only took 2 weeks and abour $50 to build. i dont care right now about "how much can i yield?" or "is this enough light?" its a plant, if it grows, cool, if not, ill refine. either way here it is. lemme know if you see anything i dont see. plan on using the home made carbon scrubber design. blocking off the current exhaust and relocating it about 1 foot higher so i can do a drop down filter design, and adding another 2 foot light in the opposing corner. heat is not a problem, humidity is fine. air flow is ok for now, enough to flow. box is 20"x20"x roughly 36" high. only took 5 days for the seedling to sprout, day 2 its 2.5" tall. dont care if the strain is any good im just seeing if the enviroment is enough to grow in for now. like i said, im not here to ask any questions, just to let u see what i have and listen to any +/- criticism. so let it flow.
Kloset Grow Box ;)
- Thread starter KlosetKid
- Start date
NOWitall
Active Member
ok well im gonna cover alot of ground here, so bear with me if i ramble.
dimensionally speaking, your lookin good thats more that enough room for 1 reasonable plant (or 4 dwarves)
light wise, you do need more light. at the very least another set of doubles at the other corner. (if you feel you can comfertably wire florescent bulb fixtures id move 1 to each corner)
i suggest lining the walls of you box with a reflective material (mylar, mirrors, reflective duct wrap) white paints ok for reflectivity, but i figure why half ass it.
Also, about light, plants grow towards the light, if the majority of light recieved is from the side vertical streatching will be reduced (short with alot of branches) but if its ALL side lighting you get almost NO vert growth, and with increased side branching the node sites are so close together the branches crowd each other out and make them all more spindely.
so add a couple CFL's to the top.
also on the topic of light. plants do best under spacific spectrums of light, MJ,(for instance) veg's best under 6500k bulbs, and flowers best under 2700k bulbs.
bare light requirements for any reasonable plant (3000 Lumens per sq. ft. of floor space) you can grow on less but results are less, grow with more results are more.
also i notice your door is top hinging, and while it makes some things in layout easier, start planning for a front opening door now. you WILL need side access to your plant, and its gonna get hard to menouver in and out of that box. also when you water, its gonna splash all over hell and creation.
build a box over intake and exhaust ports to ensure light cannot enter the box, (needs to be done before you switch to flower)
plant more plants.
the odds are pretty much 50/50 and it sucks to get one to age and find out its male. better 2 plant five seeds and kill females u dont have room for, that to have to kill 1 male and start from seed again.
make sure theres a small gap at the top of that closet door. and natural convection will help keep everything cool.
ok thats all i can think of for now
have fun
dimensionally speaking, your lookin good thats more that enough room for 1 reasonable plant (or 4 dwarves)
light wise, you do need more light. at the very least another set of doubles at the other corner. (if you feel you can comfertably wire florescent bulb fixtures id move 1 to each corner)
i suggest lining the walls of you box with a reflective material (mylar, mirrors, reflective duct wrap) white paints ok for reflectivity, but i figure why half ass it.
Also, about light, plants grow towards the light, if the majority of light recieved is from the side vertical streatching will be reduced (short with alot of branches) but if its ALL side lighting you get almost NO vert growth, and with increased side branching the node sites are so close together the branches crowd each other out and make them all more spindely.
so add a couple CFL's to the top.
also on the topic of light. plants do best under spacific spectrums of light, MJ,(for instance) veg's best under 6500k bulbs, and flowers best under 2700k bulbs.
bare light requirements for any reasonable plant (3000 Lumens per sq. ft. of floor space) you can grow on less but results are less, grow with more results are more.
also i notice your door is top hinging, and while it makes some things in layout easier, start planning for a front opening door now. you WILL need side access to your plant, and its gonna get hard to menouver in and out of that box. also when you water, its gonna splash all over hell and creation.
build a box over intake and exhaust ports to ensure light cannot enter the box, (needs to be done before you switch to flower)
plant more plants.
the odds are pretty much 50/50 and it sucks to get one to age and find out its male. better 2 plant five seeds and kill females u dont have room for, that to have to kill 1 male and start from seed again.
make sure theres a small gap at the top of that closet door. and natural convection will help keep everything cool.
ok thats all i can think of for now
have fun
no this is what i want, constructive criticism. i wired everything myself and am comfortable with wiring another light on the opposite corner. cfl on top? why not wire a fixture and just swap the 27 & 65 bulbs when needed? yeah i think that sounds good. i was planning on later on cutting a 15"x20" square out of the front and making a front access. this is only a test phase. i dont mind planting 4 plants in there once i know i have the right environment to grow period. why does it have to be mylar? i thought light reflects on lighter colors and absorbs on darker colors, regardless of material. now when you say to create a box around the intake and exhaust to conceal the light when i have the flowering stage, i was going to make some piping on the exhaust with a scrubber so im not concerned about the exhaust, but im going to hop right on the intake so thanks for bringing it to my attention.
