Closet setup help...

[MPL]

I have a closet in my apartment that measures a bit over 3'x3'x7'H. The problem is I really don't need to go cutting holes into the walls to ventilate it. I'm skilled enough that I could probably do so and have it look professional, but my spouse is 100% deadset against it. So, does anyone have any ideas how I can get the necessary ventilation without destroying anything?

I have the room to build a similar cabinet but would much rather use the closet (it's bigger and a whole lot stealthier than a big plywood box lol). If I use the closet I can take the $50 or so I would have spent to build the cabinet and put it into a better fan.

It's going to be a 400w setup.

Any advice at all?

Thanks!

 

[hedpi]

Well you can get the fans on the closet doors, one on the bottom pulling outside air in, and one on the top pushing hot air out. That way you wouldn't be cutting the walls..but the doors

Well she probably doesn't like that either right? But let's face it, you have to have at least 2 holes on any setup..otherwise you're just asking for trouble! Maybe try seeing if you can get and intake from the floor, and vent the exhaust through the upper part (so that it's not noticeable since it is quite tall), if you could get some pics it would be easier to get ideas flowing! But anyway, if you can't cut holes anywhere there, you're going to have to get the plywood unstealthy box hehe..
Good luck

 

[MPL]

I never even thought of that. I don't think she'd mind the door so much. I can replace it for like $15-$30 if I have to. A couple of nice louvered vents and whatnot should keep it looking clean. Let me run it by her. Thanks!

Well you can get the fans on the closet doors, one on the bottom pulling outside air in, and one on the top pushing hot air out. That way you wouldn't be cutting the walls..but the doors

Well she probably doesn't like that either right? But let's face it, you have to have at least 2 holes on any setup..otherwise you're just asking for trouble! Maybe try seeing if you can get and intake from the floor, and vent the exhaust through the upper part (so that it's not noticeable since it is quite tall), if you could get some pics it would be easier to get ideas flowing! But anyway, if you can't cut holes anywhere there, you're going to have to get the plywood unstealthy box hehe..
Good luck

 

[MPL]

This is what I'm going to do. You're a genius, thanks!

BTW, what kind of CFM would you recommend for this setup?

Thanks again!

Well you can get the fans on the closet doors, one on the bottom pulling outside air in, and one on the top pushing hot air out. That way you wouldn't be cutting the walls..but the doors

Well she probably doesn't like that either right? But let's face it, you have to have at least 2 holes on any setup..otherwise you're just asking for trouble! Maybe try seeing if you can get and intake from the floor, and vent the exhaust through the upper part (so that it's not noticeable since it is quite tall), if you could get some pics it would be easier to get ideas flowing! But anyway, if you can't cut holes anywhere there, you're going to have to get the plywood unstealthy box hehe..
Good luck

 

[hedpi]

Well i dunno, what i can recomend is.. it's better getting a huge fan and then dimming it, instead of the other way around.. it's much more silent/stealth!
I made the mistake of going for the smaller ones, so i had to get dimmers, and mufflers.. but altough i don't hear the air sound, i can still hear the fan's "engine" buzzing due to the small size.
I've heard nothing but good reviews on the elicent and vortex fans. With your 400w you would need like 250cfm or so, cause it will raise the temp like 5º.. but other people will have better advice.. i use CFL lights so i don't get much heat anyway. I have more than 300cfm on my cab, it's way overkill.. so i have it dimmed at 50% or less so that i don't hear the fans too much, you probably should go higher and dimm too if you're concerned about stealth/noise.
Sorry if the post is badly organized but i think you got the picture, and someone else will chime in to help more

 

[MPL]

It makes perfect sense. Thank you!

Well i dunno, what i can recomend is.. it's better getting a huge fan and then dimming it, instead of the other way around.. it's much more silent/stealth!
I made the mistake of going for the smaller ones, so i had to get dimmers, and mufflers.. but altough i don't hear the air sound, i can still hear the fan's "engine" buzzing due to the small size.
I've heard nothing but good reviews on the elicent and vortex fans. With your 400w you would need like 250cfm or so, cause it will raise the temp like 5º.. but other people will have better advice.. i use CFL lights so i don't get much heat anyway. I have more than 300cfm on my cab, it's way overkill.. so i have it dimmed at 50% or less so that i don't hear the fans too much, you probably should go higher and dimm too if you're concerned about stealth/noise.
Sorry if the post is badly organized but i think you got the picture, and someone else will chime in to help more

 

[Deft]

I put a rheostat on a fan and it only lasted about a year before dying just the other day. Whats the proper way to decrease power?

 

[HIDEyourBUD]

Buy
Cheap blank door from Lowes for $24
a chisel $10
a hand jig saw with blades $12
some Vaportec disks (must have for EVERY grow house)

Now do all the mods to the new door and just save the old door in case you gotta go stealth so you can quickly put the old door back on. Then you can use 23W CFL to keep your plant from hermi and a vaportec for the smell for a day or 2 and your plants will be fine.

Good luck, Karma flows.....................

 

[MPL]

Exactly what I'm doing.

Thanks!

Buy
Cheap blank door from Lowes for $24
a chisel $10
a hand jig saw with blades $12
some Vaportec disks (must have for EVERY grow house)

Now do all the mods to the new door and just save the old door in case you gotta go stealth so you can quickly put the old door back on. Then you can use 23W CFL to keep your plant from hermi and a vaportec for the smell for a day or 2 and your plants will be fine.

Good luck, Karma flows.....................

 

[hedpi]

Deft, how did it die? Stopped spinning or burned? If it stopped spinning maybe its just the bearing, you can probably get it to work perfect again, i have fans working since 1993 lol. You just have to locate the bearing and the place where the shaft is supported by it, then get some thin oil in there (i used a 10-50w or something i had for my bike), and hand spin it for a while till the oil get's to the bearing. Of course it depends on the fan, some it's impossible to do this without destroying the fan..
About the dimmer it depends on the fan really, AC fans or DC fans, on my AC fans i use a shop dimmer, on the DC fans i just do the math and split the voltage or current as much as i need. I can't find my dimmer online now, but just go to a grow shop and ask for it! Sorry for the threadjack