large, easy, pvc box ideas?

[sensirocker]

Hello everyone,

i just ran into some great space to grow and i need to make a new box or enclosure. The space is about 7ft x 4ft... i plan to have two 400w lights with 6 plants in soil. The space stays very cool... 74f during the day and 68 at night.... i dont think ill need any cooling other than a couple of fans.... or will i?
My original idea was to make a box with pvc pipe and panda plastic so i could take it apart if i need to... at about 6 feet wide, 4 feet deep and 6.5 feet high... the box would be covered on all sides except for the top so i can hang the lights...

So id appreciate anyones input, good or bad, on this design... id love to get some suggestions

thx

 

[Haps]

Regular garden supply or farm stores have a simple "greenhouse" that is similar to the size you are looking at, costs less than 50 bucks. You can cover with a tarp or black plastic for darkness if there is other light in the room. Also easy to cut holes and stuff. Just an ez thought for ya. Think I paid 20 on a sale for mine, I bought it for breeding projects. Have not used it yet, so I can't say it is a good idear or not. And I'm goofy... so?
H

 

[vta]

i dont think ill need any cooling other than a couple of fans.... or will i?

I ran 1 400 in a 4'x9' room and had to install an A/C unit because the fans were not cutting it. During veg using a MH it was fine but when I switched to hps it got real hot.

 

[420ponics]

800 watts in a tiny space like that? 74 degrees with NO lights? Dude, you are going to have some serious heat problems without a fan exhausting the hot air. At least you plan on growing soil as opposed to hydro which in that case with the temps you will be running with no fan root rot would become a serious threat. Your temps are going to go over 100 easy with no exhaust. I recommend at least a 265 cfm can fan hooked to a scrubber exhausting to the outside. Not just an outside room (that room will become filled with hot air and your grow area will end up being over 100 degrees anyway). I hope this helps.

Ponics.

 

[Guest]

You will find that plastic will retain a LOT of heat - plastic is actually a pretty good insulator. You will need good ventilation for sure.

I've built several garden containers out of PVC pipe covered with Panda plastic or Reflectix insulation. It works very well.

The framework can be arranged in any shape and just about any size. If you are going to have long stretches of pipe, put crosspieces and vertical supports in to help keep the structural shape. For larger size frames, I use "wyes" to make corner braces for reinforcement.

You can buy big zippers that have strips of adhesive down the edges to make doors - adhere the zipper to the plastic where you want the door, give it time to fasten securely, unzip it, then use a knife to slit the plastic inside the zipper. I've never used one since I prefer overlapping doors for lightproofing, but I know a lot of people who have used them.

For bigger rooms, I'd use 1.5" to 2" diameter PVC pipe for strength and to minimize flex problems.

Some convenient shapes of PVC fittings can be difficult to find - check

http://www.atozsupply.com/specialty_pvc_fittings_c32.cfm

as a great source for 3-way corners, 4-way tees, and more.

Good luck!

 

[killabrown420]

heres the same thing, but with wood...i overlap the plastic like ambre to lightproof it.

you could use mylar and do 2 400's in cool tubes and a 265 cfm blower exhausting the lights...and add co2

definately

 

[sensirocker]

thanks guys, that was all very useful information.... the reason i thoguht i wouldnt need any cooling was because im doing it in a basement and the box would be open on the top.... the basement is a good size, so i thought that the heat would spread evenly enough.... so im not exactly sure... a blower is a big investment for me.... the bright side of this tho is that the aiir conditioner for the house is in the basement, so maybe i can cut a hole and make an opening going into the box or in the basement in general....
im pretty sure im gonna go for the panda plastic box and PVC pipe...
does any one know off the top of their head if PVC is cheaper than wood or vise versa?
Also, im considering getting a carbon filter with a blower attached to it to clear the smell out... this project is secret can anyone direct me to plans for a homemade carbon filter?
You guys are awesome thank you sooo much again... i really appreciate it.

-sensirocker

 

[vta]

a blower is a big investment for me....

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=29341

 

[vta]

Ambre's Back!


I was sad when you left...good to have you back!

 

[Guest]

Any other practical inexpensive ideas for building walls? I'm considering ways to section off a 10 by 5' area. A simple 1by1 " wooden frame with either styrofoam panels or even visquine plastic stapled on each side using the air trapped between for insulation?

 

[Guest]

Sensirocker - Look at the Stanley blowers. They are about $40 at Walmart and most hardware stores and they move an incredible amount of air for the money. I use them in both of my ventilation/scrubber systems. Great fans!

Hi VTA - Yep I'm back! I had a possible security issue, so I tore down & laid low for a while. Better safe than sorry.

Cracker - where are you putting your garden? How much insulation do you need? If you get winter and the garden is going in an unheated area, I'd insulate fairly well. If the area the garden is going in is climate controlled, I'd use less insulation since you need air circulation to keep temps ambient anyway. For light proofing, I've used two and sometimes three layers of plastic - white on the inside and black on the outside. The white reflects light back to the plants; the black absorbs the light that leaks through and also absorbs light from outside so it won't get through to the inside during lights-out. I use heavy black plastic dropcloth or heavy vinyl shower curtain liners (you might need to use two layers of dropcloth if it isn't heavy enough to stop light, but it's usually a LOT cheaper than shower curtains).

Another option I use to cover my smaller garden containers is Reflectix insulation, which is layers of bubblewrap and foil bonded together. The foil reflects light nicely and the insulation does a good job in keeping temps inside & outside separated. It's probably too expensive for a large garden, though (4' x 25' is about $50 U.S.) This may not be available in the UK, though.

A wooden frame is easy to use with a staplegun to fasten the covering. I would put the white visqueen on the inside and black on the outside as you mentioned to give an insulating layer of trapped air.

On a PVC frame, I use a good tape with nice sticky adhesive. The tape made for sheets of styrofoam house insulation is great stuff; the pink tape that matches the pink styrofoam is the stickiest & strongest tape I think I've ever found. For less expense, Nashua 322 foil tape is great stuff.

Hope this helps!

 

[Guest]

Thank You Ambre, I'm thinking about the best way to section off half of a 10 by 10' room. I like the fiber board with the foil on one side. It's reasonably priced .I'm not a big fan of mylar, preferring a flat white surface. Lot's of options out there