New Vegbox using outdoor storage cabinet

[RUFUS HOUND]

Alright folks, Im in the middle of knocking together a more substantial veg box to replace my present glorified cardboard box.

 

Using a plastic ketter garden storage box, lining with foiled laminate underlay and ali-tape.

Ive fitted a 65W full spectrum LED board and Im getting some good initial ppfd/DLI readings but need to sort out the ventilation as planning on running this 24/7.

Taking air from a bedroom below (sorry forgot to say its in the loft) and expeling the heated air into the main flower tent in the hope I dont have to use my oil rad this winter, or use it less at least withh the current energy prices.

[RUFUS HOUND]

I measured the storage box and I have a 60cm x 40cm x 80cm (LxDxH) space to grow in,  should be able to get 2 x12L pots in there to veg with no problems.

 

I will be using a 80mm PC fan to draw air from the bedroom into the box using 100mm ducting (approx 1m) then exit this box,  feeding the main tent with another 80mm pc fan. BTW= 80mm PC fan fits inside 100mm ducting nice an snug.

 

I need to cut 2x100mm holes in the box rear panel (1 high/1 low) for the ducting and will use some 100mm pipe connectors/ spigots to make it easier to swap inlet /exit pipes over when needed. Im just thinking ahead and having a reverse flow in winter(inlet top/exit bottom) helps with the temps, I've not tried it but many say it works very well.

 

Im unsure if I need to reverse the flows of both the tent and the box but Ill sort that out later - anybody with experience of this, your thoughts would be most welcome. 

 

need a bit of help making the doors light proof - any tried and tested methods as it has light leaks all around doors when closed.

 

Also considering "LEPPY boxing" a 6 inch fan for the main tent (temp controlled ruak ) but unsure if it would bugger up the temp control ,  so might  have a spare 4 inch (bathroom fan) that I can add somewhere to the setup.  

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by RUFUS HOUND

[MindSoup]

Nice looking build dude, plenty of space tdo what you need to do. If you wanted to save some electric you could run your fan of a temp/humidiy controller so it only comes on at max temp/humidity. I've seen a few people do that in there veg spaces and it doesn't seem to cause any smell issues.

[mysticriver]

will those pc fans be powerful enough?

 

 

mystic

[Oldman2.0]

@RUFUS HOUND as said already, that's a really nice set up you have there , and like'n the idea of using the foiled laminate underlay.

 

The more time i spend on here, and see all the different types, styles, environments, and methods of growing, well, lets just say, its getting addictive on here, and I'm love'n it. It all gets ya think'n, and good to know for future alternatives to grow 

 

With leccy costs the way they are, and 2 price hikes during the process of putting my kit together, my think'n now is to try and bring in my first run in only using max 200w of the 300w light i have, so i paired back a bit in the end regards circulation too, (reducing wattage), yes I'd love to have 2 of the new ac infinity clip on's, but with the price, and unavailability at present, i got into researching the pc fans,  as I worked out 4 x pc fans at full power is around 6w, or 6x at 9w, and there cheap, reliable, and speed adjustable and quite 

 

Love your idea on the 80mm pc fan inside the 100mm ducting, I like your think'n.

They are a very good alternative it seems, and lots to select from regards sizes, and rpm. I just had another pair arrive on Friday, noctua P12's 1700 rpm, and they are the cheaper paired back Redux models. I tested them yesterday on a car battery, which would be full power, and they are louder than the fratels I'm using at present, but I would guess the noctua's are about the same noise level as the Infinity T4 running at speed 3 setting, and the Fratels about speed 2 setting.

 

Now ya can of course get the premium Noctua's which run really, really quiet, but again there about 30 quid a piece, so just wondering have you tried more than one brand, and if so what ones, rpm, and noise levels, or any other opinions regards pc fans 

 

[pepe16]

On 8/1/2022 at 0:11 PM, Oldman2.0 said:

 

Love your idea on the 80mm pc fan inside the 100mm ducting, I like your think'n.

They are a very good alternative it seems, and lots to select from regards sizes, and rpm. I just had another pair arrive on Friday, noctua P12's 1700 rpm,

is it easy to wire up pc fans and do the noctua pwm fans need any separate controller or are you talking about just regular mains fans.  Dont know toomuch about the subject but keen to wire up pc type fans as theyre cheaper to run than bigger units -honeywell room movers!  and more used to 24/7 use with better brand.   Safety and price in that order.  plusthe honeywells although wonderful are the loudest sods.   Some pwm fans from a good rep comp ata decent price is my wish list    

Edited August 3, 2022 by pepe16
wibble

[RUFUS HOUND]

sorry for the late reply - old dear has had another fall and had to go to hospital with cut to head - 12hrs later got her home.

