Yet Another PC Grow Thread

ReikoX · Oct 6, 2015

2015.09.06

So I have this PC case laying around and naturally thought of growing in it. Well my first grow was taking a lot of my time so I put it away.

I had already gutted the PC. I used a drill to remove all of the rivets holding the drive trays, motherboard, etc. I built a reflector out of a piece of 4" ducting. Inside the reflector I wired up a 42w CFL.

Here you can see the hole for the exhaust. This will be connected to a mini carbon filter.

Here is the test fit with 3" pots.

exploziv · Oct 6, 2015

looks good so far. but 42 w cfl is not much light. what kind of yelds are you expecting?

good luck.

ReikoX · Oct 6, 2015

2015.09.07
Since I didn't have to work today, I had a bit of extra time to play with the PC.

Here is the progress being made on the light traps. I'm using ScrubNinja's design. On the bottom right you can see a completed light trap. Above that is my custom shape light trap assembled with clear plastic. On the left are pieces being sanded and prepared for painting. Only got about half way done painting when it started raining.

I cut out the intake (right) and exhaust (left) holes in the plastic. Then covered it with reflextix using contact cement.

Here is the reflector with the light trap installed behind the fan.

Finally I covered the doors before bed.

ReikoX · Oct 6, 2015

exploziv said:
looks good so far. but 42 w cfl is not much light. what kind of yelds are you expecting?

good luck.

I know it's not a lot of light, but it's also a tiny space. I am not expecting much in yield, as I have another cab for that. Just something to play with.

ReikoX · Oct 6, 2015

2015.09.12

Light trap sanded and ready to paint. This one will go on the front of the reflector.

Here is the intake light trap. I covered it with weed barrier to act as a filter.

Cut out front of the bezel behind the door to fit the light trap.

Inside of intake light trap.

ReikoX · Oct 6, 2015

2015.10.03

I had a project box and some rheostats laying around. Why not build a fan controller. The way I want it to work is each fan has an adjustable low setting that it will run at. When the thermostat kicks on, all three fans will get full power. I also want try and squeeze a relay in there.

I got these LED strip lights for some side lighting. The connectors were very short. So I had to lengthen them.

I soldered some wire from an old computer power supply and cleaned it up with some heat shrink.

This is the back so far. I need to mount the 12V power supply and fan controller back here. I got a 12V 5A power supply from the thrift store for $3. This is more than enough power to run the LED and the fans.

The problem is, the timer runs on 120V AC, but the LEDs run on 12V. I would need a second power supply for the lights. Here is where the relay is going to come in, the relay will open when 120V is applied from the timer. When the relay opens the 12V will be able to power the LEDs without a second power supply.

ReikoX · Oct 6, 2015

2015.10.05

Got the LED side lighting and thermostat wiring ran. I replaced the fan with a better one.

Here you can see the relay for the lights and the rheostats for the fans.

Here is the back of the PC. It's got the exhaust fan for the light behind the light trap at the top. Below that is the exhaust through the carbon filter. On the left is the power strip and timer. On the bottom left is the fan controller and relay. Between the two is the power supply. It's covered in foil tape to secure it.

My plan with this case is to run through some seeds I have and supplement my main grow with variety. I'm going 12/12 from seed, in a perpetual micro SOG. So this two weeks we get Pineapple Express x SLH if I understand it right.

Here it is with the side on. The fan controller is in the way, so I'll need to fix that later along with some other light proofing of the door. And the exhaust fan is backwards, but that's already fixed.

Cur · Oct 10, 2015

Nice, man. We will compare PC's when I finish mine! Just a project for shits and giggles, same as you. I'm going to use mine for jalepenos and whatnot for the time being.

ReikoX · Oct 10, 2015

Cur said:
Nice, man. We will compare PC's when I finish mine! Just a project for shits and giggles, same as you. I'm going to use mine for jalepenos and whatnot for the time being.

Thanks, I'll keep track of what changes I make or problems I have.

ReikoX · Oct 10, 2015

2015.10.09

Gone for three days and returned to this. The sponges really helped keep the humidity up, I would do that again. The case was also 91* so ventilation is an issue. Unless I want an EZ-Bake oven, I will have to get a better fan and scrubber setup.

ReikoX · Oct 15, 2015

2015.10.11

OK, upgrading the little 90mm DC fan with this 120mm one. I'm also going to replace the 80mm fan behind the light with the 90mm one and swap the 42w CFL for a 68w one.

