CHALLENGE...MOST COST EFFECTIVE GROW?

HolyGhost23

HolyGhost23

Well-Known Member
ok the point of this thread is to post ideas on ways to have have the most cost effective way of growing in you closet.
IE
lights/ grow media/venting ect Equals best actual Gr per Watt output.

I DON'T WANT THIS TO END UP BEING A PISSING MATCH!!!

id like us to work together and try to come up with a few ideas on how to do a cheap closet grow

it can be something simple or something crazy but lets try to keep it under 600 bucks..
maybe even offer to experiment with new tech like LED lights or plasma discharge..

idea here is to try to make something that works well for as cheap as possible. maybe even come up with an idea made by all of us that is the cheapest/most profitable plan for all of us
 
M

Micke930

Member
4-6" Carbon Filter and a little 4-6" fan to suck the air out, with 4- 6" ducting leading to outside a window or something available to you, worst comes to worst cut a circle hole in your wall/ closet roof. and feed some the ducting through it and perhaps seal any gaps with duct tape or a gap sealer that is very easy to remove. lighting system with 250w MH and 400W hps, Ballets for Lighting system. ( im sure Ebay or Amazon will have a package deal witch will save you money!)
a Fan or Two for air circulation, if your walls Aren't painted a somewhat reflective white, their are cheap reflective materials you could thumb nail in to your closet. and of course you need your soil pots seeds nutrients. your done. ive done one around 450-500 search your local hyrdro stores, if their still too much maybe ebay or go for a little drive to make save some money.
 
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BeastGrow

BeastGrow

Well-Known Member
You could look into Cree LED household 18w bulbs. Space them equidistant on all sides of the plant. I would expect .5 grams per watt with these. About $1.50 per watt once you include the sockets and splitters. LEDS should last you at least 5 years of growing. Replacing the bulbs will be about $1.00 per watt.

Otherwise you can get a HID for about $0.50 per watt. HID gets .5grams per watt fairly easily but needs to be replace at least 1 time per year. After first year it will only be about $0.20 per watt depending on which bulb you buy.

70 bucks x 5 years for HID bubls = 350 bucks + startup cost 150 bucks = 500 bucks for 5 years
450 bucks x 1 bulb for 5 years = 450 bucks + startup cost 50-100 bucks = about 500 bucks...

currently its about equal so I would go with HID because LED is more of a gamble on getting one that works well. LEDs would be more work to adjust frequently as there would be more fixtures to adjust and at a higher frequency.

The LED panels are like 1000 bucks for a 400watt panel.. Once they drop down to less than $1.50 per watt is when they will start to take over.

Then again you have to weigh in heat output too. I know LEDS can perform as well as higher wattage HID and thus claim less heat but watt for watt I have not seen any heat tests.
 
GrowinDad

GrowinDad

Well-Known Member
With LED, it is capital expense vs running expense to really get at it. the capital expense of $500 for a LED was not an issue for me, i run cree bulbs as well in a veg cab. So I now have a perp grow for 5 plants with total energy usage of about 300w between the flower and veg areas. Bulbs last forever. So hard to say really though I do not deny that Hid has better yield.

other ways... mix your own soil. huge backs of perlite and vermiculite are cheap. don't go nuts on nutes. a few products from someone like dyna gro can do what you need.

don't skimp on fan or carbon filter

get a faucet water filter vs buying a ro system or buying water. don't buy water!

build your own tent out of pvc pipe and something like reflectix. it will be more durable and less expensive.
 
