Stealth Cabinet w/ lots of pics

[FullMetalJacket]

Panda paper time.. Got the thickest stuff they had and a bunch of it. This is a pain in the butt...

Built a cool door thing to seal the veg chamber when closed...

Continued w/ the pvc foam...

Some lighting 600 horti HPS in cooltube - and 8 bulb 2" T5

Heated the panda real high to get a little shrinkage vai the use of a heat gun. Wanted it too look real tight instead of what you see in previous pics.

Shelf on the right in veg chamber is adjustable and has 2ft above and below in this pic. It will be used for bonsai mothers. The hole in the right shelf is where the Co2 tank will go.

8 bulb T5 on HTG easy light hangers fits perfect. Gives me 2 whole feet for vegging with a big 18 gallon rubbermaid. That duct piece in that back will be pained white and is just sitting in there to represent where the C02 tank will be...

A cover for my dual diaphram airpump 4 outlet with additional splitters . Made by general hydroponics and does 320 GPH.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Freezer - How did you cut the metal fridge?

The layers were just the right distance apart to break jig saw blades. The pneumatic grinder was too slow. I tried a hole saw for metal and the freezer just laughed. So, believe it or not, I drilled billions and billions of 1/4 inch holes, each slightly overlapping the last. I cleaned up the edges with a rat tail file.

 

[FreezerBoy]

I just going around see what this things I can cut with this plasma gun

LOL. Have plasma gun. Will ventilate.

 

[Guest]

Love the heavy duty design, and how much did u pay 4 ur plasma. I really need to get 1 of them and a tig welder.

 

[FullMetalJacket]

So this is where i am now...still a lot to do..

Looking in the intakes with dampners open and hepa filter and ven cover removed.

Painted Register over intakes..

 

[FrankRizzo]

That's a classy looking cab you have yourself. I'm interested to see how things go when you have it up and running. Good luck.

 

[FullMetalJacket]

List of items i will be using and have recieved-(will add to this as i remeber or add things)

-Sentenial CHHC-1 with PPM control
-Sentenial CO2 valve thing
-3 S&P fans
-8 Bulb 2' T5 light fixture with veg bulbs
-31 gallon and 18 gallon rubbermaid - (got 3 of each so i can have different lid designs and easy to to res changes)
-2 50 mag drive water pumps
-General Hydoponics 320 GPH air pump and 140 gallon back-up pump.
-Tri-meter for PH TDS and Temp of res
-2 temp and Humidity monitors
-3 Speedster Fan Speed Controls
-1 Heated Propogation Dome for seeds.
-4 26 W soft white CFLs for mothers
-2 webcams so i can view measurements(trimeter, PPM, Enviro) on my computer without opening cab
-6" Cooltube (new model w black cord from top)
-2 600W Hortiflux SuperHPS bulbs (one for back-up)
-600 Watt digital greenhouse digital ballast for MH and HPS
-1 thermoelectic dehumidifier
-1 Roll 100ft of 48" Panda Paper
-4 4" internal circulation fans rated at 70-120 CFM
-2 sets of HTG light hangers for both the HPS and T5.
-2 Can Carbon filters (33 and 2900)
-2 100 ft rolls of fatmat
-2 Elite Series Sandusky Steel Cabinets 36x24x78
-25ft flexible ducting
-8ft straight 6" duct
-2ft straight 8" duct
-1ft straight 4"duct
-6ft semi flexible 4" duct
-1 8x6 duct reducer
-2 8" 90 degree ducts
-2 fantech butterfly dampners
-1 Roll White Duct Tape
-2 Rolls of Aluminum tape
-4 Cans of Spay paint (off white, 2 white, black)
-100ft 1/4 inch air tubing
-20 6" netpots (some extras)
-20 3.5" netpots (some extras)
-Air tubing
-12 misc airstones

Need to get-
-1/10 hp water chiller
-ThermoElectic devices for cooling and dehumidifying (maybe)(trying to vent as little as possible)
- Small pots for Bonai mothers
-Screen for the SCROG

 

[FullMetalJacket]

Thanks smoke1sun, i appreciate it.

420Wookie- don't know about better just a different design.

Pirate - In theory metal should be cooler than wood because it is a better conducter of heat. It would absorb more of it and release it externally. I basically eliinated this advanatge with my sound dampening/insulation. Heat will not be an issue. My preliminary test show the temp doesnt go over 91 when I have the fan for the light running at 75% speed and not exhausting the cab what so ever. This was done running the light for 12 hours in a room that started with an ambient of 70. After the test my ambient rose to 74. I have yet to test any humidity because no plants yet.
91 should be ok with the C02 supplementation. It may even be lower than that because i will force an air exchange every 3 hours at least for the hell of it. May have to tun down my light fan to force it to stay warmer in there.