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so i added one cfl to the top just to get an idea of what needed to be done. well i was browsing the hardware store today and found a neat little three socket fixture. bought 3 150w cfl 6500k bulbs and rigged up a pulley system so i can raise the fixture as the plant grows. now that ive added 3 more lights though my temps will most likely skyrocket. ill check the max/min reading on my gauge tomorrow.
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Nice job on the cfl's, that box just made a huge step up in performance. As you mentioned this will increase the heat, and this would be a good time to address the ventilation.
I'd make the existing exhaust hole into your new intake hole and light proof it without restricting the airflow too much. It's hard to be sure but the existing holes look to be about the same height so that should work. Move the exhaust up near the top on the opposite side from your "new" intake. Now you will have far superior air exchange to remove the heat, and you could even wire in a thermostat to your exhaust fan to keep temps perfect.
I'd make the existing exhaust hole into your new intake hole and light proof it without restricting the airflow too much. It's hard to be sure but the existing holes look to be about the same height so that should work. Move the exhaust up near the top on the opposite side from your "new" intake. Now you will have far superior air exchange to remove the heat, and you could even wire in a thermostat to your exhaust fan to keep temps perfect.
speaking of temps they shot up from around 80*F to about 93*F so tomorrow ill be blocking off the current exhaust and making a new exhaust port about a foot higher (heat rises cold air stays low) and smart thinking on the thermostat! hopefully i wont see as much stretching from the plant being that the light is 3x stronger and roughly 5 inches away from the plant. the lights are i think 100w or 150w equivalent i cant remember shit when im stoned. figure 1700 lumens a piece (from what was on the back of the box) and thats roughly 5,000 lumens and the box is only about 20inchesx20inches and from what i remember the plant needs roughly what was it 6,000 lumen per sq. ft. of floor/plant space? i could be off a lil here and there but with the supplemental 2' grow light in the corner i think i should be close enough to sustain life. i will be putting another 2'er in the opposite corner just to even things out a lil so that should be close to 6,000 lumens, hopefully. i really want to go ahead and relocate the exhaust to lower the temps but at 11pm i think the neighbors would get a lil pissed off with me running the router. so thats it for today, any criticism is welcome
NOWitall
Active Member
aye that cfl array looks nice.
florescents are very omnidirectional in their output so put a reflective hood about 1.5 inches from top of bulbs.
go to a plumbing supply store and buy a roll of metal HVAC ducting tape (about $9 for 150ft) then coat the top of your florescent fixtures.
and the mylar thing, white is highly reflective, but does absorb some light. if you get the straight mirrored mylar (or that shiny plastic foil wrap) you get almost 100% reflectivity.
its not really needed i guess, but im ocd, and i want every last one of my lumens.
temperature wise the bulbs are not your problem.
the ballast is your problem. on those spiral cfls that round base is makin 90% of heat emited. keep air moving past those bulb bases or it cuts their service life by more than half.
the big fixtures are a little easier, maybe. exactly how good are you at wiring?? do you think you could, lets say..... move the ballasts to the outside of the box and remount the bulb bases to the wood frame of the box, loosing those metal shells all together???
but that still seems hot. move the exhuast port to the hinging lid, youll get better cooling and will be able to use a smaller fan
florescents are very omnidirectional in their output so put a reflective hood about 1.5 inches from top of bulbs.
go to a plumbing supply store and buy a roll of metal HVAC ducting tape (about $9 for 150ft) then coat the top of your florescent fixtures.
and the mylar thing, white is highly reflective, but does absorb some light. if you get the straight mirrored mylar (or that shiny plastic foil wrap) you get almost 100% reflectivity.
