building a champion- 400watt dual-chamber grow cab

hello everybody!!
i have been floating around icmag for a while now..ever since og went down. i am going to be starting my third grow and am looking to step it up and build a custom cab so i can keep myself and my friends happy w/ constant amazing bud.

i am posting this in here to get help and advice so that i can improve upon my ideas and have time to think about things before i build this beast. construction should begin at the start of august w/ a grow going buy the end of the month.

my first two grows went suprisingly well, with the first one yileding around 2 oz. off of 2 plants and 350 watts of cfls. the second yielded around 3 3/4oz with 4 plants. I used cfls and grew in a good ol' rubbermaid. i scrogged my ladies and had great results from my bagseed(it was all from good bud). as much fun as it was to use cfls now that i will be living in a house i have decided to go ahead and try hps.

here is a peek at some of my results and setup with that











now that you see what i have done this is my idea for my cab. i have been researching and thinking this cab through for a long time and it has gone in many different directions. from soil to hydro and back again to soil in the end to help me keep my costs down since i have alot of the materials already. although the picture explains everything for the most part i am going to comment on each area individually.
also, before i go any further i have to give alot of credit to TheGhost, i got many of these cab ideas from his 250watt cab http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=31172
Thanks Bro!!!

ok without further adue heres my idea



As you can see the dimensions are 48"H x 48"W x 25"D
it is broken up into 4 total chamber

-storage 1'x1'x2'- this will be used to store my nutes and other tools for the grow. I want to try and conceal all of the grow in one locked place.

-veg/mother/clone chamber 20" x 12" x 25"- this is where i will keep my mothers, veg my new seeds, and keep clones while they root and to give em a week or two of veg time. I will be running probably around 110 watts cfl and have to passive intakes of 3" using TheGost's pvc intake/light trap (these will also be used in the flower chamber). the way that this chamber is exhausted is through a pvc pipe in the top of it, the main ventilation fan for the cab will suck the air through the pvc pipe, into the flower chamber, through a filter and then outside. I still havent decided but i might put a 12cm fan in here to help increase airflow.

-electrical 16" x 12" x 25"- this chamber will house my HPS ballast, power cords and plug-ins, timers and may also have some exhaust ducting going through it. This is also another area where i will probably place a small 12cm fan, this chamber isnt cooled so i think i might have to look into mounting some form of fan cooling system so i dont overheat my ballast.

-flower chamber 36" x 48" x 25"- this of course is my favorite chamber. the actual grow space is going to be 6.25sq/ft. and with a 400watt HPS this will come out to 64 watts/sqft which is pretty good. like i said before there are going to be 4 of the 3" pvc intake/light traps that will come out the bottom of the box. my hps is going to use a batwing reflector..now i know youre thinking ..how the heck is this guy gonna cool this cab. well i am investing in a vortex 600/can 50 combo to do the trick. as far as i know this should be enough, let me know if you think otherwise. so the vortex will suck the air through the veg chamber and into the flower and then blow it all outside.
heres the link to that fan/filter combo...good deals
http://www.mdhydro.com/activated-charcoal.html
now to help increase the air circulation in this chamber there will be a 12cm fan(maybe 2) blowing on the 400 watt and then i wanted to also put a small oscillating fan mounted to the wall.

i have seen alot of grows done using this type setup and i have seen awesome results with different growing methods. i have decided to stick with soil since i have almost all the supplies already. the only thing i will have to invest in is more soil and i want to experiment with some new nutes (i have only used fox farm) and i really want to try and grow huge fat FAT buds.

since i have a decent size space for flower i wanted to try and "split" the flower chamber. by that i mean i want to to a 1 to 2 plant scrog that would be some thing like 2'x2' and then use the leftover space (1'x2') to flower clones in small pots or maybe 16oz cups. this way i can do a scrog for the maximized yield but i also have some room so that if i can get my hands on a really good cutting from a friend i will have room so i can flower it also. my hopes with this cab is that i will be able to do somewhat of a gradual harvest technique.

almost forgot...heres a link to a pic of TheGhost's finished cab, mine will look similar to this. http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/12123Ready_For_The_Res.JPG


also this is the 400 watt hps i am looking at getting although i will prob just try and get the same thing off ebay for less. https://www.htgsupply.com/productdetail.asp?productID=377


if you have gotten this far...thank you very much, your time was greatly appreciated. i hope that we have a chance to brainstorm some ideas to help improve this idea. i am excited to start building this baby and i hope you will stick around during the process.

