Will this grow box work?

L

LayYouIn

Active Member
hello. this is my first post. i actually copied this post from another forum, i just wanted more input.

i've been designing this box and reading up on grow box designs for a couple of weeks now. im looking for approval on it.

im going for security and stealth. security first though. i want no light coming out of the box.

these are some of the items that i was planning on putting into the box...

http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=48137 - CoolTube 6" Reflector

http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=45667 - Digital Electronic 400 watt HPS Ballast

http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=52557 - GrowBright 4" Inline Fan

http://www.4hydroponics.com/grow_room/ElfFilter.asp - Elf Charcoal Filter

are these good products?

this is the grow box design...



the picture has two different front views of the box, one has just the dimensions and the other has the above items in it.

the box will be 3' wide x 2' deep and 6' high, but the growing area inside will be 2' wide by 2' deep and 6' high.

im going to have a 400 watt HPS in there. that comes out to 100 watts per sq ft. is this to much light?

the ventilation areas will be on the side of the box, passive air intake at the bottom and a fan sucking air through the cool tube, then pushing air through the filter which is in the top ventilation area which will have a large vent to outside the box.

will this be enough ventilation for the box? the cool tube has 6" mounts, could i use 4" tubing without problems?

the bottom ventilation area will have 2 different sets of 4" piping that will wined around so that light cannot escape the box. there will be vents over the holes on the outside of the box.

is this enough for passive intake with the above ventilation area? will common vents restrict air from flowing in?

what do you all think? will it work? where will my biggest problems be?
thanks.
 
ultranyte

ultranyte

New Member
This setup will work just fine it meets the max recommended light before it's just excess.
but I would change the airflow to prevent heat buildup in the filter.
You should be sucking air from the carbon filter, blowing it into the cool tube, then directly out of the box. This prevents any heat buildup and keeps your bulb and the glass cleaner, gives just that little bit more light without dust buildup.
 
L

LayYouIn

Active Member
ultranyte said:
This setup will work just fine it meets the max recommended light before it's just excess.
but I would change the airflow to prevent heat buildup in the filter.
You should be sucking air from the carbon filter, blowing it into the cool tube, then directly out of the box. This prevents any heat buildup and keeps your bulb and the glass cleaner, gives just that little bit more light without dust buildup.
Click to expand...
geez, im glad i asked before building...that could have cause some problems. makes complete sense.

would it be an issue though, if i used 4" piping when the reflector/cooltube has 6" on it? would 4" not cool it down enough?

also, should i still keep a top ventilation area at the top of the box, have the air after passing though the cool tube sent into this top ventilation area, and then have a big vent on the side of the box? or could i have the 4" piping send it directly out of the box, even though im going to have and metal vent over it....in other words, will a vent cause to much air resistance for a 4" exhaust hole?
 
ultranyte

ultranyte

New Member
The 4" will work since your only using 400W, if you tried a 600W then I would make the exhaust duct after the cool tube a 6".
I thought you were going to use that area for vegging or cloning. if you have a seperate area for that, you should just make that cab that full size.
 
L

LayYouIn

Active Member
ultranyte said:
The 4" will work since your only using 400W, if you tried a 600W then I would make the exhaust duct after the cool tube a 6".
I thought you were going to use that area for vegging or cloning. if you have a seperate area for that, you should just make that cab that full size.
Click to expand...
since im going to have a vent on the outside of the box over the exhaust, would it be best to make the exhaust duct after the cool tube a 6" due to air resistance?
 
Mr. Limpet

Mr. Limpet

Well-Known Member
HA! i just made that same order (almost) today for the same space (from HTG Too)
mine is 2x3x8 high. Im cutting it into 2x3x5 flower and 2x3x3 veg.

same light, same hood, already have a filter. and i cheaped out with the 6"

inline duct fan (but i bought 2 incase 1 didnt cut it, cuz they are cheap)

Did you order it already? I am curious to see what your temps run.
 
L

LayYouIn

Active Member
Mr. Limpet said:
HA! i just made that same order (almost) today for the same space (from HTG Too)
mine is 2x3x8 high. Im cutting it into 2x3x5 flower and 2x3x3 veg.

same light, same hood, already have a filter. and i cheaped out with the 6"

inline duct fan (but i bought 2 incase 1 didnt cut it, cuz they are cheap)

Did you order it already? I am curious to see what your temps run.
Click to expand...
no, i haven't order anything. strange how similar our boxes are. im planning on having one tall grow area for vegging and flowering, seed to bud each time, even though i know it'll take longer.

have you built your box yet or do you still have a ways to go? im also curious to see what your temps will be at.

how many cfm are the fans you bought? im thinking about upgrading from the 170cfm one i've been looking at, to a more powerful one.

what kind of area are you going to have your box in(bedroom, garage, kitchen)? what are the temps at in the area?

please keep me updated.
 
email468

email468

Well-Known Member
i have a bit of advice ... i recommend you purchase your equipment before you build the box so you can lay it all out and make sure it is going to fit with the dimensions you've chosen. Some of this stuff might be bigger - or need more breathing space than you think.

my two cents.
 
