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Mr Micro Presents : The Nanomachine

Berry_Coughin'

Active member
Veteran
the seams where any light or air might escape have all been filled in with black calk. Vaseline was applied to the door while the calk set so that the caulk would only stick to the parts I wanted to when it dried and would not stick to anything with vaseline on it.

Was this an easy process? What adhesive did you use specifically, liquid nails, or window caulking or maybe something specific?

I'm gonna try and emulate what you did for a 'light tight' box....

thanks for the tutorial, you made a sweet machine...
 

Mr_Micro

Member
Why thank you very much Allotropy! :D It was a really fun box to build and grow in and I'm really missing it now after selling it, but it's currently owned and being used by a nice fellow in Australia so at least it went to a good home.
Never fear though, as of friday I will have finished building my 4th PC case grow box and there will be a thread for it posted as soon as my seeds arrive from Gypsy. This time I'm going with a cool tubed style 70 watt HPS setup along with a slightly modified hydro top feed drip system and a whole bunch of other neat little things, so it should be a pretty cool grow once it gets under way.

Anyhoo, I know this question was asked long ago but...

Berry_Coughin' - Any caulk or non-opaque silicone based caulk type adhesive will work just fine for light proofing. Just apply it in a small layer to the door frame (or any other part you want to light proof) and then put a very small layer of vaseline or similar petroleum jelly on the edges of the door that will be touching the caulk before you put the door back on. Then when the caulk sets it will form a light tight seal between the door and the frame of your cabinet.
After the caulk has had 24 hours to set you can remove the door and you'll notice that the caulk sticks nicely to the frame of your cab but will not stick to anything that had vaseline smeared on it, so it won't stick to your door. Then you just wipe off the vaseline, peel or cut away any excess caulk for a clean finish, and you're done!

It's certainly the most simple and 100% effective way I've ever found to light proof a cab :smoke:
 

Mr_Micro

Member
Hey TN! Next round will feature my long time favorite Sensi Seeds's Skunk #1 along with Dutch Passion Northern Lights #2 (Oasis) and perhaps a seed or two of whatever SB hooks me up with as a freebie. I requested Blue Mystic from Nirvana but we'll see what I get.
I'm growing the Skunk #1 since it was always my favorite plant to grow and smoke (very easy to grow, uniform, massively trich coated, good yeild, great smell and taste, good mellow all around high, and just plain beautiful plants every time) and I'm trying the Dutch Passion NL #2 since I'm still searching for a overwhelmingly piney smelling Northern Lights like the locally grown one that rocked my world some 8 years ago. I've never forgotten that stuff and have been searching for a similar Northern Lights ever since, and after my big let down with Sensi Seeds NL (not a single seed germinated!) I'm gonna give Dutch Passion a try.

So yeah, for the next grow still sticking with all the classic old school 80's-90's strains that I've always been a fan of :smoke:
 
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bongasaurus

king of the dinosaurs
Veteran
Mr_Micro said:
Anyhoo, I know this question was asked long ago but...

Berry_Coughin' - Any caulk or non-opaque silicone based caulk type adhesive will work just fine for light proofing. Just apply it in a small layer to the door frame (or any other part you want to light proof) and then put a very small layer of vaseline or similar petroleum jelly on the edges of the door that will be touching the caulk before you put the door back on. Then when the caulk sets it will form a light tight seal between the door and the frame of your cabinet.
After the caulk has had 24 hours to set you can remove the door and you'll notice that the caulk sticks nicely to the frame of your cab but will not stick to anything that had vaseline smeared on it, so it won't stick to your door. Then you just wipe off the vaseline, peel or cut away any excess caulk for a clean finish, and you're done!

It's certainly the most simple and 100% effective way I've ever found to light proof a cab :smoke:
pure genius!
 

messn'n'gommin'

ember
Veteran
Just started a 2' X 8' closet grow and this seems PERFECT for a bonsai'd mom cab. Copied all 6 pages of 40 posts each and will read through it later so don't know if anyone else has mentioned it yet...but this should be a sticky for sure! Thanks Mr_Micro!

Namaste, mess
 
H

Hal

Great design Mr. Micro!!!

I'm going to build one of these. I took some notes while reading this thread, and am going to post what I think are a fairly complete 1) project list, and 2) thread index. The thread index is attempting to list the important posts to the construction of the pc case, but not the grow diary info. Feel free to use these in any way you want. If anyone spots things I forgot to include let me know and I will update the posts.
 
