Help setting up grow.. (Crawlspace/attic)

SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
In retrospect, I think LOWES had a 2 pack of fans for $20 while Home De-Pot had the single fan for $13.99. They were designed as standard replacement bathroom exhaust fans and would be in the bath remodeling section. The cheapos are about 4 sonnes, 75 cfm and 35 watts.

The mylar lined foam panels might also be called sheathing. One side is just white styrofoam with a thin layer of clear plastic while the other side is lined with a thin layer of dimpled mylar. It was in the same isle as the EWP (eastern white pine) boards I mentioned. The boards that are easiest to work with and cheapest will be approx 3/4" thick X 3" wide X 6 ft long for about $3-4 each. If you look around you might be able to find something even cheaper. Your building doesnt have to come out perfect. Any imperfections just slap some duct tape over it and it will be airtight-ish.

The 4" drywall cut is used to bring cool air in from a closet underneath you. Go into a likely closet and carefully push a nail up through approx where you want the hose. Then go up and find where it protrudes. Use the hose to trace the 4" hole. When you make the cut, use a razor and cut at an angle so the piece can be reinserted if/when the growbox is diassembled. The 4" flexible hose would poke a little way into that hole and then you duct tape around the edges to hold it in place and make an airtight seal. The other end of the hose goes into the grow chamber and connects to the bath fans intake side.

You are correct about the 4" hole in the foam board for the exhaust. Its just a simple hole. The air pressure from the bath fan will push the hottest air our of the chamber.

BTW, does the roof space have vents across top ridge and or round vent holes cut towards the top? If so you are correct, opening the door will help push the heat out and will cool the room down pretty fast once the sun is low in the sky.

I am in the NE also, yep the temp problems will be abating soon and it will be heaters we are discussing lol. So if you start vegging in a smaller chamber instead of the attic, by the time they are ready for the HPS there wont be any heat problems to worry about. Vegging is easy you can stick em anywhere and theyll grow just fine with some extra fluoro lighting. If you need stealth, you can make a small chamber out of a square garbage can and stick it anywhere. Walmart has em for about $15 (32 gallon i think?) Just splash some white ceiling paint across the inside and make a big side door with a razor (wear leather gloves for that one tho!)

Since the strain is autoflowering, Im not sure how that affects cloning and revegging options, so unfortunately I can't advise you on that part.
 
4

420OldSchoolDJ420

New Member
lotta work bro.. I'd def just use soil for an attic grow.. Fuck messing w/ a res and hydro.. Not to mention the res temp issues.. SOIL would be the way to go imho.
 
4

420p

Member
Supra, thank you VERY much for the specifics! Okay so lemme run this all back and you let me kno if i'm on the right page.


- OK The Eastern White Pine, am I using that to construct the whole box? And then lining THAT with the mylar sheathing? Or Am I just using the EWP as the frame? I am a little confused with that part..

- How exactly would I rig up the vinyl tube to the bathroom exhaust? And will a 45cfm be sufficent with the 400watt hps, if so which fan is recommended?

- Should I put them all in 2gal pots as soon as they germinate? I've never transplanted a plant so i dont even wanna risk killing one, unless i HAVE to transplant..

- I was planning on grabbing a 10pk of Diesel Ryder seeds , and planting them all and keeping the females, how woudl I go about doing that the best way


- So that 4" Hole is just going to be exposed? It wont effect the lighting with a light-leak or vice versa?

- To my knowledge autoflowering as no vegging stage but I plan on starting them off with CFL's (Ones bought from walmart), Can you tell me about how many i'm gonna need and what my best way to set them up is when i first get the seeds?

The seeds should be here by next week, i'm moving up there tommor So I really wanna make sure I Have this all planned out correctly so I know what to purchase. Theres only a Home Depot up there a long with a few ace hardwares, So i'll def check in there for some tools/supplies.
 
