Climate controlled grow fridge

Bespokegrowroomsolutions

Bespokegrowroomsolutions

Member
If you had kept them separate you could of used one side sealed for flower ( fridge side ), section off the freezer rad and fit it with a smaller fan and circulate the air in the sealed side through that cools the air with movement rather than cooling the whole side at once so your constantly cooling a small amount of air and the fridge would be helping lower the whole space if ya get me
 
Merlowe111

Merlowe111

Well-Known Member
Bespokegrowroomsolutions said:
If you had kept them separate you could of used one side sealed for flower ( fridge side ), section off the freezer rad and fit it with a smaller fan and circulate the air in the sealed side through that cools the air with movement rather than cooling the whole side at once so your constantly cooling a small amount of air and the fridge would be helping lower the whole space if ya get me
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I was able to overcome it by mounting the light externally on the top of the fridge. So heat vents outside of the grow space.Then sealing the opening with a glass pane. Now the fridge can pull down to any temp I dial it in at. Works really well.
 
Merlowe111

Merlowe111

Well-Known Member
Boatguy said:
Hate to tell you i told you so. But....
Air cool/ isolate that light and you might have a chance
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Yeah battling the heat being dumped into a small space from a grow light is something a fridge just can't handle. But having it mounted externally leaves the grow space isolated from that heat. Fridge was able to pull the temps down without any fuss. And having a fridge that is so well insulated really helps me since the location I have it in is 90-110 degrees f most days.
 
Boatguy

Boatguy

Well-Known Member
Merlowe111 said:
Yeah battling the heat being dumped into a small space from a grow light is something a fridge just can't handle. But having it mounted externally leaves the grow space isolated from that heat. Fridge was able to pull the temps down without any fuss. And having a fridge that is so well insulated really helps me since the location I have it in is 90-110 degrees f most days.
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Add intake and exhaust on a thermostat. Keep everything where you have it.
You have a good system, just need to balance it out
 
Merlowe111

Merlowe111

Well-Known Member
Mixed up a fresh batch of soup the other day.
R.O water 8ppm before 450ppm after nutes
Think it was a bit hot, plants showed some burnt tips, diluted it down to 310ppm hopefully it fixed it. Perhaps it's some other problem, been trying to diagnose excess/deficiency signs and symptoms this week.
Air temp 78 -82f
Water temp 68-70
Ph 5.6-5.9
Light height 20" 18/6 light cycle
Co2 1200ppm
Humidity 40-50%
Roots are not exploding like I was expecting.
A fair amount from the bottom but almost zero roots from the sides. Overall nothing to write home about. 4 weeks in and they seem rather small. Maybe it's a slow developing plant but I think that's being too optimistic lol.

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rob333

rob333

Well-Known Member
Merlowe111 said:
Hello everyone! Im about to start an ambitious Build for a grow box, I'd love to hear if anyone has any input on its feasibility or any modifications that could improve it! For a while I used to grow in a grow tent, it served its purpose but was painfully obvious what it was, and annoyingly loud with the exhaust fans. I had to make sure in-laws didnt see it, over all just very stressfull. I've seen online companies trying to sell these self contained grow units that cost thousands. I want to attempt to convert a working refrigerator into a sealed, climate controlled grow environment. Full automation isnt necessary, but I want to make sure temp, light timing, co2 ppm and humidity are controlled and monitored constantly. My plan is to change the thermostat to something like the stc-1000 controller. Use a humidifier/dehumidifier as necessary and control it with some type of humidistat. Co2 will be monitored and controlled by some type of controller as well, of course. My plan is to cut an opening in the top of the fridge, install some type of transparent barrier such as a double pane window glass and seal it all in. Keeping the lighting isolated from the grow space. I was going to use an led light like the mars hydro ts1000 and place it externally on top of the fridge in the hole I created so it can shine through the glass while passively cooling outside the control space. Hopefully the double pane glass reduces the heat transfer to a level the fridge can easily remove without significant reduction in light penetration. I plan on keeping the light in a fixed position against the glass and raising/lowering my grow platform to maintain optimal canopy height. I want to include a wifi enabled camera to monitor plant conditions remotely from my phone without opening the grow space unnecessarily venting my co2. I also plan on installing some type of cabinet lock to keep the reeferator safe from inadvertent intrusion. I hope to have this look like a typical anassuming fridge. And if anyone asks why its locked perhaps just play it off as a homebrew enthusiast with some type of light sensitive fermentation process going on that it cant be opened. In the future , if all things perform optimally, I hope to further the automation process using ardruinos and possibly actively monitor the ph and ppm of my hydroponic root environment as well.
So.....thoughts? Feasibility? I know it may seem like I'm overcomplicating it but I absolutely want stealth without the noise of air cooling and exhausting. I'm willing to take some extra steps to ensure that this thing is basically a fridge to anyone who passes by it.
Click to expand...
check out my new climate controlled grow oven soon to be coming my climate controlled grow microwave
 
