Dual 150w Stealth Cab Build + First Grow (Pics)

[BorkBorkBork]

Edit: The grow has transmogrified pretty greatly since I originally started. Currently, the specs are as follows:


Stealth Veg Cab double-decker with 2 x 2 foot 4 bulb T5's.
Secret Jardin DR-60 w/ 250w HPS, digital ballast, Econowing reflector
Still organic

Currently growing:

Burn One Einstein South Afrikaaaan
Kiwi Noir
Ice Queen
Mango x Bubblegum

----------------------------

Howdy folks.

Debated putting this in Grow Diaries, but up until and including this weekend, it's really mostly cab conversion work, so it feels like it fits better here.

I plan on posting everything leading up to today in consecutive posts, so don't mind me spamming my own thread.


Hope I don't ramble too much, and I hope that you enjoy.

=======================================================

PROLOGUE / December 2008

I've always had the idea in the back of my head to somehow grow my own, since at least 96. Right around the time that I read my first High Times and saw what pot was actually supposed to look like.

That persistent thought became a bright chorus of angels after a thoroughly enlightening trip to Vancouver in December 08. Ostensibly, it was a business trip, but my evenings were revelatory, highlighted by a FANTASTIC pot tour (thanks again for everything Kiwi!). If you ever have the opportunity to make it to Vancouver, do yourself a HUGE favor and Google "Vansterdam Pot Tour", you'll be glad you did.

I purchased Jorge's Medicinal Bible at the BCCP bookstore, started studying, and started scheming hardcore.

Immediately, the main problem which has prevented this endeavour for the last 6 years rears it's ugly head: Space. Physical space is impossible to come by in this house, it is less than 1000sq feet! Closet space is virtually non-existent. I would KILL for a walk-in closet! My closets are narrow and wide, and I don't have enough space for all my crap as it is.

The second problem is stealth. The grow would need to be relatively to ultra stealthy. Completely and totally stealthy, preferably.

While I started thinking of possible ideas, I decided there would be no harm in doing some prep work, and put a high-quality locking door handle on my bedroom door (truly the ONLY space this was going to work in). I also added dead-bolts to all exterior doors. This takes care of security, interior (bedroom door) and exterior (new locks, + pre-existing pit bull who loves me and hates you).

The other prep work went into studying the book and on-line resources, watching videos, and thinking about the situation, implications, possible grow locations, etc. When I set my mind on something, I tend to obsess on it, and spend all my free time on preparing.

I'd nearly decided to do some fairly major changes to the closet, when it hit me like a ton of bricks....I never watch the tv that's in the wardrobe / armoire/wardrobe thing in my room!

​

The smaller of the two is a planned drying rack.

I immediately picture the upper portion being the flowering room, lower portion vegetative, exhaust system placement, boom!

The project could begin post haste.

Except, I'm a lazy stoner, so everything takes longer.

Of course, I giiiiiiiinormously regretted NOT going to the seedbank while I was in Vancouver. The idea of ordering seeds was very shady to me, I felt like I'd always be looking over my back, since I had nowhere to ship them but home. I decided I simply HAD to buy them in person. Fortunately, I had a handy excuse to make it back to Canada, as my sister recently moved to upstate NY!

We take a day trip to the Canuckistani side of the Niagara Falls, and me and my bro-in-law take a quick side-trip to the Niagara Seed Bank (no website, sorry). The guy gave me a good consultation, and I ended up with a NICE assortment of seeds:

Great White Shark (Greenhouse) 5 pack - Feminized
Space Queen (TGA/Subcool) - 10 pack
Hawaiian Butterscotch x G13 - 20+ (had a Canadian logo on it, handwritten tag)
TY Mango x Bubblegum - 20 +
Mix n Match = a crapton. He claimed there was a shipment from South Africa which was in glass for some reason, glass shatters, all the seeds are mixed...so he gave us a big bag (60+ seeds I think) and said some should be 'monsters'.

After a slightly nervous trip back across the border with the seeds in my pocket, we were home free! Hi-five!

I ended up splitting them down the middle with my bro because he rules, Hi-five! Then I mailed the rest to myself in two separate packages, which both arrived, yay!