Maccabee

Maccabee

Well-Known Member
Funny. I'm building a cabinet with almost the same dimensions for my current place. Email is absolutely right--the first thing I did was go and get my equipment out of storage and lay it out in the space where I was planning to build the cabinet. Plug in all your stuff and make sure the electrical capacity is OK, etc. Take complete measurements and make sure to take into account the space taken up by mounting hardware, access to equipment as the plants grow, etc. Do your homework to avoid problems later on!

I was planning to loosely journal this grow, but I'll put some of my construction pics up in this thread, maybe later tonight. We can bounce our setups off of each other, I'd love to catch any oversights I've made before I get any further.
 
Mr. Limpet

Mr. Limpet

Well-Known Member
LayYouIn said:
no, i haven't order anything. strange how similar our boxes are. im planning on having one tall grow area for vegging and flowering, seed to bud each time, even though i know it'll take longer.

have you built your box yet or do you still have a ways to go? im also curious to see what your temps will be at.

how many cfm are the fans you bought? im thinking about upgrading from the 170cfm one i've been looking at, to a more powerful one.

what kind of area are you going to have your box in(bedroom, garage, kitchen)? what are the temps at in the area?

please keep me updated.
Click to expand...
mine is a built in closet in a spare bedroom so I would say winter temps in the room would be 68-72 and probably 67-70 in the summer.

The fans i bought say they are 250cfm but i figure they will be only half that if im lucky ( thats why I got 2) They were $40m each at HTG. Plus the exhaust will be ran through the attic to a vent at the end. So it needs to make like a 15' run so i figured 2 for sure.

And yeah if i had the option to build my room around my equiptment I probably wouldnt be using a 400:mrgreen:

But that is the way to go, you are right (email)
 
Mr. Limpet

Mr. Limpet

Well-Known Member
oh and i bought one of those aeroscrog scrubbers that are advertised on here. It has its own fan but will still be assisted by the 2 inlines. I have heard mixed reviews on those scrubbers so i bought the one rated for a 10x10 to use in my 2x3. If it cant handle that then there is a problem
 
L

LayYouIn

Active Member
email468 said:
i have a bit of advice ... i recommend you purchase your equipment before you build the box so you can lay it all out and make sure it is going to fit with the dimensions you've chosen. Some of this stuff might be bigger - or need more breathing space than you think.

my two cents.
Click to expand...
definitely my plan. ill be buying the equipment sometime in late spring but i wont be building the actual box until late summer. i just want to round everything up first and i was to plan it out well and know that it'll work. im actually planning on making a log with lots of pictures to help others...like grow box tek or something.

as far as the measurements go, HTG has measurements on all the items im going to buy except for the ballast...which ill need to asked them for...

Maccabee said:
Funny. I'm building a cabinet with almost the same dimensions for my current place. Email is absolutely right--the first thing I did was go and get my equipment out of storage and lay it out in the space where I was planning to build the cabinet. Plug in all your stuff and make sure the electrical capacity is OK, etc. Take complete measurements and make sure to take into account the space taken up by mounting hardware, access to equipment as the plants grow, etc. Do your homework to avoid problems later on!

I was planning to loosely journal this grow, but I'll put some of my construction pics up in this thread, maybe later tonight. We can bounce our setups off of each other, I'd love to catch any oversights I've made before I get any further.
Click to expand...
please excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by "make sure the electrical capacity is OK"?

id really appreciate it if you did post pictures and temps with the CFM of your fan. temp will probley be my biggest problem and i would like to have it all work out the first time through.

Mr. Limpet said:
The fans i bought say they are 250cfm but i figure they will be only half that if im lucky ( thats why I got 2) They were $40m each at HTG.
Click to expand...
are you buying the Suncounrt 6" Inline Duct Fan? is, i have heard that these type of fan dont work very well with carbon filters. but that is just what i've heard.
 
Mr. Limpet

Mr. Limpet

Well-Known Member
LayYouIn said:
are you buying the Suncounrt 6" Inline Duct Fan? is, i have heard that these type of fan dont work very well with carbon filters. but that is just what i've heard.
Click to expand...
Yeah its those fans, But the scrubber comes with a fan already. So the 2 fans will be used like this. One to cool the light and one like 10 feet down the duct (15-20' to outside) to keep the air moving and put less stress on the first one. The scrubber duct will tie into a Y, located at the exhaust end of the first fan. and be pulled out by the second fan after being mixed with the (no stink) light exhaust.
Does that make sense to you?
 
email468

email468

Well-Known Member
LayYouIn said:
they cant be in the same series? :-?
Click to expand...
you are much better off with one fan to sucking the heat from the lights (with a glass enclosed reflector you don't need a filter since there won't be any odor) air in from one side of the box into the light and out the other side of the light and out of the box with one fan.

The other fan is used to expel the heat and smelly air - that is the one you put the filter on.
 
L

LayYouIn

Active Member
email468 said:
you are much better off with one fan to sucking the heat from the lights (with a glass enclosed reflector you don't need a filter since there won't be any odor) air in from one side of the box into the light and out the other side of the light and out of the box with one fan.

The other fan is used to expel the heat and smelly air - that is the one you put the filter on.
Click to expand...
do you think that if i didn't do that and i just used the newer design i posted above, that things would overheat if the box was kept in a bedroom that was 70f?
 
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