Off The Grid, Indoor Grow, Rooki

[fyawomban365]

How do you power a grow room off the grid? There is no possibility of getting electricity to this spot its just to remote. I read many of the posts about the generators and Im feeling like they may be excessive cause this is the only thing that will be powered. I have no experience with electrical work. Im with the idea of solar panels but I know installing the system is a big undertaking and I only have a few months for winter hits. I want to construct the room around the easiest way to power it. This is entire room is going to be constructed from scratch. I need suggestions on everything. I wanna divide the space 25 plants in flower under 1000wHPS. and Another room veg under 400wMH. Im pretty much committed to a soil grow. I will be experiencing winter from Oct-Apr. 4 hours from Canada

 

[yamaha_1fan]

How many lights do you want?

If you ant get on the grid, a genny is the quickest and easiest option. If you use solar panels, wind mills etc you will have to store the excess energy they produce for the times they cant produce (cloudy day, no wind, etc)

Your lack of electrical experience may be an issue as well and may make the generator the ideal solution.

 

[fyawomban365]

If I have to go the generator route Ill prob end up making the space bigger.I want 2 1000w HPS and 2 400WMH. But none of these are concrete options. Im thinkin the genny is going to be best in the long run.

 

[Waytek]

If you indeed *do* go with a generator, do some research - the 1800 rpm models are VASTLY superior to the 3600rpm models + there are some inexpensive diesels out now that can do the job MUCH more effectively than a gas generator.

 

[ampersand]

green house?

or...

5k diesel gen and a 30,000 gallon tank

 

[Waytek]

By green house, you either mean an actual greenhouse or you mean go eco.
As far as eco, if there is any way you can do it GREEN, by all means do it green! Man, if I had the cash I would setup some banks of deep cell marine batteries hooked up to solar panels and run an inverter off of the bank or do the same thing with either h20 power or windpower - wouldn't that be awesome?
Another thought comes to mind as a compromise.... The new micro diesel generators are very efficient, why not convert one to biodiesel and gather your fuel from behind fast-food restaurants like Darryl Hannah does for her station wagon.... Instead of smelling like ganja around your grow, it would smell like burgers and fries all the time.

green house?

or...

5k diesel gen and a 30,000 gallon tank

 

[fyawomban365]

If I wasn't worried about attracting bears Id love the idea of smelling like burgers and fries I would love to find out more about theses deep cell marine batteries. The homes we are going to build are going to be sustainable so I love the idea of solar panels. I cant wait to start posting pics. The ganga grows going to be a temp. thing as we hope to create a retreat center in the future. So wed be more than willing to invest in a system for the long term now. That we could continue to build upon. We are up in the mountains so the wind power is an option. And we are right along a stream so if we could do a hydro electric system without being to rough on our Mother Earth its an option. In Spring we have a strong current but it slows to a trickle at this part of the year. Depending on the rain.

 

[rastamonunika]

if you can make hydro work, its your best route in terms fo cost effectiveness.

there are plenty of alt energy sites you can research! =)

 

[TGT]

Solar Panels will not work for growing - period. They do not put out enough power, and on off days you have to run from batteries. Diesel generators at 1800 rmp will work best, but you better increase your grow size to compensate for the huge fuel bill and for the cost of the commercial generator. A friend of mine has a huge generator be purchased that cost him 30,000 dollars and he runs 12 - 1000 watt HPS off of it plus all the extra's. It is costly to set up but worth it if you have a good place to set up shop. Going small and only running a couple 1000's isn't going to make a generator worth your while. Trust me, i've done tons of research on this.

TGT

 

[Zoltan]

Get 5-15Kw diesal generator. Costs 1500-7000
http://www.biodieselwarehouse.com/xcart/home.php?cat=3

Then you need a biomass fuel processor. Converts vegetable oil to fuel that can run in diesal engines. $500-5,000. about 3500 for one that can make 120 gallons in a few hours
http://www.biodieselwarehouse.com/xcart/home.php?cat=4

Read up on the site, about biodiesal and the generators. Good info.