keepitreal keepitgreen
darrinjefferson

You do realize that thing is gonna make some noise right? The biggest adjustment I had when I built a bigger box was having a big humming box sitting in the house, so be safe first....worry about big buds when the time and environment is right, if this is the case than get to building! Sounds like you have a good idea of what you want, go out and build it. Only thing that worries me is the batwing reflector, you need AT LEAST a foot between the tops and the light, and 4 feet total isn't giving you much room to spare...but it can be done w/ aircooled hood...if you can incorporate that in somehow

I've grown in similar space with a 400, with just a 265 cfm blower and that thing was loud...insulated ducting helps, or straight pipes so no sound of air whooshing around...the blower itself is pretty quiet...avoid those 90 degree angles in the ducting it'll slow things down (with 600cfm hard to do ) but it also makes it noisy

heres some pics of my past projects to give ya an idea of what you'll get when you get her dialed in. I believe my flower space was 48x48x25 just like you have it setup...and i avg ~ 3-5 ounces depending on strain each time

killabrown420- yeah i know it will make noise as much as i dont want it too. my last grow made a good deal of noise so i am just really shooting for less than previous. also i heard that vortex fans are actually pretty quiet for their power.
i was thinking of trying to insulate the fan in some way to help cut back on the noise and hang it with bungie cords so theres no vibration. also it should vent right out the back and out a window so air whooshing should be bad.

about the air cooled hood, i originally wanted to do that, but didnt think i was going to have enough money for, which may not be the case.

ok this just came to me right this second in a moment of genius.
i could get a smaller can filter and the same or smaller size fan. i then would split the ducting so that the vortex sucks air through the carbon filter but it could also cool the hood. hmmmmmm...killa i think you just sparked some great ideas in my head.

im glad to hear that you were able to yield 3-5oz. i am hoping for that maybe more. what do you think about my idea to split up the grow area with a scrog and some clones?

finally i know height is going to be an issue..but if i can affford an aircooled reflector then i think i should be in the clear.

thanks for your help bro

keepitreal keepitgreen
darrinjefferson

Hey darrinjefferson,
Thanks for the mention and links man, your too kind. :smile:

Good luck with the new cab man, if you have any more questions just fire away and I will do my best to help where I can.

As killabrown420 has said, this cab will be a humming machine so think safety first.
Just a couple of comments at this stage, if you mount your exhaust fan in your electrical chamber, you will be able to remove the pvc pipe connecting the scrubber to the fan. Just mount the scrubber through the wall into the electrical chamber and when you turn the fan on it will vent out and create a vacuum in the electrical chamber which will pull the hot air through the scrubber into the electrical room and out of the grow. This way you can vent out your electrical chamber with the same fan.
I think if you can get an air cooled hood on the 400 that would be a great help for a few reasons:
If you do get a stretch of hot weather and the temps in the cab get high the plants will tend to stretch more than you are used to (I have seen them stretch for 20 days in high temps) and vertical height in the cab becomes a premium concern. If your light is air cooled you will be able to help keep the temps down and also place the light a few inches closer to the tops, and believe me a few inches in an overgrow can mean the difference between chopping or not.
Remember to aim for a ten inch finishing height above the screen, a 400 is really only good for about ten inches of penetration into the canopy.

I hope that helps man, and thanks again for the mention.

later
Ghost

I have already come to a few realizations even with the few comments you have given me. I have realized that security is a primary concern, i dont want this to be heard through the whole house since only 2 of 4 people will know about it. I have also realized that yields can be very good off of something like a 250watt and can be supplemented with fluoros.

What i am looking at now is a 250watt hps air cooled. and putting in fluoros to get the wattage up more. i think i might mount my vanity fixtures in the cab on each side so that if i want i could put more than 350 watts of cfls in there for extra lighting. im not saying that i am gonna use 350 watts of cfls, but using them would help my yields a decent amount wouldnt they? especially if i used around 200watts of em.

also Ghost what if i were to connect my aircooled hood into the electric chamber and then have the fan in there suck air through the hood and through the carbon filter. i think this might work real well, then i could insulate the electric area to help minimize noise.

thoughts? comments? thanks alot

Yeah, I have been a little surprised at the size and quality of the buds under this small light, not to mention the yield, which has been great.

