Srirachi
Well-Known Member
I thought I'd share my seedling and cloning chambers.
I am a tinkerer and build stuff all the time - not birdhouses, machines. So I've got a lot of weird scrap in my garage. One of the things I had was some old screen printing frames that the local scrap guy thought I'd pay more for than the scrap aluminum weight. He was right because they are basically square aluminum frames - like tinker toys for me. You can buy the frames brand new for around $8, you'll need 4. You can probably get a friend who works in screen printing to get you some from work. And with the frames and no welding skills you can make a chamber that is rock solid. Probably around $50 worth of stuff but I bet you can get most of it for free if you look around a little.
The first cloning chamber I made was made using the scrap frames but I found I needed more and I found a cheap source for the frames. Gold up USA is the seller you should google, then look for "bare frames" and pick a size. Use bolts to hold everything together.
The beauty of these frames is that you can slap 4 together with some melamine board for walls and drywall screws will bore right into the aluminum without any drilling or anything. You will only need to drill for the bolts to hold the frames together.
I cut some foam insulation to fit inside the frames. I used melamine for walls as well but you could easily get by with just reflective foam for walls and it wouldn't weigh as much as a dresser then like mine does. I used old light fixtures for light but if I had to buy lighting for it I'd have bought one of those hip happenin HLG 304s for it.
With 4x23w CFLs the plants get plenty of light, not too much heat, and are generally happy. The plants in the last shot were grown from seed in that box. I have a problem keeping temps up but you could easily install a couple computer fans or something if heat is an issue where you're at.
Nothing revolutionary here except that it was fast to make, like an hour, and built entirely from garbage. I think it would be worth ordering the frames new though, because this chamber is strong enough to be the base for more of your operation to be set on top of. You could build one wider or taller from these frames as well, so I've been buying them for all sorts of stuff.
You could also order a 160 mesh screen at the same time and rub out some nice pollen.
I am a tinkerer and build stuff all the time - not birdhouses, machines. So I've got a lot of weird scrap in my garage. One of the things I had was some old screen printing frames that the local scrap guy thought I'd pay more for than the scrap aluminum weight. He was right because they are basically square aluminum frames - like tinker toys for me. You can buy the frames brand new for around $8, you'll need 4. You can probably get a friend who works in screen printing to get you some from work. And with the frames and no welding skills you can make a chamber that is rock solid. Probably around $50 worth of stuff but I bet you can get most of it for free if you look around a little.
The first cloning chamber I made was made using the scrap frames but I found I needed more and I found a cheap source for the frames. Gold up USA is the seller you should google, then look for "bare frames" and pick a size. Use bolts to hold everything together.
The beauty of these frames is that you can slap 4 together with some melamine board for walls and drywall screws will bore right into the aluminum without any drilling or anything. You will only need to drill for the bolts to hold the frames together.
I cut some foam insulation to fit inside the frames. I used melamine for walls as well but you could easily get by with just reflective foam for walls and it wouldn't weigh as much as a dresser then like mine does. I used old light fixtures for light but if I had to buy lighting for it I'd have bought one of those hip happenin HLG 304s for it.
With 4x23w CFLs the plants get plenty of light, not too much heat, and are generally happy. The plants in the last shot were grown from seed in that box. I have a problem keeping temps up but you could easily install a couple computer fans or something if heat is an issue where you're at.
Nothing revolutionary here except that it was fast to make, like an hour, and built entirely from garbage. I think it would be worth ordering the frames new though, because this chamber is strong enough to be the base for more of your operation to be set on top of. You could build one wider or taller from these frames as well, so I've been buying them for all sorts of stuff.
You could also order a 160 mesh screen at the same time and rub out some nice pollen.
