250watt Stealth Medical Cabinet

[TheGhost]

Now its time for the veg chamber.

Up the back in the blue container are my two White Rhino clones which have been rooted for a while now and are in limbo waiting for me to up the nute levels.
The front clones are C99, which is a real treat for me. I got some of this strain about 7 years ago from a trusted grower friend. Best damn weed I ever smoked.

I couldn't be bothered with the whole male female thing this time so I ordered this c99 from Female Seeds. I popped them all and picked the best one and cloned it yesterday. Great vigour and uniformity, and it handles the nutes very well. I can't wait to flower it.





For those guys that were curious about the temps in this cabinet, the sensor is mounted on the cabinet wall at the height of the tops of the buds in direct light. The temp outside the cab is 23 degrees celcius and the lights have been on for four hours.



Wallstreet: Thanks man.

DJ: Hey man, thanks for dropping in.

VhGhost: Thanks man, I liked watching your last grow It reminded me of my 4x4 1000w scrogs of the past, damn I love big lights.

Thanks for looking guys.
Time for a break

Later, Ghost

 

[Kenny Lingus]

I actually saw a 200watt "bulb" and ballast kit for 70€ in Amsterdam some weeks ago. The "bulb" as build of 5 40watts 1' cfl-sticks mounted in a circle and connected into an E-27 or E-40 socket. (It was actually looking like a giant cfl-lightbulb 8" in diameter and nearly a foot and a half long.) -As it was fluoros the PAR-rating was supposedly equal to a 400HPS.
-Fluoros produce very healthy plants and I think T5's have a future in cabinets.

But I also have had success with 400hps in a tiny 2'x2'x4' (DxWxH) venting with computer fans only, so I'm not quite sure which is better.
I do find HID's easier to work with because there is a better penetrance and I don't need to prune mothers too often.

Justmy 2c on the T5 questions...

I love your cabby GOHST! Neat and slick as nothing ever sen

 

[HiKing808]

hey ghost how did you veg your clones in perlite???

did you just root them in the small rockwool and put them in a cup filled with perlite?

how often did you have to water etc, details appreciated

thanks for the help great to see you back on the forum

 

[TheGhost]

Hi Kenny Lingus, thanks for checking out my cab.

Hey HiKing808, I root my clones in rockwool, once the roots show I water the clones with a combination of fresh water and 1/4 strength nutes for about 2 weeks then I transplant them into 50/50 Perlite Vermiculite in small pots and slowly turn the nutes up until they are charging on full strength and I am ready for them in the flower chamber. My watering schedule varies from season to season depending on the temps, but I guess it averages every second day for the first week and then every day and then finally finishing up at twice per day.
It really does depend on the temps and the volume of roots in the pot.
Hope that helps.

Later, Ghost

 

[Ordinary Joe]

1st off. TheGhost. Thanks for posting this thread. That cabinet is sweet. Nice. Deffinately looks like you put a lot of thought into it. Hope you and your partner are well and doing well.

Re: t-5's. Hids should give better penetration but the t-5's will probably run much cooler so you could get away with a smaller, quieter ventalation.

Hids are everywhere and fairly cheap if you use the Hardware version. T-5s, well not sure what they would cost. Can you find them locally, in the spectrum you need? What is the cost per bulb? Now times that by 8 and add shipping if applicable. How often do they need to changed? Abit to think about.

 

[TheGhost]

Hey Guys,

So I wasn't happy with the Rhino and decided not to run it next grow. But not all is lost! I cracked a couple of Female Seeds White Widows and they are now at week five and ready to plant into the Flower chamber along side two C99 clones.
I have decided to start a grow diary, if you are interested please visit here: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=42319

I will do a very short grow and smoke report based on early samplings of the White Rhino in the new thread tomorrow.

Later,
Ghost

 

[zen]

Ghost, let me start by saying very nice!

I have a question for U. I noticed U changed from DWC to another type, not sure what it's called but I get the idea of how it works, Did it out produce, or at least how did it perform comparitively?
Thanks! Keep up the good work.

 

[jrw]

Awsome cabinet! Just perfect

Any advice on how to make the doors 100% light proof?

