Homemade Stealth Cabinet- Lots of pics!

[EvlMunkee]

Cool grow box dude.........

Hey thanks REDOZ,
I thought about it alot before I started but it looks like it just might be crazy enough to work!
Thanks for tuning in and I appreciate the input.

 

[justparanoid]

I'm installing the IR blocker in my small cabinet too. What size lights will you be going with? I'm using two 42 watt 6500k bulbs in my setup, I made the mistake of using two 120mm fans for my cabinet but temps are holding at 88 degrees which is a start. Keep up the good work, We can learn a lot from each other.

 

[toris1981]

Completely Awesome. I built my cab too, and its amazing to see the differences. I love your elec setup, mine is in the ceiling and I'm kicking myself now because to redo it would mean to scrap the whole cab. Also using pandafilm, but your IR finish looks sweet. I might just have to do some hard thinking at this because I'm thoroughly jealous. Major plus rep, I can't wait to see where this thread will end up. Btw, you have to be the most polite and well thought out grower out there. Cheers mate!

 

[EvlMunkee]

Hey All,
This thread is getting closer to catching up to real time. Here is a little more history:
Pics 1, 2 & 3
This is the 5 channel fan controller by Silenx. It runs 2 intake and 2 exhaust fans. The 3rd exhaust fan is on a 12v dc converter and timed with the lights.

Pic 4
Timer from High Tech Garden Supply

Pic 5
I am testing some different lights for heat. Here is a 150 watt HPS and a couple of 90 watt UFOs. The 400 watt MH/HPS is on the way. The plants are just a few bagseeds for guinea pigs. So far I have been able to keep the temps between 70 and 80F. But the 400 watt will change that. I will probably have to add more ventilation for a cool tube. RH has been anywhere from 25-80 depending on where the humidifier is and whether the house heat is running. The picture shows the humidifier inside the cabinet. This is NOT a good idea in a wood cabinet.
With the humidifier outside of the cab on a nearby countertop, the RH has been around 40 -60%. I will try to do without the humidifier if I can. I am afraid it will warp the cabinet. This time of year the heat/ac doesn’t run much and I think I can turn it off.
More later....

 

[EvlMunkee]

I'm installing the IR blocker in my small cabinet too. What size lights will you be going with? I'm using two 42 watt 6500k bulbs in my setup, I made the mistake of using two 120mm fans for my cabinet but temps are holding at 88 degrees which is a start. Keep up the good work, We can learn a lot from each other.

Hey JP,
I do like the sound deadening qualities of the IR Block but I find that it tears easily so I will have to be careful. I don't know if you have bought it yet but I THINK there is a product at Home Depot or Lowes called Reflectix that is a little bit cheaper. I could not find out if it did exactly the same thing for IR so I went with the IR Blocker.
I am going to be using a 400w Ushio OptiRed in a CoolTube with the Lumatek dimmable ballast. I am definitely going to have to add a dedicated fan for the CoolTube. I will probably use 2 more of the Silenx 120mm fans....one for intake and 1 for exhaust.
Right now I am exhausting the ballast with the center fan. I put the carbon filter on the other end of the CoolTube.
The thread just hasn't caught up to that yet.
The temps in my room are about 5 degrees F higher than the house due to the exhaust and the cab is another 3-6 degrees warmer than that. ( if house is 70 the cab is 78-80 plus or minus).
I think ultimately I will need to add a booster fan to the house ductwork for this room to give it a little extra cooling.
That, together with the dedicated exhaust for the light, will hopefully keep the cab in range.
When I get a minute I will check out your thread.
Thanks for the compliment....looking forward to hearing more from you.

 

[upnorth2505]

Evlmunkee

I have been researching a wardrobe cabinet grow for a few months now. I have to say your cab looks better and more professional then any DIY I have seen yet. Great planning and construction skills.

For my cab I had selected the Ameriwood SystemBuild 9155. I think your cab may be the same, or it is very similar. I plan to do SOG, so I will be using a shelf and will have clone/veg and flower areas.

You lined your cab with what you called “underlayment.” In the pics it looks a bit like sheetrock. What material/brand name are you using? Also for attaching it to the cab, are you using a construction adhesive, screws, both?

I decided to go with CFL lighting so I think I can get by with less intake and exhaust air.

Thanks for sharing. Totally awesome. Subscibed.

 

[EvlMunkee]

Completely Awesome. I built my cab too, and its amazing to see the differences. I love your elec setup, mine is in the ceiling and I'm kicking myself now because to redo it would mean to scrap the whole cab. Also using pandafilm, but your IR finish looks sweet. I might just have to do some hard thinking at this because I'm thoroughly jealous. Major plus rep, I can't wait to see where this thread will end up. Btw, you have to be the most polite and well thought out grower out there. Cheers mate!