CO2
I actually prefer closer to 95 when running CO2 personally. If i dont find a way to control humidity internally most often i will be exhausting every hour. But i will definitly try to do it internally because exhausting just adds to sound and possible smell and will lower the temps. It will also waste a small amount of C02(not worried about that based on how little it is).

My 20lb tank would last 84 days even if i did a complete air exchange every 15 minutes. Here are my calculations...with the help of a Co2 calculator i found on the web..

---------

Grow room area: 36 cubic feet
Amount of CO2 required: 0.0432 cubic feet
On time: 0.65 minutes
At this flow rate:
If you are using a 20 pound CO2 bottle with a regulator, it will last 43.7 hours.
flow setting 4

4 times an hour
12 hours on

48 cO2 cycles at .65 min
48 * .65 = 31.2 min a day

C02 tank will last 43.7 hours or 2622 min
using 31.2 min a day

2622/31.22 = 84
20 lb Co2 tank will last 84 days of usage if I recycle my air every 15 min (this is worst case scenerio, i wont do this)

---------

 

[FullMetalJacket]

Well I appreciate the kudos, one of the primary reasons I did this was for heavy critisism and ideas. Come on guys help a brother out...

I actually like the threads w/ arguments about topics as you see different views accompanied by their supporting logic. That is how people learn , especially the newb "lurkers" as I was(and probably still am).

I have some plants near harvest from dirt grow i can finish in the cab..just don't really want to. But if plants is what grabs folks attention I may have to bring them in...

 

[guineapig]

Awesome design!!!! Very good design all around.....i can't wait to see it in action....

Really you've put so much love and attention to detail into this project, i can't see any reason to criticize the design.....

Now one thing to think about is how noisy the fans will be......you might consider wrapping insulation around the fans to muffle the sound, which could potentially vibrate the surrounding metal frame, but we'll have to see what happens when you start trial runs with the unit.....

You do need a catchy name.....and you're right, all the other cabinets on the market are seriously flawed, either in design or price or both......too expensive and not stealthy enough.....

Let me add that i am working on a GROW-POD unit, and have begun putting it together......it is around half the size of a traditional cabinet, but it can be stacked in order to maximize efficiency.....also, it has wheels just in case someone comes over and you have to move the GROW-POD into another room......i didn't want to hi-jack your thread, so i'll start a new one when the time is right....

Keep up the good work!!!! Love the design, and i know it will be affordable when you start the business and have access to wholesale prices on all the parts and components.....

kind regards from guineapig

 

[FullMetalJacket]

Thanks Guineapig, The fans are actually really quite they dont vibrate at all. I have them on foam but it really wasn't needed. I do get some air movemeont noise out of the top of the box from the light exhaust on full blast. When i reduce it to 50% it is really quite. Definitely can't hear the wind noise from right outside the room when the door is open...

I will be playing with some ideas to reduce that air noise as i will probably run the fan at around 75%. If i put a heavy cotton towel over the exhaust, it is nearly silent but the towel levetates; so definitely not a long term option just thought it was cool.

If anyone is looking for quite fans definitly consider these. The vortex i use in my closet is sounds like a plane, and these are quieter the panasonic whispers i use in similar cabinets that i have server equipment in. I mean you cant hear the fan at all, just the wind noise, but you will have that w/ any fan.

I am definitely never building one of these again and no one could pay me enough..definitely been a pain in the butt. lol

 

[FullMetalJacket]

Guinie, if are implying you are selling the GrowPod please do man. People need some quality out there. I will do a free web site for you if you need it..
--

What really bothers me about the mass produced cabs is the way the target newbs. They dont gear any self contained cabs towards anyone novice or above. You can tell they target newbs because they claim stealth and "have a veg area" but they are veg/clone usually useless do to their design. And what about mothers?

In their larger ones i see they have 2 large flower areas instead of an area for veg and mother. If I wanted a ton of plants i probably wouldn't be trying to grow in a cabinet...If anyone has seen a fully contained stealth cabinet for sale please let me know. I looked everywhere. I know bloombox sells different modules but i dont want modules.. Plus like i stated before Bllobox has that "what the hell is that thing" factor isf someone sees it...

Then once these newbs get their cab and they get a mother or want to veg they figure out they need another area..so they put them in their closet, sit them in their room, or some other less than ideal space without proper smell control, ventation, locks etc. Over half of the posts about mass produced cabs i see people say the ventalation is not strong enough (so they leave the door open..lol). Then their entire stealth is gone and they have been had by the clever advertising.. Just pisses me off because it happened to a friend, many on here, and almost to me.

I hate buidling things and think my time is more valuable than doing so.. I would have happily paid a 1500 markup for a complete cab with namebrand components. I just haven't seen one out there as i previously stated. I hear some people saying that "i looked up prices and im only paying 500 more than it would have cost me to due it on my own...". But what they fail to see is you would have done it differently to better meet your needs and not use cheap junk china made equipment specifcally made and sold to these mass producers in quanity that still enables them to throw claim numbers around. People see threads of peoples first grow in the cabinets and they are successful so think they are good..But if you look at their subsequent grows you see how they make changes, upgrades, additions, or junk it all together.

