My Self Contained Multi-Chamber Stealth Grow Cabinet Construction Thread

Tot-Loks ordered & Expense list.


Hey All:hello:


I was originally planning to wait for Phase 2 to install the Tot-Loks but the cab doors don't close tightly because of the weather-stripping. There is a line of light on the floor and ceiling in line with the doors. I'm imagining that these magnetic locks will pull the doors shut tightly, sealing off the air and light, at the edges as well as around the light chamber.


All right now for the requested $$$ info.


Phase 1


Store-it-All Cab (Lowes) - $120


4'x8' sheet of Melamine (Lowes) - $13


Cordless Drill 18v - $35 (overstock.com)


Drill bits - $10 (lowes)


Hole Saw Kit - $20 (overstock.com)


2x Thermaltake SilentCat 120mm (tigerdirect.com) - $20


2x SilverStone FM121 120mm (tigerdirect.com) - $30


5x 1/4" Weather stripping (Lowes) - $17.50


3x 3/8" Weather stripping (Lowes) - $11.50


22"x24" Glass (Lowes) - $8


3/8" drill bit (hardware store) - $3


Various screws and nails (hardware store) - $7


4x L Brackets (hardware store) - $1.5


Threaded Eyes (hardware store) - $2.5


Tot-Lok's starter kit + 4pk (drugstore.com) - $28


sales tax not included above - $20


truck rental (Penske) - $40


3 Cans White spray paint (Lowes) - $9


Total - $396


This is what I bought and spent...I'm betting that most ppl could have figured out some way to transport the cab w/out renting a truck but somehow not me...


Thanks to all:qbluewacko:


Good Growing!

 

Looking good Graditude! I've been following since I came aboard and I gotta say "A" for effort!:laughing5: Great pictorial if I ever gotta go back to APT/townhou se livin'. Plants are looking great, awesome color! Good Luck!

 

Well your allmost done. It sure gets expensive but so does buying 1/4 for $50 to $ 75 ,Nice Job Gratitude.

 

great job


im building a grow cabinet too, but unfortunatly it will only be able to accomodate one LSTed plant


im doing mine in a fileing cabinet, ill be shure to thread it later

 

im curious on how you wired those fans seeing as i am looking at using the same ones =)


i cant find information on it myself (ive only looked about 15 min.)

 

for the silence...


Hey all,


The only thing that's stopped is the updates.


Not quite true, my PC has stopped. I'm using a different one to type this.


Construction progress has slowed but inches forward.


I installed the Tot-Loks, cut holes in the shelves for the veg side and got some (2) 55w 5900K CRI=94 CFL's for the veg side. I've not yet installed the Veg lights or shelves. Normal updates comming soon (I hope).


The plants about 28" tall now, big and beautiful (Sat will be 3wks of 12/12).


I will still need to take measures to control height. Pretty sure I'm gonna give HHHG's C-Scrog a try...should have done that some time ago but...


ElektroBuds - Thanks for the props. As far as fan wiring goes, couldn't be much easier. I had a 12v DC adapter from some long forgotten device, cut the end off and wired it to the red and black wires on the fan. The yellow one is for RPM monitoring that some PC Motherboards support (so you don't need it). If you switch the wires and it doesn't work, try them the other way.


I used wire nuts rather than tape and it's a good thing, I've had to dis and re connect them a few times over the course of the project. So in my case I wired the 4 fans on one adapter, if you are doing more than one you need to ensure that the Amp rating on your adapter is grater than or equal to the combined Amps required by your fans.


I might not be on for a few more days but if that's not enough info let me know and I'll try to do better.


Good Growing!


Gratitude

 

Progress!


Hey all :hello:


Tot-Loks arrived and have been installed.


Sorta tedious, I had to drill 28 holes to install them.


They work well and have closed the gaps at the top and bottom of the doors, no more light leak there.


I don't have any pics of the tot-loks ATM sorry.


I was reaching a crisis point in my little veg box, plants burning in the lights, ready to transplant, needing water every other day...


So I moved ahead on the veg side. Let me be clear that many of the things that I did are temporary! I'm really not gonna go that ghetto!


Let me explain...In Phase 2 when the scrubber is installed there will be a partition installed in the ventilation chamber (top) with a fan on one side pulling air from both of the grow chambers, pushing it out through the scrubber. The veg chamber will be connected via a vent tube of some sort (original plan was 4" dryer vent).