I really felt like I had the hard part licked at this point, at least this combined with my already purchased 150w HPS vapor-tights from e-conolight (when I found that deal, I just couldn't pass it up, and bought THREE of them + an extra bulb). Little did I know...

I had also gone to Home Depot a couple of times and picked up some tools and materials (just random stuff, staple gun, hooks, insulation, bubble foam sealant, stuff like that).

By now we have reached mid February 2009.

 

[BorkBorkBork]

FEBRUARY 2009
​

An ongoing dilemma has been figuring out ventilation. I wanted to use a strong fan that is silent to vent the room (through a filter). I also wanted to do cooltube, and came up with this pretty poor idea of doing dual 150w's cooltubed. At this point, I'm going to try it, and see if I can make it work. Oh, and trying to make my own reflector. At this point I wish I had bought an air-cooled 400 and been done with it. Big mistake.


The reasons I got them was because they were SO cheap, and because it was one more thing I didn't have to get at a hydro-store, and it seems innocent, they're security lights after all!


Lighting will be upgraded at some point, the question is sooner, or later. I just disassembled all the ballasts to remote them as well. Sigh. Wish I hadn't done that.


Anyways, I finally seem to have found the right fan, the S&P TD-100, so I said fudge it and ordered two of them. Yes, it is probably overkill, but the system should also shred. I may also say fudge it and use only one fan....or not.


Anyways, by the end of February, major construction of the stealth cab dual 150w cooltubed veg/flower monster BEGAN!


First things first, the cab was -fairly- solid particleboard, except the back, which was flimsy bendable crap, it had to go. I kicked it out and broke some of the wood frame, an auspicious beginning. But it was fine. Down to the supply store and buy a sheet of nice, sanded furniture grade uhh...3/4? I think...plywood. Glue and nail the fudge out of it to the back. Stand that sucka up...Solid!


Well, not really, but after I wedged something under one of the sides, it's Solid!


Onto other things, the bottom, which was two drawers. That's got to go, I want to have an open space there, as it will be the veg chamber, but I want it to still LOOK like there are drawers.

Solution: Knock the front of the drawers off and connect them, then hinge at the bottom, and magnetic latches up top. Ta-da!







That was enough of that, and I spent the rest of the week plotting.

 

[BorkBorkBork]

MARCH 4th

​

Located a hydro-store an hour and a half away, and spent the last few days getting my grocery list together. I figured out the math, I need another $500+ worth of stuff! Mind you, this includes a $120 fluoro light for the veg chamber, but still! Also, keep in mind, that I obsess, as I stated, so much of this is overkill.


Trip to the hydro store is planned for SATURDAY MORNING! I am starting to dread this trip, as I am paranoid about it, but we have NO nurseries anywhere near here, NO stores that carry nutrients or anything like that, hell, I can't even find a place that sells decent soil! So it's going to have to be a conspicuous visit to the hydro shop to buy 500 bucks worth of gear. I was really hoping to avoid this, but f buying with a CC, and f having stuff delivered.


I'm paranoid....I don't want to take my car.....and I'm not sure what to do about that.


Tomorrow I am going to: try to find pots locally, and materials for the light hoods.

MARCH 5th

​

PROGRESS!


Ok, so there are NO well stocked nursery or gardening stores in town, NONE! It's sad! But I did find some interesting things at HD & Lowes, including Jiffy Pellets or whatever they are called, the little peat thingamabobs, with little fitted trays and humidity domes! Also, got some replacement ductwork (hoping my fan gets here TOMORROW instead of Monday), duct tape, air intake pvc, plant tags and twistie ties. I also got some T5 tubes and ballast, but after reading up some more, I'm going to return them, and get the real deal at the hydro shop instead.


I took the day off due to some pre-existing appointments, and used the rest of the day wisely picking up the aforementioned stuff locally, though I could for the life of me not find regular cheap plain plastic black planters ANYWHERE, not to mention decent soil or anything more advanced, like perlite. Actually, they did have perlite...miracle grow perlite, with fertilizer. F all of that.


So I decided to take a chance and drive about 20 mins north to the one place in the county that had "garden supply" in the title (all the nurseries are just friggen tree farms). SCORE! They had all kinds of good stuff, including plain pots! Yay! Why are plain black cheap plastic pots so hard to find?!?


