Stealth cabinet build

[Buffoon]

Hey all, thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Currently building a stealth grow box designed to look like two guitar cabs on the out side, I will be placing a fish tank on top for extra cover.

The frame work is currently finished here are some piccys.

As you can see I’ve gone a bit OTT (I hope) with the bracing as I’ll eventually want a bigger tank on top although I don't know if I’m brave enough to put a 6' tank on top of a grow box.

The box will have two growing rooms, one for mothers and clones/seedlings and one larger room for flowering.

Dimensions

Mother room – 43cm Length, 43cm Depth, 94cm Height giving a volume of 0.17m³

Flower room – 95cm Length, 43cm Deep, 94cm Height giving a volume of 0.38m³

Room for fan, power supply etc – 43cm Length, 43cm Deep, 94cm Height giving a volume of 0.17m³.

As for lights I’ll be using the CFLs I have at the moment and possibly look at upgrading to HID after I get a few grows under my belt. Probably going to go with passive intake.

I've got most of my list o'things sorted just trying to decide on which extraction fan to go for.

Firstly I’ll be sleeping next to the box so keeping things as quiet as possible is a must. I've pretty much narrowed it down to two possible choices.

Ruck 4''(possibly bigger?) + Rhino filter(oversized to try to reduce airflow noise).

Most of the advice I’ve read from other posts seem to suggest Ruck are the go to fans, good build quality, powerful suction (rude thoughts) and not too large (better for my situation as space is a issue).

As for downsides, it seems they are quite noisy. I will be taking measures to reduce this (wrapping fan in space blanket, acoustic or solid ducting(wrapped in insulation), a muffler to reduce extract noise and run on a lower setting with an STR voltage stepping fan controller (I will look at making my own variac with thermostat at some point but right now I just want to get things set up and running).

Comparing the m3/hour to the volume of the grow box it seems that a 4'' Ruck fan would be fine, but after further reading opinions are that once you strap a CF to the 4'' Ruck it looses most of it's pulling power. I really don't want to be running it full whack (LOUD NOISES!).

Would the 4'' be enough to run on a low setting or should I be looking at bigger?

Is it futile to try an quieten a Ruck?

The second option is a TD Silent 350/125 (the TD 250/100 is longer, too long to fit in my box really, even then I would have to mount the TD vertically to get it to fit) again I would run an oversized CF to reduce airflow noise and make it a bit easier on the fan with acoustic/solid ducting.

Upsides are that it's very quiet (if the manufactures quoted decibel levels are correct) and it looks all futuristic.

Downsides are that it is quite large and might make space more of an issue.

Are the TD Silent fans really that quiet?

Are they powerful enough to pull through a CF?

Can you mount the vertically?

Can you run them with the STR safely?

Hopefully I haven't waffled on for too long, thanks for any insight you can offer.

Grow well, Buffoon

[Kratos]

Nice build there pal that thing looks solid! (Nice workshop too )

You'll definitely be hungry for more space, I know I am

The ruck 4" will do the job, I've recently 'upgraded' to a high power 4" ruck. Was previously using an airforce tornado 4" but it's old as fook now and nackered

The ruck is pretty loud tbh, get a variac sorted to control the speed.

I run it at full power most of the time but when I'm asleep I turn it down to about 60% and it still doesn't get too hot in my drobe- running a 250w MH an an 55x80x160 cm space.

Anyways hope that help and good luck

[bananabrain]

Looking good mate, love how overbuilt it is!

I'll have a go at answering your Qs:

Would the 4'' be enough to run on a low setting or should I be looking at bigger?

Is it futile to try an quieten a Ruck?

For that space it should be OK, especially for fluoros (depending on total wattage though they still add up to be quite hot). It is definitely not futile to try and quieten one. IMO a variac would help but there is a limit to how low you can run it and still get enough airflow. But the fan packed into your box surrounded in foam or similar would make a big difference.

They are never as quiet as you want them to be though, a lot of the noise comes from the ducting so it depends where that is going to run. Having a fish tank bubbling away on the top will be a big help, you have an excuse then for the slight humming. My grow cupboard is by the fridge for this reason. It will seem very noticeable to you still cos you know what it is!

Are the TD Silent fans really that quiet?

Are they powerful enough to pull through a CF?

Can you mount the vertically?

Not really, yes, yes.

Can you run them with the STR safely? Wossat?

Also have you thought how you are going to lightproof the mother and veg cabinets and draw air through them both with the one fan? Where are intakes etc?

