Design and construction of growdrobe

[Rufus Brown]

Hey , I'm going to be ditching the tents and want to build a stealth growdrobe and just do 2 plants perpetually in a scrog  as apposed to the 6-8 plants I currently do as I really don't need that much anymore. 

 

I want the drobe to look like any other wardrobe from the outside with no visible light or noise or tell tale signs and for the most part I'm pretty confident I can achieve this although there's a few areas I'm not to sure about .

 

This is the drobe I'm thinking of getting . A 2 door would be too small for what I need .

 

 

its a Hygena and only £100 from Argos and is 120x53x180 and would be a size i could make work.

 

I'm thinking of screwing the end door shut and attaching the inside panel parallel to the back panel to add some strength and hopefully with the wooden scrog frame installed will make it rigid

 

..... What are your opinions so far would this work ?

 

the other 2 doors would have to be made into one large door but I'm worried that the hinges wont be strong enough to hold the weight of both ... Could there be a way to strengthen the hinges or a better way  of connecting the 2 doors ?

 

im going for the cardboard box on top of the drobe with my 6" filter in and  hole cut in top tothe fan inside the drobe , controlled with my fan controller , which  will make it run almost silent and 2x 300w led panels and ditching the hps .

 

The inside will be diamond mylar and will have the intake at the back out of view .

 

im struggling to find the best way to light proof the doors inside and can't find a feasible solution so would really appreciate any ideas ...thanks 

 

I'm not very technical minded so am I over complicating and would there be an easier way of achieving what I want ?

 

Thanks for any help it's greatly appreciated as always .

 

Take it easy 

[cultivateur]

That's the size my alcove used to be.

I used to run two 250 watt HPS lamps in it - rather wastefully, so replacing it with a total of 300 watts of LEDs should be a decent fit.

[Arthur Mix]

I reckon it would be ok my one is 1200 x 800 with 1.6 height it a secret Jarden cupboard from before tents where made  , it has lasted around 17 years. With a six inch extract it be plenty I use an rvk 5 inch and with a 250 w hps and led grow northern a I have no heat issues.

[Rufus Brown]

@cultivateur  That's what I was thinking , was going for just the 1 600 (270w)

But believe better light spread with the 2 panels 

[delagdo]

Hi Rufus Brown, I'm not sure the wardrobe would be suitable for your plans. It looks like the 120cm width is split into two compartments, and these are probably two separate cabinets. I think it is essentially a 80cm wardrobe with double doors, attached to a 40cm wardrobe with a single door. If you want to run two separate spaces it might work otherwise I don't think you could run the full 120cm width as one space. I'm not sure there's any way to open it all up, not easily.

[Captain Bonglington]

@Rufus Brown, I think you might be making life hard for yourself with that design of drobe. If you could remove the internal wall between the two sections then it would be adequate, just, size wise, but I'm not sure you could easily do it.

Personally I went for one with a single grow space, with a shelving unit up top that i blanked off to create a box to put the fan in (in a leepy box kind of thing) and keep the plug bank and ballast out of  the grow space. The filter goes in the grow space sat on cheap shelf brackets.

 

Regarding lightproofing, I used a variety of draught excluding strip in the door cracks as I wanted the doors to open directly to the grow space rather than have an internal door made of Mylar or whatever....you can adjust the hinges to wind the doors in tight. 

 

[Rufus Brown]

@Captain Bonglington

 

Thanks for the help 

 

My idea is to use that internal wall to run parallel with the back board flush with it and bottom to ceiling so it adds rigidity and screw the end door shut to make one large space .

 

The scrog frame when installed should hopefully make it fully rigid sideways .

 

And as there will be no eternal wall to screw 1 of the other doors to that's why I am planning to make the 2 doors into 1 larger door .

 

Will definitely go with the draught excluder I just hope I can pull the build off and end up with what I want 

Edited March 4, 2018 by Rufus Brown
E2a how many plants you currently running in yours mate ?

