VapingBuddha
Member
The best output of the cabinet so far, an old freebie.
POK (Plural of Kush) Black Domina x Hindu Kush:
POK (Plural of Kush) Black Domina x Hindu Kush:
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Vaping Buddha's 1.4 sq.ft. 92W CFL Stealth Micro Cabinet
- Thread starter VapingBuddha
- Start date
VapingBuddha
Member
For my new cabinet the goal was a clean, stealth, micro design that would be relatively safe to have in regular living space at my new place. I'm not sure that absolute stealth is really possible, but I wanted to get as close as I reasonably could. As to the style of growing, Dr. BudGreengenes threads on perpetual micro sog provided some inspiration. It's a lot of plants, but for now it gives me the ability to try more strains and go thru my backlog of seeds. At some point with a couple of keepers I might go to more of a scrog.
I looked around for a while and decided on a tall, slender cabinet from IKEA's Vattern series. This line of tall cabinets is no longer made, but they were intended for use in and around bathrooms as additional linen storage, etc. Mine is actually the largest of these, with an interior footprint of 14" x 14.5", by 6' tall, and it sits elevated on some peg feet about 6" high, so about 6-1/2 feet total height.
This is the cabinet, powered up and in full operation:
I looked around for a while and decided on a tall, slender cabinet from IKEA's Vattern series. This line of tall cabinets is no longer made, but they were intended for use in and around bathrooms as additional linen storage, etc. Mine is actually the largest of these, with an interior footprint of 14" x 14.5", by 6' tall, and it sits elevated on some peg feet about 6" high, so about 6-1/2 feet total height.
This is the cabinet, powered up and in full operation:
VapingBuddha
Member
My design stacks a flowering chamber on top of a veg chamber for moms and clones, with a large fan and charcoal filter above the flowering area. At the bottom is the power strip and the timers. Top to bottom, by approximate height, it breaks down like this:
6" - Filter (~1" activated carbon)
13" - 120 CFM Fan
18" - Flowering
17" - Mom, veg
12" - Power strip, timers, drying area
Open Cabinet:
6" - Filter (~1" activated carbon)
13" - 120 CFM Fan
18" - Flowering
17" - Mom, veg
12" - Power strip, timers, drying area
Open Cabinet:
VapingBuddha
Member
Top area, this is a little hard to see, but at the top there is an exhaust louver at the top which is just a regular AC vent. Below that is a thin strip of plywood hanging off some long screws, here I was just trying to make sure there was no direct path for sound or light.
Below that there is a flat wood frame that contains the carbon filter. This is just a simple 2 part wood frame I built that screws together. It uses 1/4" hardware cloth on the bottom for support, and the carbon is surrounded by AC filter paper. The carbon is from a pet supply store and is about 1" thick. The frame rests on a shelf that has been cut away except for the edges.
The baggie you see there has a hole in it and contains a Vaportek disc (neutral scent) and a couple pieces of an Ona block. Along with the carbon filter, that seems to be enough for odor control.
Here you can see the underneath of the carbon filter and the top of the 120 CFM inline fan.
Finally, the fan, which sits on some foam. The foam is both for sound as well as to seal around the hole. The fan is heavy enough that as it sits on the foam, it compresses and fills the gap around the hole. You can also see a Speedster fan speed control on the right. The brown weatherstripping that you see peeling away has since been replaced.
Below that there is a flat wood frame that contains the carbon filter. This is just a simple 2 part wood frame I built that screws together. It uses 1/4" hardware cloth on the bottom for support, and the carbon is surrounded by AC filter paper. The carbon is from a pet supply store and is about 1" thick. The frame rests on a shelf that has been cut away except for the edges.
The baggie you see there has a hole in it and contains a Vaportek disc (neutral scent) and a couple pieces of an Ona block. Along with the carbon filter, that seems to be enough for odor control.
Here you can see the underneath of the carbon filter and the top of the 120 CFM inline fan.
Finally, the fan, which sits on some foam. The foam is both for sound as well as to seal around the hole. The fan is heavy enough that as it sits on the foam, it compresses and fills the gap around the hole. You can also see a Speedster fan speed control on the right. The brown weatherstripping that you see peeling away has since been replaced.
VapingBuddha
Member
Thanks, Blynx, I like your work. For the most part I use the "D" shaped vinyl weatherstripping for the main air & light seal and have had few problems as long as I was using fresh weatherstripping and all the pressure was straight on it.
I did have a problem with this cabinet at first because it came with the hidden hinge design. Note that in the photo below (old hinges), the position of the door is such that you can't even see the vinyl weatherstripping, because the hidden hinge design slides the weatherstripping to one side as it opens. That setup did require readjustment, so I replaced those with regular hinges.
What you do see here is some foam weatherstripping used to beef up the protection from light leaks from chamber to chamber. Some pieces (on the right) stick slightly out from the shelves and walls and end up pushing on the door with their sides, and the pieces on the door interlock a bit, making some corners to impede the light.
If you get real picky, I've noticed that the "D" shape vinyl stuff has a thin layer of adhesive tape that will let a very thin line of light through, but it's pretty easy to roll over it with a jar or something and get rid of that.
VapingBuddha
Member
This is a more recent photo of that area, showing the new hinges. You can see the "foam on edge" stripping on the side wall of the cabinet and just beyond it is a line of the "D" shaped vinyl stripping.
VapingBuddha
Member
The Dreaded Tot Lok:
I keep the cabinet shut with Tot Loks, little magnetic locks used to keep kids out of stuff. They are a hassle to install, but once you understand them and have set them up properly they work great, and make the cabinet completely impenetrable. I had to play a bit with some washers and so forth to get the door to seal just right. I have 2 locks to seal the 6' long door.