Right now, there is no partition so no vent tube yet. Just a 4" hole and a 5" PC Fan. I used cardboard, duct tape, and aluminum flashing to make this reducer.





I cut the shelves that were included with the cab down to fit in the veg side and did some calculations for air flow and ended up cutting 22x2" holes and 4x1.25" holes. I painted the shelves white. I have one light hanging from the top of the chamber and one light hanging from the bottom of the upper shelf. The lower shelf is about 5 or 6" off of the bottom of the chamber providing a temporary space for wiring. I don't want to get too carried a way too early and see my error later. The most recently spotted error was that I should have painted the inside of the ventilation chamber black. Shouldn't make or break anything but I wish I'd done that.


I hung mylar on the sides. I installed some rigid insulation strips on the inside of the door to make a light barrier between the chambers. Seems to do the trick.


I used the heat resistant foil tape to hang the mylar and install the light blocking strips. I didn't list it anywhere else but Foil Tape should be on the list!





rock hanging from light is just for balance.


I can't get far enough away from the cab in the closet to get the whole veg side in one shot.





Lower shelf





I found a site w/ the 4" dark room vents for $6.90ea. so I went ahead and ordered 10, they are scheduled to arrive on the second. I'd not found them for less than $35 for a 3pk prior so I was pretty excited.


I think that's gonna have to be all for now.


I'll have a plant update soon. Today is 33 days of 12/12.


Good Growing!

 

quick plant update


First pic 12/21 I think they'd been in the cages for a few days...





Second - 12/26 (just after midnight on x-mas) 31 days of flower





Third - same day as pic 2 just a nice top





Good Growing!

 

Hey Grat your plants & cabinet look GREAT!!!! Can you but up the site where you got your dark room vents. -Bud

 

Thanks sb


http://bestlouver.com/

 

great looking setup gratitude,if i had the space i would definitely invest in a similar cabinet.....


i think we will both be surprised with our cabinet grows.....!!!!

 

ive been meaning to get a cabinet for my mothers/clones so i can keep my veg. closet for just vegging plants that go into bloom. after seeing this show ill prolly get one of these cabinets youre using, or something similar.


damn fine thread gratitude!


i still cant believe those cheap bastards dont laminate the inside though!

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, the plants...


This thread is primarily a cab construction thread but what good is a pretty cab without it's inhabitants?


These were taken on the 28th which was day 34 of flower.


I've been attempting to place the plants in the same spot, lined up in the same order for the updates because I really enjoyed it when sombud did that in his WW thread.





Side view for depth.





My thickest stem to date, not bad for a 3 gal pot in soil huh? (w/ 4wks to go)





Some tops and bud shots.











I've never had one just cover the stem w/ bud like this, always had a more defined top cola before but this just covered the whole stem. It was a runty plant w/ abnormal growth patterns.





Shine Down - I'm really trying not to focus on yield yet, I don't want to be disappointed after all of this work. So yes, a surprise is what I'm looking for!


I need this round to yield enough to fund the completion of the cab, it is not my long term goal to sell. I just need a scrubber a fan a digital 400w HPS and SEEDS!


Jimmy - You don't have to go this complex to have a great mother/veg cab! Your options with one of these cabs if you weren't trying to flower in it would be great! I'd love to have this much space dedicated to clones/seedings/mothers. Also, if stealth isn't a concern you put your scrubber wherever you want. I'd have had passive vents on the sides but...not so stealth. I'm really excited to keep some bonsai mom's when I get some genetics worth saving.


Thanks all


Gratitude

 

They look real good & that runt looks like it's going to be one monster cola .-Bud

 

ladies are coming along nice!!!!anything in the veg chamber yet?, If poss could you post a pic of the whole unit with doors open?....I'm really thinking of buildin one of these..

 

Hey WK


You can see some of what I have in the veg chamber in this post. The upper shelf has 5 plants that could probably be flowered now, I'm just sorta playing around, topping, training, pinching...


Lower shelf has some clones and another plant that I'm messing with.


I don't really know how many of these vegging plants will be flowered and the clones are just for practice. Slow going on that front. The veg box I was using before didn't have sufficient airflow and it had a severely retarding effect on growth. The response of the plants to the relocation seems good.


