Designing a dual 150-watt CMH cab

[ReikoX]

i can't wait to see how it turns out, and to see it full of girlies.

i'm really enjoying watching this come together.

This filled with girlies will be quite a site

Hey Dion, I'm not using LED on this project for once!

Very cool looking project, CMHs are great lights.

I've read great things about the higher wattage ones. I hope the 150-watt are good too!

 

[ReikoX]

Glue and Handles

Glue and Handles

My brother came over this weekend and took the futon out of my "workshop". The workbench should have a similar footprint. He was looking at my coliseum and thought it was great. He commented that I should reinforce it with glue. We discussed different glues and narrowed it down to silicone (his suggestion) and hot glue (my suggestion).

To test it out I made a couple of joints (and a big fat joint) and glued them with both types of glue. After drying over night I tested each. Both were strong. I couldn't rip the joints or bend them to get the glue to come off. The silicone looked way cleaner and temperature is less of an issue once cured. The hot glue is easier to work with, but less flexible and gets brittle in cold temperatures. Silicone wins this round.



We both thought the coliseum needed a handle in the back to grab each section. I was going to cut a hole in the back and my brother suggested I don't cut all the way through like a beer box. So with that as my template I did a test handle. I love when inspiration comes from the most common of places.

 

[MicroRoy]

All nice threads. Good to see all those links iin one place. Those inspired me to grow CFL's.

 

[firetech89]

looking good bro

 

[firetech89]

How's the Coliseum Duo going? Any updates

 

[ReikoX]

Ventilation Update

Ventilation Update


Previously I had this design in mind, as seen from the front. The air would come in from the side and through the light trap. The problem I was having with this design was the drawers on the front side. With this design the drawers would have to have been air tight. I'm sure I could have achieved this with weatherstrip and a lock on the drawer. The original plan was to dry in the drawers, so I wanted some fresh air to flow through there and filter out the smell. With the shared ventilation area, I was afraid leaks would decrease the efficiency of the grow chamber and lead to overheating.


Instead I came up with this design, as seen from behind. Instead of making the drawers air tight, I put a false back on there. This will be easy to make air tight with weather strip and screws. The only problem with this design is there is no light trap. It would be possible for light from the left chamber to leak into the right chamber. I think a small light trap like what I have on the intake will work just fine. I also need to double check my sizes so I can upgrade to a 4" vortex if required.

 

[HuffnPufferfish]

hot glue doesnt stick good to solid surfaces either, found out the hard way

 

[ReikoX]

Strains for Perpetual uSOG

Strains for Perpetual uSOG

I've been debating which strain(s) to run in this cab. I have the following:

Clones:
Afghani (Unkown, unsexed)
Cheese Candy (Delicious Seeds)
Holy Grail 69 (Samsara)
Juanita la Lagrimosa (Reggae Seeds)

Seeds:
Blueberry (Dutch Passion)
Jillybean (TGA Subcool)
Zamaldelica (Ace)

I plan to run DrBudGreengenes style of grow. Each week will be six in six out. I really want to pick a strain and dial it in, then start adding new strains.

Each plant will be in a mini tree pot. These are 3" x 3" x 8" pots and hold about a liter of media. The media will be Fox Farms Coco Loco. I will be using the Bio Canna line of nutrients. I plan to feed every time using the submersion method. Using the tray that is made for these pots, I can easily water 10 plants at once (each section has 10 plants, 60 plants total).

Afghani
Pros: Short flowering time, dense buds, great for hash.
Cons: Longer veg time, no stretch, lots of leaf.

Blueberry
Pros: DrBudGreengenes suggested it as a good strain, great flavor if right phenotype.
Cons: Not DJ Short's version, unkown phenotypes.

Cheese Candy
Pros: Hybrid with a little stretch, decent yielder.
Cons: Flavor was nothing special.

Holy Grail 69
Pros: Short stalks plant, great taste, big yielder.
Cons: Will need more veg time.