Tot Lok key magnet:
Note: Having read some stories, I was fanatically cautious about keeping the unlocking magnet/key outside the cabinet. I would religiously set the magnet down outside the cabinet, and succeeded for about a year. But while I was replacing the door hinges, I moved the cabinet to a new area and was out of that careful procedural mode while I was trying to get the door to fit right, and the next thing I knew, I had shut the cabinet and locked the key inside. Oops. I felt incredibly stupid, and later, incredibly lucky that I was able to buy another set of Tot Loks at a local store within the hour. Having two keys is not a bad idea, and now I have a spare kept well away from the cabinet.
I keep the cabinet shut with Tot Loks, little magnetic locks used to keep kids out of stuff. They are a hassle to install, but once you understand them and have set them up properly they work great, and make the cabinet completely impenetrable. I had to play a bit with some washers and so forth to get the door to seal just right. I have 2 locks to seal the 6' long door.
Tot Lok key magnet:
Note: Having read some stories, I was fanatically cautious about keeping the unlocking magnet/key outside the cabinet. I would religiously set the magnet down outside the cabinet, and succeeded for about a year. But while I was replacing the door hinges, I moved the cabinet to a new area and was out of that careful procedural mode while I was trying to get the door to fit right, and the next thing I knew, I had shut the cabinet and locked the key inside. Oops. I felt incredibly stupid, and later, incredibly lucky that I was able to buy another set of Tot Loks at a local store within the hour. Having two keys is not a bad idea, and now I have a spare kept well away from the cabinet.
A is 4 PiMp
Member
one word: NICE!! 
Really nice set up. I'll be watching
VB,
Excellent work on the cab. You've done your homework which is nice to see.
Too many here wanna ask questions without doing their research.
The tot locks are a PITA to install, but really add stealth to your cab.
Lemme know If I can be of help.
Again, great job.
BTW, what is the breakdown of the lighting in each compartment
Excellent work on the cab. You've done your homework which is nice to see.
Too many here wanna ask questions without doing their research.
The tot locks are a PITA to install, but really add stealth to your cab.
Lemme know If I can be of help.
Again, great job.
BTW, what is the breakdown of the lighting in each compartment
hazydreams
Active member
the tot locks are icing on this cake. I like everything you got going on. yeilds??
ill definitely be watching
LoKey,
Vertical pl-l's in something that size would be the shit.
How many you planning on running?
Vertical pl-l's in something that size would be the shit.
How many you planning on running?
LoKey
Member
just one bulb in the center surrounded by 8 plants in a 12x12" square, Theoretically due to the inverse law a 36w pl-l should be enough, but a 55w will definitely work, just have to make a taller flower chamber, but i have multiple plans all done up in sketchup just need some pl-l's, ballasts, and some carbon pellets and i would be building this thing tomorrow, but i dont really need a new box and have to first search around for the lights locally
VapingBuddha
Member
Flowering lights are 4 x 23 Watt CFL (warm white)
So that's 92 Watts and 5660 Lumens
On a sq. ft. basis that's 66 Watts/sq. ft. and 4686 Lumens/sq. ft.
Some people definitely use more. In this design I'm up against the wall because of temperature limitations in the summer. I'll talk about air flow in a bit. You can see a couple of eye hooks in the ceiling, I use those to cut down the size of the chamber sometimes by hanging a piece of foam core board there.
Veg lights are 1 or 2 x 23 Watt CFL. These are warm white, but I may change to cool white at some point.
Lights are fixed to the shelf above with an angle bracket.
So that's 92 Watts and 5660 Lumens
On a sq. ft. basis that's 66 Watts/sq. ft. and 4686 Lumens/sq. ft.
Some people definitely use more. In this design I'm up against the wall because of temperature limitations in the summer. I'll talk about air flow in a bit. You can see a couple of eye hooks in the ceiling, I use those to cut down the size of the chamber sometimes by hanging a piece of foam core board there.
Veg lights are 1 or 2 x 23 Watt CFL. These are warm white, but I may change to cool white at some point.
Lights are fixed to the shelf above with an angle bracket.
VapingBuddha
Member
Yields so far have not been that great. I did get that one beauty at the beginning of the thread to yield around 4 grams, 4.2 I think. But for the most part I'm hitting 2-3 grams. Then again, I really haven't optimized the height yet, here you can see some experimentation:
The area I'm dealing with is 14" x 14.5" and if I wanted I could fit 20 bottles in a 4 x 5 configuration, maybe a couple of more with a little nesting and offsetting. If I did 20 bottles at 3 grams, that would be a 2 oz. yield over the flowering period.
The area I'm dealing with is 14" x 14.5" and if I wanted I could fit 20 bottles in a 4 x 5 configuration, maybe a couple of more with a little nesting and offsetting. If I did 20 bottles at 3 grams, that would be a 2 oz. yield over the flowering period.
I think your light situation is fine.
60 grams out of a 92 watt grow.
Most micro growers would call that a success.
Get to it!
BTW. I think foam core is flammable. Be careful putting too close to the lights.
60 grams out of a 92 watt grow.
Most micro growers would call that a success.
Get to it!
BTW. I think foam core is flammable. Be careful putting too close to the lights.
hazydreams
Active member
dude i would call 60 grams in 1.41 square feet knocking it out of the fucking park. very nice homie.
Keep it green and sticky!
Keep it green and sticky!