Hello Toris,
Such glowing words! Thank you very much!
I am quite pleased with the response I am getting here from the good people at Rollitup.
Actually, I wish I had been able to do above the ceiling or out of the cab due to space restrictions inside but circumstances prevented that. I had to plan very carefully to get everything inside and have a stealthy appearance. I did lose some space inside because of that but I did the best I could.
I will always be refining and changing things but the idea was to get it as right as I could and then play with the details later.
I know that you will do the best you can in your situation as well.
Thanks for joining in and hope to hear more from you.

 

[PurfectStorm]

Im loving the box dude, you clearly put alot of thought, question what size is that wardrobe and where did you order it from?

Check out my vertical cab, i'll def be utilizing some of the things you used in my next revision.

+rep
PurfectStorm

 

[EvlMunkee]

Evlmunkee

I have been researching a wardrobe cabinet grow for a few months now. I have to say your cab looks better and more professional then any DIY I have seen yet. Great planning and construction skills.

For my cab I had selected the Ameriwood SystemBuild 9155. I think your cab may be the same, or it is very similar. I plan to do SOG, so I will be using a shelf and will have clone/veg and flower areas.

You lined your cab with what you called “underlayment.” In the pics it looks a bit like sheetrock. What material/brand name are you using? Also for attaching it to the cab, are you using a construction adhesive, screws, both?

I decided to go with CFL lighting so I think I can get by with less intake and exhaust air.

Thanks for sharing. Totally awesome. Subscibed.

Wow! Thanks Upnorth,
Kind of you to say.
Yes it is the same cabinet. I got it a little cheaper than the Ameriwood price after I looked high and low for the best deal but I had to wait several weeks since it was out of stock everywhere. It just happened to be the biggest cab that would match what I have in the room here. I got it from One Way Furniture online.
I plan to do a SCROG but for my first grow I don't think it will make much difference. I am starting with auto ak47 and auto blue himalaya and they should not get very tall. I do have the scrog screen ready though. SOG might be a better choice for these but I already have 4 -3.4 gallon Autopots in place. For a SOG I would want to have maybe 8 smaller pots I think. Maybe next time... I have so many things I want to try that it will take a long time to run out of ideas.
Underlayment is a wood product similar to MDF but not quite as dense. The particles are a little bit larger. It is used for flooring above the plywood floor generally to smooth out the surface before finish flooring is applied. It is a lot like particle board....better than OSB but not as heavy as MDF, if that means anything to you. I bought it at Lowes. It's Georgia Pacific I think, but all brands are the same as far as I know
I am only using screws to attach. Not that they are better for any reason but the unforgiving nature of construction adhesive made me a little nervous.
I think the CFLs are a great plan IMHO. I did consider them and they would have been a good choice but the tanatalizing qualities of the HID grown herbs sucked me in. So now I will just deal with the heat. If I find that I can't deal with it then I can always go to flourescents without having to do too much. I do have some 3 foot HO T5s that are supposed to be on the way for sidelights.
Once again, Thanks much for the props and appreciate you tunin in. Good luck with yours!!

 

[EvlMunkee]

Im loving the box dude, you clearly put alot of thought, question what size is that wardrobe and where did you order it from?

Check out my vertical cab, i'll def be utilizing some of the things you used in my next revision.

+rep
PurfectStorm

Hey PS,
Thanks a lot man. I did think long and hard before I started but eventually had to do something...right or wrong.
It is an Ameriwood model 009155. I bought it online from OneWayFurniture.com. It is about 48"w x 72"h x 20"d more or less. It comes in cherry or oak and I got the cherry.
I will be checking your thread as soon as I can get a few minutes. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're doing.
Thanks for the reps and good luck with your revision!

 

[alexonfire]

I really like your setup dude!
Unfortunately I am not able to grow right now but I have been doing a lot of research for building a stealth cabinet sometime in the future. Those fans you got seem to be very quiet which is awesome. I just have a question about your exhaust, I was wondering if you could post some pictures of the light trap at the back you made? Also I see you have a DIY carbon filters with that Honeywell Universal carbon filter stuff, isnt that only be the pre-filter, I dont know how well those filter the smell without activated carbon like in a carbon filter from the store. I was also wondering what purpose does the IR sheet have?
Are you planning on putting any fans in the cab for blowing on the plant tops?

Thanks for all the inspiration and ideas. Good luck on your grow!