It's kinda funny but no, I can't post a pic of the whole thing, doors open. It's inside a walk-in closet and I can't even fully open the doors because of shelves mounted on the opposing wall. Even extending my arm so that the camera is against the wall it won't fit in the picture. I certainly did think about that as I've taken pics thus far, kind of a bummer. I'll try and get some shots that show as much of it as is possible rather than focusing on a certain portion.


I'd love to see your thread if you do build one! Can't say I have all of the answers but I'd love to help out if you have questions. The key is planning.


Peace

 

Humility Post


Just want to take a min to say Thank You to all who have contributed to this thread and to my rep!


sombud and whiskykid have been my 2 thread companions - thanks to you both!


Some of you my not be aware that if you don't leave your name in the comment I can't tell who you are (and so I can't thank you). 7 ppl have given me +rep for this thread and only mermaid left her name. Alien Bait tried, had to wait:qbluewacko:


I would also like to note I DO NOT make Ed Rosenthal look like a dummy! I'm not an Ed worshiper or anything but Jan 23rd will be the one year anniversary of my first batch of seeds breaking through the soil! It is really nice to see that though:qbluewacko: I'm really proud of the cab which makes your comments that much more rewarding.


I cannot over-state the impact GK has had, my plants and I thank you.


Gratitude


P.S. The vents are scheduled to be delivered today!


P.P.S. I know this post has an air of ending to it, I'm not done I just couldn't have "makes Ed Rosenthal look like a dummy" attached to my name and not say something.

 

Darkroom Vents


for the long delay.


The vents were delayed due to holiday shipping overload and took almost 2 weeks to get here. When they arrived I just dropped them in and that was it.


But here's the rub. They restrict airflow SIGNIFICANTLY. When I was doing my research I took a lot of notes from the "Mills Pride Club" on ICMag and they seemed to whole heartedly endorse the darkroom vents. Touting them as part of the evolution of the cab etc... Never did I see a mention of airflow restriction or the fact that they are NOT 100% light proof! I know I should have seen that coming because they would have to restrict airflow right? (Something rather than nothing = restriction) Anyhow, if I had known then (planning phase) what I do now, my cab would not have been designed around the DRVs. At the very least I'd have added more holes in the bottom and more likely still I'd have used PVC elbows (the old school way) to make light proof vents in the bottom.:icon_confused:


As it is, after the addition of the DRVs there is a back-pressure issue. When I close the cab I can hear the fans fighting and since I'm using PC fans I know that they are not winning. I have left 3 (of 6) holes open in the bottom of the Flower side (holes that are not adjacent to the veg side). The veg side should be fine for airflow since 4x4" intake holes was overkill with one 4" exit hole. IMO, overkill is good when it comes to airflow, providing we aren't talking about wind burn, but I seem to keep getting farther away from the original calculations.


Degrees of "light-proof". I never even considered the possibility that they wouldn't be completely light-proof. I can see that in most circumstances they would accomplish the goal satisfactorily (like placed @ knee level in the wall of a Darkroom with an overhead light in the room outside) but since in my setup they are not far from the bottom light on the veg side, light still gets though. If it is daylight, or the hall light is on and the light in the closet is off, I can't see light getting out but in complete darkness I can see the light. I'm confident that with the DRVs installed on the holes of both sides that light will not get into the flower side but I don't want to see light from outside at all.:5headache:





I didn't post any pics with the tot-loks before, I am happy to report that the tot-loks are great. I couldn't put them all the way flush with the doors because of they are only 5/8" thick and I didn't want to risk punching through the particle board, the gap does not affect functionality.








I put the boards in the bottom to make sure the pots don't restrict airflow.


This pic show the DRVs in the front 3 holes and not the back ones, in actuality I have the front right corner hole open and the back left corner hole plugged (with a DRV).

 

Partial veg update (one plant)


My Veg side is getting to capacity, I have 4 plants on the top shelf that are more than ready to flower, have to wait a couple more weeks though...


One of the four I've been having all kinds of fun with, I jogged a plant once before and it turned out to be male. This is sort of jogged although it's just a straight line not circular because I don't have the space to have a big pot in the veg side. These pics are all of this one plant. I was having height issues so had to get creative, it'll buy me a little time.


Should have taken one out of the cab before I started tying it back but I wasn't thinking...


Inside.





Main Stem











Tops with twist ties - preflowers














Wish the kitchen wasn't so messy

 

Great looking plants Gratitude. Looks like your cabinet is doing it's job very nicely.