They also had some organic soil, though I decided to hold off on that and get what I intend to get at the hydro store. They did have perlite, so I bought a HUGE sack of that, hahaha, and I'm not kidding....HUGE! Like 18 pounds I think, hahaha, enough perlite for years, most likely. Also got wilt spray, and SuperThrive, and some other miscellanous stuff. That's much less that I have to get at the hydro store. In retrospect, I will most likely use neither, though I will likely hang on to both, just in case.


Also, found a true friend! Someone who owes me a favor....I called her up, said hey, how are you....I need a favor, can I borrow your car on Saturday..."Sure, I'm out of town, go grab the keys". Never so much as THOUGHT of asking "why." Now THAT'S a good friend!


So now I have no worries about going to the hydro store anymore, and I'm going on Saturday.


I have finalized plans for the cabinet too, and I'm going to do a multi screen of green grow, multiple strains, in the same cab, but on different screens. It is going to be P-I-M-P!

 

[BorkBorkBork]

MARCH 9

​

MORE PROGRESS! In fact, a HIGHLY productive weekend.


First, the trip to the hydro store went off pretty much without a hitch. Thank god for good friends.


The hydro store was freaking heaven. They had EVERYTHING I needed, and then some. I ended up being there for about two hours, lol. They were really busy, and I had a really long list. The owner was super helpful, we talked quite a bit. Turns out they've been there 18 years, who knew!?!?


I had a car load of shit, and I headed back towards home. I stopped at Target on the way and picked up some plastic totes to make everything a little more stealth, and it worked.


Oh yeah, the night before the trip, I spent all night reading online, and decided to go 100% ORGANIC. So tonight, I'm going to be cooking up my first batch of living soil! The recipe I found, (Mix #2 w/ Recipe #1) supposedly, needs NOTHING BUT WATER from seed to harvest! How F'ing cool is that?!? Burn1, if this works out as advertised, you will have made me a very happy and healthy man. I'm going to name the first mystery south african strain after you, brother!


I picked up organic liquid nutes at the store too, and I hope to do some side-by-side grows a little further down the road. I should probably store those in the fridge, huh? Or is a coolish closet ok?


LOOK AT ALL MY STUFF!!! I R SUM EXCITED!!!







The rest of the weekend I spent going to hardware stores for returns and picking up a few extra things, cleaning, organizing, and prepping.


My last big deed last night was building my homemade reflector! I found an easy as pie DIY build, and I went with it. It's not complete, but I'm hoping to possibly finish it tonight, Tuesday at the latest.





So...tonight, cook the soil mix, and maybe finish the reflector!

Things are quickly coming to a head. At the very latest, I want to be germing this weekend!

 

[BorkBorkBork]

MARCH 10
​

Whew...that is messy stuff!


I didn't cook my soil last night, but I did create a double size batch of the base soil (without the added nutrients). I also stopped by HD and picked up some more parts for the reflector (they worked, going back tonight to get the rest!)






Also organized all the shizit in my closet, and set a bucket of water out with an airstone to bubble overnight.


The exhaust fans arrived yesterday! They're small, and sexy! I'm going to try with JUST an exhaust fan first. Hopefully, the second fan and cooltube won't be needed. However, I'm going to hang on to the second fan anyways, in case I DO need to do the cooltube, or for future expansion.






Tonight, back to HD or Lowes for the last remaining pieces, home, finish the reflector (maybe even hang it), cook the soil, and pop some seeds in a cup of water (hopefully they will be ready to germinate the next day)

... (later that evening)

Yup, cooked up the soil, man...this was pretty hard work, and my hands are FILTHY. Note to self: get some gloves!

Finished the reflector, but realized I had gotten the wrong screws for mounting the sockets! DANG IT! Back to the store tomorrow. The reflector looks GREAT for being Ghetto with a capital G, and I think it will work just fine for the time being. The size will make ventilation an issue, but I have plenty of air movers.





Going to use my last bit of strength to try to cobble together one of the ballasts before bed, I'm exhausted. Can't sleep lately because I'm so excited.


Oh, almost forgot....I also dropped some seeds in a cup to soak overnight.


I decided on dropping 6 TY Mango x Bubblegum and about a dozen of the random South African seeds. This is my first try, so I don't want to use my expensive seeds, they will have to wait.


Let the great experiment...BEGIN!!!

