First Grow: AK48 4x85W CFL stealth cabinet grow

H

Hornstar

Member
Hey all,

Just thought I would post my first Journal entry and show some progress of the build of my grow box.

Here are some pics:

23092010492.jpg1173727d1285283049-23092010491.jpg23092010493.jpg23092010496.jpg

So there it is. It is 43" tall x 31" wide and 18" deep. Its not the biggest but I figure I can get 3 plants in there and am hoping I will have enough room but I guess we will find out. I am going to be using CFL's that will be housed in their own homemade light fixture. There will be 6 positions for the bulbs but I am initially only going to use 4 and then I can add more if I need to. I have bught 4 85W CFL's and they are HUGE! See here:


23092010495.jpg23092010494.jpgI will have 3 on each side of the fitting (well 2 to begin with) and the fitting will be adjustable so I can have the lights about 2" away from the plants.

The next thing to do though is finish off light sealing the box and then to fit the Mylar to the inside of the box. I then need to fit the fans and the light traps (well I need to make the light traps first). You can see the 2 holes I have, the lower one is the intake and the higher one is the exhaust. I have 2 76CFM 120mm CPU fans but I am not sure whether they will be enough so I bought 2 38CFM CPU fans that I may add at a later date.

Oh and I also order some Nirvana AK48 feminized seeds so hopefully the box will be finished before they arrive and I can get this show on the road. Hoping to have a harvest before Christmas, in time for a Christmas smoke.

Anyway, thats enough of that. Will post again when I have more to update. I have Xposted this from my Journal where the pics may be slightly better quality. Actually looks like they are not but whetever!
 
H

Hornstar

Member
Well I managed to build and wire up my home made light fixture last night. I finally finished at 12:30am after testing it. Fortunately all the lights worked and my shed didnt blow up so I class that as a success. The only minor issue is that when I took the measurements for it I didn't take account of the wires coming out the ends and so the entire unit is about 20-30 mm too big. Its an easy fix and so I will be sdoing that today hopefully.

Its not completely finished as I have to make and fit a home made reflector and I am still not 100% sure how that is going to work. Thinking of using 3 pieces of wood to make a "roof" for it, mylaring that and connecting it to the frame with metal brackets. Need a little more design time to think about it though. If anyone has any other ideas feel free to comment.

My to do list is :
1) Mylar the inside of the box
2) Build light traps for the fans
3) Connect fans to power sources
4) route all the wires
5) light proof the doors
6) build and fit an adequate reflector
7) any snagging that needs doing.

Here are some pics of the light fixture:

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H

Hornstar

Member
Heyho!

Managed to wire up my fans today to the 12V DC adaptors. Thankfully they worked and didnt blow up. I have 4 but am only using 2 at the moment. They are both 120mm but one is 76cfm and one 37cfm. The 76cfm fan will be my exhaust and the other the intake.

I have also fixed the light fixture so that it now fits nicely and is easily moved up and down.

I also cut all the diamond mylar to size.

My next step is to design and build a reflector to attach to the light fixture and install some supports for my heavy duty hooks to screw into. Once thats done then I will mylar the box and install the fans. Whilst thinking about this I have realised that I am not going to be able to have a light trap on my exhaust as it would interfere with the movemant of the light fixture. I might be able to have one on the intake (which is actually more visible and would be more of a problem without one) but I need to measure up my pots to see if I will be able to get my lights close enough without causing any problems.

I also noticed this post https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/101248-best-diy-ez-walmart-carbon.html and this looks ideal for me. The odour issue is one I have been worrying about as I don't have room in my box for a traditional carbon filter & ducting. It may also act as a light trap as well so it solves all my issues in one, assuming it works of course. I won't be building this just yet but will be keeping my eyes open for suitable mesh pots ( I don't live in US so no trips to Wally world).

Thats all for now. More pics once I have the reflector and Mylar done. Just seen that my seeds are ready to be shipped. Woohoo:clap:bongsmilie Hopefully I can get them early next week as I am hoping the box will be finished come the weekend.
 