 

[TheGhost]

Zen: I did not change from DWC, I just set it up a little differently than most. I have grown with a few different types of hydro over the years but I had settled on the KBS system which I ran with for a few years and I still think that KBS is the best hydro system for most applications.......But, in the small scrog setup that I run in my cabinet a KBS system would not work so I went back to the old trusty DWC method.
As far as which system is better, well that's up to the individual grower but in my opinion the difference in yield between the two systems in not great but the KBS system is quite labour intensive and if growing is not a full time job and you have a good handle on res temps then DWC is simple and very effective.

jrw: Thanks man. Use a good material for the door that will not warp. I used sticky backed 5mm thick foam, I made the door recess into the cabinet and I placed the foam on all inside edges of the cabinet. Make sure you use adjustable hinges for the door, that way you can mount the door and then adjust the hinges to pull the door in tight on the foam. The door will be harder to close but if you install a good door lock it will pull the door hard against the foam. I also used two extra latches on my door to make sure that I have even presure on the door so it seals well.....confused? check out some of my earlier photos in this thread, one of the shots shows the foam just after it was installed. In that photo you will notice that there are some gaps in the foam, all of those gaps were filled before the door was fitted.

Hope that helps.
Later, ghost

 

[ibtokin]

Hey TheGhost, I've been lurking around this thread for a while now and I must say what a great job you've done with your cabinet.

I have a similar sized box to yours with a 250w flower chamber and have been thinking of switching to DWC. I'm currently growing in soil and the yields just arent meeting my needs. I like the idea of your recirculating tray setup where you can add more plants later on if needed. I was wondering what are the dimensions of your res and tray and where did you find them?
I've been looking around for something similar, but have yet to come across anything I like that will fit my box. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Guest]

Nice setup Ghost

I have one quick question regarding your fans...I have some nice industrial-ish 4" CPU fans that push 84 cfm, and was wondering what you used to hook the duct up to the fans...Ive scoured Home Depot and Lowes and cant seem to find anything

Any help would be appreciated

 

[TheGhost]

ibtokin: I found the res setup at a local hardware store, I searched and purchased a res and tray and then built the cabinet around it. The dimensions are about 600mm long by 300mm high (res), and the growing tray is 600mm long by 100mm deep.

Da Napster: I have tried to answer your question in my grow thread.

Thanks for dropping in guys.

Later,
Ghost

 

[Guest]

You still around ghost? Does this cab still exist? Love the stealthy job. I'm slowly putting together my own tiny cab, using a 400 watter in a diy cooltube style thing I've made. I'm pleased to hear you used such small fans, I was starting to worry I wasn't going to be able to cool it all down enough

 

[ChroniconCouncl]

was the cabinet made of MDF? I am looking into making such a thing. Also about how much was the construction of the cabinet itself?

-- so i searched through the thread more and i saw that it indeed is MDF. ingenius construction, it beats my plans by tenfold. I love love love your cab for the main reasons that its about the dimensions I want slightly a little wider etc but for the organization of it. most cabs specifically like my free standing are very obvious contraptions. this right here is ingenuity at its best. i cant wait to construct a cab just like it.

what hinges did you use for the doors? and how did you setup your door lock?

 

[eLiguL]

was the cabinet made of MDF? I am looking into making such a thing. Also about how much was the construction of the cabinet itself?

-- so i searched through the thread more and i saw that it indeed is MDF. ingenius construction, it beats my plans by tenfold. I love love love your cab for the main reasons that its about the dimensions I want slightly a little wider etc but for the organization of it. most cabs specifically like my free standing are very obvious contraptions. this right here is ingenuity at its best. i cant wait to construct a cab just like it.

what hinges did you use for the doors? and how did you setup your door lock?

Seeing as you prolly wont get a response from Ghost (hes been MIA for 2 years now) ill try and help ya out.

Ive built a cab very similiar to his.





As for hinges, piano hinges are the cheapest strongest. I cant comment on door locks because I have none.

As for advice building one of these things.

First off, if you dont have much experience wood working and stealth is of no concern to you I would suggest building a simple wooden frame and just wrapping it up in black/white poly. I learned the hard way that its not much fun building one of these things. The cost of building this thing really adds up (wheels, hinges, brackets, weather stripping, etc.). MDF is reallllllllly heavy, if your planning on moving it around you might want to consider another material. Good luck on whatever you decide on doing.

