Free Energy Growing

[Big Sky]

Here is whats going down-
splitting the closet into two separate grow areas-
both will be lit by new 8 spectrum 300W LED with 3w LED chip sets-
very bright good flowering LEDS-
Full Spectrum-
i will use 2 axial fans- low AC current, at 80CFM each for intakes and utilize a splitter on my exhaust fan to pull equally from both grow areas at the same time-

 

[Big Sky]

just a shot of the two space dragon clones a few weeks from harvest-
these clones where only about 8" tall at flower-
looking like about two oz's in there-

 

[FunkBomb]

That design for the split cabinet looks great. The use of the LEDs will help quite a bit with controlling the temperatures.

-Funk

 

[Big Sky]

Werd!
a also can alternate each 12 hour photo period so i'm only burning one LED at a time-
this will save me a few hundred watts and double my production-
The upgrades start really soon-
thanks for stopping in my grow
cheers!

 

[Big Sky]

Well that small run is a wrap- Gives me a little smoke until some of my other grows are finished-
2 6-8" space dragon clones gave me about 1.75 oz's dry weight- really wasnt trying much on this one-
But hate empty setups-
A great setup is a terrible thing to waste lol-
so i tossed a couple clones in a ran em

Anyway now that those are done everything came out-
upgrade time!

 

[Big Sky]

I took everything out of the closet-
Started the upgrades-
Almost finished now and waiting to do the exhaust work and on the new lighting to arrive-
But until then each unit gets its own 90 blackstar LED .
This will free up a little room in my veg area and help me test for light leaks etc-
Give me a good solid idea of what it will look like-

I started with the railing -
I just used simple non pressure treated 1x2's cut to length and then drilled them in via wood screws to the walls-
measuring and leveling along the way of course -

the wood beams are also re-enforced with steel L beam for added weight support-


used some 3/4" plywood..oak..nice and solid stuff..
built the shelf out of two cut pieces i had laying around-

locked those down along the beams with heavy duty wood screws-

Then using some alum sealing tape, and a bit of white plastic to water proof the wood, we have a shelf -
I lined the bottom with strips of alum tape to add some reflective surface to the shelf floor-

 

[Big Sky]

In the bottom section goes the 2x4 flood table-
the top, when finished out, will drain via tube to the flood table below- Then the flood table drains out through a tube and hole in the floor just big enough for the tube to slide out of-
Eventually i'll run pvc pipe from underneath the house and out to the flowerbeds feeding any outdoor plants with the runoff-
I just tossed the lighting i have currently in there to make due and test the areas until the upgraded lighting arrives-

 

[Big Sky]

The new lighting and specs-

300W Base Chipset
8 Bands for Indoor Plants Growth & Flower
Spectrum of Light: 430~440nm, 450~475nm 620~630nm, 650~660nm, and white
LED Output Power: 100pcs*3watt
Power consumption: 180W+/-3%
Dimension: 400mm*212mm*60mm
White painted casing.
Lifespan: 50000-100000 hours
View Angle of leds: 90/120°Mixed
Worldwide Voltage: AC85~265V

 

[nameless]

holy shit cant believe it took me so long to find this thread! in the diaries too! damn ive been slackin this month too i guess.... anyway, this is amazing. very well done, thank you SO much for sharing. ive been thinking about this from day one, nice to see it carried out!

 

[justanotherbozo]

in my research into permaculture i came across something called a 'trompe' which is a way to use falling water to collect and isothermically compress air for use as a power source and it turns out that back in the 1930s it was a commonly used source of power, even for cars and electrical power, in fact, it is still used in the mining industry to power and air-condition mines today.

...unfortunately, back in the 30s the oil companies bought up all those companies and closed them down and have been suppressing this ancient knowledge for decades.

...anyway, i don't know yet how easy it'll be to DIY but i did a google and there is much info and i thought i'd share the link to that search here with you all.

trompe


...and here is a diagram of a simple trompe to illustrate how it functions.

bozo

 

[Morcheeba*]

very nice job Big Sky

 

[meltybubble]

very nice job indeed,thanks for the info Big Sky!

 

[Big Sky]

now for veg - seedlings-
cannaventures
10 secret og-
5 sour double kush bx 2
5 la affie x fire og-

sweet seeds
2 black jack auto
1 sweet cheese auto
1 sweet special auto

flowering:
old stock TGA Qleaner male banana pheno
old stock TGA Qleaner female purple pheno
2 CV diesel Fire females

 

[noyd666]

nice ,can see your brain works overtime, 600 watts lolwould be great with our rip off powe prices down here, deadbolt was good idea also.

 

[Big Sky]

yeah LED is where its at for growers trying to save heat and save energy, create less carbon footprint etc-
i went into full development on them and have about 4 models worked out starting at 135 on up to big 700w bad boy panels-
ive found that a 300w panel in each room does the job great- there rated at about 200w +/- functional power consumption so its now down to about 400w of actual power use-
never gets above 80 in either room-
was able to cut my exhaust down to one single 4" 65w blower-
was able to cut my intakes off all winter now and just go passive-
so 465w total-
een with just one going and burning 200w i can bring in enough to supply me with a qp every 90 to 120 days-
the system is about as efficient as it gets now-
shouldn't have to replace anything for 10-15 years

 

[2 Legal Co]

this did take me a solid year and using a lot of grow /seed profits to create a model solar grow like this for everyone-
It took massive online research and talking to companies here in the states to figure it all out but its actually really simple once you go through the motions like anything else-
I bid folks to not be afriad of being different-
I am building an earthship and solar heated greenhouse soon and will be completely self sustainable by the time im 35-36 years old-
i will have mostly greehouse grown herb and some indoor setups, prob tents for breeding and isolation chambers in the future-
but for now im still using some grid power folks- im not totally free yet-
i have a few other rooms to account for- lol

Since you've obviously done a BUNCH of research. Great Thread by th'way!

