my micro cloning factory...PL-L's and Walmart cloners doing the job!

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

high everyone, thought maybe it was time for me to
post up a proper thread and as i don't have a 'grow'
going right now i figured maybe i could share how i
built myself a little cloning factory.

first i'd like to say thanks to Burnt Rope and his fine
cloning thread without which this box wouldn't exist!

it was his thread on the simplest cloning method i'd
ever seen that changed my whole way of doing clones
as before i discovered his thread i'd been using a bubble
cloner, and with excellent results i might add getting near
100%.

anyway, here is the link to his thread and if you read
the thread and follow just a few simple instructions,
you will have success, guaranteed!

World class cloner new at walmart

i'd also like to thank Melkor420 for his starting the PL-L
club and all the folks who have contributed to that
excellent thread as well. . .

PLL Club. (if you don't know, now you know)

anyway, once i decided to truly commit to these cloners
i decided to build a home for them so my cloning op would
be housed in it's own little condo.

here are a couple pics of the start of the process and,
as you can see, i started with a basic 2 door 'dormroom'
cupboard that was 35 1/2 inchs high, 30 inchs wide and
16 inchs deep before i began my modifications.

as you can see, pretty standard issue. ...actually, i got
this at a local job lot store for $30.00 so i figured it'd do
the job nicely.

i'd also like to say that i am no carpenter, i'm just a stoner
who had a need and found my own way to fill it, inspired
though i certainly was by many fine threads here at ICMag.

so if you are a skilled woodworker please don't hurt
yourself laughing at my fumbling attempts at 'joinery',
lol.

also, i'll be posting a lot of pics for this in an attempt
to give a 3-d look at my solutions in hopes of inspiring
future noobs to just do it!

when faced with a choice of doing it yourself or doing
without, i say just freeken do it! (just count your fingers
when you're done, lol)

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

...now, because i was building this for a specific purpose
i knew it would require some modifications, including a new
shelf as the shelves that were included were solid and i was
looking for an open design to allow for air-flow.

as you can see, i didn't do anything fancy, just built an
open shelf strong enough to hold the cloners while being
open enough to allow for air to flow freely.

peace, SOG...

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

...as i began my modifications i quickly realized that
the cab wasn't as deep as i'd like so i decided to put
an addition on the back...

note also that i've labeled everything to make it as
easy to follow along as possible, which is also why
i took so many pictures.

peace, SOG ...

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

i'm having some difficulty's with my wifi so bear with me.

...step one in that process was to cut pieces to extend
the floor and ceiling.

...then i flipped it upside down and installed the ceiling
extension, just a little glue and a few screws.

peace, SOG ...

feral · Jul 29, 2010

Sitting patiently to see how this works out.
Nice tutorial so far.

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

feral said:
Sitting patiently to see how this works out.
Nice tutorial so far.

thanks man, and thanks for your patience, wifi is a real
pain in the ass although i can't complain about the price, lol.

anyway, extending the top was easy as it didn't need
any additional support, a few screws and some glue
and it would be fine but the bottom was another story,
that would need some additional support and, as i planned
to make the floor water-proof as well, i needed to make
sure it wouldn't flex under load.

here you can see i first installed some support rails
to rest the new flooring on and the rails and the new
piece resting in place before i'd actually installed it.

...and here you can see i decided to go the extra mile
and drill some matching holes for some dowel plugs
for added support, kind of clumsy maybe but so far,
it has held up well.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

now, as part of my design i planned a fixed shelf rather
than an adjustable one so i was able to incorporate my
shelf supports as part of the new side walls of the addition.

note in that last pic how the new side wall still leaves
some of the new bottom sticking out, that is partly to
support the back.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

...and here is that new back, note that i decided to
use a piece of plywood rather than the cardboardy
shit that came with the unit.

see how the new floor helps support the new back?

now, here's a few shots from the front.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

...and here you can see how i dealt with the outside
which i've not finished with, if i didn't live alone i'd
need to make it more stealthy looking as on close
inspection it would be easy to see that modifications
had been made.

anyway, here's a few shots to illustrate.

...and a few more, note the shelf above the intakes,
it's purpose will become apparent directly.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 29, 2010

...here you can see i've cut the holes for my exhaust
fans, 2 oversized 12volt pc fans, and my Workhorse8
ballast resting comfortably on that shelf above the
intake.

and here's a few more shots where you can see i took
a standard power strip and lengthened it by splicing
a heavy duty extension cord to it, note that i ran the
wire through a hole in the shelf and that i didn't use
wire nuts, instead i used shrink wrap for a cleaner more
sealed approach. (you can't see the wire run through
the hole but, hopefully it will be visible in a later shot)

...and here are a couple of pics as i reinforced the bottom,
from the bottom, lol.

peace, SOG

(now i have to go upload some more of the pics so
please bear with me if you're interested)

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

...another shot of the bottom and a couple of the exhaust fans,
note that there is still space around the edges of the fans.