*edit* A 3Kw generator takes about 1 gallon of fuel every hour.

 

[0p0rat0r]

Growing plants in the dark !

Growing plants in the dark !

Here's something I found while browsing on the net, growing plants in the dark. There was a guy named Galen Hieronymus who performed some experiments growing plants in his dark basement. Below he describes it in his own words. You can also check out the link below. That guy grows weed using a similar method. I'm definitely going to give this a shot in the near future.

http://www.uploadfx.com/upload/files/imagebox_1180208396_r70.pdf

J.G.: Possibly, possibly not. Let's get back to your experiment in transmitting solar energy in a darkened room by wire. Exactly what did you do and what happened?

Hieronymus: All right. I made eight small boxes: two-by-two-by-four inches long, without tops or bottoms. Before tacking on the base, I put in pieces of aluminum foil slightly larger than the bottom and did the same for the top, except that the lid was raised about a half inch above the box. The top and bottom on the inside was covered by aluminum foil. In my basement workshop, which was lightproofed, I connected the bottom plate to a water pipe with copper wire and ran another wire from the top plate to the outside of the basement where I'd built two shelves. Seven of the boxes were wired to metal plates outside in the sunlight -- also on shelves built onto the house. The eighth was a control, not connected to anything. On the first wire I soldered a plate two-by-two inches, the second to a metal plate four-by-four inches, the next to a plate eight-by-eight inches, and another one to a plate sixteen inches square. To the next three grounded wires I soldered two-by-two, four-by-four and eight-by-eight inch copper screening -- to see whether there'd be any difference in the results from the solid plates than from the screen mesh . . .

J.G.: Was there . . .?

Hieronymus: Don't get ahead of me now. I sifted and mixed some soil and put an equal amount in each box, then planted ten oat seeds in each box-- two rows of five each, so that I knew exactly where they were and could tell which were growing and by how much. Each of the eight boxes were identical, with exactly one-half inch of soil over the seeds. The only difference was in the size and texture of the plates outside connected by wire to the aluminum sheets inside the tops of the boxes. I watered each box daily with exactly the same amount of water, which I applied with a salt shaker. As the plants grew inside these dark boxes, I raised the lids to allow them more headroom, but still kept them lightproof, and kept exact records of when the plants broke through the soil . . . Remember now, these plants were in absolutely dark boxes which were located inside dark shelves in a dark basement. The oat seedlings were totally divorced from light.

J.G.: But you had one control -- a box of seeds with aluminum foil at the top and bottom that wasn't wired or connected to anything, right? What happened?

Hieronymus: They all sprouted at the same time and were about the same degree of sturdiness. But then something entirely different and, as far as I was concerned, unexpected actually started happening. There was chlorophyll in every plant that was wired to the outside plates, but the control box plants remained a pale yellow -- almost white.

J.G.: Fascinating. Has this experiment been duplicated by others?

Hieronymus: Yes, although when it was first published, one of the early experimenters deviated from my explanation in two serious ways: first, he didn't light-seal several big windows in his basement and second he laid his plates on the ground instead of elevating them six feet on outdoor shelves, so he got no potential differential, or antenna effect. This was corrected in later experiments and in each case the results coincided with mv own.

J.G.: What about differences in size and texture of the outdoor plates? What results?

Hieronymus: That's the interesting thing. The amount of sunlight falling on any given area is measurable. For analogy, you can use an optic lens to concentrate sunlight to scorch or burn paper; well sir, the plants connected to the largest plates outside in the sunlight not only generated green coloring, they also gave every appearance of having been subjected to scorching sunlight -- as if they'd been singed or burned! The next largest plate yielded better plants and the next was about what you'd expect normally from normal exposure to sunlight. The others especially the ones connected to the screening, were less green, and the one connected to the smallest piece of screen was yellowish.

J.G.: It seems inconceivable that photons can be transmitted through a wire.

Hieronymus: Oh, I doubt that the energy is visible sunlight; in fact I suspect we're dealing with a form of energy from the sun that is probably non-electromagnetic in nature. This concept represents the entire thrust of the work I've been doing most of my life.

