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LED Closet

firetech89

Active member
Hi All,

Starting up again after a 3 year break, and changing it up. I have always grown from seed outdoors. Grew great big bud plants but always lost 50%+ to bud/corn worms. white moth/butterfly larva. After losing that much after tons of effort in multiple daily inspections to catch the little fucks, going to try a small scale indoor garden.

I have built a small cabinet, got it most of the set up today. So far it looks like its going to do its job, however ran into a heat and a possible air circulation problem. I wanted to go as quite as possible because the cab is in my bedroom, so i got a cheap 4" Ideal Air inline duct booster. I don't think this guy is cutting it. Yes its quite, but its not moving enough air out of the cab. To add to that problem I'm unsure if i have a large enough intake hole. I know its no vacuum, but how large of an intake is usually required to allow for rapid air circulation? I know I'm going to get a better, and hopefully quite, exhaust fan. Also thinking about adding a louvered vent screen with some kind of filter. Any 2cents would be appreciated! :biggrin:

Cab is 36"W x 20"D x 48"H

With both lamps running temp was going up to 105 F while the bedroom temp has not gone past 71 F. Need more circulation!

Anyone use California Light Works SOLARFLARE 220? What was your yield and airy/denseness? Am I over killing it with 2 lamps?

Outdoor 2013
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New Cabinet
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Thanks for Stopping by, once I dial the cab in, i plan a daily grow show on the thread.


-KDP
 

yesum

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Like the backyard you had going there hehe. I have a tent that is 2x2x5' and has around 5 inch intake holes in it. I use a 165cfm fan to pull air out and it works great. I have a speed controller set on it so it really only pulls maybe 50cfm, but my fan is pulling rather than pushing air, big difference. Just a few degrees hotter in the tent than outside. 2 five inch holes located near to the bottom of the tent.

This is using a 100 watt LED. You will have better luck if your fan pulls rather than pushes, like I think yours does. Yea, I would say you are overdoing the lights by a little. I am underdoing it at 100 watts. 30 to 50 watts a square foot is about right. You are at 64 watts per square foot as each light draws 160 actual watts.
 
howdy.
Our cabs are about the same size and mine is about 10ft from my bed. I have 2 x 300w led (actual draw is about 150w each). I am having good results with 12v 120mm fans. I have 2 that each draw .8amps. At full power they are pretty loud but i dial them down to a nice level (about 40%).
not stealth quiet tho... If I needed them quieter, I would try adding more exhaust holes, each with its own fan pulling air out and dialed down to a acceptable level.

Gluck!
:lurk:
 

ReikoX

Knight of the BlackSvn
The general guidelines for intake holes is 2x the exhaust size. So if you have a 4" exhaust hole (12.57 in sq) you will need 50.27 in sq of intake.

As far as the lights, I've got two 180w (110w actual) in a cab that is exactly the same dimensions as yours. My first grow was with one and I got about 3.5 oz, my second grow was with two and I got about 5 oz. So I think you will do great with both.

Good luck, and happy harvests!
 

hybridtek

Member
Yes, bigger intakes. Fresh air would be best, can you put this near an open window?
Have a look at my cab for some possible ideas.
 

firetech89

Active member
ok so started the change on the air circulation in the cab. i had take some of the cabinet apart, also moved it out of the bedroom. the high temps are gone. its cool enough i need to slow the fan down/shut off if it gets too cold. finished taping and sealing all interior joints of the box, installed weatherstripping. No light is getting out.
**** where can i edit my pictures they're all sideways ***
i looked around in my pictures/album/edit pic/ .... from here i dont see anything

thanks for stopping in

-KDP










 

firetech89

Active member
got more goodies and filled her up today. went back and forth on how many i wanted to throw in. i decided on 5 and if i need to pull one or two if it get crowded. also put in a thermostat fan speed controller, works perfect. watered them with a very light feeding when transplanting clones. running coco for daily nutrient control.
how far off of the canopy can you have leds for best capture?

nutes for clone transplanting

.5ml/g Root excel
2.5ml/g Silica
2.5ml/g Nuts
2.5ml/g Be one

Ph 6.0-6.1
Ppm 450

didnt test run off but will to that tomorrow thinking back on it. i used about 4 gals to soak the coco in first let it drain out and then transplanted, gave each one about a 1/2 cup most went straight trough to the dish.

thanks for stoppin in

-KDP








 

firetech89

Active member
Been thinking about this last night and this morning, has changing your light cycle by pushing back "sunrise" rather then shorting "sunset" been done before, and with what effects?
Exp.
Lights on at 5am off at 11pm
Then when switching to 12/12
Lights on at 6am off at 11pm...
On at 7 am off at 11....
8-11
And so on till 11-11