Jillybean
Pros: Great flavor, wanted to try growing it.
Cons: Unkown phenotypes, unkown growth

Juanita la Lagrimosa
Pros: Incredible plant, CBD, tastes like a field of flowers.
Cons: stretchy, branchy, out of control growth.

Zamaldelica
Pros: Mostly saliva, tripping weed.
Cons: Mostly saliva, branchy and crazy like Juanitta.

Does anyone have any opinions on what I should run? I'm looking for a strain that will perform well with this style grow. I would love to get a cut of GG#4 or GSC, but I have yet to make that trip up to Denver.

 

[Gnz]

Remember to take that residual heat into account with fan timing!

I'm used to cfl/led but I've started to run 2 x 70w cmh bulbs in my flower cab (rx7s double ended, 6800lm, 3000k).
I started to get heat stress symptoms on my top colas, I was puzzled as lights on canopy temps never went over 24c/75f, bulbs were 8"+ away behind glass.

Realised the exhaust fan turned off with the light timer so I found the residual heat from the bulbs was taking cab temps up as high as 30c/86f for up to 30m after lights off.
I've put the fan on a separate timer, it runs from 5m after lights on to 20m after lights off and seems to have smoothed out temps.

 

[ReikoX]

Remember to take that residual heat into account with fan timing!

I'm used to cfl/led but I've started to run 2 x 70w cmh bulbs in my flower cab (rx7s double ended, 6800lm, 3000k).
I started to get heat stress symptoms on my top colas, I was puzzled as lights on canopy temps never went over 24c/75f, bulbs were 8"+ away behind glass.

Realised the exhaust fan turned off with the light timer so I found the residual heat from the bulbs was taking cab temps up as high as 30c/86f for up to 30m after lights off.
I've put the fan on a separate timer, it runs from 5m after lights on to 20m after lights off and seems to have smoothed out temps.

Thanks for that hint, I did notice it takes quite a while for that bulb to cool. Luckily, the exhaust fan will be on a themostat, not a timer. This way if heat does build up the extraction fan will kick on high. Otherwise it will run at a low speed just to keep negative pressure and keep humidity down during lights off. It's a simple circuit that I've used twice already with great success.

The thermostats are cheap little boards I get from China for about $5. Add in a relay from Radio Shack ($5) and a Fan speed controller from the hydro store ($25). For about $40 I get a nice temperature controller. I'll post details of that when I build it.

 

[Buddah Watcha]

Reiko, great job designing and putting these to build! Cant wait to see how this is gonna look when its full rocking it!

 

[Gnz]

Thanks for that hint, I did notice it takes quite a while for that bulb to cool. Luckily, the exhaust fan will be on a themostat, not a timer. This way if heat does build up the extraction fan will kick on high. Otherwise it will run at a low speed just to keep negative pressure and keep humidity down during lights off. It's a simple circuit that I've used twice already with great success.

The thermostats are cheap little boards I get from China for about $5. Add in a relay from Radio Shack ($5) and a Fan speed controller from the hydro store ($25). For about $40 I get a nice temperature controller. I'll post details of that when I build it.

That's a far better way of dealing with the heat. I had an old 240v heater thermostat I was thinking of wiring in line with the fan but my cabs are a lot more basic than what you're building.

I'm using 70w cmh in individual micro cabs so will definitely be watching once this gets up and running!

 

[firetech89]

What's gud man,

How's the build going. I haven't been on the mag for a month. You got the duelie up and runnin yet?

 

[ReikoX]

Cut List

Cut List

What's gud man,

How's the build going. I haven't been on the mag for a month. You got the duelie up and runnin yet?

We'll, now that you mention it, I did get the material cut out this weekkend.