I have never used supplemental fluoros so I don't have much info on the subject but I have considered it in the past. I can't see why it wouldn't work but I wonder how the extra lighting will effect the temps. You will now be moving from an aircooled 400 watts to an air cooled 250 watts and a non air cooled 200 watts. I guess the fact that I can't air cool the fluoros is why I haven't used them up to this point.

I have not vented a light into the electrical chamber so these are just observations, I decided against it because I was concerned about raising the temps of my ballasts. I have noticed that I need to replace my light exhaust fan about every third grow because they get noisy, I can only attribute this to the high heat from the lamp.

I hope these ramblings help.

Later
Ghost

if your in to building stuff you should consider building your own air-cooled hood. Its really quite simple to do, and cheap. OG used to have a thread with links to like 10 different DIY hoods, I remember one design thats pretty simple but effective.


If you've ever made little cubes, or pyramids using paper w/ tabs its basically the same concept, except with metal sheeting.

This design costs about 20 bucks to build from scratch, and you can fully customize it to your space so you don't have any wasted light. Its easy to throw on a glass shield and vent the light seperate from the box as well, in case you decide to play with co2 down the road (im working on getting co2 in my cab )

If you split the ducting like you said, your gonna want to have your air-cooled hood sealed off with a glass shield and have a seperate intake for it like in GHOSTS cab...so no stinky air bypasses the filter..you know what I mean?

I think if you split the ducting like that, and have the fan and filter in the electrical box, you could have the intake in the flowering room, which would then go in the veg area through some intake holes, and up through the electrical area so it can be vented as well...this would only work though if the hood is being vented seperate from the grow, I wouldn't pull air through the hood and into a filter because the flow might not be enough to cool it adequately...with filters you want the air to travel through them slowly so the carbon can pluck the odors out

time for a bong rip!

ill be watchin

killa

i think that making my own reflector is definatley something that i should look into. If i built my own then i could save somewhere around $100 when i buy my light. hmmm im really starting to like this craftieness.

killa- thanks for all your help and advice, it helps me alot bro. yeah i think you have convinced me to at least attempt to make my own hood. you know any places where i could pic up some sheet metal??haha but seriously i think that altho i want to buy a reflector so it looks clean i couold just as easyily build one myself and then clean it up a bit afterwards.
thanks for the shot of your electrical chamber w/ the blower included. im starting to se what you mean about how theres always noise. dont you think that with the size of your electrical area you could insulate it a bit more to help with the sound coming out? i was thinking of trying it in my cab, i was gonna find some stryofoam, or another hard isulator to put in there.
and about my ducting, i think i am going to keep the fan in the electrical chamber, blowing out, then have the carbon filter being vented through the wall into the room as well as my 250 watt. im thinkin i will still vent the veg room through the flower box still.

i have aquestion, when do you use your fan? when the lights are on? off? i am having a hard time figuring out what people do. if their fan and lights are on the same timer, or if the fan is going 24/7. maybe when its not on i could supplements with a couplde 12cm fans?

help is appreciated

The metal sheeting is like 10 bucks at lowes, you'll have to do some hunting, but its in the isle with all the roofing supplies

While it isn't perfect and as well built as the expensive air-cooled hoods, it is built off the same design and reflects just as well. Spray painting the inside white will help clean it up and increase reflectivity. When you get to that point I can help ya w/ the details of how to build it. But first get your light 1000bulbs.com has cheap parts, since your building your hood you might as well put together your light and make your own ballast box with the spare metal sheeting you use to build your hood.
You need a ballast, mogul socket, a light bulb and a spare heavy duty extension cord, and a timer of course

you should let your fan run 24/7 , the veg are is going to need constant fresh air, and adding more fans on seperate timers could be more of a liability then helpful...timers are pretty cheap and they can fuck up once and a while so the less the better imo
read up on the thread thats in this forum about timers blowing up...safety first man

Oh and insulating would definately help with the hum part of the sound, but its the whooshing part that makes the most noise, just the sound of air moving...that could be cut down by using straight pipes, insulated ducting, or venting from outside the cab (like putting the fan in the attic and having a straight pipe come down into the top of your cab) That would keep things real quiet