Alas, I had to tear up a lot more than I wanted to to get to the fan in the reflector.

2015.10.14

The previous filter was made with two net pots nested. If I tried to do the same thing again with the 120 mm (4 1/2 inch) fan it would be way too big, so I decided to make my own.

I had some 1/4 inch hardware cloth left over from a previous project, so I used the 5" and 6" net pots as a template. I wrapped the hardware cloth around then cut them both down to 1".

Next I cut out two end caps. One I cut a smaller hole. Ideally this would be a stainless reducer and the other end a stainless cap. I covered both sides foil tape to block light.

Next I covered the hardware cloth with women's leggings. I'll use silicone caulk to seal it up with charcoal between the two layers. This is basically the same design as the commercial scrubbers only much smaller. I even have some batting left over I can use as as a pre-filter.

ReikoX · Oct 21, 2015

2015.10.17

Didn't have enough carbon for the filter, but I put the box back together anyway. Temperature was a few degrees above ambient. Not bad, but needs more air flow. Might have to re-think the light trap on the front.

Watered these two Pineapple Express x Super Lemon Haze. Tomorrow I'll pop two more beans, probably some Deadhead OG.

ReikoX · Oct 21, 2015

2015.10.19

Got more carbon and filled the scrubber. I then glued on the top plate and connected it with some 4" flexible duct. Finally I covered it in quilt batting as a pre-filter.

Last night I soaked two Deadhead OG seeds and they cracked. I mixed up 16 ml/gal Rhizotonic and 8 ml/gal Bio Vega. That was used to water the soil. I had to wait 30 minutes until lights on...

So why not smoke some Super Lemon Haze from my first grow.

Here are the Deadhead OG in their new home next to the Pineapple Express. The two Pineapple Express are two weeks from seed. They were on 12/12, but spent a few days in 18/6 while I fixed the temp issues. They are probably confused.

Here is the finished scrubber.

Switching to the AC motor changed my current control system. I need another relay to switch on and off the AC fan with the thermostat. I would also like to get an AC speed controller for it. I can remove the other rheostats.

Turns out the 90mm fan I put in the reflector has its own thermostat control. It will automatically speed up when it gets hot and slow down when it cools down. I also got rid of the circulation fan for now.

ReikoX · Oct 21, 2015

2015.10.20

I got everything I need to finish the AC fan controller. A relay, a fan dimmer, a coffee stout, and some Lambo wax.

Here I'm soldering wires onto the relay. The relay coil is 12v and will be connected to the thermostat. The pole is rated at 15A at 120VAC and is used to switch on the AC fan.

Here is everything connected to make sure I have my wires right. I'll solder them with heat shrink and cram back into the box. It's gotten quite complicated, but here is basically what I have:

First is the power strip. This is connected to a 120VAC outlet and serves as a power hub. Connected to this are the timer, the fan relay, and the 12V power supply.

Connected to the timer are the light socket and the LED relay. The LED relay will use the 120VAC coil from the timer to switch the 12V LEDs on and off. The light socket will turn on and off the CFL.

Connected to the fan relay is the thermostat, and the fan, and the speed controller. The fan rely will use the 12V coil from the thermostat to drive the 120VAC fan. Bypassing the relay switch is the speed controller, so when the thermostat turns off, the fan will run at the speed on the controller.

Finally, connected to the 12V power supply are the LED relay, the reflector fan, and the thermostat. The LED relay switch is connected to the LED lights, powering them with 12V.

lowlow · Oct 22, 2015

Nice work man!!

hybridtek · Oct 22, 2015

awesome setup. Pullin up a chair

Cur · Oct 24, 2015

What is the makeup of the OG? From what I've read, indicas or indica-leaning crosses are easiest in boxes like these.

ReikoX · Oct 26, 2015

The Deadhead OG is the female, I believe the male was a Super Lemon Haze like the Pineapple Express. Deadhead OG is a saliva dominant cross of Chemdog and OG, if memory serves.

Cur · Oct 26, 2015

ooooh sativa doms in a PC case?

That sounds like fun

ReikoX · Oct 26, 2015

My plan is to go 12/12 from seed, get little joint sized buds every couple of weeks. Just a little variety and use up some of my bag seed. Could end up being a total cluster fuck, could be a Dr. Bud style SOG? Let's watch and see.

Yet Another PC Grow Thread

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