the same cab, so I'm giving a few observations.
Good job replacing the back with some real plywood instead of the junk that Closetmaid supplies.
I'm assuming you have a 4" exhaust for your scrubber (12.56 square inches). Most dryer vents are 4" diameter.
If so, you would need 24 square inches of passive intake area. The four 2" holes in the floor give you the required area, but the split 2" elbows on the bottom reduce the intake area to less than 12 square inches. 1-1/2" elbows reduce it even more.
Also, the "mouse proofing" you did has reduced the intake area to less than the required 24 square inches. I guessing the area covered by the hardware cloth is about 16 square inches. Again, not enough intake area.
You could have put the hardware cloth right over the holes if you have a rodent problem without reducing your intake area.
I would ditch the split elbows and the current mouse proofing. Once you get a tub or soil containers in the cab, you will be suprised how little light will leak out the back through the floor. HD sells an adjustable furnace filter with both a carbon cloth sheet and 1" thick filter material, probably 20"x25". Look for a green and black packaged filter. It also comes with a 1" plastic grid which can be used for a scrog screen or drying rack. Well worth the $10. Put that on the floor of your cab and let the wire shelf hold it in place.
I'll also venture a guess that the PC fan isn't going to cool three 55 watters. Been there, done that.

 

[whitejamaican]

Thanks for the input Sgt, it is just now getting going with seedlings and all.
I will measure the mouse screen and adjust to make sure I have the full 24 sq.in for intake. The 1-1/2" elbows measure to 2" ID and since both halves are open it leaves the same intake as a full diameter.
I will check HD for the filter you describe and would be happy to ditch the mouse proofing if I can get away with it, just open back would be nice.
I believe your experience with the fan and not being able to handle the three bulbs. It's not that quiet either so I would be stoked to find a quieter fan that would handle it. Currently is a Comair/Rotron Elite II and is handling the single bulb no sweat.