bicit

bicit

Well-Known Member
2x3 tent: $80 amazon
4" fan+filter: $100 amazon
3.5 gallon black bucket: $4 home depot
hydrofarm bucket lid: $5 ebay
Air pump+stones: $10 walmart
PVC Screen: $10 home depot.
GH Micro: $20 amazon
GH bloom: $20 amazon
SI shield: $20 amazon
HM PPM/PH meter: $20 amazon(optional)
Camco Garden pure water filter: $20 amazon (optional)
Fan speed controller: $20 amazon(optional)
DIY 300 watt(est actual draw) LED light: $350 includes the following
(x6) Bridgelux vero 18: $15*6= $90 digikey
(x6) molex Pico EZ-mate connectors: $2*6=$12 digikey
(x6) Arctic alpine GT 11 CPU cooler: $10*6=$60 amazon
(x6) Meanwell LPC-60-1400: $20*6=$120 Jameco
Cooler guys 4 pin 12v/5v fan PSU: $15 amazon
Arctic alumia thermal adhesive: $5 amazon
4 pin molex to six, 3-pin PCB: $5 amazon
misc Wiring and connectors: $20 home depot/amazon
Shipping: $15 jameco/digikey.

Total estimated BOM: $680. $620 without options.

Can't comment on effectiveness however there have been some good preliminary results using Bridgelux COBs. Should be comparable to a 400watt or 600watt HID light. It's possible to run Vero 29's on those power supplies and coolers as well which would yield a decent bump in efficiency and light output. However since they're $37 each, it more than doubles the price to $200 for emitters instead of $90.

I was thinking about people without access to hydro stores and/or people with few if any tools or fabrication skills. Lucus formula is also very noob friendly. Fast and simple, but the tradeoff is up front cost.

one more option to consider.
 
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Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
lol yes but that flexible ducting shit looks SUPER expensive lololol (kidding of course)
nice fan i'd +rep if possible
 
TheHazeNKushSmoker

TheHazeNKushSmoker

Well-Known Member
HolyGhost23 said:
ok the point of this thread is to post ideas on ways to have have the most cost effective way of growing in you closet.
IE
lights/ grow media/venting ect Equals best actual Gr per Watt output.

I DON'T WANT THIS TO END UP BEING A PISSING MATCH!!!

id like us to work together and try to come up with a few ideas on how to do a cheap closet grow

it can be something simple or something crazy but lets try to keep it under 600 bucks..
maybe even offer to experiment with new tech like LED lights or plasma discharge..

idea here is to try to make something that works well for as cheap as possible. maybe even come up with an idea made by all of us that is the cheapest/most profitable plan for all of us
Click to expand...
Well at the moment my home made ghetto room costed me around 100$ maybe less ( without the lamps ) for 2 fans. pots, reflective and pins and a wood plank that im finaly not using. Used one fish hook with floss and pins to fix my reflective. My set up is in a corner of my house where i live. Reflectives pined on wall and the hooked/pined one i used like a third wall.

I dont know yet the yield i will have but it seem pretty decent for the number of money i invested in it!

IMG_0506.JPG 42 days flowering
IMG_0491.JPG



IMG_0594.JPG IMG_0589.JPG 48 days flowering


I will let you know my yield for both plant at the end! Oh and btw im also using floss and home made cardboard hooks to hold branchs or leaves to have beter light penetration on them and under them as well
 
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HolyGhost23

HolyGhost23

Well-Known Member
TheHazeNKushSmoker said:
Well at the moment my home made ghetto room costed me around 100$ maybe less ( without the lamps ) for 2 fans. pots, reflective and pins and a wood plank that im finaly not using. Used one fish hook with floss and pins to fix my reflective. My set up is in a corner of my house where i live. Reflectives pined on wall and the hooked/pined one i used like a third wall.

I dont know yet the yield i will have but it seem pretty decent for the number of money i invested in it!

View attachment 3149435 42 days flowering
View attachment 3149436



View attachment 3149433 View attachment 3149434 48 days flowering


I will let you know my yield for both plant at the end! Oh and btw im also using floss and home made cardboard hooks to hold branchs or leaves to have beter light penetration on them and under them as well
Click to expand...
what are you using for lights.. im planning on using a set Cree CXA3070's for my upcoming closet experiment
 
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