 

@MindSoup the pc fans take very little power but the plan is to run this throughout winter and use the heat from this into the main tent. I have an ITC inkbird knocking about, so will put my heat mats on that - hopefully that will be enough heat but all depends on the winter temps - going balls out on insulation is the way forward for us all me thinks!

 

@mysticriver using the same 2 pc fans in my current set up, they are more to help shift the air in the right direction rather than massively increase the flow.

Seem ok currently and planning short runs and avoiding bends to/from new vegbox.

As said, I might be able to reuse the 4 inch from the main tent, when I eventually fit my 6 inch fan and replace the pc fans with it.

 

@Oldman2.0 thats a lot more knowledge about pc fans than I have bud, mine were just bog 3d printed cheapo units off fleabay (2 for £8  ) work quite well with a gentle breeze but need to keep ducting short. I will check out the ones you mention, got to be better than these but they are still going strong and almost a year old and I havent had them off.  I even snapped one of the blades off one accidently and it was running rough (off balance) snapped off the one directly opposite and its pretty much balanced it back up.

 

@pepe16 I got the ones that are usb powered, so youll need a multi usb charger as well but no special wiring needed also being pc fans they are almost silent and are designed to run for ever.

 

Top Tip - put some ladies tights over the ducting single layer - it helps catch the dust  

[RUFUS HOUND]

Need to point out these pc fans are only being used as an active intake for my tent - I wouldnt think you could use these as your only extractor, maybe ok in a small space like the cabinet Im using.

 

As @Oldman2.0 has inspired me I upgrading/replacing my generic 80mm fans with AC Infinity MULTIFAN S5, Quiet Dual 80mm USB Fan only£17 delivered on amoozon) 2000rpm/ 26CFM/ 1.1W / 18db / 3 speed settings = result

Edited August 3, 2022 by RUFUS HOUND

[mysticriver]

18 hours ago, RUFUS HOUND said:

hey are more to help shift the air in the right direction

they look ok actually, much better than my 2 120mm pc fans I use sometimes for an active intake. mine dont seem very powerful thats why I asked. that ac infinity looks just the job

 

 

mystic

[RUFUS HOUND]

1 hour ago, mysticriver said:

they look ok actually, much better than my 2 120mm pc fans I use sometimes for an active intake. mine dont seem very powerful thats why I asked. that ac infinity looks just the job

 

over a very short distance (under a metre) the current fans are ok, slight breeze at end of ducting but no real "force "

 

A cheap bathroom 4 inch fan is approx 100m3 /hr = approx 60CFM 

Each ac inifinty = 26CFM  just less than half the flow - so should be ok for my cabinet.

will update once they are fitted and working.

[Oldman2.0]

@pepe16Howdy mate, and very sorry for the late reply, sometimes i do have to check out of here as my mum, and dad are in there 80's, and when i have the chance i spend as much time as i can with them. Regards the pc fans there's nothing to them been honest, the pair i've in the tent at the moment are on a 12 volt 3 pin 13 amp plug, and on that plug you can change the voltage with a screw driver from say 3v, 4.5 to 5, 6, 7.5, 9 and 12 volts which changes the speed, its an AC/DC plug adapter. It has a 5.5 x2.1mm DC connector, which you can then connect a 5.5 x 2.1mm splitter cable which divides into 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, ect other cables, to connect as many fans you want as long as you keep inside the max volts, and amps. i'm actually going to put up a post tomorrow, all about this info in better detail and i'll tag you in that post, with where i got the bits as well,   

[RUFUS HOUND]

the fans have arrived - massive difference in the depth and they feel a little stronger than the old ones (blowing) on speed 3 but still very quiet.

they also have a female usb connector, so you can power another set of fans or any thing usb powered 

 

will have to take the rubber feet off to get it inside the 4 inch ducting 

[MindSoup]

They're good little fans, I went for the Elutengs over them in the end, but there wasn't a lot between them TBH, Eluteng was just a wee bit more powerful, I think the Elutengs might pull a wee bit more power as well though which could be a deciding factor for some. 

[Oldman2.0]

@RUFUS HOUNDNice one mate, it was a toss up for me between the Noctua's and the Ac's, couldn't decide, and no idea now why I picked one above the other 

 

To add the next pair to the kit, now I've 3 brands to decide from. The T30's most expensive, so not sure there worth the extra money, Ac S7's, or @MindSoupchoice with Elutengs, with funds getting real tight right now, i think it's gona come down to price next week 

[MindSoup]

@Oldman2.0 I tested the S7s side by side with the Eluteng 12v 1A 120mms and the Elutengs won by a hair, slightly more powerful and slightly quieter, the wire joining the 2 fans together was about the same length on both, so whichever one is cheaper would probably be my choice. I can't really see anything needing to be any better than the Elutengs, I never run them above the 2nd speed and my 80mm one has been running non stop for 2 years or so, so if you the other options are more expensive I'd probably pass on that.