...and here you can see my judicious use of scraps to
fill those gaps and one of the shelf as i add some more
scraps to hang the light sockets from.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

...here is the front piece of the new ceiling going in, note
the notch's as well as one of the front pieces for the front
side walls.

here you can see both side wall/shelf supports in place
as well as a close up of the notch's.

peace, SOG

feral · Jul 30, 2010

what lights you gonna run?

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

feral said:
what lights you gonna run?

lol, i'm gettin' there man, check the title of the thread for a hint.

...now here it is flipped right side up and with both
side wall/shelf supports in place as well as a piece
of one of the shelves that came with the unit that
i used to 'box' the floor in, you'll see why shortly.

that last pic shows what that notch was for as well.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

...now here is a lip i put on the doors as there was
a gap about 1/8 inch to deal with.

just so you know, this still needs some work as it isn't
totally light-proof, when i fix it i'll post updates but it
works almost good enough as is, lol, which is why it's
still undone.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

...and here i work on making the floor water proof
as well as adding a further layer of support to the
floor.

actually, now that i look, this first pic is just the inside
where i used a couple more scraps for someplace to put
the circulation fans, which will be another pair of those
over sized 12volt pc fans.

anyway, on the floor, what i did was to pre-cut a piece
of landscapers fabric to fit the floor and about 4 inch's up
the side walls, then i attached that fabric to the lower screws
of the intake and draped it over the shelf while i poured
some elastomeric paint onto the floor, then, after spreading
it around and up the sides i slowly worked the fabric into
the paint using a brush and a plastic spatula used to spread
bondo and crap like that. ...i wanted to make sure i got
the paint to saturate the fabric by soaking up through it.

...it was messy and it took a few coats to get it where i
wanted it but it was well worth it.

btw, i used that elastomeric paint throughout the inside
of this cab because it is highly reflective, water-proof (it's
rubberized roofing paint) and mildew resistant as well as
cheap as hell at only $15.00 a gallon.

peace, SOG

and now, sadly, i have to go try and upload the rest of
the pictures, lol.

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

...well i finally got the rest of the pics uploaded so
now all i have to do is present them here but as i
was uploading the pics i couldn't help remembering
the day i sat down to do the more cerebral part of
the build, lol, the electricals.

anyway, here is a shot of my gathering of all the tools needed
to get this part of the job done, one of which i'll be using
right now, lol, so i guess i'll finish this up tomorrow.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

...well good mornin' and here are the fans for moving
the air inside the cab, if you also note the intake you
will see later that i had to add more intakes, this was
insufficient.

and here you can see as i begin to wire up the ballast
and the transformer for the fans.

peace, SOG

btw, i'll not go into a lot of detail about wiring the
electricals as there are already several threads on
the subject, look through that link for the PL-L club
and you will find links to threads with wiring diagrams
and links to suppliers and such. ...and of course i'll
answer questions if you have them.

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

...here you can see as i begin to run the wires
inside the cab, as you can see, i tried to be as
neat as i could be so all the wires would be ouof the way.

and here you can see i installed 4 sockets, 1 up top
above the cloner shelf and 3 down below for vegging
freshly rooted clones.

in my ignorance i bought 4x 55watt bulbs when i should
have bought 50watt bulbs as the Workhorse 8 ballast is
rated at 220 watts maximum and if you run it at max you
void the warranty, plus the ballast will probably run very
hot and fail much sooner so i'm only able to run 3 bulbs
at this time, 1 up top and 2 down below for a total of
165watts, with 4x 50watt bulbs i'd have 200watts to play
with.

peace, SOG

someotherguy · Jul 30, 2010

...here is a shot of the front before i installed the knobs
and the lock, note that it isn't entirely light-proof yet.

also, here are a couple of shots of the shelf where the
electricals are housed before i attempt to hide them.

and here is the only shot of the back after i 'finished'
it, what i did was to take the material that came with
the unit and was originally intended for the back panel
and cut it into 2 pieces that i used as false backs to cover
the exhaust and the intake, plus i used copious
amounts of landscapers fabric to help with light proofing
as well as doubling as filtering material for the intake.

peace, SOG

btw, i didn't leave all that fabric hanging like that, i
trimmed it so it's much neater than this, unfortunately,
i didn't take any other pics of the back so i will have to
do that some time soon.

peace, SOG

my micro cloning factory...PL-L's and Walmart cloners doing the job!

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