H

Hornstar

Member
Hey all,

I today managed to build the reflector and attached it to the light fitting. It is obviously not super professional but I think its good considering it cost me nothing as I made it from the off cuts I had left from the wood I used to build the box.

Here are the pics:



I need to trim it flush with the light fixture, which I can;'t do as its dark and chucking it down. Once I have done that I will be able to mylar the unit and it will then be able to be fitted in the box.

I still need to mylar the box itself, which I can now do and I am hoping that it won't take too long but I am looking to take my time with it. I ntoiced today that my shed is bloody leaking as well. One of the boxes that holds my bulbs was absolutley soaked so I had to protect the rest of the bulbs and catch the leaks. I am going to have to fit some more felt on the roof I think in order to stop the leaks. A bit of a pain i n the arse but it is not going to affect th grow once everything is up and running.

I also checked Nirvana and the status says my order has been shipped! Yeah boy!:razz: Can't wait to get them and get the box finished. Just want to get into the nitty gritty of growing and then smoking. Will be nice not to have to buy shit from others and to smoke the fruits of my own labour.
 
H

Hornstar

Member
Hey all,

still working on the grow box and waiting on my seeds. The seeds were shipped 7 days ago so I am hoping they will arrive soon.

As for the box...well I have constructed a light reflector that I attached to the unit, mylared the inside, mylared the light unit, hooked up the unit to the box and thats it. Doesn't sound like alot but it took me an evening to mylar the light unit and about 4 hours to mylar the box and connect the light unit. I haven't had the time unfortunately to do it sooner and I haven't got my seeds yet so there is no real rush.

I used a hot glue gun to attach the mylar to the box and then used aluminium tape to seal the corners. I am very happy with the way it has turned out. I am currently testing the temps without the fans as a starting point. The box was at approx 56 degrees without lights or mylar and humidity was 80-90% as it has been raining non stop for about a week and my shed leaked (which I have now fixed).

My to-do list reads:

Fix light leaks
Connect Fans

The light leaks around the doors are not going to be an issue as I have ideas for those. The problem I have is the intake/exhaust holes as I cannot fit light traps on the inside. I am thinking of putting some form of light trap on the outside but I will see. Eventually I am hoping to connect a DIY carbon filter to the outside of the box which I hope will double up as a light trap. The problem with that is I am struggling to find the right pencil pot/container to use but I have some time to think about that. As the box is in my shed I am only worried about nosy neighbours or guests seeing the lights so I have just covered up the windows for now.

I'll report back on the temps and when I have the seeds. Can't wait now. Just wanna get them germed.
 
H

Hornstar

Member
As you can tell I am a bit excited. :clap:

The seeds got here yahoo!!! Loved the way Nirvana packaged them aswell. Good job so far. Lets hope they germ nicely and are all ladies. I cant wait to smoke the product!bongsmilie

Oh, anyone got advice on storing the beauties? Was thinking keep them all wrapped up as delivered and in a cool dark dry place?



 
smokebomb1

smokebomb1

Active Member
so why not let the whole world know how your beans are stealthed, so they know what to look for, not too bright! try removing the picts. btw, the box aint bad looking. but get rid of the bean pictures for all of us. thx.
 
H

Hornstar

Member
Hey all,

I have just now planted my little seeds. I decided to germinate directly in the soil instead of the paper towel or water method. The reason being that I don't like the idea of handling the seed once the tap root has shown as I don't want to stress/damage the seed.

This is how I have begun the process:

1. Drilled holes in bottom of plastic 450ml cup. Fill cups with Bio Bizz All Mix, put my hand over top and shake up and down to get rid of air holes. Pat the top of the all mix in cup down gently. Filled to 1" below the cup top - room for the sprout to grow if it comes up when im not around; and to put in more All Mix if the stem stretches.

