Mother/Veg Cab - No Ventillation/Sealed

[EatonMess 120]

Quite a mad, but simple concept.

Under-counter fridge in the shed, 60W tube heater (it's cold out there), 40W E27 6500K LED (virtually zero heat), small PC fan for circulating air, a "smart CO2 bag" https://tinyurl.com/rl7z6ta

 

Could or would this work? Would ideally use this to get clones going, pot up and top them before final pot up and sticking into the flowering cab.

I know this will get met with a lot of stick and "why the hell would you want to do that" but the simple answer is I want to try it and see if it's possible.

I built a small cab for vegging/cloning (30 x 16 x 50), but even with just an 80mm PC fan as exhaust and passive intakes alongside a 60W tube heater - I had big problems maintaining >15C inside.

[_Jamie_ 452]

Don’t know were your to in the world but where I am right now it’s fcuking freezing outside and a 60W tube heater I don’t think will heat it up enough for anything outdoors right now, I’m guessing you will veg 24/0 as lights off will be even colder 

 

why don’t you leave it all switched on and record your max and min temps before you put plants in there and go from there personally I think it will be way to cold this time of year if your in the UK like me 

 

 

[EatonMess 120]

2 hours ago, _Jamie_ said:

Don’t know were your to in the world but where I am right now it’s fcuking freezing outside and a 60W tube heater I don’t think will heat it up enough for anything outdoors right now, I’m guessing you will veg 24/0 as lights off will be even colder 

 

why don’t you leave it all switched on and record your max and min temps before you put plants in there and go from there personally I think it will be way to cold this time of year if your in the UK like me 

 

 

Thanks for the reply!

I've used 60W tube heaters in the bottom of fridges for years to brew beer. I've maintained 22C inside the fridge when it's been -8C outside, so confident it will work. But once any form of airflow is introduced, the whole thing will fall down, which is why I'm wondering if my radical "no ventilation" approach might work.

I have a tall larder fridge with forced exhaust and passive intakes (which you can see in my gallery) that works a treat, but that's because there's two LED fittings in there, alongside the driver and three 60W heaters to boot. The exhaust fan is also on a variac so I can turn it right down if needed.

Just trying to get this next build done on the cheap. i.e. use the beer fridge as is and we're literally good to go.

Edited December 2, 2019 by EatonMess

[_Jamie_ 452]

Guess there’s only 1 way to find out bro  

 

crack on and see how it goes 

[badbillybob 32,652]

if its sealed, everything will be dead within a week. 

they need air exchange to survive

[EatonMess 120]

Decided I'll cut a hole in my beloved beer fridge and run a small PC fan on reduced voltage just to introduce fresh air. Albeit slowly as to not drop the temperature too much.

Has anyone experience of keeping a Mum/rooting clones under something like this:

https://tinyurl.com/rh96bjt

[Poisonata 2,212]

Good luck drawing freezing cold air into your grow space. I'd like to see the bar heater maintain a constant 22 Celsius which I may add is hardly ideal / slow growth will ensue. Only need the cold air to come into contact with the plants before it's had a chance to warm and it'll be game over.

 

Note the smart bags state 'increase plant growth, yield, quality and production' not act as a primary source of CO2, only supplementary. £7 a pop for elementary chemicals to produce carbon dioxide, could make this for a tenth of the cost. Total rip off.

 

Quote 'one Smart CO2 Bag will produce enough carbon dioxide for an area of 10 m2 (170 ft2) for up to 3 months' , don't believe it. Obviously works as the compound is hygroscopic subsequently causing the reaction which if able to last over a 3 month period would only produce minuscule amounts of supplementary carbon dioxide.  

[JJJ 5,014]

An Exhale Co2 bag will see you through early veg in there with no fresh air supply or extraction.  And to be honest, you might not even need the heater with the light on 24 hrs. However, the temps will likely gradually continue to rise if it's trapped in there.  I suppose if you're vigilant and keep an eye on things then it's possible.  Best to have your temperature reading on the outside of the unit though as you want to keep the Co2 inside.  There's also the question of humidity which will rise to dripping wet very quickly.  Adding a small dehumidifier would work but it will also raise the temps.

[_Jamie_ 452]

Just get a small veg tent and do it indoors easier to maintain temps, I’m drawing cold air from outside into my tent well I say cold I have 2 intakes ones bringing in from the room the other one is near the window the window open a tiny bit but during lights off I have my radiator on full whack then soon as lights on I open the window more and turn the radiator off   So far it’s been a nice temp lights on is 25-26c lights off 20-21 

[EatonMess 120]

22 hours ago, Poisonata said:

Good luck drawing freezing cold air into your grow space. I'd like to see the bar heater maintain a constant 22 Celsius which I may add is hardly ideal / slow growth will ensue. Only need the cold air to come into contact with the plants before it's had a chance to warm and it'll be game over.

22degC was with reference to the beer, not the plant. But I understand that's well on the low side of ideal!

FYI, my main grow fridge can maintain a happy 20-30C (depending on where I'm aiming for) even in this cold weather. Fan controller is middle of the road as well so I still have the luxury of reducing the fan speed by another 30% or so for when we dip below freezing.

I understand your point regarding the freezing air, but where I've positioned the passive intakes - they has the air pass over the heaters before getting near the plants, so will be warm by that point.

 

22 hours ago, Poisonata said:

Note the smart bags state 'increase plant growth, yield, quality and production' not act as a primary source of CO2, only supplementary. £7 a pop for elementary chemicals to produce carbon dioxide, could make this for a tenth of the cost. Total rip off.

 

Quote 'one Smart CO2 Bag will produce enough carbon dioxide for an area of 10 m2 (170 ft2) for up to 3 months' , don't believe it. Obviously works as the compound is hygroscopic subsequently causing the reaction which if able to last over a 3 month period would only produce minuscule amounts of supplementary carbon dioxide.  

Very much starting to seem like snake oil, but the only way I can be certain on that is to try one grow with and another without.

Edited December 4, 2019 by EatonMess

[cannathc 78]

Having cold air coming in on your plants is probably not what they would like the best, so I would try to warm the incoming air up a bit before it hits the plants. That way they don't get a shock