J. G.: Are there others who've independently discovered the same energies?

Hieronymus: Oh sure, there are dozens of patented devices from all over the world. There are also scores of copies of the John Campbell version of my own instruments. When you stop to think about it, we're dealing with a certain type of energy that is conductible over certain types of conductors and insulatable with certain others. When John asked me whether paper was a conductor of this energy, I told him no. 'Well, how about India ink?' I said yes, India ink is a conductor, so he drew a diagram of the circuitry of my device in India ink -- a printed circuitry of my device in India ink -- a printed circuit -- and it worked!

 

[HeadyPete]

Solar panels will absolutely put out enough power - if there enough of them. You add them until you have enough capacity.

I've seen a 6 bedroom house with all the toys, including a large walk in climate controlled wine cellar, run fine on solar.

Wind turbine is probably your best option, but any way you slice this, it will be expensive.

A combo of wind and solar and enough battery capacity to store it all, with a genny backup is the way to go.

Don't expect to use digiballasts with the genny, at least not at this time. It will fry them.

If you could be on the grid, then no need for a genny, and the solar and wind would turn your monthly bill back to $0.

 

[ampersand]

since this is a long term thing i think a 4 pronged approach of solar, wind, diesel and natural gas with batteries and converters will allow you to run a modest personal grow. it seems not any one of these sources is viable for this situation but all of them together would probably work.

solar tech is drastically getting better so you might want to hold off and use a generator at first.

 

[HuffAndPuff]

TGT- HighTimes printed an article a few months back featuring a grower who did the "impossible". Indoor set-up, solar panels on roof and a whole bunch of batteries to store the extra juice.

Also, I seem to remember a story about gens in one of the mags.... something about a big bertha generator? I think it came from a decomissioned train?

Stay Safe,
HuffAndPuff

 

[Mr Celsius]

Hmm, so your goal is the grow weed right? And you guys are creating an eco-retreat right?

Why don't you just invest in a good greenhouse with a blackout system? You could probably get 4 harvests a year, with no overhead or costs, then take the profits and funnel it into your retreat; I.e. power, plumbing, hotsprings ect ect ect. Also you wouldn't be limited by power for how much you could grow, you could easily have a 24'x48' "barn"/greenhouse (goto the greenhouse section and look at the corrugated fiberglass thread) that would produce plenty; not to mention your in the freakin woods where no one will find it.

 

[TGT]

TGT- HighTimes printed an article a few months back featuring a grower who did the "impossible". Indoor set-up, solar panels on roof and a whole bunch of batteries to store the extra juice.

Also, I seem to remember a story about gens in one of the mags.... something about a big bertha generator? I think it came from a decomissioned train?

Stay Safe,
HuffAndPuff

I shouldn't have said they won't work, but in reality no one is going to purchase enough solar panels and batteries for a grow operation. The cost is just too high. I didn't see that article, but thanks for pointing it out - it should be an interesting read.

Not pointing any fingers, I just wish people wouldn't suggest wind power and solar panels to newbie's trying to get away with being off the power grid. How many people on this whole site use solar panels and/or wind to grow? Not many if any, so it should be talked about on an interest basis, not something that is possible for the majority of us. It is interesting, but usually not possible for most of us. Just my 2 cents.

TGT

 

[D0nC0smic]

well if people can power an entire house with solar, and alot of people do, 3200 watts worth of lights shouldn't be hard at all

 

[fyawomban365]

Thanks to all of you for all the advise. Going to the round table tonight to present my findings. I have soooo many more options then I could have ever considered on my own. THANKS for making this painstaking task of getting things off the ground from literally nothing. Actually a doable scheme. I FREKIN LOVE IT. All Praises to MAMA TAH and the GANGA GODDESSES that surround us.

 

[Waytek]

If you're out in the middle of nowhere, I would seriously think about using as much natural light as possible and supplement it only when you have to... Just be stealthy and smart. Good luck.