My First Ever DIY Grow Box

[cilohahdduB]

So here I am. Finally, after more than a month of planning, searching, buying, building, spending over US$200, with all the joy and frustration that came along with it, I finally built a grow box of my own!!! This was no easy task, since I built everything from scratch excluding the lights, ballasts, and fans. But everything else I basically painstakingly siliconed/screwed/hammered/sawed together. But I must say, the joy of looking at the finished product is just euphoric. Knowing that you built it from scratch, makes it feel all the more victorious. But anyways, here are the details of my new grow box. I have numbered them from 1 to 18 which tallies with the pictures. (I would like to apologize for the bad photography, I was just too lazy to take good pictures with a good camera, so bear with me!)

Front view of my grow box. Entire measurements are L 37" xB 29" x H 41". On the left(bigger section) is the flowering chamber which measures L 25" x B 29" x H 41". On the bottom right is the veg chamber which measures L 12" x B 29" x H 31". On the top right is a small compartment where I can keep anything from sprays to fertz. See those pipes in there? We'll get to that later.

This is a very bad picture of the left side (adjacent to front of flowering chamber door) of the box. See those 3 little holes? Those are my passive intake holes for my flower chamber which is connected to a pipe, once the exhaust fan is turned on, you can place a piece of paper on the hole(s) and it'll stick to the hole. That's pretty much one reason why I think the circulation is good enough.

Another bad picture!!! Lol. This is the right side now. Again 3 passive intake holes for the veg chamber, paper thing works too.

This is the back of the box, just showing you guys the wiring...I'm not quite sure why though...Hmm...Haha, anyway, on the top right you can see my fingers, which means...ANOTHER BAD PHOTO!!!

This is the top view of the box.

 

[cilohahdduB]

My First Ever DIY Grow Box Continued...

My First Ever DIY Grow Box Continued...

This over here, is my squirrel cage exhaust fan, this is what they use to extract chemical fumes in labs. One of the more pricier object for the whole grow box but I think it was worth it. Very powerful, something like 250 cfm? The white object taped up are my ballasts for my lights. The exhaust blows the air out onto the ballasts to keep it cooler as well.

Just a picture of the hinges I use for my grow box, I have four altogether, top and bottom for both chamber doors.

This are the locks I installed on the grow chamber doors. They proved to be tricky since I had to saw, drill, and file a hole to fit these locks in. But I want that extra security in case some moron decides to have a peek, lol.

This is the top of the veg chamber I was talking about earlier, where I keep my fertz and stuff. The two pipes are my exhaust pipes. One comes from the flowering chamber and the other from the veg chamber. They both lead to a small area similar to what you see only its completely enclosed like a box with only a hole at the top where the exhaust fan pulls out the air from. I have two other exhaust pipes leading from the flowering and veg chamber that go directly to the exhaust box so you don't see it here.

This is just the front view of my veg chamber. The stool you see there is to prop seedlings higher to the lights. I am currently using 4 30w floro tubes in my veg chamber. I have installed the lights so unassembly is relatively easy in case I decide to change my lighting system here.

These 3 pipes are my passive intake for my veg chamber, totally light proof. The fan just sitting there is for extra circulation or to produce a breeze for the stems to grow stronger!

 

[cilohahdduB]

My First Ever DIY Grow Box Continued Yet Again...

My First Ever DIY Grow Box Continued Yet Again...

These are my exhaust pipes in my veg chamber. One of the lights seems dimmer huh? I shall need to get that fixed.

This is the main view of my flowering chamber. I intend to incorporate a SOG or ScrOG method once cloning has taken place. Once I've saved up enough money, I am taking off the floro lights and replacing it with a 250w HPS. It currently is 2 30w floro tubes and 2 50w bulbs.

This is my intake for my flowering room.

My exhaust for my flowering chamber.

This black rubber tubing is what they use in fridges I think, to keep it air tight. Another reason I use it is to keep the light out as well, with this tube it keeps all the light inside with no chance of coming out. That's Malibu in the background, yum yum, lol.

This is the hole where I place my exhaust fan on. It sucks out the air from the chamber I talked about earlier where the exhaust pipes lead to. The fan fits nicely into the hole.

 

[cilohahdduB]

Last but not least...

Last but not least...

And this over here, is Pepsi, my High Gold Ball Python. Any comments/suggestions/criticism(good or bad) on the grow box is much welcome. I would like to know if there is anything I can improve on. Thanks for listening guys!!! Now I just need to grow some!!!

