[JamericanSpliff]

Hey guys. Heres my design for my first cab. Exterior dimensions are approx. 77"H x 32"W x 15"D.

I only plan on growing 2 plants per chamber. the drawing below is a perpetual design. Soil SCROG'ed, veg cab will have 6 x 26w CFL's, and flower cab will have 8 x 42w CFL's. Fans are 4"/120mm computer fans exhausting thru back of cab.



my first grow it'll just be one big cab, lil LST or FIM and switch out the lights from veg to flower. Since its for personal smoke, i'll do the fridge stasis on clones, see how much i harvest and decide whether or not i'll convert it to perpetual. which will save on material, like the extra fans, shelf, plexi, filter and scrog frame.

the max i smoke is 3g/wk so i'd only need about 5.5ounces/yr. but thats cause i have to pay for it so i dunno.

what do you guys think?

[topher82]

for the lower cab why not go with a 150 watt HPS?

[JamericanSpliff]

from wat i've read cfl's are low on heat, so easily cooled w/ pc fans, plus thats a 186w drop in a 24"x15" space, and the lower part is for the flowering stage, up top will be seedlings/clones

There are a number of things that are unclear to me in your blue print.
Where are your air intakes?
What is pushing air through your carbon filters?
If you're using CFL's you probably don't need to exhaust separate light chambers ....it would be good to be able to move your lights up & down & all around as your plants grow.
A couple of fans would be enough to vent the whole cab.IMHO
Try adding a few more details to your drawing & post again.
Your drawing software seems to do a nice job by the way.

Bh

[JamericanSpliff]

i drew it in autoCAD and then colored in photoshop

- intakes for top cab will be backwall on left while exhaust fans will be closer to the door/front so air is pulled across the space.

- the fan on the filter is positioned at the bottom of the container (the dark grey part), pulling air down and thru the crabon then exhausting it, kinda like red_greenery's design

- yea, i was wondering if i was over killing with the fans, i'll start w/ one fan per section and see how the temps are, and add if i need to

- i was thinking about a movable light rack but this way seemed easier, let me go sketch it up

[JamericanSpliff]

ok. i could make a box out of 4x1 or whatever. with a plexi bottom and the inside covered with mylar. and have the ducting pull air out thru the top while being hung from the ceiling. thats when i remembered why i chose the previous light chamber. the only way i could vent this one would be to put holes in the plexi and take air from the grow chamber but that would require for it to be filtered before being exhausted.

i wanted for the hot air from the lights to be pulled from outside the cab, over the lights and right back out, never interacting with the grow space to best keep the temps down.

i also threw in some pvc elbows in the bottom for intake

[waydee]

I'd wager 336watts of CFL produces as much heat as a 250watt HPS lamp, if you can i'd definately get some HID lamp in there, you've certainly got the space and it'd put your light system vents to real good use.

[JamericanSpliff]

yea, except it would cost me $100 extra and having to get it off ebay, while i can pay cash and get fluoros almost anywhere

but they do say that hps is in the proper light range for flowering so hmmmm...

[darrinjefferson]

yeah jspliff....listen to waydee. my first 2 grows were done with fluoros. i used 350watts of em. and to be honest i dont think you are going to get a great yield off them. not because you wont have enough...but because the light only penetrates something like a foot. so since you have a cab w/ a 4' flower chamber only the parts of the plants nearest the lights will benefit from them. with a 250 it will penetrate probably close to 2 ft, thus giving you better light and it will make your yield incredible.

just something to think about. i would veg under the fluoros and then switch it to the 250.

late

[waydee]

Originally Posted by JamericanSpliff

yea, except it would cost me $100 extra and having to get it off ebay, while i can pay cash and get fluoros almost anywhere

but they do say that hps is in the proper light range for flowering so hmmmm...

You can pick up HPS security lights and lowbay fixtures from lighting wholesalers, trade supplies etc - they're used alot (along with MH models too) in warehouses, workshops and factories etc - have a look in your yellow pages for lighting suppliers. An hour or so of your time to strip the fixture if you want and mount the ballast in a box, or you could just squeeze a whole lowbay fixture in there. Have a look around at whats available, you dont have to go for an hps designed for growing and could save a bit of cash - $100 sounds about right for a 250watt Lowbay fixture, maybe you can find them cheaper.

Penetration would be a lot better for sure, and yes the spectrum is pretty much ideal for flowering... to me one bulb and ballast is a lot less hassle than lots of little bulbs and ballasts.