 

[BorkBorkBork]

MARCH 12
​

Aaaaaaaaaah, I have such a sense of accomplishment! The reflector is all wired up, and the sockets are mounted. Last night, I even test wired one of the ballasts, plugged in a lamp, and watched one of my HID's light up for the very first time. It was a beautiful sight!


I let the seeds sit in water for 24 hours (I realized belatedly that I had been careless, and didn't remember to scuff up the seeds with an emery board before dropping ). Two of the South African seeds sank almost immediately, but the rest of the seeds didn't. After about 12 hours I was able to force all the seeds to sink. I think that's a pretty good sign.

None of them had cracked after 24 hours, but I moved them all to wet paper towels in plastic bags, and put them on top of my Wii for a few degrees added warmth. We'll see how it goes.

Going out for dinner, and I have had way too many late nights lately, so tonight I will most likely not do any work on the project, other than to check on the soil, stir, and if needed, moisten. Other than that, a well deserved night off!

MARCH 14
​

Good news everyone! Bunch of seeds cracked!


4 out of 6 Mango X Bubblegum, and a bunch of the South African mix n match.


I discovered this last night when I checked on them (by the way, they felt too hot on top of the wii, so I moved them into a sock drawer instead). I didn't have time to move them though, so I let them sit overnight, and planted them this afternoon. The taproot had gotten much longer, and some of the South African seeds in particular had really gone to town, burrowing into the papertowel! I was pretty clumsy trying to plant them, so I hope I didn't damage them too badly.


Have been maintaining the soil, and getting some more prep stuff. Going to do a BIG push tomorrow. At the very least, the T5 lights HAVE to get mounted. I would also like to drill the vent holes, the exhaust port, mount the hooks for the lights. In addition, I need to sterilize the cab (would prefer not to do this until all the drilling and construction is done), and mount the electronics. SO CLOSE!


I hope a lot of the seeds survive, so that I'll have some choice in the genetic material. Hopefully some of those South African babies turn out to be gold.


Going to stir the soil tonight.

MARCH 16th

​

This may have been my busiest weekend yet!

Cab construction is, essentially, complete! All the needed holes and hangers are drilled (so I thought..). I've started insulating and hanging reflective white plastic, and sealing light cracks (which is a lot harder than I thought it would be, incidentally).


Some of the babies, the South African ones in particular, are looking healthy and strong.


They have been moved to the veg section of the cab. They had to live in the windowsill for a few days while cab construction was completed, which I didn't like, but at least it got me motivated to do serious work on the cab.


I still need to do the following:


Finish insulating/reflecting
Finish plugging light-leaks
Mount fan + carbon filter.
Hang HPS light + fixture
Wire second ballast
Mount ballasts
Test lights
Finish ventilation


Annnnd......I think that's about it!


Unfortunately I have a job to do after work, so I won't be home until later. When I do get there, I will probably work on the plastic and light leaks.


So exciting!

 

[BorkBorkBork]

MARCH 17

​

Progress is the name of the game man.


Last night I didn't get home until 9, and I worked until 1! I ripped out some of the (crappy) light sealing I had done yesterday, and smoked a bowl as I debated my options.


I ended up settling on a overlapping insulation / Panda film type arrangement. None of the pictures of the setup turned out very well, but I think you'll get the gist of it.


I also mounted the exhaust fan, though I didn't wire it (aiming to get this done tonight so I can actually CLOSE the cabinet) OMG SO EXCITED!


Oh, I also mounted the two power strips to the wall.


I have 12 plants total growing right now, and the last one just pushed through the dirt sometime today! Some of the South Africans look REAL strong, while the Mango x Bubblegum seems to be struggling I hope one or two of them spring to life.


For the record, I am not "overtending" the babies. Just a little water every 2 days or so seems fine. They're in dixie cups.


So, here's what I can think of that still needs to be done. I'll be working on this stuff tonight:


- Get latches + more insulation at HD
- Install latches
- Finish lightproofing
- Wire fan & verify ventilation
- Try to construct a platform for the seedling tray (currently stacked on books, not ideal)
- Check organic soil mix, mix, possibly add water + Liquid Karma
- Hang light fixture
- Wire second ballast
- Test both lights

---

Whew...another busy night....Lightproofing SUUUUUCKS.


