2x2x3 Micro Cabinet / Scrubber / Drying Cabinet

I wanted to minimize space of having all these seperate requirements to grow good bud. So really, my initial goal was to move out of the closet (which I can not vent) and into something more easily ventilated.

I then thought, since I do a single grow at a time, why not make the cabinet hold a carbon scrubber, and allow it to function as a drying cabinet as well.

Any grow box can be a drying cabinet as well if you have enough solid airflow and venitlation. This is in part why I added so much ventilation.

All of the items in my grow box from the wood to the materials (with a few exceptions) were scrap around the house.

Materials:
2x4s I had in the garage that I ripped with a table saw to build the basic structure.

4x8 sheet of 1/8" maple ply we had left over from building our kitchen cabinets and draws, cut to size with a circular saw.

Misc. PVC parts and LOCKOUT nuts for passive intake holes.

2 (55CFM) fans were from the grow closet

Misc. wiring, and other electrical equipment were left overs from other builds, etc.

Hinges and latches also left over

FLAT WHITE paint - given to me by a friend

CARBON SCRUBBER - Purchased on ebay for about $65.00 - NOT stealthy by any means in my opinion... quite loud.
(Same as it would have cost me to build it myself)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Activated-Carbon-Charcoal-Air-Filter-Odor-Scrubber_W0QQitemZ160190227145


Lighting: During flower I will use, and during the veg mode, I swap the bulbs for proper spectrums.
3 CFL BULBS 105w each (315w total) 2700k Non-Mogul/ballast not required
105 WATT CFL 2700K

3 CFL BULBS 105w each (315w total) 6500k Non-Mogul/ballast not required
105 WATT CFL 6500K


This box is 2ft x 2ft x 3ft high. This was not designed to be stealthy by any means...

But here it is...

Here was the basic frame structure... just ripped 2x4's down the middle, and screwed them in.





Of course your specifics and measurements will be different so I will not discuss that here, simply take this basic structure and add your flooring for stability while you attach the walls you decide to use. My floor was made of 1/4" MDF. It sits on TOP of the bottom portion of the structure.

The next part I completed was adding of the passive intake holes. Taking 3/4" PVC 90's with threaded ends and some lockout nuts, I attached these in a downward angle to now allow the light from above in the room to enter the intake holes.

My next project was to build the simple light bar. This consisted of surface mount sockets, and a peice of 1/2" scrap wood cut to the width of the box. Holes were drilled to allow room for the wiring at each socket. This will be wired up and attached later. Just needed a break from the box build.




Next was paint prep. I lightly sanded the inside to remove most of the rough spots. Not necessary, but it helps. Then paint with flat white paint anywhere you see wood! Top, bottom, frame, walls, etc. However... i strongly recommend you have all your holes predrilled before painting! Make sure you setup your box prior to painting. You'll want to attach your accessories later.






My next step was mounting the carbon scrubber... fan is externally mounted while filter is internal.

This is where you will mount the lights... I did a simple hook setup where I just disconnect and hook the lights on to where the need to be in accordance to height from plant.




IF you don't know how to wire or do the electrical portions of any project, DO NOT ATTEMPT! I will not explain such actions for obvious reasons. But wire up your fan, sockets, etc, at this point.

Plug in your lights and see if they work!!




At this point is where you will CHECK YOUR VENTILATION before using the box!! Make sure your temps are optimal! Mine was not with this basic setup. I was reaching 90.7 degrees (stable) with outside ambient air temps at 78 degrees. This was no good!

I went and added two 55CFM fans for 110v, wired them up, and placed one above the passive intake holes, the other right next to the carbon scrubber. Make sure intake is below the lights and exhaust is around or above the lights to get optimal cross ventilation. A way to test your ventilation is to hook up the exhaust fan at the top before the bottom, wire it up, and attach the bottom fan to the box. Do not power on the intake fan.

Here is a picture (although you can't tell) the fan is not even wired up, but spinning at almost full speed with the exhaust fan up. This means you have proper pressure in the grow box, and you are pulling good bits of air. When the bottom fan is on, you will have great cross ventilation and optimal air flow and circulation.


To my curiousity, someone said recently on here, it was impossible to get your grow cabinet below ambient air temps without an A/C unit... this was just proven inaccurate in my test setup.

Location of ambient thermometer/clock is on a wall in the room where the grow box is located. The grow box is located NEAR a TV set (turned on) 2 computers fully running and all the other electrical equipment I have hooked up (hottest part of the room).

Lights are not on in the grow box, but the grow box temps are 2 degrees cooler with the fans running than ambient temps. Talk about cooling with fans!





Anyway, this was finished a couple hours ago, and I will be starting a grow after new years, however, I am going to do a test with some dying white rhinos in a hydro setup in this box to see if there is any change before I discard them.

I will post updates later if required...

Dryer cabinet conversion...

When I get pics, I will update, but this will fit those small rubbermaid racks. Simply add the screens to those racks, and place in the box. The ventilation and/or carbon scrubber will dry the herb in approx. 3-7 days depending on fans. Similar idea as the rubbermaid totes and fans, etc. But because of the larger air volume, the drying is less harsh and more "natural", mostly because of the volume difference between a small tote and a grow box.

Very nice!

I can't wait to setup the hydro system tomorrow for it!

wow a fellow craftsman...it cost a couple bucks more but you could get some like door trim and 1/4 round to edge the sides and put a solid wood table top on it and it be multi functional. lol. where do you keep it? i really like that set up and the lighting is superb.

I could have gone and put the hinges on the inside and changed it up a bit to make it more pretty, but it's just a grow box for me. I do have moulding i was thinking about putting on the outside, but I wanted it to be done! LOL making everything square was hard enough without having to miter corners for nice trim.

This particular setup just sits in my studio for now, but once i get my closet cleared of it's old setup, i might put it in the closet to make it more discrete. I haven't decided yet. Really, it's all about temps and testing. Temps are hard for me to control, so this turned out great for me where it's at.

update:

so far temps have not reached passed 87 degrees. It's been a good box so far, the DWC setup is doing good for trying to recover some white rhinos, they are just now starting to see new growth and getting more green. I will be flushing the water this weekend and adding some more nutrients since I started them on my "recover" solution, but all in all the BOX has helped a great deal.

Intense light, and better cooling than my stale closet.

i'll be keeping watch on this thread thanks for giving me hope w/ a small grow box

Certainly a genius design, can even move the lights up and down in small increments, very cool!!

I just finished a similar grow box style build, Im using 8 1.8k lumen blue CFLS though, I wish I found that epic whale sized CFL.

you reminded me of 2 extremely good things, the paint and the filter, you sir, rule.

im still trying to locate a light meter to determine my official light output in the box, but this box is supa-brite! It lights up my 10x14 room with the cabinet box wide open! lol it's blinding...

is there a such thing as too much light? :holysheep: