Fridge Life. Refrigerators or Cold storage.

[Guest MysticMeg]

Morning glorious People.

 

After a couple of requests the refrigerator of stealth is here... please feel free to critique or comment on this thread, interestingly it would be an awesome rolling thread If other members growing in refrigerators could add content along the way. Unless I’m totally alone on this one.. 

 

After much consideration on how best to hide a grow box in plain sight and looking at different designs and ideas, I decided it was best for me not to hide one.

I’m settled on the conclusion that it would be less stressful and easier to access if I didn’t need to hide things or take time accessing locked rooms. I would need to be sufficiently able to produce enough medical marijuana from my personal consumption. That’s the ideal.

Very Low cost set up was important along with low cost to run the setup once up and running.

[Guest MysticMeg]

So here is a small undercounter refrigeration unit, the first step was to clean and strip it out all of the heavy parts and workings of the fridge. This meant removing the compressor, wiring, fan and removing the vegetable drawer. I removed all the shelves but kept them aside as they would become very useful at a later stage.

As a matter of fact the vegetable drawer in the base was a very handy feature of this fridge, as I was able to enlarge it and create a deep well in the base Giving me maximum room for plant growth.

cost of fridge £20 GumtreeUK.

Another not so obvious advantage of using a fridge rather than a stealth box or tent is that it already comes with a ready to use light seal, and this light seal is very affective along with odour control that’s the genius of a refrigerator I guess.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by MysticMeg

[Guest MysticMeg]

 

Okay, so here is an image of one of the shelves, this is infact a smaller shelf that sat above the vegetable drawer. The advantage of using this shelf is that it is easily moved up and down throughout the unit allowing a good amount of airflow throughout the box.

due to the nature of the glass use within these units it is also possible to grow on different levels. There is also no need to adjust the level lighting within this unit as a simple action of moving or adjusting the shelf is sufficient.

Also present in the image  is a small scrog screen/net that was easily created for use within the unit.

[latigid aikon]

Just now, MysticMeg said:

strip it out all of the heavy parts and workings of the fridge. This meant removing the compressor,

What did you do with the refrigerant gas?

[Guest MysticMeg]

 

Right, so here is a visual image within the fridge and we are able to see that there really is ample room for a small growing environment. We can see that a small heater bar has been added to the rear of the unit and the unit has a small thermostatic control, again due to the nature of the refrigeration units already been fully insulated it can become easier to control environment.

In this image we can see a small section has been added to the top of the fridge with a sticker referencing Allans BMX, this section gives us an added headroom that is able to contain a substantial LED light and driver suspended from the ceiling.

in order to add the excess headroom the top section of the refrigeration unit was removed.

On top of this extension we can see in the image a draw that now holds tools and screws and various items found within sheds across the country. This helps the unit blend into its urban environment.

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by MysticMeg

[Guest MysticMeg]

Just now, latigid aikon said:

What did you do with the refrigerant gas?

Thanks for dropping by and in reply to your question the copper piping was crimped,cut and then the compressor was removed and disposed off at the local recycling centre.

[Guest MysticMeg]

 

Ok again, so here we have a good visual of the LED light board used for this project it is rated at 120 W and is dimmable, a very necessary feature within such a small grow environment. This enables maximum efficiency when using the shelving for seedlings or cuttings.

 

The small PC fan sized square hole at the rear top was constructed from cement board and connects a very short length of aluminium ducting to a external extraction unit/fan then connected to a rhino filter.

The extraction fan and filter sit neatly on a small wooden shelf behind the unit, shelving also containing extension cable and various shed related items.

The intake can also be connected externally through a vent in the shed, or diverted for use internally depending on seasonal conditions.

The extraction rate required for such a space it’s very minimal and to the bottom right just behind the heater cable we can see a small inlet covered with aluminium tape, this inlet actually consists of the same square cement board opening in the upper left hand corner. The idea behind the small diverter that is in front of the square intake, is so that the intake air is directed to the top of the box to passively cool the lighting.

In the past I have tried using or adding a small intake PC fan to the unit, but ultimately overtime I found this an unnecessary action, the extraction fan on the rear shelf pulling from the top left is perfectly sufficient to draw enough air through  the unit.

Edited September 22, 2021 by MysticMeg

[Guest MysticMeg]

 

And to finish, a simple view of my current grow consisting of two sweet seeds and a purple kush. The purple Kush intentionally being a very small bonsai and if we get finished in time my intent Is to feed the SweetSeeds through the scrog we viewed earlier.

 

So ultimately what’s the explanation for having a small locked fridge in my shed? Well it simply holds all my garden chemicals such as weed killer and poisonous substances. thanks for stopping by folks.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by MysticMeg

[Guest MysticMeg]

 

 

Above visual stimulation of previous success.

[mister phlegm]

Thanks for posting it good things really do happen in small spaces.

[stu914]

 

Here ya go bud...  Welcome to the world of fridgegrows 

 

 

[Wacky Wardrobe]

Haven't seen @Noopin around in a while.

He was doing a refrigerator grow.

Interesting and ingenious projects.

Thanks for sharing.

[Guest MysticMeg]

4 hours ago, stu914 said:

 

Here ya go bud...  Welcome to the world of fridgegrows 

 

 

lol, Man this is banging, I’m truly inspired.. thanks so much for sharing..I love the ease of access to the filters, this is my dream caddy.

Edited September 22, 2021 by MysticMeg

[Gaijin]

Ingenious! One would never suspect… 

[Noopin]

Noopin’s back, baby!  Hi, @Wacky Wardrobe

 

Welcome to fridge growing @MysticMeg, it seemed an obvious solution to growbox sourcing/making and very much in my wheelhouse with regard to a hands-on, fettling & bodging approach.

My, occasionally distracted, ramblings on the project are called, rather soberly - Noopin’s Fridge Conversion.  It followed on the heels of a rather frantic ad hoc lockdown grow, in a less than ideal environment and - Blistering Barnacles! - that was a series of hard-learned lessons, but all learned via this site.

When I say ad hoc, I used only domestic LEDs (my only other lights are T5 tubes, too big), homemade AC filter (at rear, in compressor space) and diy feeds (basically wormery compost and seepage).  Experience seems to bear out my feeling that keeping it low-tech produces a more robust, forgiving plant; the brighter lights, complex nutrients, precise RH and temps, chemical and pH balances leave them more fragile, if a little more productive.
The plan had been to use each chamber for different purposes, with different light regimes, as required, but I soon had to drop the pot through the central divider.  It meant I had a well-trained plant in order to stay compact, as my lights and cabling etc. took so much headroom.

The outcome was successful, however, and the ready-made, self-contained unit did its job - insulated, water-resistant, light-proof, internally reflective, discreet (‘specially with only the one cable entering and filtration on-board).  Well-sealed, so minimal extraction power to achieve negative pressure, with a small passive intake at the top, from where the fresh air passed over the lights.  Oh, and handy, clear door shelves for…other things, um, seedlings; drawers below for pre-warming the water and feed or storing bulbs, adaptors, timers…

Incidentally, the 5”RVK fan was there briefly after the regular 4” shower fan expired.

Here are a few pics to demonstrate…and nobody asked me about refrigerant, I’m pleased to say.

 

 

Yes, it’s a toilet pan connector joining fan to filter.