Setting up Stealth Micro Cab

[F0iL]

Hey All,

I am about to setup a new cab with an old filing cabinet I found laying around. The dimensions of the cab are going to be 27"Hx15.5"Wx19.5"D and I am planning on doing a 4-6 plant 150watt hps grow. I am trying to make this as stealth as possible with minimal noise. As for my ventilation/odor I want to run the Vortex 4" 172cfm fan (with speedster fan speed controller) with the Elf carbon filter (4"x10"). Since I dont have much space in the inside of the cab I plan on running the fan on the exterior and possibly keeping the carbon filter in the inside of the cab.

I am just wondering if my ventilation/odor setup will be over kill for my type of setup? Would it be better just to do a diy carbon scrubber and buy a different type of fan? I just dont know what other fans I could use that are small, quiet, and powerful enough for my setup. Any help or suggestions would be great thanks.

 

[pontiac]

Your current plan seems just about right.

 

[ReeferDan]

hey i am using that exact same exhaust/scrubber setup.

With 2 150w hps lights in a 22dx29wx 28h cabinet and the speedster turned to right inbetween low and medium my temps are a perfect 76-78* about 3-4" away from the lights. within 1-2" it goes up to about 84-86* but i wont ever let the plants get that close. Its nice knowing that im only on "low" and i have a lot of fan to work with if need be.

ONce i get my damn pictures to upload with my ic account i'll post up how i ran my setup in stealth fashion.
Im going to be putting 4 clones in tonight from the veg cab into this cab so i'll let you know how the elf filter controls smell with the fan dialed down this low...there is already a bunch of air moving. This vortex sure beats the 120mm pc fan of my veg box!!!

 

[F0iL]

pontiac - thanks I appreciate ur comment, I will probably go with this setup then. I just hope that I can keep my noise level down with the vortex fan on the exterior. I guess I can possibly wrap it in some kind of insulating/noise dampening material.

ReeferDan - Wow ur setup sounds really good and I would love to see some pics of how u setup ur cab and also some pics of ur plants. By the way how is the noise level with the vortex fan with the speed controller on the setting u set it on? Thanks

 

[Villain]

I think that the Vortex is a bit loud as I have the exact same filter and fan in a dresser. If you plan on keeping it out in the open then forget about it, but if you have the cabinet in like your closet in your BR then you should be fine. Check out my gallery for pics of the dresser I am growing in. The dimensions are not too far off from your... 45"Hx29"Wx16"D at least we both need to express the dimension in inch.
I 3Ded you a little picture to help you get an idea of your space. All the objects are to scale... the fan in the back and the filter are to scale with your cab. The reflector is also scale with the cab with 17"L 15"W and 6.5"H. The Container for the plants is a 10g Sterilite tote from walmart just to give you idea. Good Luck

 

[F0iL]

Villain - Haha thats awsome man I love the 3D design you did! Thats basically how I want my cab to be with the scrubber on the right top corner and the vortex fan right at the back. I am looking into doing the diy for the cool tube setup with the bake-a-round. But I will probably be sticking with a batwing like that for a little. Well I just hope I can come up with a way to muffle the sound or dampen it for my vortex fan.

As for the type of grow I am going to be doing a soil grow with 1.4 liter pots. I will probably upgrade my pots to something bigger. I just dont know how big I can go before running out of room. Thanks

 

[Villain]

Dude a cool tube would be easy I will try and 3D something quick lol.

Ok so check this design out.

 

[ReeferDan]

the vortex fan really isnt that loud at all. My pc fan is louder. If you turn it up i think the sound of the rushing air is louder than the fan itself.

 

[simba]

i hate to interrupt but u should consider CMH (ceramic metal Halide)
the greatest thing for micro grows its super easy to pull Most heat out unlike HPS or MH that THROW heat..
lookup JohnyBlaze thread

 

[F0iL]

Villain - thats awsome man! haha wow I actually was thinking about putting the scrubber and the fan on the outside just like that how you designed it! That cool tube and the batwing look amazing aswell. I am really going to try and base it off of what you just designed cause thats exactly how I wanted it to be. I really want to maximize my room inside the cab in order to have more room for my plants. By the way if I keep the scrubber on the outside and instead of sucking through the scrubber and then through the fan would it be the same if the air passed through the fan first and then out the scrubber? Are there any negative effects to this? Thanks

ReeferDan - ic well I am going to def go with the vortex than and see how it does. Thanks for your input

simba - Hey thanks for ur input I will definitely look into CMH system. Thanks

 

[Villain]

Yeah CMH caught my eye as well, and I started to check it out. Apparently for about 50.00 you ca plug these lamps into a standard HPS ballast. I haven't seen or read about temps in comparison to a regular HPS, but I did find the thread with the Jonny Blaze and they came out really nice.