 

[ChroniconCouncl]

i like mdf because of its density and its sound insulation that it has.

i have used mdf in many a speaker box build from a complete mdf box to a partial mdf frame to fiberglass etc.

im thinking this cabinet will cost total of $60 to make with wood, bolts, latches, and what not. the MDF you can get at home depot 3/4" at like 48x48 or even bigger for pretty cheap.

unfortunately my dimensions in width are going to have to be 3" off so the veg chamber is gonna suffer a bit as the flowering chamber is more important.

 

[eLiguL]

My box cost me approx. $200 after everything was said and done. I went with plywood cuz it was cheaper and still ended up with that total cost.

Screws, paint, glue, hooks, chains, weather stripping, caster wheels, ducting, duct tape, wood panels, 1x2 wooden pieces, piano hinges, pvc pipes, door clips and the list goes on. It really adds up without warning.

Best of luck to you on the project.

 

[TheGhost]

I,m Back!

Sorry about that guys but I have been busy, since my last post I have moved house twice, started a new business and built my house. All spare time for browsing the web was lost.
well, things have settled down a little now and I have more time on my hands so I have been lurking around the boards for the last few weeks.

So, to answer your questions:

ryangodammit Yes the cabinet does still exist and has been putting out back to back harvests on 3 month cycles since my last post. I have moved it a few times but I have managed to time my moves and grows reasonable well so I didn't lose much time when moving house, I guess that in the moves I lost about a month total.
Right now the cabinet is in a rest period while yesterdays harvest of c99 and cali O are drying inside it. I would usually only leave the cabinet down for 3 days of drying, but this cycle will start a week late so I can do some much needed maintenance. I will post a few pics of the grow once its started.

400 watts puts out serious heat in an enclosed space, but if your ambient temps are low then with a good air flow system you should be fine.

ChroniconCouncl Thanks for your comments, the hinges are the same you would see on most kitchen cupboards, not cheap but my cabinet door has been opened everyday for years now and I have never had to touch them.
I use simple sliding bolt type door locks, at three points on the door to make sure the door does not warp and let light in or out.

eLiguL Thanks for your support

Later,
Ghost

 

[eLiguL]

I,m Back!

Sorry about that guys but I have been busy, since my last post I have moved house twice, started a new business and built my house. All spare time for browsing the web was lost.
well, things have settled down a little now and I have more time on my hands so I have been lurking around the boards for the last few weeks.

So, to answer your questions:

ryangodammit Yes the cabinet does still exist and has been putting out back to back harvests on 3 month cycles since my last post. I have moved it a few times but I have managed to time my moves and grows reasonable well so I didn't lose much time when moving house, I guess that in the moves I lost about a month total.
Right now the cabinet is in a rest period while yesterdays harvest of c99 and cali O are drying inside it. I would usually only leave the cabinet down for 3 days of drying, but this cycle will start a week late so I can do some much needed maintenance. I will post a few pics of the grow once its started.

400 watts puts out serious heat in an enclosed space, but if your ambient temps are low then with a good air flow system you should be fine.

ChroniconCouncl Thanks for your comments, the hinges are the same you would see on most kitchen cupboards, not cheap but my cabinet door has been opened everyday for years now and I have never had to touch them.
I use simple sliding bolt type door locks, at three points on the door to make sure the door does not warp and let light in or out.

eLiguL Thanks for your support

Later,
Ghost

Welcome back!!

 

[Guest]

Glad to see you back ghost! I keep this thread in my subscribed threads list so I check it whenever a post is made. I'm in the process of building a new box and it will pretty much match yours in design but I am thinking about going with 400 watts instead of 250 but that changes daily.

I went through a recent move and the stress nearly killed me. I tore apart the cabinet on short notice instead of moving it. (long story) The house we moved into doesn't have a basement so I'm redesigning my new box to fit in every closet in the house.

But glad to hear that life is going well for you and the box has stood the test of time.

Any issues that you would address with the box now that you have had it for many cycles? Would you change anything?

Thanks