I've used a LOT of duct tape.


I've managed to crack the bottom front! $hizit! I wish we had just taken that off until the cab was done, rather than putting the hinges on immediately. It is in the way constantly. It'll have to be repaired as best as I can. Also need to figure out some kind of way to latch the bottom section closed, the magnetic latches are NOT cutting it, and the simple latches I bought simply will not work.


The rest of the entry will be just pictures. Babies labeled S.A are the South African blend. One of the M x B's seems to be pretty much done, but the other three seem ok. Some of the SA's are STRONG performers so far, so I have high hope for them.


I believe that leaving them in the paper towel for an extra day, letting the tap root get strong, and even entangled in the paper towel, before planting was a good move, most of the plants seem to be doing just fine, and there was a very high (80% or so) germination rate.


PICTURES!




Vegetative Chamber




My Babies!



My self-wired ballast.
Yes, this makes me nervous =/




Progress of the cabinet so far!

 

[BorkBorkBork]

MARCH 17
​

Spent many hours working on the cabinet again last night. Insulation is done. After that, I covered the flower chamber in white reflective plastic (much better reflectivity than the insulation material).


I finished all the wiring of everything except the ballasts / HPS lights (though I did draw the cable for them through the cab.


Basically...EVERYTHING is done except the following:


- Verify lightproofiness of flower chamber
- Hang fixture
- Wire ballasts
- Repair veg room door
- Build stand for seedlings/clones (get them closer to light, without stacking on books)
- (not urgent) Build ScrOG screens
- FIX VENTILATION!


This last one is a doozy. After I connected the exhaust fan I decided to test the ventilation, and closed up shop for 10-20 minutes.


Temps in the veg chamber went 90+!!!! FUDGE!! That just won't work.


I think the majority of the problem stems from inadequate air INTAKES. I'm going to get a hole sawfrom HD. The exhaust hole didn't turn out exactly "round" anyways, so I should redo that. I think I will go with the recommendation, and since I have a 4" exhaust, put in 2 x 4" air intakes. I may order dark room louvers to cover those holes.


I also have some thoughts on how to lightproof the air-passthrough from the veg to flower chamber.


Ah well...PICTURES!




Things are really starting to take shape.

 

[BorkBorkBork]

MARCH 21
​

Aaah. A few days of mostly rest and relaxation. Had some utterly important shizit to do the last few days, like watch Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America, Kings, and *sobs* the Battlestar Galactica Finale.


Fortunately, there's a little more BSG action coming this fall, and Caprica looks like it has potential as well.


The cab hasn't had any more work done to it, though I made a quick trip to Lowes today. I nearly got a 4" hole saw, but when I went to look at the 4 inch plumbing, I could find nothing suitable, so I put it all back.


I nearly bought insulated ducting as well, but I stopped short on that too...though I will most likely go back for it. The smallest size they have is 6" though, and my fan is 4". Will this be a problem? If so, I think I should be able to return it anyways, so it wouldn't be then end of the world. Insulating the existing ducting is an option too, but it looks pretty thin and costs nearly as much as the insulated ducting.


Ventilation is TOTALLY farked in the cab right now, so unfortunately I have to leave the veg room open for now, and keep the air cranking in the house. I know what I need to do: Increase the air intake. The plan is set, I just ordered some 4" round darkroom louvers, and I will go back to the hardware store to get the 4" holesaw.


I'm also going to create a light baffle for airflow from veg to flower. There is already a 1/2" x 37" opening along the back wall, I simply need to black it out somehow and I'll be all done.



Here's a few pics of my stronger looking plants. The last one is my best looking Mango x Bubblegum! Looking healthier than a few days ago. The lost cause is still pretty much a lost cause, but it did pop from the ground and grow it's real leaves.




And with that, we're all caught up, and I can go to bed.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions appreciated.

 

[BorkBorkBork]

They grow up so fast

They grow up so fast

Made my first batch of EWC tea, and they sprooooinged.

Louvers will be here shortly. Must install ASAP and hang lights, Saturday is transplant day.


The South African Mix-n-Match


Mango x Bubblegum

 

[Debrickashaw]

woww this is a pretty tight set up you got here. im definitely pulling up a chair to watch this

 

[kaotic]

nice.