Foil I really don't think that it matter a whole lot... I asked the same thing about a month ago. I was told that both ways work well, although pulling through is a tad bit more efficient. By placing the the fan/filter on the outside you increase the actual grow area by about 4-5 inches. I'm not sure what you planned to do with the door front but these things work out great. They are called rolled bearings or something and they allow you to just "pop" the door on and off. If you wanted you to you could attach the two door faces stealthy like I did then place these.



You can see that the tongue on the fronts slide and get pinches in the roller bearing part and stay in place. I't just a few idea ya know hope it helps, if you need anymore 3D work done let me know lol. Later.

 

[F0iL]

Villain - Yeah I really like the design of the scrubber/fan on the outside cause I really want to maximize my space in the inside as much as possible and that 4-5" is going to make a difference. Well as long as it doesn't give me a negative effect I will def. be keeping both on the exterior. As for the front I am basically going to attach hinges and make it like a draw bridge type door. Those roller bearing things look like they work well, I might buy 1 or 2 of them to keep my door nice and closed. Thanks for all the help with the design and I will definitely let you know if I need anymore of those cool 3D designs haha.. I should have this cab completed some time in the beginning of next month. So ill make sure to post it up once I finish it.

 

[ReeferDan]

here is my idea of stealth ventalation for a cab. This is the back side of my cab, you can see the remoted ballasts, speedster fan controller, temp/humidity gauge, and vortex 4" inline with the elf carbon filter. ITs hidden in "plane sight" and from the front is pretty cutty, there is a bunch of clothes/hats stacked up in front of it so it looks like a normal messy bedroom!

 

[F0iL]

ReeferDan - That looks like a really good design and very stealthy, but I dont have anymore room to put another rubbermaid on top or behind my cab. Maybe ill try to build a custom box attached behind my cab that will just be small enough to surround the fan/scrubber that way I could hide the noise a little and also put some kinf od sound dempening material around it.

 

[Villain]

Here is another sketch Up of how it could look with a box or cover of some sort.





You know I love this stuff man sorry to fill your thread with 3D pics but they are a blast to whip up.

 

[F0iL]

Villain - That 3D design looks almost like what I had in mind. I might shorten the sides up a little so that you cant see the box in the back that easily. But I love these 3D designs ur doing it really gives me an idea of what I want to do. Thanks

 

[F0iL]

Hey, all i know i was suppose to get this done sooner but i am not in a rush with this cause my next run wont go till a little. But I just went with painting the inside of the cab white instead of using mylar/emerg. blanket. I still need to add a bottom part to the cab and add the door. Does anyone have any experience with making a draw bridge type door, and what hinges to use for it? I tried to use small door hinges but it didn't work out well. Thanks

 

[F0iL]

New Update

New Update

Hey, All I just finished putting the floor part in and attaching it to the cab and some other small things. I need to figure out a way to put the front part on but I just dont know what to use cause I got a small wooden piece on the bottom of it that adds to the front so that there isnt a huge gap from the door to the ground. After I attach the door I am going to caulk all the corners and cracks and I will also weather strip the door so that no light leaks through. After that I am going to get a 150watt hps, 4" vortex fan, and I am going to order an 8"x8" light louver for the passive intake. I can't wait to run this new cab By the way if anyone has any door ideas on how to attach it so its stealthy than please let me know. Thanks

 

[F0iL]

Alright another small update that I did to the cab. I was able to get the door on and was able to seal it up at the same time. I just need to get the light and fan now and some 90 degree pvc pipes for the light traps. The door basically just clips in and stays tight with the clips I got that Villian was talkin about. Anyways here are some pics of what it looks like. Oh and dont mind the white that is showing with the door shut I am going to sand the white paint off.

 

[F0iL]

I was wondering if it is a good idea to bump up the wattage and go with a 250watt hps instead of a 150watt. Would there be too much heat? I will be running the 4" vortex and a couple of fans in the inside. Or would it be better just to use a 150watt hps and add some cfl's for lower temps?