 

[Guest]

For one thing those intakes arent gonna move shit for airflow...What size are those things?...The bare minimum I would think you gonna need for an area that size is 2 - 2" PVC pipes for each chamber...Otherwise your temps are gonna skyrocket, especially with a 250w HPS and your gonna cook whaterver your growing in there

The veg chamber is way too tall IMO...Unless your gonna grow some 5ft trees, there's no reason to have 41" of veg height...Thats a bunch of wasted space IMO...I'd lower the veg height at least 12" or so...With flouros your gonna want you palnts no farther than 2" MAX from the bulbs

I would assume stealth is not an issue...How does the exhaust fan mount?...What about odor?...If your gonna grow any stinky strains, with what you currently have, your gonna stick up your entire living space once you start flowering...Your gonna have to seriously rethink your setup here and figure out some sort of carbon scrubber or something to remover the odor

Not to be rude, but I think you need to do a whole bunch of modifications and rethink the ENTIRE grow...Think of the whole grow as a system, not just a box...1)Seeds or clones...2) Veg/taking clones...3) Flowering...4)Rooting vegging clones...And so on...Here's a few pics from my as yet unfinished cabinet just to give you some more idea (not that I'm a pro or anything)

Whole cabinet view doors open



Veg chamber 23"Wx21"Hx20"D...Big enuff to veg 4 plants plus 6 clones...Working on an adjustable lighting system right now...6 30W CFL's...2 2" PVC intakes...120mm comp fan moving approx 60cfm's of air

Flower cabinet bottom section...36"Wx46"Hx20"D...Air cooled 250wHPS...3 2" PVC intakes...Homemade scrubber system using 2 of the same fan as veg chamber flowing approx 160CFM...Should be able to flower 3 plants in bubblers, 30"+ of height

Power chamber upper left...Houses HPS ballast, airpumps, timers ect...Cooled by 80mm Hi-flo comp fan...Single 2" intake


Hope this helps any...Grow safe

 

[cilohahdduB]

I think you misunderstood. As the exhaust pulls out air from both the chambers, new air has to come in from the intake. Thus the paper sticking to the intakes holes? If that does not say air circulation then what does? Also, the veg cab height is 31" and I do have stands to prop the trees as close to the light as possible. As for the exhaust fan, read about squirrel cage exhaust fans that are used in chemistry labs. Then you'll get a picture. Odor is not a problem at all, I live in a country where nobody has any idea what the hell the smell is, they just think it's a garden smell. Not to be rude, but I have thought through this box. I didn't take a day to figure this out.

 

[NiteTiger]

Wow Napster, quite a mouthful of criticism from someone who didn't read what the OP actually wrote, hasn't even finished their cab, and is planning on running air cooled lights through a carbon scrubber off of two PC fans. Talk about your glass houses.

Cilo - The generally accepted rule of thumb is to have intake twice the size of your exhaust. However, it's not as written in stone as Napster would have you believe. I would highly recommend you do a 24 hour temperature test with all lights running after you get your 250. While you may have what seems like enough airflow, the 250 kicks off a whole lot more heat than you would think for its size. It's not just about the airflow, but you'll have to be able to remove every iota of heat that 250 kicks off in a space that size.

It would be prudent to have some contingency plans in place for adding air-cooled lighting or larger/more intakes. I wouldn't make any changes until you get the numbers from the temp test. Just be prepared in case they don't level off where you want.

Another thing that will help with temps is to move that box out of the direct sunlight. That WILL give you fits later on. One thing I've found is that the ambient air temperature coming into the box is equally as important as the temps inside the box. If your exhaust vents near or towards the intake, you'll just be sucking your exhaust air right back in, and temps will skyrocket, no matter what size fan you have. Basically, if the air in that room rises to 85+, at the very best you'll be running 88-90 in the box, because even with air-cooled lights, it's impossible to remove ALL the heat your light will generate. Between the box exhaust and that window, I can see your temps rocketing up.

Just be aware, and test test test before you put any plants in.

Also, the comment about not needing odor control is just silly. Yes, you need odor control. There's not a place in this world people confuse the smell of pot with daisies. Don't kid yourself on this. Get something in place for odor control. If you don't, your grow will fail and you'll be lucky not to end up in jail. Period.

 

[Guest]

NiteTiger Wow Napster, quite a mouthful of criticism from someone who didn't read what the OP actually wrote, hasn't even finished their cab, and is planning on running air cooled lights through a carbon scrubber off of two PC fans. Talk about your glass houses.

Obviously you didnt read what I posted either NiteTiger...This is my second cabinet Im builing...First one is in use at my brothers and is working quite nicely, THANK YOU...I am running my aircooled 250w HPS with 2 84 cfm HD fans, 1 intake, 1 exhaust, 160 cfm total...My scrubber is SEPERATE from my light and is also running off 2 84 CFM fans pulling 160 cfm of air thru a couple layers of those WEB carbon air filters that Pipedream has linked in the 150w HPS club thread...Temps in my flower chamber stay within 5 deg of ambient...Look at my pic and you can see the 2 holes for the scrubber fans SEPERATE from the light ducts...Open your eyes and dont throw rocks yourself

