My Personal Grow Cabinet! Small completely contained cabinet!

[ChaoticEntity]

well, I wanted to build something that'll yield 80-100g every 45-55 days(good thing I like indica's ) So I decided to build it from the ground up

I utilized a standard 4x8 sheet of plywood and some 1/4inch stuff I had lying around, even sunk a elicent 4inch into this tiny thing!


The entire cabinet is about 54"high x 17.5"deep x 22"width all in all 10 cubic feet :rofl: very small.


There were SERIOUS issues with trying to fit that elicent inline blower in there but I think and I hope you'll agree that I've found an elegent solution

please excuse the messy pics, I just finished sanding/putty work yesterday, and it still has to be painted(flat white), duct hose run from the filter to the fan, vacuumed out and cleaned up.

Now for the good stuff,

100wHPS flower
4x23wCFL for mother/clone
4inch elicent blower
custom carbon filter
completely custom built cabinet on castors for easy movement

Light tight, total sound is masked by 1 trueair at the closest outlet, the trueair filter actually makes more noise than this cabinet!!!

this cabinet as is runs exactly 0.5degF above ambient from inital testing for the last 24 hours, I expect less than a 4degF difference at all times of the year


We'll start with a shot of the outside of the cabinet




I used Tot Locks to secure the door, you have to check these things out if you need a stealth locking solution. Well what do we have here?!!!




Flowering area




Mother/clone area




The meaning of fustration or How I finally decided to mount the fan







Next to my guitar for size comparison





So! What do you think?

 

[HappyHemphog]

Sweet!

Now all ya need to do is get a finish on that puppy and you gots a real slick homemade grow machine.

I am curious tho, just how is your airflow and odor control setup?


Can't wait to see your results!

Cheers!

 

[ChaoticEntity]

I am curious tho, just how is your airflow and odor control setup?

well the bottom of the mother/clone area has a 6x8 inch hole in it and I took a piece of plywood and put it on blocks over the hole, so basically there is a 1 inch gap on all sides, I'll paint the bottom of the "shelf" black to minimize reflection, in short it's not a perfect solution but it'll work for now, I'll update if I modify it later


Odor control is handled through a small carbon filter, it's in the top back of the cabinet the black thing, you'll see the 4in duct opening on the left side of the cabinet, I'll just be adding some ducting to the fan. It's a home made design, you can see it in the pics of the flower room and in the pics of the fan mounting. it's works well and flows enough CFM's for this setup, although I'll bet that the carbon will last 2-3 grows before it needs replacing, not too bad it only takes about a pound of carbon, perfect for a small personal grow.

 

[Abstract Pillow]

Nice and stealthy cabinet, especially when you get the paint job done! Your ventilation solution is ingenious. Would you mind getting pics of your custom made carbon filter and the tot locks?

Gives me inspiration, I think my grow will be of the same size when I have the possibility to grow indoors, I got good ideas from your thread.

I'd really like to see a grow diary too!

 

[ChaoticEntity]

Nice and stealthy cabinet, especially when you get the paint job done! Your ventilation solution is ingenious. Would you mind getting pics of your custom made carbon filter and the tot locks?

Gives me inspiration, I think my grow will be of the same size when I have the possibility to grow indoors, I got good ideas from your thread.

I'd really like to see a grow diary too!

With classes almost out for the semester I usually travel for work in Dec, so I won't be starting a grow until early January, but when I do I will be sure to keep a growlog w/good notes

here's a couple of pics


First here's the tot lock mounted to the door, theres a pin on the back of the totlock so you have to drill into the door like 5/16th of an inch so make sure your door is at least that thick, but these are great locks, they come with an easy to use jig to mount them, it took all of 5 minutes to install them once I understood the direction, which thanks to some local good herb took me more than a couple minutes to get.



Here's a pic of what the tot lock locks against pretty basic, it holds the door, and theres a good amount of pressure on that lock thanks to the weather striping so overall I'm really pleased with the tot locks, I suggest everyone get them for a cabinet grow!




and here's a pic of the custom filter I built, I just need to run some ducting from the filter to the fan that sucks the air out



I've had a LOT of previous experience growing in small cabs, probably a dozen different cabinet grows This one maxamizes space usage with good ventalation, and overall it's my best cabinet to date. At some point I'll up the light to a 150wHPS and even with the 100wHPS I expect with good genetics to be able to yield 1g/w or more, My personal best so far is 1.36g/w using a 150wHPS and I generally always get at least 1g/w so I have no doubt that this cabinet can do the same when tweaked so for me my minimum yield I expect is 3.5oz, the maximum is about 5oz in my hands. For a new grower I would change that to 1.5oz to 3oz

I still have to mylar this thing and add in a small comp fan to move the air around in the flowering area, and paint the thing, so still some work to do.