PurpleKushBlower

PurpleKushBlower

Member
-Yes you use the White Pine to make the box and line that with the mylar sheathing

-you will have to use some kind of T to go into an exisiting bathroom, however if you are going to use a bathroom vent to ventilate your grow there should be pieces in the box to connect it, if not bring the fan with you and ask them how you can vent it to the outside...Home Depot associates will help with that. Not sure about the CFM's but i would assume that a 45 should be adequate for your application, so long as the fan regulates the temperature in the grow box

-I have a good garden knowledge, I would suggest upon germination putting them into party cups and once you have a short 2-3in plant transplant it into a big 2 gal pot.

-germinate, plant, veg and flower(not sure what your looking for)

-If its an exit vent you should have some flex pipe to vent the hot air out, if it is a passive or active intake, then you can make something or buy something to keep the light out. Search on here I have seen DIY setups


-well i am not sure about autoflowering, however i believe that you can veg them, i would use a mixture of spectrums both 5500k(the blue package at home depot) and 2700k (the green package) I would use the wattage that will give you the most lumens. Most people use 100w thats what I will be using. Figure out your square footage in your box and figure approx 10,000 lumens per sq foot.

sorry to jump in but thought i could help
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Right, the EWP is just for the frame and you can mount the panels right to the frame using staples and/or tape.

You raise a good point about connecting the vinyl tube and the fan. If we were using the fan as it was intended, we would mount the fan in or above the closet and it would push cool air into the chamber. But in the interest in keeping the closet quiet, I suggest mounting the fan inside the chamber instead. The intake tube can be connected to a hole in the foam and sealed with duct tape. Inside the chamber, the fan is mounted up against that hole, again using duct tape to seal the edges. You'll be surprised at the amount of cool air it will bring in and the closet space remains silent.

Depending on the size of the chamber, a 400 might be too much. A 400watt HPS draws 450 watts total. If you supplement with 100 watts of blue fluoros, and include the 35 watts from the fan itself, there is a potential for some significant heat there. If we assume you get 6 girls from your pack and plant them in 1 gal planters, you could get away with a 150 HPS IMHO.

If you are set on the 400 HPS tho, you might be better off not using a dwarf strain, and might as well enlarge the chamber a bit. Could do a 4' X 4' X 8'? In that case it might be necessary to invest in a more ballsy fan as well. I have not seen any examples where a bath fan was used on anything bigger than 150w, so I can't be certain it would be enough CFM.

If you encounter light leaks due to a door or window, you can make a light trap for the exhaust hole. A 4" pipe elbow with flat black spray paint inside or maybe a length of the vinyl tubing?

If you germ all 10 seeds, you could just sex them as you go along, and cull the boys when they show up.

This thread is discussing 6" inline fans available at Home Depot and Ebay. Next summer I will check into these.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/230013-6in-inline-fan-home-depot.html
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Sry this is the best pic I could find. In the upper right you can see the fan mounted on the wall. You can see the EWP frame that looks like it was constructed by an 8 year old.. hehe whatever works!

 
4

420OldSchoolDJ420

New Member
SupraSPL said:
The mylar lined foam panels might also be called sheathing. One side is just white styrofoam with a thin layer of clear plastic while the other side is lined with a thin layer of dimpled mylar.
Click to expand...

Hey can you post a link to that product from Lowes or Depot? I cant find it online (for looks/pricing etc) anywhere.. Are they 4 X 8 ? Can you plz post a link to them ?



This all I can find but I dont think its what your talking about > http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=15358-23946-78910&lpage=none

Unbranded
1" x 8' x 4' Insulated Sheathing


Item #: 15358 Model: 78910



 
4

420p

Member
Supra, thanks again for the insight!

I cannot go any higher then 4 ft, the attic ceiling is only 5 foot tops and i dont want to be touching any of the walls with this growbox.