its not really needed i guess, but im ocd, and i want every last one of my lumens.
temperature wise the bulbs are not your problem.
the ballast is your problem. on those spiral cfls that round base is makin 90% of heat emited. keep air moving past those bulb bases or it cuts their service life by more than half.
the big fixtures are a little easier, maybe. exactly how good are you at wiring?? do you think you could, lets say..... move the ballasts to the outside of the box and remount the bulb bases to the wood frame of the box, loosing those metal shells all together???
but that still seems hot. move the exhuast port to the hinging lid, youll get better cooling and will be able to use a smaller fan
right now im taking apart my exhaust fan and installing a flange to attach the exhaust piping to. while thats drying im making a new exhaust port right near the top, not exactly on the lid, but right below where it meets the box. tomorrow im going to widen the opening the original exhaust was and make a side access point with a hinged door just like the top with weather stripping and all. i just cant run power tools this late in the evening where i live or someone might get suspicious. good thing about doing this near christmas time is ppl just think im hauling in gifts, not lights and carbon and paraphernalia. as for the wiring on the lights im just going to put a reflective dish on the top of the light fixture. i think the heat is due to the poor location of the exhaust port. heat rises and cold are sinks. the hot air is just rotating around the top. hopefully moving the exhaust port will help some of this. also humidity is low, so im thinking just a dish with a wick or mason jar with a wick sticking up will help this out. im going to be using the "pineappple juice can carbon filter" method. couple of ppl say its ok so im going to be putting it together and get it ready to use. i also just got another 2' light fixture and another "grow" bulb to put in the opposite corner. by the time i install that and get a reflective dish for the tri-light i think ill be good to go on the light output. but my main focus right now is getting those temps down. any criticism is welcome.
side note. cats like pot. i left the plant out while working on the box. turn around to see my wifes cat eating my plant. good to know this is just an experiment run... i think the fucker will be going without food tonight. im going to go curse now...
side note. cats like pot. i left the plant out while working on the box. turn around to see my wifes cat eating my plant. good to know this is just an experiment run... i think the fucker will be going without food tonight. im going to go curse now...
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NOWitall
Active Member
hahahaha
that sucks man. yeah cats will eat alot of a pot plant if given the chance.
also id go with active exhaust, and an intake fan on a thermostat.
on the exhuast fans, try not to direct mount them to the box, as once a little dust builds up and the blades become unbalanced,
they will begin to vibrate and being direct mounted will cuase an amplification that become very noticable.
try to use some kind of soft airtight gasket, a couple 2-3 layers of bubble wrap should work,
top off with some rubber washers under those screw heads and bingo. (hey i mentioned my ocd right?
when you make the hood drill a few 3/4 holes roughly above the cfl ballasts, or if you use a conical hood just make a 2-3 inch hole in the middle.
either one will keep a hot air pockt from forming.
and is that like an 18 inch pot?? thats waaaay too big, if you do one plant in there, something about gallon jug size work good.
or if you do four you could do 7-9 inch pots if they be roughly 9+ inches deep
that sucks man. yeah cats will eat alot of a pot plant if given the chance.
also id go with active exhaust, and an intake fan on a thermostat.
on the exhuast fans, try not to direct mount them to the box, as once a little dust builds up and the blades become unbalanced,
they will begin to vibrate and being direct mounted will cuase an amplification that become very noticable.
try to use some kind of soft airtight gasket, a couple 2-3 layers of bubble wrap should work,
top off with some rubber washers under those screw heads and bingo. (hey i mentioned my ocd right?
when you make the hood drill a few 3/4 holes roughly above the cfl ballasts, or if you use a conical hood just make a 2-3 inch hole in the middle.
either one will keep a hot air pockt from forming.
and is that like an 18 inch pot?? thats waaaay too big, if you do one plant in there, something about gallon jug size work good.
or if you do four you could do 7-9 inch pots if they be roughly 9+ inches deep
made a cheap ass reflector out of an old dish and some tin foil. works well, as above the "hood" is quite a bit darker. im running it all night tonight to get a max/min reading on the temp and humidity sensors. hopefully moving the exhaust and adding another intake port will help things out a bit.
its not very pretty. but right now it seems to be doing the trick.
its not very pretty. but right now it seems to be doing the trick.