2. Using the writing tip pf the inner part of a ballpoint pen I poke a hole in the center of the all mix, about 1/8". Not deep, just a starter hole.

3. Find the scalloped (opens) and dimpled (hing) sides of the seed. Poke the scalloped end into the all mix.

4. Using the open tube end of the pen refill push the dimpled end of the seed down until it is 1/16-1/8" below the surface. Using the pen refill skuff up the all mix until 1/8" is over the seed dimple. Loose and airy is good.

5. Sprinkled 3 tablespoons of water over the top of the all mix.

6. cover cup with cling film.

I used the method posted by Hobbes in Weed Science so I don't take credit for this. http://www.hobbes-l.tc/Body.html

I hope this works and it will be an anxious wait for the next few days. Can't wait to see the first sprout. One thing I wanted toi know is have I got the cups too far away from the light. I am usinf 4 85W CFL's and they are approx 30" away from the cups. I am also using a 12/12 flower cycle until the sprout shows, at which point I will switch to an 18/6.

Does this sound ok?

 
H

Hornstar

Member
JrOne424 said:
Can you explain me how you wired them lights?
Click to expand...
Hey,

Yeah I am not US so I used a 3 core wire (Live, Neutral, Earth) and firstly wired the lamp holders, so there was one wire from each lamp holder. I then routed the wires around the back of the light frame and connected the 3 on the right together and the three on the left together. This left me with 2 seperate lots of cables each with a Live, Earth and neutral. I then connected the 2 lives together along with the live of a 3rd wire that had a plug on the other end. Then the neutral and then the earth. I then covered each connection with electrical tape. I then covered them again with electrical tape and again with a 3rd layer to make sure that all the connectiosn were properly covered.

So basically I connected 3 wires on each end into one and then connected those ends onto another cable that had the plug attached to it.

I hope this is clear for you.
 
JrOne424

JrOne424

Well-Known Member
Your explaining it was kinda confuse.. .. But thanks anyway.. If you can do a Draw to understand you better i will give you Rep. =D.
 
H

Hornstar

Member
JrOne424 said:
Your explaining it was kinda confuse.. .. But thanks anyway.. If you can do a Draw to understand you better i will give you Rep. =D.
Click to expand...
Its difficult to really draw it.

Its just a case of conncting all the lives together, all the neutrals and all the earth wires. Once you have done that you have 1 "set" of live, neutral and earth (which consists of the six wires all connected together). The last step is to connect the "set" of live, neutral and earth wires to the live, neutral and earth wires of the power cord.
 
corúm

corúm

Active Member
hey man.. just a thought that might help with heat... cause those cfl's will make some decent heat... youll have quite a bit of wattage with 6 of those biggies in there.. even 4.

i'd suggest mounting a PC fan on the top of your light fixture (make a small vent hole right in the middle) sucking air out from the cfl's towards the top away from your plants and hopefully sucked right out by your exaust. (you'll definately be able to get your lights a bit closer)

GL man. looks like a good setup.. now comes the growing part! have fun!
 
H

Hornstar

Member
corúm;4760157 said:
hey man.. just a thought that might help with heat... cause those cfl's will make some decent heat... youll have quite a bit of wattage with 6 of those biggies in there.. even 4.

i'd suggest mounting a PC fan on the top of your light fixture (make a small vent hole right in the middle) sucking air out from the cfl's towards the top away from your plants and hopefully sucked right out by your exaust. (you'll definately be able to get your lights a bit closer)

GL man. looks like a good setup.. now comes the growing part! have fun!
Click to expand...
I was thinking the exact same thing. I have 3 more fans that are not hooked up and if the heat does become a problem then doing this should not be a problem.

I did test the box for 5 days with and without the fans. The temps were never above 83 degrees. I am more worried about them being too low but we shall see. Humidity might be a problem in flower to as it gets up to 65% when the lights are off and its a wet day outside. Will cross that bridge though. Will be checking the temps/humidity regularly though.
 
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