R
ratsidecar
Hi its pretty simple to build. I chose a piece of coated chipboard also called furniture board in some places and the stuff cheap kitchen units are made of.
Cut it to the exact dimensions of the growing area.
Measure and mark it out into a grid so the bulb holders wil be equally spaced apart so it will look nice and neat and to get an even coverage.
Drill a hole at the centre of where each bulb holder will be, I used a 10mm drillbit and wiggled it about a bit in the hole once it was through to enlarge it slightly. This will be where your wires from the bulb holders run up through the board, across the top of it and back down through another hole to supply power to the next holder.
Get some cable, I used 3 core electrical cable as it worked out cheapest, Insert it through one hole, feed it through the next one and leave around 2-3 inches hanging free through the hole in the board at either end of it. Cut the wire and use this piece as a template to cut another length for each bulb holder.
Strip the outer insulation off each of your short lengths of wire and discard, you will be left with just the inner 3 wires from each section.
Choose what side or position you want your main power feed to come in at, I always choose the end bulb on one side. Wire a suitably long length of 3 core cable through the board onto the first bulb holder. Wire a plug onto the other end, make sure this piece of cable is still fully insulated for safety.
From the first bulb holder wire + to + on the second holder, - to - and earth to earth if you have a space on it to attach an earth wire. Continue this like a big snake from one bulb holder to the next until you get to the end of the chain. Give each wire a little tug after you secure it to make sure it wont come off. Pay attention to polarity markings on the bulb holder and your wire colours to make sure no mistakes happen, triple check everything after you have wired it up. In the UK brown wire is + blue wire is - and earth is green/yellow stripey wire. Colour codes for other countries are here https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/reference/chpt-2/wiring-color-codes/
Now screw the bulb holders to the board, you probably wont need to pre drill the holes for them as chipboard is pretty soft. Pay attention to the length of your screws so they dont poke through the other side when they are in as they could snag on your wiring and be a risk. At this stage you can plug your bulbs in and power it up and make sure they all light up. If they dont check all your wiring again, if they do then happy days you are almost finished.
The top side of your board will look a mess now with untidy spaghetti wiring all over it. Use a bunch of these http://image.made-in-china.com/43f3...ircle-Round-Cable-Clips-Flat-Cable-Clamps.jpg to tidy it all up and make sure nothing is hanging loose and its all nice and secure and pinned down to the board. Pay lots of attention to the main power wire as if you give it a good tug by accident you want it secure so it cant come out.
To secure the finished board inside your growspace I used 2 pieces of wood on their ege screwed into the side of the box and pushed the light board up against them from underneath and screwed it into place. Its height isnt adjustable this way but it really helps stiffen up the wardrobe it is fitted in and this will help to take away some of the vibration through it from extractor fans etc, Hope this helps you.