My point was it looks like cilo has IMO very small 1" pipes for intakes and exhaust...And hes gonna try to pull air thru those TINY ass holes, thru 2 seperate chambers with a 250 cfm fan?...Hes setting himslef up for failure NO DOUBT...Theres no way in hell he can move enough air thru 1 or 2 1" pipes to cool both chambers...No to mention the stress on the fan, which in turn is going to increase noise, decrease fan life and possible increase heat as well...Hopefully he wont waste his money if he decides to run some big $$$ strains...But then again you seem to think its OK, so let him toast whatever he plans to run in there

Just trying to be helpful...From his pictures and from what he plans to do, I think hes in for a struggle trying to get that contraption dialed in and producing

Then again I think I'll just keep my mouth shut

 

[NiteTiger]

Actually, at no point did you mention this is your second cab. And he doesn't have 41" of veg you went off on, he has 31", hence the non-reading statement.

Flower cabinet bottom section...36"Wx46"Hx20"D...Air cooled 250wHPS...3 2" PVC intakes...Homemade scrubber system using 2 of the same fan as veg chamber flowing approx 160CFM

From your better description in the second post, I can see what your saying. But look at how you phrased it in the first post and see if you can see the cause of the confusion.

I never said it was okay. I said before he tore down something he's worked very hard to build he should test it very very thoroughly to see if it actually works. I also advised him to have contingency plans in place in case it doesn't.

I then explained the things that could cause problems.

I absolutely agreed with you on the carbon scrubber. My bad for making assumption it was of a standard design. Pipeline's carbon scrubber is an excellent design, and makes sense with the fans your using.

If you'll look, I actually agreed with you on a few things.

What I didn't agree with was the way you presented yourself.

 

[Guest]

Not going to start a pissing match

Grow Safe

 

[cilohahdduB]

Heyy, just wanted to say, my exhaust fan is outside of my box, on top of it, so all heat that it produces will not affect the temperatures in the chambers. Also, see my intakes? The one in the middle is the whole pipe, meaning it sucks from the bottom. This fan is kinda like a vacuum cleaner, it sucks air out really hard and fast, so there's always air exchange, I'm thinking if a piece of paper can get stuck to the intake holes, then that should be enough air pulling through right? A friend of mine helped me out with the planning of this cab. His cab is somewhat similar to mine with only minut differences. His seems to work just fine. And when I do change the lights, I do plan on either using a cooltude or glass to seperate the lights from the plants.

 

[mrgrowmez]

hey cilo,
first off nice cab man. always good to see DIY in action.

only suggestions i have are pretty much what the others said.

1.. i think you'll have heat issues when you get the 250w cranking with those intakes but that said its not hard to increase the size of a hole so get to that problem when\if it arises. also you could just pull those pipes with the small holes in em off and have 3 whole pipe holes
just because a piece of paper sticks to the intakes doesnt mean you have enough cooling power, it just means you've successfully created a vacuum\negative pressure.

2..for odour control just buy yourself a negative ion generator or something like that and run it in the room if your not worried about smell. it wont kill it but at least it will keep in check a little. i live in a country where most people have never seen buds before but still i wouldnt run risks.

3..nice snake
and napster although you had some good points you did comeoff as a bit of a jerk...maybe you should check out some of NT's grows before you call him a

best of luck man and keep us posted.

 

[Guest]

Like I said before not starting a pissing match, BUT

My remarks from my first post:

Not to be rude, but I think you need to do a whole bunch of modifications and rethink the ENTIRE grow

Here's a few pics from my as yet unfinished cabinet just to give you some more idea (not that I'm a pro or anything)

Hope this helps any...Grow safe

Didnt sound "jerkish" then, and after reading my post I still dont think so... Comments like: "IMO", "I'm not a pro", and "hope this helps", which I stated in my first post, don't sound very "jerkish" to me...Maybe I should have said "your an idiot" or "thats wrong, stupid"???

mrgrowmez:

and napster although you had some good points you did comeoff as a bit of a jerk...maybe you should check out some of NT's grows before you call him a

I dont care if he grows 1000lbs a week, been here for 50 years, or makes 5000 posts a day...If my comments were rude then his were more so...I just pointed out some things to cilo that were IMO OBVIOUS problem areas and what he should possibly do to correct them...NT pretty much came right out and made somewhat rude comments towards me in his post...Which IMO could have been stated, or danced around, in a much softer tone than:

NiteTiger Wow Napster, quite a mouthful of criticism from someone who didn't read what the OP actually wrote, hasn't even finished their cab, and is planning on running air cooled lights through a carbon scrubber off of two PC fans. Talk about your glass houses.

Does this sound kinda rude to you?

Anyways, end of subject, I apologize, I was wrong, whatever

Not checking this thread anymore so dont bother posting on the above argument cuz i wont be reading or commenting

PEACE ALL and as always GROW SAFE

 

[mrgrowmez]

 

[cilohahdduB]

By the way nice avatar mrgrowmez, that's so cute!!! Haha...

 

[l8tnightskunk]

very nice!