 

[HerbGlaze]

Pulling up a chair, it looks like you know what your doing nice cabinet mate!

Sending you positive vibes...

 

[Octothorp]

Nice work.

Pulling up a chair to watch as well

 

[Cozy Amnesia]

How do you like the S&P fans? I have the TD-125, it's fuckin sweet a. I didn't realize how much more compact the smaller ones are, that's fit perfect for what I need.

 

[Gucci]

Very clean`n`nice . Waiting for those plants to get older ^^

 

[BorkBorkBork]

Hey, thanks a lot for the good vibes guys!

How do you like the S&P fans? I have the TD-125, it's fuckin sweet a. I didn't realize how much more compact the smaller ones are, that's fit perfect for what I need.

It is almost exactly what I had hoped for. Plugging it in, I found it to be as quiet as I had hoped. The sound of the air going through the duct is a different matter. So I bit the bullet and bought insulated ducting, which I'll be installing this weekend (you'll see it in the new pictures below).

I don't yet know if it's going to move enough air for me, and cooling, it's becoming increasingly obvious, is going to be my biggest obstacle.

I didn't read enough about intakes, so what I have is insufficient. I'll be installing two 4" dark room louvers this weekend. I thought I had airflow between the veg and flower cabs squared away, but I won't know until this weekend. For now, I have to run with the veg cab basically open, and the door to the room locked.

I did what was the job I dreaded the most....finishing the lighting. I regret my choice of the e-conolights more and more. Basically, re-wiring the ballast scares the shit out of me. I vehemently disagree with my decision to go DIY with the lighting, of all things.

I just don't want to walk around paranoid every day, and....right now...that's what I'm feeling.

Now mind you, I think I did a fairly decent job on the wiring, I put the ignitor in a separate box and everything...but still.

When I turned the whole assembly on for the first time they made a scary scary noise and I panicked and yanked the cord, hahaha.

A few minutes later I gathered my courage and plugged them back in.





Hrmm....they produce a lot more heat than I had hoped. Maybe the cooltube isn't such a bad idea after all (I had aborted that idea, by the way).

Right now, I'm seriously seriously seriously debating another trip to the hydro store, and picking up an overpriced sun system 1 w/ aircooled reflector. Doing that will put this project (including beans) FIRMLY in the $2k+ category. (Note that it could have been done much cheaper, I'm sure. I'm just a horribly inefficient stoner).

Also, the thumbnails from my last post don't seem to have worked, and I tried editing, with no success. Reposting here.


South African Mix-n-Match


Mango x Bubblegum


Groupshot

Hopefully, all the images post properly this time.

Next update will be this weekend, hopefully post duct replacement, and with new baby shots.

 

[BorkBorkBork]

Oh, P.S.

Regarding cooling being my biggest issue....

Well, I'm in the dirty south, and I think I have a problem.

With the cab open, and running STRICTLY those 4 2" T5's, with a powerful oscillating fan and another smaller fan blowing in air from the outside, AND having set my thermostat to 73, I'm still struggling to keep the veg room temperature in the low 80's!!!

I'm crossing my fingers that getting the proper vents and closing the cab is going to somehow magically make things better, but right now I'm at a loss.

Hence my serious consideration of dumping the lights I have for a proper air-cooled reflector (I do have another S&P fan that i could use for it.

P.P.S, I don't know why it's f'ing up the formatting of my thumbnails, I had to go back and manually fix the ubbcode it made.

It's making all the thumbnail links point to https://www.icmag.com/ic/photo_popup.php?e=vB_Editor_001# for some reason. Meh.

 

[itsmysubaru]

Definitely add those inake holes ASAP. You'll notice a huge difference. If that doesn't get you there, the cool tube should! I'm suprised with that $2k+ budget you didn't just spring for a vented reflector housing and a nice ballast, all your other stuff is top notch!

Is that the S&P 100x? I'm debating between that and the 125... but I'll only be running 200w CFL, probably with lower intake temps.

 

[purpbythepound]

nice clean set ya got goin here...im from the south to so i can understand your temp problems..more intake always seems to do the trick though..and i see where you say you are going to order some 4" darmroom louvers..well if they are the midget darkroom louvers like i have then i suggest maybe you order a few more then you think you would need because i ended up havin to make a second order because the air doesnt flow as good through them like it would a regular intake