Merlowe111

Merlowe111

Well-Known Member
Week 5
Currently dealing with what looks to be some type of nutrient deficiency/excess..
Moved the plants further from the light until it recovers.
Plant leaves brown at the lowest branches then stop browning about halfway up the leaf and browning begins on the next leaf set above. I was considering co2 toxicity so I turned off co2 for now until I figure this out.
Water temp is 71f
Airtemp is set to 78-82f
Ph is +/- 5.78
950 gallon per hour air pump
Ppm 399-410 using G.H flora series
Light height 20 inches from canopy
Root zone is not as robust as I was expecting and they seem much too small for 5 weeks.

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Merlowe111

Merlowe111

Well-Known Member
Looks like everything is now sorted. Stopped using general hydroponics and switched to an organic nutrient line called Peruvian gold. Plants are recovering nicely. Added hydroguard to the mix and roots are looking better. Air temp is 78-82f and plants show no negative signs from it. I think once the plant fully recovers I'll switch to flower and see how it goes from there.
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W

Wonderful Life

Member
Merlowe111 said:
Week 5
Currently dealing with what looks to be some type of nutrient deficiency/excess..
Moved the plants further from the light until it recovers.
Plant leaves brown at the lowest branches then stop browning about halfway up the leaf and browning begins on the next leaf set above. I was considering co2 toxicity so I turned off co2 for now until I figure this out.
Water temp is 71f
Airtemp is set to 78-82f
Ph is +/- 5.78
950 gallon per hour air pump
Ppm 399-410 using G.H flora series
Light height 20 inches from canopy
Root zone is not as robust as I was expecting and they seem much too small for 5 weeks.

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Click to expand...
I love your metal manifold for your air feeds! 8-)
 
Merlowe111

Merlowe111

Well-Known Member
Sorry,guys been out of the loop for a while due to the pandemic. Quick update, harvest went very well, I did have problems..and those problems caused me a reduced yield but it was 100% related to the hydroponic side of things. I found the Co2 function could be eliminated if necessary (high price to get setup) simply run an aquatic air pump tube into the fridge to exchange fresh air. i wish I had weighed my final product but my scale was on the fritz and I doubted its accuracy. However for a visual reference I filled 6 standard mason jars with cured dry product. If i had no nutrient issues and used training techniques im sure my yield would have been substantially more.I switched a plant to soil and it exploded with growth. The fridge did everything perfectly and I highly recommend this method for anyone who wants a 1-2 plant personal grow and absolutely must have stealth(zero noise besides the typical noise of a fridge compressor), security(it locks), but most importantly TEMP CONTROL.There are a few things I may refine a bit more, but its mostly just extra bells and whistles or automation features I don't need. But overall as a proof of concept it turned out great. As I was finishing flower, I could set my temperature much lower and bring out some beautiful purples without any effort. i could literally simulate a frost if I wanted to.This is also a great option for those who want to experiment with an exotic strain that requires very specific temperatures or Temps that would Normally be unobtainable in your region. Due to the amazing insulation properties of a fridge,It allowed me to grow at 76-78f inside a shed that sits at 110f inside every day. It could theoretically work in reverse, where you could have it (the fridge) in a cold climate and the grow lights heat would maintain the warmer comfortable temps within. Even a small warming mat could be added. Anyways the potential is huge and cost me only a few hundred bucks vs the multi thousand dollar automated setups like the seedo. 20200609_153637.jpg
 
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