Damn bro this is one nice looking cab, i cant wait to see a grow in this baby.

well things are slowly coming together. i now have the funds to build my cab. i just need to order my crap. i have been having trouble finding cheap 250watt hps lights. i have gone to htgsupply.com but i still dont want to pay around 150 for it and then still have to build my aircooled hood.
does anyone know of a site to buy cheap hps lights? i keep checkin ebay too and missed one because i didnt have the cash, it sucked, a whole system for $100.

my other question i have is about my use of my flower chamber space.
the area in the flower cham. is 6.25 sqft, or 25"Dx36"W. it will have the 250watt hps and also around 350 watts of fluros.
so my idea for this area is to do a scrog thats 25"Dx24"W, then with the remainder of the space i would flower out some other cutting in 16oz cups or a small pot. this would allow me to scrog and to grow out around 4 clones at the same time.
so my question is is this a good use of space?
i could just scrog the whole thing, but i wanted to get some opinions about it first.
do you think the full scrog would yield more? is it worth doing both?

any help is much appreciated. thanks

peace

buy the ballast on ebay, then buy a mogul or medium base socket and a bulb. make yourself a DIY hood, and your all set, for much much cheaper. im sure it would cost much less than 100. i dunno check out ebay sometimes theres some steals.

if you have an aircooled hood, maybe run a 400 watt? seems like a way overkill but they are cheap, and your plants would love it. larger yeilds also? i bought my 400 on ebay for 20 dollars wired with a bulb. i just had to remote ballast it with an old extension cord and it was ready to roll for 38 dollars total.

trev-wow that is a deal for the 400. my original plan was to have a 400 and now that i am air-cooling the hood as well it might be possible. its crazy to me that the 400s and the 250s are so very close in price. i mean shit...why buy a 250 if for the same price you can buy a 400.

i hate it when this happens...i am stuck.
i cant decide between a 250 or a 400, either way i think i would still throw in some cfls. i also know that with a 400 my yield would be amazing!. with an air cooled hood would a 400watt hps work in my cab and still stay cool enough?

i wish i could find a 300 or something in the middle, my only worry is that a 400 will be too hot..but if its aircooled maybe it wont be.

help me please!!

also any comments on my flowering idea?

thanks for the help

well everyone i got just about everything i need to make build my cab. i also have decided that because its so easy and so much cheaper i am going to make a DIY cooltube and DIY carbon scrubber. i juust picked up my cooltube also from the local craft store for $5.97


should work out real nice.
also my girlfriend is going to help me paint the outside and give it a cool antique look for stealth. we are going to take trim and put it on it to make it look like real furniture. should be a fun project.
i hope it will be up and running mid august. well thats it for now. later

1000bulbs.com you can get the ballast, bulb, socket for under a hundred

good call on the cooltube, as for scrog, it would mean a longer veg time, and possibly a higher yield

but sog is also an option and you could rotate the plants easily so they all get = light. you should check out tick's old threads heres a link http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=32013

www.e-conolight.com 250 watt hps $119.90 and one for $89.50,and ballast kits for $49.00

I don't remember where but when I bought my 400w I got ballast, bulb and reflector for 99.00. It's a magnetic ballast not digital but... 100 bucks for 400w setup. If you shop around you can definitely find some deals.

magic 3- thanks for the site and help on this grow bro.
JGG- yeah i believe i found a winner. there is a person on ebay who sells 400watters for $105 shipped. way better deal than anywhere i have already looked

i already have seeds in soil. i think today marks the 1 week mark for them.
i should be starting up a full blown grow diary here in the next couple of days.

also i will be building my box very soon, perhaps even some tonight. due to space limitations i will be bulinding a much smaller version of this cab.it will be 3'x4'x20" (LHW)

so it will be a little smaller and wont have the additional veg chamber...but its alright. plans and situations change. i will most likely just build a small veg box.'

soon there will be some real action.....i hope

later everyone.

hey all just had to drop in and say VERY good read Can't wait to see what you come up with darrin.

babyhughie- thanks alot bro. i really appreciate it. its so weird building a cab because so manythings can change as im sure you have seen since you read my whole thread. thanks for the support again. i am hoping to have this box started this week, hopefully done within 2 weeks. we will see how much time i got tho. then i still gotta get my 400 watt hps. one thing at a time tho.

later bro