Sealing up door gaps in cabinet with inner tubes! (pics and how to)

[otherwhitemeat]

OK gang, Just picked up this white melamine cab used for $40. It took a whole bunch of work to update it, expand a few spaces and now I am trying to light seal the thing. I am going to use 'D' shaped weatherstripping on the other three edges, but the 'hinge edge' always seems problematic. I read about the vaseline/silicone technique but I hate silicone, it's a mess and gets everywhere. Then, while replacing a flat tire on my mtn. bike and wondering why these tubes can't be recycled, it hit me.

Here's what you do:

First, get an old inner tube and cut out the valve section:



Then, cut it lengthwise to make one flat piece of rubber:





Have at it with your staple gun and put a line of staples up and down the cab side and door side of the gap:




A closeup of how I detailed the hinges:




Then, run a length of Gorilla tape over the staples to catch any last bits of light that want to creep through. (edit: first version recommended using furnace tape; I've since realized that Gorilla Tape is MUCH better.



You're done!

The problem (sorry it was daylight when I took the photos):




The solution


That's a 250 watter inside and it hides the seam perfectly. It's flexible and does not interfere with the hinges. I just came up with it, so no idea about durability or any problems. But would love to hear everyone's feedback/input.

UPDATE: as of 8/11/2009 A lot of folks have been pinging me asking about the durability of this. It's been over a year since I did it and I only needed to patch one or two areas with tape. Overall, it's still holding VERY well and still lightproof. I actually have to change my weatherstripping before I change these inner tube seals. Good luck!

 

[JACKtheREFFER]

hey white meat .......awsome man ,ive been looking for a better option for sealing my cabnint ....thats it thanks .... :

 

[DiscoBiscuits]

That's really cool man!

 

[minigreens]

nice! i've just seen ppl use weatherstrip and duct tape but that still leaves room for error. this looks pretty fool proof

 

[otherwhitemeat]

Jack, Disco, and mini--thanks for stopping by and taking a look! I sat there and got stoned last night and opened and closed the door about 100 times. It seems like it will work! The tape wants to pull away from the rubber a bit at the edges, but it really sticks well to the staples. I wonder if your classic, run of the mill, duct tape wouldn't stick better?

Let me know if you find a way to improve on this a bit! Hope it helped!

 

[smokadepep]

just an idea for the front gap between the doors, you can see a little light leak, if you were to take 2 pieces of laff, and cover that crack , tack it to one door, which will be your first to close door, then the other door will close to the laff, sealing that front crack

 

[DiscoBiscuits]

Gorilla Tape is pretty sweet or foil tape or both what the hell

 

[JohnnyToke]

excellent idea and cheap too.

thanks for the tip!

regards,
JT

 

[Able Mind]

smart,quick,& effctive,nice job!

 

[Gtotoys]

Great idea mon''''

 

[stndlghtnng]

I have that same cabinet, wish I'd seen this before I got everything going! I made shades out of blackout drapes, tacked a little frame around the perimeter of each grow chamber and have the shades attached to the that with velcro all the way around. It works pretty good but this idea would have saved me a lot of hassle

 

[green_tea]

you just gave me a SICK idea...

why not use a electric air pump to pump up an inflatable tube that is glued to the door sides. (like a bike tire tube would go around a tire rim, think of the door as the rim.)

Air tight and light proof if done right i would believe; the corners would be the only places I think you'd have to worry about.

 

[otherwhitemeat]

smok, I am going to use the 'D shaped' weatherstripping on the other three door edges. It will seal up nicely, this solution is mostly to cover the 'hinge gap' as it stretches and gives. The problem with my hinge edge is that it's a compound hinge and it has very little clearance when opening/closing I tried the D shaped weather stripping (had a little piece left over from cab 1.0) and it just got squished away. I'll post some pics when I complete the other edges.

Disco, Gorilla tape is very good stuff. I just ran out, thanks for the reminder...that is going on the HW store list. Lessseee, gorilla tape, D cell stripping, tons of PVC tubing and elbows. Almost there! This cab will be vegging my clones within 2 weeks; it HAS to! Clones are almost ready!