 

[EvlMunkee]

I really like your setup dude!
Unfortunately I am not able to grow right now but I have been doing a lot of research for building a stealth cabinet sometime in the future. Those fans you got seem to be very quiet which is awesome. I just have a question about your exhaust, I was wondering if you could post some pictures of the light trap at the back you made? Also I see you have a DIY carbon filters with that Honeywell Universal carbon filter stuff, isnt that only be the pre-filter, I dont know how well those filter the smell without activated carbon like in a carbon filter from the store. I was also wondering what purpose does the IR sheet have?
Are you planning on putting any fans in the cab for blowing on the plant tops?

Thanks for all the inspiration and ideas. Good luck on your grow!

Hi Alexonfire,
Thanks for dropping in and I appreciate your comments. Excellent questions!
The Silenx fans are pretty quiet but the specs listed by the manufacturer have to be taken with a grain of salt. Silenx uses a different method for measuring and calculating their db ratings. They measure at 3 different distances and average.This is considered misleading by some and I agree. That is why they have such a great db/cfm ratio. Still, they are a pretty quiet fan for the cfm. I have no way of comparing but I am happy with them.
I do have some pics of the light traps but they are pretty crappy. I am posting them anyway. I have changed them a little since then. Mainly, I made them about 2 inches longer so they go well below the fan grill.
You will have to use your imagination a little bit here. What I did was to make a U-shaped flange to glue to the cab around the top and sides of the grill. The light trap also has a flange around it as you can see in the pics. This made it possible to slide the light trap over the grill to make it removable. The grills and a carbon sheet help too.
These are only on the intakes. The carbon filters and louvered grills take care of the exhaust. I wish I could get some better pics but right now I cant access the back for a photo op. It is against the wall.
I was pretty sure that the filters were activated carbon so I googled it and yes, according to Honeywell it is activated. I tried to do another type of filter that you may have seen. It is 2 mesh pencil cups with a layer of granulated carbon between. I found that it choked down the fans too much. These seem to be working. I do not smell anything at all. Granted , the bagseed inside is not overly skunky so I guess the real test is yet to come. If they do not work well enough, the easiest thing for me to do is probably use some ONA as well.
The IR Blocker is supposed to eliminate the IR footprint that is used by some agencies to spot home grows. Another thing that appealed to me is that it is another layer of sound insulation. It has a layer of polyfoam sandwiched between 2 layers of a Mylar like film It does seem to help a bit.
I do have a small fan inside to move air. It's a 6" portable AirKing that I mounted to the side in the back corner. It seems to be just the ticket to provide a gentle breeze in a small cab. It runs 24 hours a day.
Thanks for coming round to see my thread and sorry about the pics.

 

[Berg]

I was looking for just this type of cabinet setup to model mine on.

Just wondering what a good estimate is of what you spent on the setup (excluding the lights)
so for like:

Cabinet
Fans
Wall linings/stripping

I was thinking that I would do a partitioned cabinet so that I can have a mother/clones etc, with an hps on the left(for flowering) and a bank or two of 23W cfls for the mother/clones.

BtW, if you wanted to have a 24/7 fan w/carbon filter (pencil cup kind) I'd suggest an inline ducted fan because not even my Delta brand 120mm's can keep up with the back pressure generated by this type of filter.

Thanks for the great thread!

 

[redlantern420]

bad ass nice job keep up the good work

 

[FarmerNinja]

dude really sick cabinet! very professional but i hope you don't have to move any time soon!

 

[Punk]

Nice craftsmanship, I assume without ducting, you're having horrible heat problems. What I did with mine was fix the lights, and make adjustable shelving. That way, you can have the ducting properly positioned to keep the heat down. It's harder (not impossible) to do moveable lighting with ducting in a confined space such as a cabinet. It's much easier to move the plants up and down. I won't post any photos on your thread and steal your thunder, but you can check it out here and see what I'm talking about.

 

[purplecream]

nice man looks like your set. idk about the diy filters but other then that it looks! good look with your grow

 

[EvlMunkee]

Hello ppl,
I am pleased with the terrific response to the thread. I appreciate each and every one of you that have responded and those of you that have just come by to take a look. I will respond to your comments and questions, but first here is a bit more:


I decided to not use the divider and shelves so I would have room to grow 3-4 plants up to three feet or a little taller. I think it was a good choice and this is why:
After looking at what was left over I suddenly realized that if I cut it just right, I would have enough to build a clone or mother cab! There is enough wood leftover to make a matching cabinet that is 38” W x 27” H x 20”D. After I get my first grow started, that will be my next project.