[Buffoon]

Hey Kratos and Bananabrain thanks for the replys i'll try to respond in an orderly fashion but I'm sure I'll get lost along the way.

Nice build there pal that thing looks solid! (Nice workshop too )

Looking good mate, love how overbuilt it is!

Hehe thanks, a fish tank stand collapsing is a catastrophe, a fish tank stand collapsing with a grow underneath is... well I don't even want to think about that

The thing doesn't even budge when I shimmy it around *fingers crossed* I've gone mad enough with the supports.

The ruck 4" will do the job, I've recently 'upgraded' to a high power 4" ruck.

The ruck is pretty loud tbh, get a variac sorted to control the speed.

If I go for a Ruck I'd grab the high power 4'' (any chance to run it on a lower setting is better for me).

For now I'll just get the STR Voltage Stepper as I'm a bit clueless with electrics and need to spend many more moons reading

up about DIY variacs, eventually want to make one with dual speed controls and a thermostat i.e running on a low setting normally

but kicks into the second setting when/if temps get to high.

You'll definitely be hungry for more space, I know I am

I hear that, I've got the itch already. Situation permits I stick to a smaller space for now, as soon as situation stops messing me around I'll be going bigger

For that space it should be OK, especially for fluoros (depending on total wattage though they still add up to be quite hot).

Currently have a few 125w maxibrights from greens horticultural palace of love, I'll be growing vertically, odd to grow vertically with restricted height but not having a

reflector gains me 10cm to 20cm in height and with a small foot print I think it will give me a better yield. Bit of a squeeze but should be able to stack two bulbs vertically.

I would be able to do this twice in the flowering room, putting me up to 500w, maybe save that for winter.

IMO a variac would help but there is a limit to how low you can run it and still get enough airflow.

I've read various different opinions on the lowest you can run you're fan with out damaging it/too little airflow, most say around 40% a few have said 30%.

They are never as quiet as you want them to be though, a lot of the noise comes from the ducting so it depends

where that is going to run.

A bit of bashing around would allow me to vent into the cavity between the block and cob, there is a lot of airflow through here as the cob is old and has a few holes

(would this help to stop the build up of humidity and mould?) on the other side of the cob is an open(no garage door) garage.

Also have you thought how you are going to lightproof the mother and veg cabinets and draw air through them both with the one fan? Where are intakes etc?

This part I'm really not sure on at the moment, the original idea was to have a passive intake from the flowering room into the mother room with a pc fan extracting the

air into the flowering room towards CF. The passive intake and pc fan powered extract would have light traps.

The idea was that during lights out (for flower, mothers will be kept on 24/7) the heat from the CFL(s) in the mother room would provide a bit of heat for the flowering room

and the Co² given off by the plants in the flower would help the mothers (I think the plants give off CO² during lights out, could be wrong).

The problem with this is that it might take up too much space in the room (depending on which side I put the light traps and also might cause some balancing issues).

Intake wise, if you can imagine the front of a guitar cab, there is a grill/screen this will be mounted on a sheet of wood with intakes at the bottom.

Going with the original idea above the intake would be into the flower room and then flow around from there. I may scrap the idea above and have the two rooms sectioned off, the

flower room would intake as in the picture and extract to the cavity, the mother room would intake as in the picture and extract out of the screen at the top of the cab (into my room)

the intake and extract of the mother room would be on the same(front) side of the cab but I'm thinking/hoping with correct positioning of fans

(to circulate the air inside the mother room) I can intake and extract from the same side with out creating hot stale air at the back of the room.

Sorry for the long-winded confusing post, it's hard to explain via text, if you need any more information just ask and I'll try to explain.

Thanks again for you're help all info/perspective is good as I want to try and get it right first go (we can dream )

Buffoon.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Buffoon

[Greenmarine]

Well done bud, looks damn fine glad to see u used graded timber, that'll hold a 6 foot tank no probs pal.

( im a builder btw )

[Buffoon]

Thanks Greenmarine (sorry for late reply) that's comforting to know. I tried to mimic the way a carpenter we employ

constructs timber frames for buildings.

Received fabric and other bits so will put the finishing touches to it and post some pictures, can't wait to transfer the plants

I have at the moment to a more suitable growing environment.

Changed the fan and extraction idea a bit, will probably get some stick for it but I think it will suit my situation better, plenty

of time to upgrade when the money situation is better.

Happy harvests everybody.

Buffoon.

[Greenmarine]

Everybody upgrades at some point mate, just get it up and running and go from there

I'm at the end of week 1 flower and I'm still tweaking my room !!!

Good luck and keep us updated.