It sucks that it's getting cold, the days here haven't been wam enough for me to paint

 

[HappyHemphog]

That thing definately rocks.

If ya don't mind me asking, just how do you respond to "What the fuck is that big ass thing over there?"

Hempy

 

[ChaoticEntity]

That thing definately rocks.

If ya don't mind me asking, just how do you respond to "What the fuck is that big ass thing over there?"

Hempy

BIG!! it's not that big

<--- just picked an Av whatcha think?

I tend to be a quiet person, the wife and I tend not to have guests over, if we do have guests it's family(usually not cannibis friendly)

This cabinet was designed specifically with security in mind, my wife is a nonsmoker and tolerates my varying hobbies well(such a great lady!) She didn't want to have anything that could cause major issues, the result is this cabinet.

Once it's painted white it'll go in the closet of the second bedroom(it was designed to fit perfectly in the closet), so more or less it'll look like an ordinary cabinet which I have a couple of around the place as well as the addage of out of sight out of mind.

This place is an apartment so I'll have 2 timers, one on 12/12 and one on 18/6 the one on 18/6 will control the fan as well, I'll have the unit running at night, and the unit will be totally silent/off from ~10am till 4pm, If apt people are going to stop by, or if any work is going to happen in the apartment it would most likely occur during this time. I'm also toying with the idea to install a tempature controlled shutoff/fire extinguisher so at like 120deg it would flip an internal breaker to cut the power completly, and at 140 it would blow the extinguisher(a small one). basically just overenginering the thing with security in mind!

I live in the pacific northwest, even if I was caught the size of this thing wouldn't get me in much if any trouble maybe a 500 fine and a year of probation! There were several busts of something similar at a university in this state and the students were kicked out of housing and had to get an apt as well as a small fine but no probation at all!

No visable light leaks + very little sound, I also keep a trueair filter in the same room to mask any noise. Honestly I could have someone sleeping in the same room with this thing and it's doubtful they'd ever hear it!

 

[Abstract Pillow]

Thanks for the pics!

I've had a LOT of previous experience growing in small cabs, probably a dozen different cabinet grows This one maxamizes space usage with good ventalation, and overall it's my best cabinet to date. At some point I'll up the light to a 150wHPS and even with the 100wHPS I expect with good genetics to be able to yield 1g/w or more, My personal best so far is 1.36g/w using a 150wHPS and I generally always get at least 1g/w so I have no doubt that this cabinet can do the same when tweaked so for me my minimum yield I expect is 3.5oz, the maximum is about 5oz in my hands. For a new grower I would change that to 1.5oz to 3oz

That's a nice yeild, are you planning to scrog or what is your method? How many plants?

 

[ChaoticEntity]

Thanks for the pics!


That's a nice yeild, are you planning to scrog or what is your method? How many plants?

yes I scrog, it'll be 2 plants that'll be topped then flowered once thier about 12 inches. It'll more than fill a screen the size of this cab.

 

[Harry Gypsna]

thats a real nice little setup.....just shows that theres no need to get robbed on a stor bought closet lol.... real tidy job too....i am quite handy but seem to be quite messy lol....
Be lucky

 

[ChaoticEntity]

thats a real nice little setup.....just shows that theres no need to get robbed on a stor bought closet lol.... real tidy job too....i am quite handy but seem to be quite messy lol....
Be lucky

I don't know how much cheaper it is, sanded 3/4 ply + a couple handy panels will cost you 50-60$ just depending on what you have to work with, hinges, castors, screws, sandpaper, wood putty, TIME.

But I HATE melamine, it's just not strong enough for me and it won't last, this cabinet will stay together for 20 years or more if inside and probably 5 if it's outside (once painted), it's sturdy, and I know exactly how it'll act.

the 100w HPS I had, but I've sunk so far

185$ for the fan and speed controller

~40$ for the wood ( I has some extra from another project laying around as well)

~$100+ in odds and ends, things like perlite, soil, hardware, carbon, ducting, hardwarecloth, totlocks, PVC, power cords, timers, glue, CFL bulbs, paint, nutes.

not to mention that I've got probably 10-15 hours of my time into it in labor.

Add in a previous cabinet(tried a computer out worthless IMHO) that I had about $200 into and this cabinet cost about $600-$700 or so, I smoke very infrequently, for me it's usually 2-3 times a month so It'll take me several months to go through an 1/8th, I'll sell off a bit of what I grow to some close friends at cheap prices to payback what I put into the cabinet, after that I'll just give it away.