I added a small fan to circulate air inside. I got a 6” portable by AirKing. It’s not too big for the space but keeps a nice breeze on the plants.

I will be using 3.4 gallon Autopots w/ coco for my first grow. Autopots are made in the UK and they are a plant driven automatic watering system. They consist of a small reservoir under each pot that is fed water by a valve. When the reservoir runs dry a vacuum is released which opens the valve. The reservoir is filled with water to a predetermined level and the valve is closed again. It then waits for the plant to drain the reservoir. The water is wicked up by the soil or coco and the process repeats itself. I have heard a lot of good things about them and am looking forward to seeing them work. One Autopot and reservoir is 10” x 15” so 4 of them will pretty much fill up my floor space.


I needed a water tank to feed water to the Autopots. I looked everywhere for a tank that could mount to the wall and not take up too much room. I finally found some burp tanks made for McCormick tractors with a ¼” tube fitting at the top and bottom. They are 4” wide which is not too bad. They only hold 93 oz but I have enough room to stack at least 6 on the end wall. I bought 5, mounted them and ran tubing to connect them to the Autopots. So I have 3.6 gallons of water ready to go. Hopefully that is enough for 2-3 days. Not an ideal solution but it will have to do for now.


Pic 1
Here are the four leftover pieces. I will have to add a back panel made of ½” plywood.

Pic 2
The AirKing 6” portable fan


Pics 3 & 4
Here are the Autopots. I’ll explain the air pumps a little bit later.


Pic s 5 & 6
Here are the burp tanks. I am not too proud of these but….they are what they are.

 

[EvlMunkee]

I was looking for just this type of cabinet setup to model mine on.

Just wondering what a good estimate is of what you spent on the setup (excluding the lights)
so for like:

Cabinet
Fans
Wall linings/stripping

I was thinking that I would do a partitioned cabinet so that I can have a mother/clones etc, with an hps on the left(for flowering) and a bank or two of 23W cfls for the mother/clones.

BtW, if you wanted to have a 24/7 fan w/carbon filter (pencil cup kind) I'd suggest an inline ducted fan because not even my Delta brand 120mm's can keep up with the back pressure generated by this type of filter.

Thanks for the great thread!

Hey Berg, Thanks for the input.
I try not to think about how much it has cost. Just try to think of the results so I haven't really kept records, but I'll try to answer your question as best I can.
The cabinet came in somewhere between $250 and $300.
The sheathing or underlayment was about $30 for 2 -4x8 sheets.
The fans were around $90 for the Silenx kit which includes 2 exhaust fans, the controller, the mounting flanges for a 3/4" cabinet. Also in the $90 was 1 extra exhaust fan, and 2 intake fans.
I also bought a small 6" portable for around 20.
The IR Block was 60 plus I think $10 shipping. The polyfoam was something like $7 for a 50' x 8" roll.
It pains me to think of it but I would think that all together I have put well over $1000 into it including the electrical, containers.....everything except the lights. That's about as much as I care to think about it. I'm just happier not thinking about it.
The general opinion out there seems to be that the exhaust / filter/ cooling system will not work well. You may be right. I do know that it is very quiet with the doors closed and so far the filters do not impede air flow too much. I used a double wrap of the Honeywell filter cloth instead of the granulated charcoal and 2 pencil cups because the granulated carbon slowed down the fans too much. If I have to redo it I will bite the bullet and get it done. I have not heard an inline fan so I don't know the db/cfm ratio. It would surely be an option though. All together I have a little over 300cfm for exhaust and the filters do not seem to affect it too much. There is a noticable slowing when I close the doors and I believe that is due to the low intake for a negative pressure. Intake is only about 70cfm.
I could increase the airflow by adding bigger or more intake fans.
Thanks for your thoughts on it. It may be one of the biggest challenges I have.
Hope I answered your questions and thanks for the suggestions.

 

[EvlMunkee]

I was looking for just this type of cabinet setup to model mine on.

Just wondering what a good estimate is of what you spent on the setup (excluding the lights)
so for like:

Cabinet
Fans
Wall linings/stripping

I was thinking that I would do a partitioned cabinet so that I can have a mother/clones etc, with an hps on the left(for flowering) and a bank or two of 23W cfls for the mother/clones.

BtW, if you wanted to have a 24/7 fan w/carbon filter (pencil cup kind) I'd suggest an inline ducted fan because not even my Delta brand 120mm's can keep up with the back pressure generated by this type of filter.

Thanks for the great thread!

I just realized I forgot to thank you for the rep. Really apperciate it man!