SunnyDaze
Well-Known Member
Had a couple comments and questions about my set up. It is NOT foolproof but it works for me.
My darling husband built it for me and it gets the job done.
Supplies:
Item
Price
Locker
Free courtesy of the USAF
Closet Shelf
12.00 Lowes
8 cfl 100W each
14.00 Lowes
Surge Protector Strip
20.00 Office Max
1 Roll Electrical tape
4.00 Lowes
5 Plugs
2.00/each Lowes
HPS Light
100.00 Ebay
Bathroom vent fan
13.50 Lowes
25ft Lighting Wire lamp cord
.15 a foot Lowes
8 Outdoor light sockets
3.00/each Lowes
3 cans White Spray paint
4.00/each
Timer
15.00 Lowes
Tools needed:
Corded Drill
Hole Boaring Kit
Jig Saw or Sabre Saw
Construction:
1. Get a locker. I got this one as a left over from work so it cost me nothing
2. Spray paint interior. It took me 3 cans of white paint to put on enough coats to be decently covered
3. I started by hanging the HPS so I could figure the height for my shelf and light locations.
4. I pretty much split the remaining height and put in my 3ft wide shelf in for the upper plants.
5. I then drilled ¾ in. holes for the light sockets, screwed through the sockets and tightened the jam nuts on the back side.
6. Drill some ventalation holes in the bottom of the locker. I used the big hole bits like you would use to drill for a doorknob, but any shaped hole will do. You just want to be able to draw in some cool air at the bottom of the locker.
7. Trace and cut the hole for the bathroom vent. This is really easy, you just cut out a square. At this point you will also want to pass through the wire for the HPS, so you can keep the ballast on the outside of the locker, and then once you press the vent through from the back there are little metal tabs that bend out to hold it in place. Just follow the directions for the basic wiring setup
That covers the interior and installation of all the sockets and fan all that is left now is the wiring. Now we are not talking about wiring a house or anything complicated here. It is two wires each, black and white wire, and is nearly fool-proof.
I joined the wired into bundles of 2. Upper right 2 lights, upper left, ect. Any more than that and you start dealing with a lot of wire.
If you look at your wire you will see that one side will either have some writing or a flat edge on it, something to tell the difference between the two. The important part is to remain consistent with your wiring. I used the flat edged for the black wires. Wire nut or electrical tape each connection. I cut my wires to length so that all wires would reach the middle of the locker in the back. Take the 2 wires and connect then to the plug you bought. There are a lot of different pugs for sale just makes sure that you can fit 6 in your power strip.
Continue your wiring of the lights and fan until you are ready to test it out. The one other thing we did was buy a timer so we could have everything run 18/6 or 12/12 as needed.
Good luck and if you need any clarification just asks and I will answer all that I can.
My darling husband built it for me and it gets the job done.
Supplies:
Item
Price
Locker
Free courtesy of the USAF
Closet Shelf
12.00 Lowes
8 cfl 100W each
14.00 Lowes
Surge Protector Strip
20.00 Office Max
1 Roll Electrical tape
4.00 Lowes
5 Plugs
2.00/each Lowes
HPS Light
100.00 Ebay
Bathroom vent fan
13.50 Lowes
25ft Lighting Wire lamp cord
.15 a foot Lowes
8 Outdoor light sockets
3.00/each Lowes
3 cans White Spray paint
4.00/each
Timer
15.00 Lowes
Tools needed:
Corded Drill
Hole Boaring Kit
Jig Saw or Sabre Saw
Construction:
1. Get a locker. I got this one as a left over from work so it cost me nothing
2. Spray paint interior. It took me 3 cans of white paint to put on enough coats to be decently covered
3. I started by hanging the HPS so I could figure the height for my shelf and light locations.
4. I pretty much split the remaining height and put in my 3ft wide shelf in for the upper plants.
5. I then drilled ¾ in. holes for the light sockets, screwed through the sockets and tightened the jam nuts on the back side.
6. Drill some ventalation holes in the bottom of the locker. I used the big hole bits like you would use to drill for a doorknob, but any shaped hole will do. You just want to be able to draw in some cool air at the bottom of the locker.
7. Trace and cut the hole for the bathroom vent. This is really easy, you just cut out a square. At this point you will also want to pass through the wire for the HPS, so you can keep the ballast on the outside of the locker, and then once you press the vent through from the back there are little metal tabs that bend out to hold it in place. Just follow the directions for the basic wiring setup
That covers the interior and installation of all the sockets and fan all that is left now is the wiring. Now we are not talking about wiring a house or anything complicated here. It is two wires each, black and white wire, and is nearly fool-proof.
I joined the wired into bundles of 2. Upper right 2 lights, upper left, ect. Any more than that and you start dealing with a lot of wire.
If you look at your wire you will see that one side will either have some writing or a flat edge on it, something to tell the difference between the two. The important part is to remain consistent with your wiring. I used the flat edged for the black wires. Wire nut or electrical tape each connection. I cut my wires to length so that all wires would reach the middle of the locker in the back. Take the 2 wires and connect then to the plug you bought. There are a lot of different pugs for sale just makes sure that you can fit 6 in your power strip.
Continue your wiring of the lights and fan until you are ready to test it out. The one other thing we did was buy a timer so we could have everything run 18/6 or 12/12 as needed.
Good luck and if you need any clarification just asks and I will answer all that I can.