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cbtwohundread
Well-Known Member
in the plumbers isle in home depot/lowes they have aluminum duct tape thats wat i used with lovely results in my mini cab
http://www.heatersplus.com/tape.htm
hope i helped with theeasy diy reflective wall thing
http://www.heatersplus.com/tape.htm
hope i helped with theeasy diy reflective wall thing
3 days after planting another seed and it has already sprouted. temps are ranging from 75*F and 83*F. still need to get the humidity up more, its only rockin like 37%. ill find a way to raise it some. im just going to use the same planter that ive been using. no need to go smaller i think, never heard of having too much soil... i could be wrong... who knows. thinking of using the low stress training method, making it into a spiral around the planter, lord knows ive got plenty of space to do so. once again, this is only a trial run, god damned cats. already fabbed up the carbon scrubber. just need to get an inline duct fan to help pull the exhaust through it. made a side access. really just covered the old exhaust with a removable screen. figured it wasnt getting enough intake air as when i would close the lid u could hear the exhaust fan under extreme load and exhaust pressure was reduced significantly. now it seems to be pretty free flowing. nice suction on the intake vents. was thinking of "boxing up" the vents to prevent light seepage during the "dark cycle" but it is in the closet, so i figure the closet acts as a box in and of itself, so we will see how that works out. guess from here it is just a wait and see kinda deal. any criticism is welcome.
decided to fab up the carbon scrubber. did pretty well. but the temps shot up to 98*F. so i took apart an old air cleaner box thing with a fan inside (didnt work any more) and rigged it up to the carbon scrubber. so now i have the exhaust fan, duct work fromt the exhaust fan, to the carbon scrubber, and then to a box pulling air through the scrubber and out into the room. going to check the temps here in a bit and see if that helpped to bring them down. think the carbon scrubber was choking the air flow out. sooooo yeah, i hope the temps come on down. if not im going to have to buy more expensive higher powered fans 
not something i wanna or can do at this point.
just checked... still rocki 98*F... fuck. could be i put too much carbon in the bottom, but i dont think so. i think i put in just enough. but the exhaust fan in the grow box is giving a good amount of backpressure back into the grow box, so obviously the fan is either not strong enough, or i have too much carbon in the chamber. now the plant is no where near needing the scrubber, but thats why im doing this so early in the stage, to fix the problems before they become a problem. so, im going to take some of the carbon out and see if i get better flow and cooling. in the mean time im just going to have to keep an eye out for a better fan. my question.... im wondering if i take out the fan thats in the grow box now, and just use the "outside carbon fan" to opull air through, i wonder if that would work. OR moving the "inside exhaust fan" to the chamber after the scrubber but before the external fan. give it that extra umph.
either way if any of you guys have done this part before and had success just drop me a line and throw out your opinions. any criticism is welcome.
not something i wanna or can do at this point.just checked... still rocki 98*F... fuck. could be i put too much carbon in the bottom, but i dont think so. i think i put in just enough. but the exhaust fan in the grow box is giving a good amount of backpressure back into the grow box, so obviously the fan is either not strong enough, or i have too much carbon in the chamber. now the plant is no where near needing the scrubber, but thats why im doing this so early in the stage, to fix the problems before they become a problem. so, im going to take some of the carbon out and see if i get better flow and cooling. in the mean time im just going to have to keep an eye out for a better fan. my question.... im wondering if i take out the fan thats in the grow box now, and just use the "outside carbon fan" to opull air through, i wonder if that would work. OR moving the "inside exhaust fan" to the chamber after the scrubber but before the external fan. give it that extra umph.
either way if any of you guys have done this part before and had success just drop me a line and throw out your opinions. any criticism is welcome.
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erakattack
Member
Here's mine got the guys at the lumber store to make the cuts for me.
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erakattack
Member
thanks , It started out as a soil show , but I recently upgraded to the flood and drain system. One thing I recommend is if your using HPS lighting in a wooden grow box, invest in a high temp. cut off switch. I picked up one for 140 bucks, well worth the piece of mind.
erakattack
Member
Heres what one looks like .
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right now im just using cfl's and they seem to be doing the trick nicely. no the temps i was recording were at the top of the box. when i moved the thermometer to the actual plant its reading 80*F. i just need to relocate the exhaust fan to after the carbon chamber. but the high temp switch is a good idea.