PC Grow Box DIY????

Ok so I'm a bit bored, lots of free time these days.haha

anyways, was wondering if anyone had created a start to finish DIY on a pc Grow Box.

I searched threw a ton of pages in this forum and cant find one.

If anyone could post a link or two that would be killer.

Thanks for all your help and support everyone!

I second this. That, or I'd like one built for me a shitload more cheaply than the out of the box systems.

I have been working on one for a couple of hours today.

Tried to make it so I could keep the cpu housing inside the box, but alas that has proven to be a mistake as it takes up way to much room.

I just picked up a glue gun, and I have some new ideas for the light fixtures. hopefully round 2 proves to be a better approach on this.

Any chance of pics and how to John? As its shown there are plenty of us around interested in this subject! I for one have a few boxes sitting in the shed I could use. Cheers
Bring on da RED EYE

I saw a thread on GC saying that a Broadway 848A ATX FULL TOWER CASE would be a good cheap solution for a case. The link on GC had the case being sold for $42 USD. I've found the same exact model case for $16 USD. Going to order one soon and being construction. LINK

Yea bro I can post some pics.

Ill get around to those tomorrow. haha

So heres a quick rundown of what i have done so far.

1. Open case

2. Remove all guts from case (be patient and careful, if you want to keep the parts make sure to go slow and not pull to hard on wires.)

3. Install fans ( 2 are needed. 1 for intake and 1 for exhaust)

4. Once fans are installed its time to wire them (you can do this first before you install if you prefer). For this you will need a new razor blade, and some electric tape. if you want to be super careful get your self some wire nuts. You will also need a cell phone charger. For this you should look into the already made DIY on computer/muffin fans. im feeling lazy

5. Once fans are installed and wired I would next work on the power system. I hot glued a simple power bar to the top of the case. while doing this I also hot glued the wire slack to the case. With the design of my case I was able to use the dual hdd partition to hide the power plugs and xtra wire inside this partition. I covered the partition with a piece of cardboard. I did this mainly because I am bored and have severe OCD.

6. after power is installed and wires are hidden / secured I would work on making the case reflective. For this I went the cheap/simple route. I installed cardboard anywhere I could and then I covered the cardboard with a safety blanket from walmart.

7. next step was to install the lights. This really is gonna be circumstantial to your case. For my dell case I used a 3way power square type thing. then I installed a socket lamp followed up by a 2way y-splitter. on this socket system i will use the smallest cfl bulbs i could find. 2 10watt (40w equiv) 6500ks. for the next socket system i simply used a socket lamp and 2 way y. for this one i used a 26w and a 18w 2700k bulbs. 4 bulbs total 20w of 6500k and 44w of 2700k for a whopping grand total of 64watts. I have it setup so I can add two more power bars which will allow for at least 2 more bulbs. I only intend on using this box as a cloner anyways so i wont need a ton of wattage.

8. after bulbs were installed I turned it on to make sure fans were working and blowing in the right direction. I also checked to make sure that bulbs were working and not in a position that will/would of led to fire. after an hour or so of running I turned it off. safety first folks safety first

9. time to make sure that the case door fits, after you check it for proper fit it would also be a good time to line the case door with some mylar as well.

10. watch pineapple express. some funny ass shit!

so now all you have to to do is dial it in. make sure no light leaks, blah blah blah.

oh yea I also found tupperware makes a small square tupperware that fits perfect in the case. can use the lid as a runoff catcher.


hope this helps. kept me busy for a while today. nice project i had fun

I'd probably try for CFLs, but as a thought Full ATX towers are usually never smaller then 20" either tall or deep. While T8s come in an 18" size, so the top and sides of the case could be completely covered in those T8s. I think it could work very well but would cost an impractical amount for how many you'd need.

Who said anything about using t-8s. Cfls are the only way to go in my eyes

I just said something about using T-8s, which like I said was just a thought. CFLs will be far cheaper but T-8s would allow you to fit probably over 15 fixtures in a computer case and would not consume more then an inch of each side of the case, while a CFL will consume at least 3 if your talking mounting vertically and then another 3 inches in distance from plant.

Ahh right on bro, i get it now. a little slow on that one from my part. I was confusing t-8s with t-5s i believe.

Ok so after a few days I have finally gotten around to posting some pics. Here you go folks. let me know what you think. I am going to use this box to root clones.











This was a fun little project. needs to be fine tuned a bit. Ive been monitoring the temps and it has been fairly steady at around 75-79f

I think this will work great for rooting clones. I have a rather large server case that I am gonna try next and see if I can use that for a mother box.

nice, could be tweaked a little. Here is my favorite
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=59654

Nice bro, thanks for the link that box is bad ass. Im gonna tweak mine a bit more. I am thinking about gettting the drill out and getting rid of the hdd box and the cd/dvd box. this will allow me to have alot more room.

I prolly wont do this for a little while, but you never know right.

i like it and what a good idea for clones and seedling, space saver