Sheet 1

• Top 32.75" x 80.125"
• Kck 4" x 79.5"
• LBak1 4" x 9.5"
• LBak2 4" x 9.5"
• LSid1 4" x 7.25"
• LSid2 4" x 7.25"
• LSid3 4" x 7.25"
• LSid4 4" x 7.25"
• LClt 4" x 30"
• RClt 4" x 30"

Sheet 2

• RRGb 35.75" x 31.5"
• RLGb 35.75" x 31.5"
• CRGb 35.75" x 31.5"

Sheet 3

• RTop 30" x 31.5"
• RBot 30" x 31.5"
• RBak 30" x 30.25"
• DSid1 15" x 10"
• DSid2 15" x 10"
• DSid3 15" x 10"
• DSid4 15" x 10"
• DBot1 15" X 13.125"
• DBot2 15" x 13.125"
• CBak1 15" x 24.25"

 

[ReikoX]

Cut List (cont.)

Cut List (cont.)

Sheet 4

• CLGb 35.75" x 31.5"
• LRGb 35.75" x 31.5"
• LLGb 35.75" x 31.5"

Sheet 5

• LTop 30" x 31.5"
• LBot 30" x 31.5"
• LBak 30" x 30.25"
• DFnt1 16.25" x 12.5"
• DFnt2 16.25" x 12.5"
• DFnt3 16.25" x 6"
• CMid1 15" x 5.25"
• CMid2 15" x 5.25
• DBak1 14.625" x 10"
• DBak2 14.625" x 10

Sheet 6

• Dor1 15.625" x 31.5"
• Dor2 15.625" x 31.5
• Dor3 15.625" x 31.5"
• Dor4 15.625" x 31.5"
• CBot 15" x 31.5"
• CBak1 24.25" x 15"
• CTop 15" x 31.5"
• CMid 15" x 31.5"
  
  
  
  And here are all the pieces all cut. Next steps will be cutting out the gables and ventilation holes. After that I will prime and/or finish the edges with veneer.
  
  

 

[firetech89]

Sweet, looks dope bro. How are you securing panels together, wood screws, glue, biscuts or dowls? G'luck mate. Def watching

 

[ReikoX]

Sweet, looks dope bro. How are you securing panels together, wood screws, glue, biscuts or dowls? G'luck mate. Def watching

They will be built as three boxes. I bought Tightbond glue made just for melamine. Most of the joints will be glued and a then secured with countersunk screws. Visible edges will be done with a Kreg pocket-hole jig. It basically let's you screw at an angle and not poke through. Finally all interior corners will be sealed with silicone caulk.

 

[Gnz]

How's the build doing? Is it a structure yet? It looks like the IKEA product the world is missing.

 

[ReikoX]

How's the build doing? Is it a structure yet? It looks like the IKEA product the world is missing.

Building has been on hold until I can get some more funds. I'm planning a trip this weekend, so maybe another couple of weeks. I sure hope it looks like an IKEA product, that was my goal.

 

[ReikoX]

CT-1337

CT-1337

I present to you the Clone Transport Elite (CT-1337).

I plan to make a trip to Denver this weekend. I may have a lead on some clones out there. I may even have to do the CL thing. I wanted to bring some home, but it's a long drive. So I was going to put them in a cooler and transport them. I also don't want to bring any pests into my garden, so not only do I need a clone transport, but also a quarantine.


So I went out and bought a foam cooler for $4. This would have been fine for transporting the clones.


I was going to use my PC for quarantine, but I still have plants in there. So I bought these battery operated lights for $6 each. I had foil tape, light louvers, a fan, etc.


Here is a test with some 9 oz beer cups. Running about 3*F above ambient. Hopefully we have enough room for clones. Are they usually in rockwool cubes?


The battery operated lights, also work off of a 6 V plug. The fan is 12 V. I had these female plugs from an old aquarium light. I even added a speed control for the fan (when plugged in). On the bottom is the intake. It's a ScrubNinja light louver that I had made for my old PC build. The top is the exhaust, also a ScrubNinja light louver. I have black weed screen on the inside of these and white pre-filter material on the outside. It helps to conceal the light louvers.