Someone who has a felony, criminal convictions, or has trouble finding employment could make a killing. Hell even if you made less than 75,000-100,000 USD a year i would look into buidling cabs. Evwn if your job income was more money than that I would do it if you are dedicated and would love building these. I just wouldnt recommend building them where you grow obviously.

There are individuals with money out there that will gladly spend money for quality products... Often times the people with money are in the business world and look at it as an investment. And growing, even for personal use, has a tremendous ROI (return on investment).

It is not like other industries where you have to compete with powerhouses that own market share and have endless resources to spend on development and advertising. Most people look on these forums before purchasing a cabinet/growing device etc. Claims coming from experts such and other owners or experts in this forum have alot more weight than some claims on a vendors website... Do you see how many people read these threads and dont say say anything? All these "lurkers" are potential customers". I know because i did it and do it before every purchase i make... These forums are almost like the cnet of growing products.

That being said you can spend 1000 on tools and build a cab. Keep your day job and sell the first few at cost to get some attention.. You can make a cab in a spare bedroom. Once you do a few look into getting some mass quanity discouts(which are huge in this arena) and continue on. Maybe even buy some advertising on ICM to support the site..Just dont start buidling shit like these other companies and be transparent. Hell I will build you a free website with all the bells and whistles just because im pissed i was forced to build a cabinet myself...

Trust me if i didnt have a successful career and lack of building skills (dont even need them though, building cabs isnt difficult). Especially since there is no competetion out there and the way law reform seems to be taking place. I mean simple economics here. I think like 12 states have medical marijuana laws in the US right now and some are decriminalizing marijuana to a certain extent. Soon other states will be following suit and growth rate of demand is exponential... Some people may argue that why spend that amount on a cabinet when you can build a whole grow room etc". Most people dont want that much weed because they would never sell. Maybe they arent willing to take the risk of selling, or perhaps their careers are just much more lucrative, or maybe they just hate growing things. For whatever the reason many people just want a system for personal use that is discrete and cuts in to their everyday lives as little as possible. These new "medical marijuana users" will want easy to use cabinets and other growing mediums for personal use...

thats just IMHO

maybe the sterotype about stoners being lazy is true..lol

I will never rant again on here....

 

[BonsaiBud]

I love the detail.
I cut my cabs with a 4.5 inch cut-off wheel on mounted to a $30 die grinder.
I plan to get 4 inch- 4 bolt adapters so I can connect duct to another chamber with 4 inch flex hose coming from one fan and leading up to the filter chamber.
I use tin snips on the ductwork...and the cab back before I got the die grinder and 4.5 inch wheel.

How much you gonna sell the plasma cutter for?

 

[BonsaiBud]

Thermoelectric coolers are no where near efficient enough on the large heat-load scale of this cab. What you could really use is a tiny wall unit and glue the vent flap shut as all your ventilation is controlled by the dampers and CO2 controller.
For $500 or so you could get a twin hose, but I bet a little 5,000 BTU cheepo wall unit would do it.
parts express has sound deadening material in small quantities including adhesive-backed acoustic asphalt.

Now you got me all excited about my ammo-box ballast.

 

[DHarvester]

Enjoyed the rant on scamming the newb. Happened to me and I'm still trying to make it work. Problem with buying the wrong thing and trying to make it work is, it costs the same, if not more than buying the right thing in the first place.

Beautiful cab, can't wait to see it filled... It's too bad that you feel so strongly about not selling your cabinet design, you are truly a craftsman.

Would you be able to give a link for the fans, I was looking into the Panasonic's and you say that these are quieter... got my attention. Also, what do you think one of your cabinets would cost to build?

-D.

 

[eyes]

hey fmj-"I decided on the midsize model. I thought about it and i can go fully closed system with AC and Dehumidifier if i need to by buidling my own compact thermoelectric devices for AC and Dehumidification." Im thinkin of cabinet design as well.Can u tell me a little more about the concept.As far as the device u wanna build for the a/c cooling part of it?how does that work?

 

[strain_searcher]

Amazing skill and detail. Wish you could build be a micro cab LOL

 

[eyes]

also,what the brand of fan u are using?

 

[hoosierdaddy]

FMJ,
I am still curious what sort of air supply you are using for the plasma cutter.

Btw...the Hoosiers own you, and you know it!

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Common Sensi, I am full aware of how a plasma functions. There were no shots of his air supply and I was wondering how he supplied it, be it a compressor OR using bottled air, which can also work. I thought perhaps it had an internal compressor of it's own. (shrug)
Btw...he said he paid $650 and was selling for ~$550.

Just a tip on the tip...
If you find the tips foul out often, you need to get a better air filter. Dirty, wet air is what causes them to foul. A cutter tip that is using clean dry air can last up to six months or more of daily use. That will never happen with the unit supplied filters.