Lightproof Help Needed! Pictures!

Picasso345 · May 7, 2008

I need to light proof my 6" intake. It goes straight into my air-cooled hood. I really don't have room for the black PVC tubing bend trick. I'm hoping to find something I can stick inside the tubing. Did I once read something about using those green pot scrubbers? Do those work? Any other ideas?

In the picture it is the intake on the right side going into the hood. That second picture is what I have now. Basically a dryer vent.

Thank you.

RaginCajun420 · May 7, 2008

Picasso345 said:
I need to light proof my 6" intake. It goes straight into my air-cooled hood. I really don't have room for the black PVC tubing bend trick. I'm hoping to find something I can stick inside the tubing. Did I once read something about using those green pot scrubbers? Do those work? Any other ideas?

In the picture it is the intake on the right side going into the hood. That second picture is what I have now. Basically a dryer vent.

Thank you.

Maybe you could put some of that carbon filter mat inside the duct. It would work to diffuse light and help with smell. By the way thats a really nice setup! What kind of cabinet is that? What wattage is your light?

UserFriendly · May 7, 2008

Black pantyhose will do it.

Picasso345 · May 7, 2008

RaginCajun420 said:
Maybe you could put some of that carbon filter mat inside the duct. It would work to diffuse light and help with smell. By the way thats a really nice setup! What kind of cabinet is that? What wattage is your light?

Thanks. It's a $99 Sauder Wardrobe Cabinet. I got mine at a Menards. 400 HPS.

Picasso345 · May 7, 2008

UserFriendly said:
Black pantyhose will do it.

Thank you! I will go cruising the pantyhose aisle like a pervert.

I tried a piece of a black t-shirt and all that seemed to do slow airflow while letting all the light pass through.

I appreciate it.

FullMetalJacket · May 7, 2008

Beautiful cabinet man..So the light is comeing in the back through the hood intake or from the top through the fan through the hood?

Picasso345 · May 7, 2008

FullMetalJacket said:
Beautiful cabinet man..So the light is comeing in the back through the hood intake or from the top through the fan through the hood?

Thanks. It is light from the hood reflecting back out tubing and out the passive intake where the air is coming from. The fan is on the other side of the hood and up top, pulling the air and that blocks all the light from that side.

Hopefully that makes sense. As you look at my cabinet, the light is going out the hose that comes off the right side of the light and lighting up the space behind my cabinet.

I also tried painting the inside of the tubing, but light still got out.

FullMetalJacket · May 7, 2008

I have the same set-up as you, i will surely have this problem here shortly. Please post what ultimately resolves your issue... TY

Picasso345 · May 10, 2008

FullMetalJacket said:
I have the same set-up as you, i will surely have this problem here shortly. Please post what ultimately resolves your issue... TY

Well the pantyhose kinda works...I'm sticking with it for now. :-?

I bought some No Nonsense brand at Walgreen's. Fat lady size. There was enough fabric for trying to reign in some fatties gut so I used that thicker stuff and not the more sheer fabric from the leg area. I put it over the exit tube at the rear of the cab and taped it down and slipped the tubing back over it. It blocked maybe 45% of the light, so I repeated the process on the hood where the tubing attached and that dropped it another maybe 50%. So I would say now maybe about 5% of the light is escaping and thusly also getting back in. :cry:

With the room that the wardrobe is in perfectly dark, I have to let my eyes adjust for a few minutes before I can see the light escape, so it's OK I think. Airflow wasn't really affected.

Thoughts?

Hawk · May 13, 2008

Picasso, how well does that hood seal? It looks like a you've set it up so the hood's airflow is sealed off from the cab. Scrubbing it at all? What's the differential between in cab lights on and ambient?

Nice cab BTW. I like.

Picasso345 · May 13, 2008

Hawk said:
Picasso, how well does that hood seal? It looks like a you've set it up so the hood's airflow is sealed off from the cab. Scrubbing it at all? What's the differential between in cab lights on and ambient?

Nice cab BTW. I like.

Thanks. Yep the hood light is totally separate from the cab so I can run CO2. It is sealed up very tight, that light is very well made with tight seams - that air is not scrubbed at all. The grow area air runs through the other fan and then it is pushed through the blue carbon scrubber in the far upper right. No smells.

The difference from ambient with the lights on is only several degrees. I can actually hold my hand up against the bottom of the light glass and it just feels warm.

rockfish · May 13, 2008

Hey Picasso,

Nice looking cab., Man! I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. How have you light proofed the passive intakes on the bottom. I see the grills, but is there a filter in there or something that keeps the light in?

How does the air get into the upper chamber to be exhausted through the scrubber? I only see the one exhaust fan. Are you using the one fan to exhaust the light and the cab?

Thanks,

~Rock~

Picasso345 · May 13, 2008

rockfish said:
Hey Picasso,

Nice looking cab., Man! I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. How have you light proofed the passive intakes on the bottom. I see the grills, but is there a filter in there or something that keeps the light in?

How does the air get into the upper chamber to be exhausted through the scrubber? I only see the one exhaust fan. Are you using the one fan to exhaust the light and the cab?

Thanks,

~Rock~

Two fans. On the far left is the hood fan and in the center is a bathroom type fan that does the grow area. I'll put another picture up in my profile in a minute.

The bottom grills are darkroom vents. $25/each: Doran | DV-99 8x8" Light Tight Darkroom Louver | PRDV99

BongJuice · May 13, 2008

Speaker cloth would work.
I've made curtains with speaker cloth.

rockfish · May 13, 2008

Dude, those darkroom vents may just be the answer to the intake ventilation concerns I've been having. I'm working out the design for a DIY grow cab and hadn't seen vents of that type before. Thank you kindly for the information!

How do you like those vents? Do they restrict airflow much? Any light leakage?

~Rock~

Picasso345 · May 13, 2008

rockfish said:
Dude, those darkroom vents may just be the answer to the intake ventilation concerns I've been having. I'm working out the design for a DIY grow cab and hadn't seen vents of that type before. Thank you kindly for the information!

How do you like those vents? Do they restrict airflow much? Any light leakage?

~Rock~

Cool. There is absolutely zero light leakage. Airflow blockage is a little tougher to gauge, there is some, but it doesn't cause my fan to noticeably work harder, but there is a little bit of resistance there, not too much though. They are doing exactly what they are designed for after all.

I'm not having any luck uploading a pic to my gallery so I'll attach it here.

Good luck.

rockfish · May 13, 2008

OK, I think I get it now. Your cab exhaust is pushed out of the carbon scrubber and passively exits the top of the cab? I hadn't thought of doing it that way.

Thanks for the pic and the help.

~Rock~

Picasso345 · May 13, 2008

rockfish said:
OK, I think I get it now. Your cab exhaust is pushed out of the carbon scrubber and passively exits the top of the cab? I hadn't thought of doing it that way.

Thanks for the pic and the help.

~Rock~

Yep, that's exactly it.

FullMetalJacket · May 13, 2008

Thats a good way to do it to with the "passive exhaust" if your using ozone... Just release the ozone into that same area so the 03 mixes better with the smelly air.

Im kind of upset i even did an exhaust now though as don't know i will be needing it.. With my cooltube fan cooling my temps maxed at 84.5 and stay around 83 with no exhaust/intake. With the C02 that is a good temp i think. So id anyone is thinking of doing Co2 it has potential to cut down on intake, exhaust, and filter needs assusming you take care of the heat from the bulb correctly...

newtoit · May 15, 2008

dude i must say, that is one sweet grow cab... not sure if i can believe "ricky" could come up with that one... maybe bubbles... lol

Lightproof Help Needed! Pictures!

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