Troutie's Green O'matic Stealth grow

[troutie]

Green O'Matic Stealth Grow​

ok so had a few set backs.... Stealth pc is no good ... far too hot

so tomorrow i have to find a larger box or cupboard or something. i have cleared out one end of the shed and although i dont want to venture out in the garden as it poses a few problems like cold when the lights are off... so i will have to use my head and shift light times to through the night when its coldest and off when its slightly warmer during the day .... the only thing in my favor is i'm growing auto's so lights will only be off 4 hours a day... but the other half insists if its larger then the pc ... its got to go in the shed, she has a point however it still blows​

Germ'ing seeds as of now (kinda forces the issue the way i like it!) just stuck 3 x Green O'Matic in to germ, shortest and smallest strain i had to hand... so safe bet for a small grow space... so by wednesday i should have a Cabinet and seedlings to update on!​

and so it begins

 

[troutie]

the ill fated stealth PC



ok so today i have had a right touch!.... managed to find a small wardrobe and was given it free of charge... perfect size ...... and here it is




so tonight the fun starts (again!) will be doing the wiring and fitting the fans first, then fitting some battens behind the doors to prevent light leaks......
tomorrows list of jobs are:
buy insulation and fit, buy reflective sheeting and fit, hang the lamp .... then fire it up!

 

[troutie]

well tonight i have fitted and wired the exhaust fans, drilled the hole for my light and fan cables.... fed the lamp hanger thru the back of the box and wired the plug, also crudely hung the lamp so i could check what sort of running temps i have at this stage, reports indicate that they may be slighty low at the moment 20c (without the intake running cold air in).... but i'm sure something can be done... i could reduce exhaust speed, or even if put a little heater in there (rather not)... but i have to insulate and lightproof it yet so i wont know till tomorrow.

i would welcome any other ideas!

 

[troutie]

ok so while taking notes for my shopping list tomorrow i turned off the fans (didnt want to knock them while inside the box) and the temp started rising a little even with the door open, so this tells me if i reduce the exhaust enough i'll be able to keep temp about right (i hope). i will try to do this using a builkhead with a few holes drilled in it reducing hight inside the box, the lamp will hang from the under side of this ... creating a void above the light... after both areas have been insulated and sealed up i'm hoping to be able to tune it daily by fan speed... i'll stick a picture up tomorow, probably easyer then talking endlessly

 

[onlycucumbershere]

I can see what you mean about the PC case lol nicely put together though but just a tad crammed. The wardrobe, on the other hand... You couldn't really ask for a nicer sized stealth grow

 

[troutie]

yeah just right the right size for my three little ladies.... checked last night and one had cracked and was showing a root tip .... "COME ON THE GREEN O'MATICS!"... today should be fun.... got to get a few things to finish the box (insulation & reflective sheeting), then comes the test run propper,I will use my hygro meter that came with my tent setup to keeps tabs on temp hi/low's and run the box for 24 hrs, and tweek and adjust from there.

 

[troutie]

ok so after morning inspection...... 2 seeds have germ'd ..... last one looks sleepy .... kinda weaker looking but i'll give it time

 

[troutie]

GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! .... look i'm really struggling to raise my temps in this cabinet, with all my exhaust and intake fans off i'm getting 20 degrees, this is begining to really worry me! the seeds could do with putting in there pots right now, and i have a cold cabinet for them to sit in..... breathing in there own farts! shit can someone help please??????... i'll upload pictures in 15 minutes

 

[troutie]

ok so all three have germ'd and are in there new home .... i'm worried about not having ventilation running... but after seeing in picture i'm just about to upload that i'd done a sloppy job potting the seedlings on i returned to the cabinet to top up the offending pot and to my suprise it was 70f in there .... thats better!...but still i only have passive ventilation, is this gonna f**K me up much?? (any thoughts on this would be great!)

 

[troutie]

work greatly unfinished... but they have moved in already!

ok so reflector i got with my hps tent kit, so took off the hps fitting and reused it .(as i have a air cooled hood for it now).... i've installed the insulated bulkhead above the lamp and you might be able to make out the 2 5" fans above that ??... sorry picture was a rush job (didnt want the doors open long), all sides, top and bottom have rigid insulation... doors yet to insulate but i've wrapped it in an old quilt for tonight..... but as i say fans are switched off as they cool it far too much


here is my problem...... i have seen it hit 70F.... .... guess i'll have to come up with something????

