Hundreds of watts of CFL SOG in cardboard boxes in an attic (Alaskan Ice).

Δ-9 · Mar 11, 2009

Sure, you might think this is the worst idea ever. And you'd probably be right. But I already did it, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Bought 420 watts of vegging CFLs, one broke so now there's a total of 378, and only 252 watts in the box at present. Flowering box not quite set up yet, going to have about 500 or so watts in it, maybe a little less.

It's not in my house, someone else is providing the money and amenities.

Planted 2 feminized Alaskan Ice seeds in Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil in cut 2 liter pepsi bottles.

Pics below. Note that it is nowhere near complete; fans, carbon filter, lightproofing, and painting the inside white are still to come. And here's the kicker: The lights are plugged (via adapter) into power strips, which are duct taped to the top of the box. This too will be fixed in the near future.

mOOndiCa · Mar 11, 2009

off to a nice start..goodluck and keep us updated :joint:

Δ-9 · Mar 14, 2009

Ordered 13 42 watt 2700k CFLs yesterday. Here's a pic of one of the mothers.

Isn't she huge?

jtk707 · Mar 14, 2009

Keep those bulbs as close to the plants as possible . If your growing for personal supply youll be happy , if growing for profit , ouch :joint:

Δ-9 · Mar 14, 2009

jtk707 said:
Keep those bulbs as close to the plants as possible . If your growing for personal supply youll be happy , if growing for profit , ouch

There's enough light that I won't need to worry too much about that. Going to paint the sides of the boxes white or mylar them up.

I'm doing it for personal supply, grow partner wants profit. Prices here are 20/gram, and dealers are terrible, so he'll probably make a fair amount anyway.

midwestganja · Mar 14, 2009

Cardboard box and duct tape to hold your lights up?

Seriously?

Ok so let's do the math, you spent $50 on surge protectors, $50 on adapters for the surge protectors, and $100 on duct tape.

Hell build a 4ftx2ft cab for that price.

I dont understand the mentality of "im going to just start it now even though I dont have the resources to actually start a grow lets just start the shit anyways and see what happens".

Δ-9 · Mar 15, 2009

midwestganja said:
Cardboard box and duct tape to hold your lights up?

Seriously?

Ok so let's do the math, you spent $50 on surge protectors, $50 on adapters for the surge protectors, and $100 on duct tape.

Hell build a 4ftx2ft cab for that price.

I dont understand the mentality of "im going to just start it now even though I dont have the resources to actually start a grow lets just start the shit anyways and see what happens".

I spent 50 combined on power strips and adapters, and 0 on duct tape.

I feel like you made duct tape cost 100 dollars just so you could use that example. I don't know where you live, but 100 dollars would buy about 5 miles of duct tape here.

Changing to zip ties tomorrow anyway.

midwestganja · Mar 15, 2009

Δ-9;2208429 said:
I spent 50 combined on power strips and adapters, and 0 on duct tape.

I feel like you made duct tape cost 100 dollars just so you could use that example. I don't know where you live, but 100 dollars would buy about 5 miles of duct tape here.

Changing to zip ties tomorrow anyway.

Lol just saying, you spent alot of money on shit you didnt need. Why not buy some sockets for $.99 and 12g lamp cord for $.05/ft(dirt cheap) and wire it up proper into a 2x3 or 2x4 frame with some black and white plastic to create a tent? Also no duct tape everywhere..

It would be cheap. And not a fire hazard.

Δ-9 · Mar 15, 2009

midwestganja said:
Lol just saying, you spent alot of money on shit you didnt need. Why not buy some sockets for $.99 and 12g lamp cord for $.05/ft(dirt cheap) and wire it up proper into a 2x3 or 2x4 frame with some black and white plastic to create a tent? Also no duct tape everywhere..

It would be cheap. And not a fire hazard.

I didn't want to do any electrical work; I know nothing about it and wasn't about to start guessing. How is this a fire hazard by the way?

stink.whistler · Mar 15, 2009

How is this a fire hazard by the way?

Cardboard is very flammable, much easier to ignite than say... plywood. A few pieces of plywood and a bucket of white paint would not be very expensive. Tomorrow is Sunday, it would be a fun Sunday afternoon project, and we wouldn't have to worry about you doing this -> :hotbounce

Be safe.

shiggs · Mar 15, 2009

If you have to ask, you're only going to find out the hard way.