Or just do a hard switch from 18/6 to 12/12??
I would think mimicking nature would be best, but what fun is it without eexperimenting
 

ReikoX

Knight of the BlackSvn
From the plant's perspective it doesn't matter. As long as you are increasing the dark hours the plant will continue to produce flowering hormones. These hormones are destroyed by light. When the dark period is long enough (usually 12 hours) the hormone builds up and triggers the plant to start flowering. Do what fits your schedule best.
 

hybridtek

Member
I have lights on at 7pm and off at 7am. This is too ensure cool air, I have purple buds too from the colder air. Also, electricity costs less after 7pm and before 11am.
 

firetech89

Active member
Good Evening,

Got the floor and inside of the door finished off with insulation foam reflection board. Also upgraded from zip ties to hose clamps for all my ducting connections. *** so hard to write this right now, a bitchin hail/thunder storm hitting right now, had to go sit on the patio and burn a bowl. Cleaned up the first two branches and started training. mixed up some feed for them.

nutes

Aqua Flakes A & B 2.5ml/g
Silica 2.5ml/g
NUTS 2.5ml/g
Be One 2.5ml/g
Root Excel .5ml/g

Ph 5.93
PPM 440
Run off Ph 6.38

Constant temp at 75 F has now been gain due to a combo of a larger intake, better fan, and a thermostat fan ESC.
Running temp stays right at 75 F
High temp 77 F
Low Temp 59 F

Also switched running time to 7 pm to 1 pm. Hoping to bring down the big dip in night time low temp by having the lamp heat the cab. Also been told we get better rates for power at night.

Big Thanks to everyone for help and advice. Its only the beginning.

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-KDP
 

firetech89

Active member
Good Morning,

Checked in on the girls this morning after I added a heat mat to keep a more consistent down time temp and warm up the soil a bit. They are looking better, at least perking up rather then drooping more. By adding the heat mat ( which is not controlled ) it's making the fan work more, and raised temp to around 83-85 ( low - high readings ). I'm looking at getting a thermostat controller for the heat mat, and a soil temp/ph/moisture probe. Hopefully regulating the heat mat i can dial in temp better and get the fan speed down a tad. Definitely holding off on watering, the way coco was describe i thought it had to be watered almost daily, learned that out quickly.

Thanks for stoppin by




 

firetech89

Active member
Its been a while, but making headway.

so the original 5 got moved outside and got in a second batch. took out the heat mat and LEDs. Picked up a floro setup and set them on there way.





Its now been around 2 weeks. They have outgrown the party cups. Time for bigger homes.





 

firetech89

Active member
Along with bigger homes I picked up a better lamp. Found a good deal on a dimable 250w MH/HPS setup. Got that all set up in the cab and moved the girls into there improved home.











Looking at around 2 more weeks of veg before switching to bloom. still deciding on doing modular scrogs attached to each pot, or one large net across fixed to the cab. also curious with temps warming up if i can run in safe temp ranges with no ac.
 

firetech89

Active member
Hi Everyone,

More updates, I have built a mom/veg cab and got it working last night. Still trying to find a fan for it... guess targ** and walma** don't carry fans during winter months in stores. I have also made up my screens. I went with modular screens for each pot. The girls are looking way better then the first batch and are showing rapid growth. I have topped all the mains on the four and 2 had a lower branch I topped as well.

I know there is a entire sub forum on the strain but for time saving if some one knows

Q. - how much does GG#4 stretch after flipping? or how full should my screen be before flip?

the screens are 6" above pot and have 14" max above screen to lamp glass.

Thanks for stopping in and comments.







 

firetech89

Active member
Thanks for stopping by Dion.

Just a small update. I've been getting purpling on lower stock and branches and main leaf vain/branch/stem ( I'll be looking up specific name later ) I decided to do a small temp change warm it up a bit. Nights have been mid/high 60s F brought it up to low/mid 70's. Plants are still powering through veg. Shot is at 14 days of veg and my mom out growing her cab in two weeks. Wish me luck. Thinking of flipping to flower at the end of this week. I haven't done GG#4 indoors so I don't know how much stretch to expect off a 250.

Bonus shots of the first round fuck ups that went outside are budding.







 

firetech89

Active member
Thanks for stopping by Dion.

Just a small update. I've been getting purpling on lower stock and branches and main leaf vain/branch/stem ( I'll be looking up specific name later ) I decided to do a small temp change warm it up a bit. Nights have been mid/high 60s F brought it up to low/mid 70's. Plants are still powering through veg. Shot is at 14 days of veg and my mom out growing her cab in two weeks. Wish me luck. Thinking of flipping to flower at the end of this week. I haven't done GG#4 indoors so I don't know how much stretch to expect off a 250.

Bonus shots of the first round fuck ups that went outside are budding.







 
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