 

[troutie]

ok picture above should show doors now insulated and all gaps sealed... great temps now! well happy... soon as doors were sealed it hit 80f.... so i have switched one 5" exhaust fan on and it seems to be holding steady at around 74-75f... so other then the doors being lined i have installed a spare baby monitor and camera (with night vision....???) had it kicking around so might aswell use it.... at the moment i have it watching my hygrometer so dont have to keep opening the doors lol.... and with the fan on i feel a little happier about fresh air being dragged in the (ATM) switched off intake fan.

COME ON THE SEEDLINGS!

 

[caseyjones32]

I don't think it'll be too big of a problem; you could try keeping the lights on for 20\4 if you're worried about the lowpoints? Or even get a small $20 space heater and put it on a timer to come on during the dark hours . I left two seeds germinating in my car (by accident) for two days (it gets to about 40 here at night) and they cracked and are doing fine.

I like your setup! Plenty of room for a stealth grow. I had the same problems when I tried a PC starter box (I got it to work by using a single 40w CFL and about 5 pc fans ) The problem..well, my problem anyways, was that the fans I was buying\using were 20-30CFM and you need more like 50-70CFM

 

[troutie]

yeah.... its such a trial to get things running right... i'm constantly checking to make sure nothing tragic has happened, still pulling too much air thru with only 1 fan running, it takes about 3 hrs to drop 10 degrees ... then i switch it off 15 minutes 80f? WTF! added another thermometer with the remote cable thingie.... placed midway up right side panel.

 

[troutie]

well another mod, sealed up the two 5" exhaust fans with insulation board and disconnected them, and installed one 3.5" fan with 3 speeds... set that to low... hope that makes temps more stable???.... if not i'm stumped

really wish i could bring the cab indoors ... much easier

 

[troutie]

still crashing between 70-80f ... not peaked any higher then 80... or gone below 70f in the last 24 hours, is this ok?

 

[troutie]

well after a few hours playing with air in and air out.... i have one fan running with reduced passive air in and .... wollop! 75-76f again! and holding fairly steady

all three seedlings have now broken the surface of there new pots, so i guess its day 1 as seedlings.... day 4 from seed! not bad so far, with all the messing about altering things.

just got to monitor things over the next couple of days and nights, and all being well i can start to relax more and enjoy it! will post pic tomorrow..... still not much to see, three spouts wearing crash helmets lol

 

[troutie]

ok so overnight just managed to keep the between 70-80 ... when i got up it was bang on 70f (outside temps 38f)... so might try a slightly lower fan setting overnight to boulster temps... other then that i'm happy and the three seedlings seem to be doing fine... they still have there seeds stuck on there heads, but i'm sure its ok for now. might try and ease em off with a little misted water if they dont drop off in a couple of days, but for now its probbably protecting the fragileness below from the light so i'll leave well alone.

 

[mellokitty]

good stuff! subbed up.....

 

[troutie]

welcome MK
saves me talking to myself hehehe... ok so here it is, update... now i don't know if i should count days from germination or since they have been potted and broken soil, its day 5 from seed and day 2 as a seedling.... from now on i'll count from seedling

day 2 seedling

picture 1: mission control ...lol
picture 2: all three up close
picture 3: all three further back

 

[caseyjones32]

Lookin good man! I have been too busy to post or else I would have by now.

I know what you mean; it was trial and error for me, try a modification...check onit every 5 minutes..try something different. If there isn't enough room for a small space heater (they come really small) to put on a timer, you could put your fans on a timer aswell, if theyre not already. And I count from as soon as they're green

One more thing, I just noticed youre using the outdoor\indoor temperature monitor..you might wanna try to stick the indoor one in there instead. I had some serious confusion problems goin on when I tried that...the ones I used anyways worked differently, the outdoor would say 70 and the indoor would say 80, when they were right next to eachother! just a thought