H

Hal

Nanomachine project needs list:

(1) Pc case
Reflectix reflective insulation…or substitute
Material for divider wall
Black calk
Vaseline
CFL bulb…maybe two (6500K for veg, 2700K for flowering)
Power strip
Light timer
(2) Approx. 55 CFM exhaust fan
(2) 12v DC adaptor
Temperature and humidity guage
Light trap for intake hole (darkroom louver)
SCROG screen material
Ziploc storage tub
Carbon
Epoxy
Motherboard (to improve stealthiness…)
Black duct tape
 
H

Hal

Thread index….

Cannabis plant’s intelligence – pg 4, post 53

Carbon filter:
Mr. Micro directions - pg 1, post 1, paragraph 10 (approx)
Suga_Bear style carbon filter - http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=48949

Caulking for light-tightness:
General – pg 3, post 37
Hardening qualities of caulk – pg 6, posts 82, 83, 86
Importance of… - pg 9, post 124

Darkroom louver, construction of – pg 1, post 13

Divider wall material – pg 11, post 165

Fire risk of PC case design – pg 5, post 65

Humorous post – pg 4, post 48

Lighting:
Bulb mount position in case – pg 2, post 16; pg 4, post 46;
Using multiple bulbs – pg 1, post 13; page 2, post 22
On using HPS lighting in PC case – pg 6, post 78

Power supply:
Directions – pg 7, post 100
Additional info – pg 10, post 138

SCROG screen material – pg 1, post 13

Stealth quality of the case:
General – pg 3, post 34, paragraph 6
Real-world example of… - pg 7, post 92
 
H

Hal

Thoughts and questions….

“I spent hours and hours light proofing every tiny little seam and crack so that not a single speck of light escapes the case even when it's running in a pitch black room!”
-how many hours? That is a significant chunk of time, be nice to reduce it.

Could have used a mechanism to raise the plant toward the light, when it was just starting and was a shorty, so that it received the maximum amount of light, minimizing light fall-off. A series of plates, maybe a half inch each in thickness, stacked beneath the growing container, would do the trick….and then as the plant grows higher these plates could be removed to maintain optimum distance from the light.

(post 46, page 4) comment on attempt at switching the mount placement of bulb to opposite side to allow room to add another exhaust fan on divider wall.
- there might be another way of designing the light trap which would allow for a larger opening, which would allow for a greater air exchange, which would potentially solve temp problems if they exist. I’m thinking having the hole on the bottom of the grow chamber rather than the side.

A thought….judging from the pics of his plant and its growth pattern and filling of the SCROG screen, it seems like if there was one more plant placed (planted) strategically to better fill the screen….

Would a reflective hood placed over the bulb improve the light intensity delivered to the plants?

It seems important not to choose strains that have any tendency to grow airy buds for this grow system. Because your available space to grow the buds is so small, maximizing that space with a strain known to consistently show tight bud formation would be wise.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Mr. Micro just made a comment on how surprised he is on the slow maturation time of his SS Bubblegum plant. It is taking a LONG time, which can happen on occasion even within gene pools that typically finish faster. If you grow “from seed” every time in this system, you are rolling the dice that you might, by chance, get a slow finisher. Would it be better to use clones for this? Again, you are utilizing such a small space, and not knowing exactly the characteristics of the plant you will spend 70 or 80 days growing can be very dangerous regarding your end results. I would think doing EVERYTHING possible to make sure your plants fill that space with multiple bud sites and very densely packed buds is very important in getting good yields for these spaces. So, choosing a sensible strain, and using clones, may be the most logical way to go.
 
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MyBox

New member
What can I say! Only WOW! Ok I am going to be building one of these myself, it seems to be the best thing for a weekend smooker. :)

The only thing that I can't figure out is how you blocked light coming in from your air intake from the front of your computer?

And I do take it that your air flow is passive intake.

Thanks for showing us the light!

MyBox
 

Bacunawa

New member
Mr Micro:

This is quite a remarkable thread, and it has inspired me to do a PC grow. For your type of setup, how would you implement hydroponics instead of soil?
 
big fan of yours mr micro

big fan of yours mr micro

just wanted to stop in and say that i've seen all of your pc case grows and they all have seemed to amaze me..i dont know if you come around much anymore but i do have a question that im dyin to ask you as your answer will put me on my way to finishing my growspeakers and gettin on with the grow..i am very interested in knowing how you constructed that light trap for your intakes on your nanomachine..i was going to purchase a midget darkroom louver but i see you sad they restrict airflow quite a bit and i dont have room in my box for 90 degree pvc elbows or any other kind of design i've seen around on the internet but yours would fit my application perfectly!!! so i would love to hear back from you my good bro
 
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