[cultivateur]

I would be looking at beefing up the end where the hinges are going to carry a double size door - including the hinges.

If in any doubt that the backboard is strong enough, I would fit diagonal battens.

 

EDIT:-  and / or screw the thing to the wall ...

 

Over-engineering is my mantra (in lieu of having paid attention in physics class)

Edited March 4, 2018 by cultivateur

[Aurora Ruderalis]

You can hang the doors as well as hinging.  Ie remove them as panels.

[Captain Bonglington]

@Rufus Brown, have you seen the drobe in the flesh? My thought being that sometimes those double/single compartment drobes are two completely different units that might be a bit of a pig to work with.

It just strikes me that you're creating a lot of work for yourself before you've even started, cutting up and remodelling a drobe you've just bought....I'd buy one that's pretty much as you want it from new. 

I'm a bit fussy in that I didn't want the filter under a box on the top of the drobe, that's half a job to me, but that's just me....

What I'm trying to say, in a roundabout way, is don't skimp on your drobe purchase....If you're going to do it, get the best looking bit of kit you can afford, as once you've got it you're stuck with it....It's a bit of a mission to build a drobe, I'm a bit handier now, but building mine with minimal tools (I remember cutting vent holes in the backboard with a breadknife ) and being a bit anal about things nearly had me in tears at one point. 

It's worth it though, it's a great way of growing. 

I must admit on mine, I wish I'd ditched the flimsy backboard and fitted a new plywood one, for strength,insulation and soundproofing.

I grow two plants in mine, sometimes with a scrog....for what it's worth, you can fit a scrog net by simply screwing some eyes into the side of the drobe and wiring a net to it. 

Dimensions of my grow space are about 170h, 100w by 57d.

Just about adequate for two plants, I have stuffed three in there, but it's counter productive. 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2018 by Captain Bonglington

[Rufus Brown]

@Captain Bonglington

 

Thanks man yours sounds like exactly what I'm trying to achieve .

I definitely want it to be the best it can possibly be .

 

My first thoughts were to get a drobe that would fit my needs width wide but all the ones I can seem to find are 3 door at that size with the 2's only being around the 70cm mark , which led me to believe it was standard sizing .

 

Where did you get yours from mate because 100 wide and 2 doors would be perfect and save me all the trouble 

 

What made me want to do this in the first place was to have somewhere to grow for years to come and be able to have visitors round without the worry 

 

So I will go full stealth as you have and install the fan and filter , plugs etc inside 

 

Thanks again for the help it's much appreciated 

[Joint hogger]

have you considered getting a good quality wooden second hand wardrobe off ebay or gumtree ?

 

you could maybe pick one up a good bit cheaper & stronger than a modern equivalent & get something bigger to suit your needs,

I got one years ago that cost me £60, its got 2 doors & measures 120cm wide, with a 80cm depth & is 6ft tall (internal dimensions)

 

tho to be honest, I haven't got round to converting it yet as a tent suits my needs better at the moment.

 

[Badbadger]

Charity shops are the place for good,solid wood units and they have a wide/random sized stock plus most deliver these days.

 

Bought a 70's G Plan one for £40 that was so heavy and sturdy we had to take it apart for the wife and my late teens son to get it up the stairs.

 

My jigsaw f*****g hated it

 

[Captain Bonglington]

I went to Q and B Rufus, they've a load of display models so you can poke and prod them....I think mine is the Darwin model. 

It was about 150 quid I think. A bit pricey, but as you say, I think it is bigger than standard...that's exactly why I chose it, bigger, two door with a top shelf.  

[Rufus Brown]

The Darwin looks ideal for my needs and solves all the problems so will be going with that .

 

Now once this grows down and in the jars I can get started , probs a couple of weeks till then so gives me plenty of time to get everything needed .

 

Thanks everyone for the advice , will post some pics once I start .