You need to hammer out your details before you even start putting seed to soil

Δ-9 · Mar 15, 2009

I was thinking of it like this. My computer draws 500 watts; it and my monitor, printer, speakers, and a fluorescent light over my computer are all plugged into a surge protector which is plugged into a cube tap plugged into my wall. I've never worried about the paper in my printer catching fire.

I know lights are different than an inert printer, but the temperature a CFL reaches isn't half of the burning point of paper, which is 451 Celsius according to Ray Bradbury. And if each box draws less than does my computer and its accessories, where is the fire risk I keep hearing about?

Not trying to be stubborn, it's just that I've asked a lot of people and the only ones who gave me a reason were those who said there was very little to no risk.

stink.whistler · Mar 15, 2009

Those CFLs do get fairly toasty, and you'll notice your computer is not made out of cardboard. But no, if everything goes right - it most certainly will not get hot enough to ignite the cardboard.

Hey, besides, it isn't your house, right? I mean, twenty bucks worth of plywood and two hours of your time, just to provide some margin of safety for your buddy and his family? Pfffttt

Yea, just blow it off. It most likely will not catch fire, and if it does - not your problem.

Δ-9 · Mar 15, 2009

stink.whistler said:
Those CFLs do get fairly toasty, and you'll notice your computer is not made out of cardboard. But no, if everything goes right - it most certainly will not get hot enough to ignite the cardboard.

Hey, besides, it isn't your house, right? I mean, twenty bucks worth of plywood and two hours of your time, just to provide some margin of safety for your buddy and his family? Pfffttt

Yea, just blow it off. It most likely will not catch fire, and if it does - not your problem.

Alright, but could you please explain to me the conditions under which a fire could start? I'm hearing nothing but negative feedback, which I expected, yet nobody has proposed a situation where it would actually be a fire hazard, except for repeating over and over that cardboard is flammable.

I guess if I spilled water on the electrical outlet, there might be a problem. Short of that, I can't think of anything in particular.

smokeymacpot · Mar 15, 2009

Δ-9;2208545 said:
Alright, but could you please explain to me the conditions under which a fire could start? I'm hearing nothing but negative feedback, which I expected, yet nobody has proposed a situation where it would actually be a fire hazard, except for repeating over and over that cardboard is flammable.

I guess if I spilled water on the electrical outlet, there might be a problem. Short of that, I can't think of anything in particular.

when cfls die, they can go bang! ive had them take out fuses and melt light switches so that they are always on. basically they can cause a fire.

stink.whistler · Mar 15, 2009

Electrical short would be the most probable scenario. I had a perfectly safe looking outlet short out and partially burn. I was running about 200 watts through it.

Plywood is just such cheap insurance it really seems wildly irresponsible to risk another person's property and life because... well, because why exactly? Why don't you want to invest the twenty bucks and two hours time?

Δ-9 · Mar 15, 2009

We're planning on using wood eventually, maybe a cabinet from home depot, for now I'm going to spray it with fire retardant spray.

Δ-9 · Mar 15, 2009

Δ-9;2208600 said:
We're planning on using wood eventually, maybe a cabinet from home depot, for now I'm going to spray it with fire retardant spray.

Home depot's website doesn't have what I want, does anyone else know of a source for > 24" 24" 24" boxes?

jtk707 · Mar 15, 2009

It bmay seem like people are hating but every one hereis just worried about your saftey and want to help . You can do it we can help :joint:

GrüneErd · Mar 15, 2009

yeah man, we're just tryin to keep you safe.
if you need details as to EXACTLY how a fire can start, then your priorities are way off IMO.
you're right, there's a big chance that there will NEVER be a fire. but the fact is that there is a chance (just because it isn't dictated to you in specific detail doesn't mean there isn't one) and for you to continue in spite of that chance shows a lack of regard for you and your friends safety, as well as shows (me, anyways) you're not serious enough about growing to grow.

that said, i highly recommend waiting til you have a well-built growing environment before starting a learning process.
it's like showing up for your first day of a computer class with nothing but a calculator...technically it's a computer, but would you really expect to gain knowledge or get much done?
get what i mean? and no offense, just i've already been through the whole ghetto-setup thing and all it does is waste time and effort.

peace

Hundreds of watts of CFL SOG in cardboard boxes in an attic (Alaskan Ice).

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