I am set on 400HPS because I want these 4 plants to floourish and yield as much as possible for beiing an autoflower. If a 400watt HPS in this "grow box" type setup will not work with the heat, what else can I do to still grow the same quality with what i'm working with? Can I use a different fan? Can I keep a oscillating fan in there to help cool things along with running the vinyl tube to the closet? All these things are important to me as i'm trying to figure out the best setup i'm leaving saturday!

The reason for using autos in this grow is i need seed to harvest in about 70 days (give or take)..
 
hwy420

hwy420

Well-Known Member
scoregreen said:
i read that in order to create enough C02 using the DIY method, you would have to have a pool-sized amount of water and pounds of yeast...

i know i tried, using a gallon container, and saw no benefit...
Click to expand...
Man, that little spot looks TIGHT as hell dood. That kinda of spot looks like a stealthy location. A+ Bro; I like rooms/crawlspaces we can hid really well. It's like a room that doesn't exist. Black ops shit :clap:

I've got a room about the size of it, that I am also trying to build in.

If money is no object, I would recommend getting some sounddeadening insulation and/or sheetrock to reduce noise. Also, I would recommend some hot spot displacing film. Diamond Fusion Foil is good at diffusing hotspots so the FLIR Police cameras don't pick up your heat signature flying over. Make sure the room is air tight. The QuietRock sheetrock is 120$ per 4x8 sheet (for the least expensive stuff).

Try and lay some floor tile, or some waterproof sealant. Paint the sheetrock with white thermal/reflective paint. You should be good to rock n roll.

Consider putting a water line & drain in there for hydroponics. Buy some lights & a hydroponic tray. I would highly recommend a SOG (Sea of Green) method for growing in small spaces. Consider the AeroFlo Hydroponic tray units. The Aeroflo 60 is a 60 site hydroponic tray best used with a SOG method, and with 1000 total watts you could easily harvest a pound per month perpetually. Keep a mother plant & take clones. It's pretty easily done.

I'll be glad to answer any quetsions that you might have. Good luck
 
4

420p

Member
hwy, money is an option.. i'm in college so you can kind of picture my budget.. We're trying to go as hard as we can with what we have, if you read pack a page nd read Supra's method thats what i think im gonna do.. if you have any thing to add let me kno please
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Doesn't look like LOWES has it listed on their site. I saw it there about 8 months ago so I'm sure they still carry it or at least something similar.




In a 2X2X4 space (IMHO) go with a 70-150 watt HPS + UVB reptile fluoro + (2) 15 watt 6500K R30 fluoros on the sides. You would need 2 timers so the UVB comes on in the "afternoon" for about 5 hours. The timers are at Home Depot for $4 each or at Lowes for $6 each. You could start off with just the fluoros while they are seedlings and add the HPS and UVB once you get time.

That should give you a half decent yield (approx 2 ounces for a 70w) If you decide to expand the box you could always add another 70 watt later they are only $35.

This is a garbage can 18"W X 17"D X 34"H running a similar setup:

 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
LOL a computer fan that draws 30 watts! That could come in handy and might be easier to rig up than the bath fan. The only problem would be getting a 12v 2.5amp AC-DC adapter for it at a reasonable price. Old computer power supply would work but would be overkill too. (If you are handy with electronics you could probably use the power supply to power some 450nm blue leds instead of using the blue fluoros)

Since I saw that thread about the inline fans at Home Depot, I think that would be your cheapest option and would provide plenty of cool air flow for setup that size. If they have 4" version that would mount up nice with the (cheap) 4" vinyl tubing.
 
4

420p

Member
Appreciate all the good info.. keep in mind i AM growing autos, no vegetation.. and they are usualy small(er) plants. Would this 150hps watt setup still work fine?
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
150 would be plenty. If you go with a single 70w HPS, 20w UVB, 20w 6500k fluoros that totals 110w and a 2 ounce yield would be nice. If you step up to a 150, Im not sure how much that will increase your yield in a 2X2X4. Anyone else have input on that? For that matter where is the best place to get a 150 HPS?
 
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