How crazy would it be, or would it be just stupid to stay Low Voltage (DC) Leds, fans, etc.... shades of early RV stuff that didn't utilize, or expect 12vac shorepower?

Haven't yet read the whole thread.. Heck of a good read. Really like, and appreciate, your Earthship asperations.

Since you've obviously done a BUNCH of research. Great Thread by th'way!

How crazy would it be, or would it be just stupid to stay Low Voltage (DC) Leds, fans, etc.... shades of early RV stuff that didn't utilize, or expect 12vac shorepower?

Haven't yet read the whole thread.. Heck of a good read. Really like, and appreciate, your Earthship asperations.

thats funny cause ive started doing that- i went to the autoparts store an dbought a 12v power outlet much like a cig lighter in a car- mounted it to the side wall next to the front door and then supplied 12v dc to it from the converter 12v side-
now i can plug my mini shop vac in for easy clean up!

that would be efficient and a stellar idea- limit the dc voltage but eliminate the converter inside the LED panels...hmmm
you could run them this way-
often thought about lining the walls but the panels are built by myself so there tailor made for medical use already and seem to be kickin butt-

i will be looking more into your sugestion as this would be the ideal way to power a commercial LED or large scale LED grow-
use solar and turbines to power the battery bank and viola!
good stuff , great input thank you-

 

[2 Legal Co]

I also play in the RV spectrum, so I have done a bit of reading on the subject of LEDs, and converters/power supplies. Seems that every time you do a conversion from DC to AC, or AC to DC, you lose some energy to heat.

That's why I'm thinking that (as long as you are 'off the grid'), the panels are making DC, so as long as you don't have to move it very far.... Why not use it as DC?

Of course I'd have to lose the t5s and go to LEDs, but if the panels get any cheaper I'll have to to see if the payback times are there yet. I'm currently at $.16 per KW hour, so it's getting there. Next Q is; Do I have to go DIY to make the LED panels are do they operate on DC already? I've not purchased any, to date.

Obviously, if you have to run it any distance, the line loss is a consideration as well. And now days the copper is quite expensive to make the low resistance, heavy gauge cables.

The AGM batteries seem to be a better thing than the old Lead/Acid ones. At least they are well received in the RV community.

Bid Sky;
If you don't mind my asking, What Lat and ALtitude are you at?

I'm at 38 ish and 7400-7700 feet.

Those 125 watt panels... are they 4'x8'?

in my research into permaculture i came across something called a 'trompe' which is a way to use falling water to collect and isothermically compress air for use as a power source and it turns out that back in the 1930s it was a commonly used source of power, even for cars and electrical power, in fact, it is still used in the mining industry to power and air-condition mines today.

...unfortunately, back in the 30s the oil companies bought up all those companies and closed them down and have been suppressing this ancient knowledge for decades.

...anyway, i don't know yet how easy it'll be to DIY but i did a google and there is much info and i thought i'd share the link to that search here with you all.

trompe


...and here is a diagram of a simple trompe to illustrate how it functions.

View Image

bozo

So what would we use this for? Air flow instead of fans? Wonder how high the humidity would be on the compressed air side?

For electrical generation, wouldn't the 'direct' water to impeller, be more efficient? Hmmmm Makes me wonder what the mines use for 'terminal equipment'.

 

[Big Sky]

yes any conversion of electrical causes some loss-
just hooking in an inverter you get some very slight power loss-
and you are correct on distance as well..longer the throw the more Voltage loss from the panels, then it compounds throughout the system-
i try to keep everything housed real close to one another so there is no real loss-

my solar panels are laminate construction-
16' x 15" long and skinny-
supposed to be indestructible- i run 3 125w panels and a 144w-
my system is setup for a wind turbine as well- its 24v instead of 12v so i can charge twice as fast and hold a little extra power-

i use 6v golf cart 215ah batteries for my bank-


im up around the Alamosa area- a few hours N of taos NM-
high desert and 15,000 ft peaks-
about 7000ft elevation-

its prob one of the coolest places ive ever been honestly so i bought about 5-6 acres out that way-
in around 2010 season-

going earthship, underground solar heated green-housing.
going to take a few years to get everything done and built but it will be almost, if not, 100% self sustainable-
i dont like to rely on others or the gov to live- i like being the envy instead- lol

about the LED's..you can build your own, but its a lot of work , research development etc- finding parts etc-
still cost you a good bit for anything large capacity diodes wise-
most DIY are very limited to the number of chips used-
but most of all, if you like a warranty , a diy kinda leaves you on your own- where a warranty can save a grow with a quick replacement-

but everything has its pro and cons ya know-

 

[2 Legal Co]

Thx for the info. Gives me a better idea of what I can, and how to do it.

I've been looking at some 'off the grid' dirt up here, but I've pretty much come to the conclusion that there's more to do than I'm capable of doing these days. But maybe a small solar rig for a grow would be doable. Think I might stick to my 432watts of T5 for light, almost as efficient from what I have been able to see.

 

[Hitchhiker]

Nice grow and very inspiring I have had an idea for two years to use solar energy partly. I have 1,2kw + 600W. It would need too big battery bank to store all needed electricity but it will reasonable to feed straight from inverted.

When snow comes down I have 1,5kW (6 x 250w panels) of panels to go on the roof. It will cut most of used energy but not all.

Maybe when it's time move to use leds I could just add battery bank. Cool project btw