Johnny, able, and gto---thanks for the kind words. I hope this helps you guys in some small way!

stndlghtnng. Can you post or PM a pic or two of your cab so I can steal some ideas? If you have the same cab, then you might appreciate these pics too! The top of my cab had like a 2 foot space for the utility room, and this came at the expense of altitude of the two main chambers.


What I did was to brace the back with a 5/8 sheet of plywood to make it nice and strong. Predrilled my holes and countersunk so they look nice and clean. If you mod the thing, be sure to use coarse thread drywall screws (fine threads don't hold at all)

In bracing the back, I came up with the idea of raising the shelf for the utlity room. Here's how I did it:

I bought a white melamine shelf and cut off a section, I predrilled some dowel pin holes and hammered in two dowels to keep it straight while gluing. Then I used Gorilla glue along the edge. I clamped this with ratchet straps and then let sit overnight. After gluing, I relocated the shelf pins for the top shelf. I added about 10 inches of vertical to my veg and flower rooms! Then braced the top shelf with a piece of scrap to keep everything square. When I get to my cam again I'll show you my latest addition---I added some tucked in heavy duty caster wheels so i can move the thing easy, but it also creates an extra inch of ground clearance under the cab for my intakes. My goal is to make the thing 90% stealth, but by adding everything to one cab I am hoping to harvest 5-6 times a year rather than 3-4 and destink the house a bit. Just want to be self sufficient. I am losing 1 inch of floor area for my scrog (now 23x21, but I should be able to make up for this by holding mother, clones, and vegging within one single cab and doing a quick veg and one top before SCROGGING. I am going to use two inline duct fans to vent the whole thing. I'll post pics as I progress!





Green tea--I think the only problem you'd have is keeping anything glued to the rubber while it inflates and deflates, as the rubber moves it wants to pull away. That said, I am always impressed with stoner ingenuity, so lessee what you come up with!

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

.

you could skip the whole tube, cutting, and stapleing process and just go straight for that tape, u bought it anyway.

 

[Old Yeller]

Good Idea!
I use cut bike tubes to suspend my scrubber/fan & anything else in my closet - works way better (& cheaper) than those god-awfull bungies & transfers no vibrations to the cab walls.
I used to put my 100lb stereo amp & turntable on wheelbarrow innertubes - ugly, but no feedback at all from the speakers right next to them.

 

[otherwhitemeat]

Digitalhippy, the idea is that the inner tube expands and flexes with the doors opening and closing. The edge I did this on had compound pocket hinges, I believe tape would get all mangled in the process of the opening and closing, unless I am missing what you mean.

Old Yeller. I go through about 2 mtn bike tubes a week so this is a great way to go. I am DEFINATELY going to use them to hang my fans! thanks!

 

[Old Yeller]

OWM - I just run them thru a big eye-hook & tie a simple knot at the top - easy to adjust. A little talcum power rubbed on them keeps the rubber from sticking to itself (& makes gettin' them onto your bike rim a snap).
Most bike shops have trash bins full of used tubes for free or you can get them at Wallmart for $1.99 if you like giving big corporations your money. (Recycle!)

 

[otherwhitemeat]

Gorilla Tape is pretty sweet or foil tape or both what the hell

Disco, if you are still around...you win a prize. Gorilla tape works MUCH better than furnace tape.

 

[SativaDreams]

hey, what did you do for the other edges? (not the hinge edge)

the other edges around the opening door??
great post and idea on bike tires

I personally used 90 cent binders and took out the cardboard inserts then used the plasticish-rubberish remaining and covered my hinge in a very similar way to you (in my stealth dresser)

 

[otherwhitemeat]

SativaDreams, sorry I've been neglecting my threads.

I used some Frost King Premium EPDM weatherstripping from Lowe's. They had one for medium to large gaps (3/8" I think) it's profile looks like a series of ridges. It's been in place for about a year now and only a few spots are starting to wear, not bad at all. I placed a seal around each door and the frame/shelf it makes contact to. Air and light tight all around!