A cainet design

[Lil Elvis]

Hello,

I have a pdf file with all this in it but the file takes forever to open when I post it so I am going to do my best to get this in one post. Bear with me...


So this was my first cabinet. We used it for propagation and bloom stages. The cabinet is 40D”X36W”X79H”. It’s made of two 20D”X36W”X79H” cabinets put together (the front cabinet having no backing). Each cabinet cost $109 at a national do it your self store. And always lock your cabinet.


For air in-take I always use passive ventilation (no fans). These are floor registers from the hardware store. I put them on the sides on this cabinet. I recommend you put them on the front doors which allow you more air.


Here is a shot of the ceiling inside the cabinet. I used two, 100mm PC chassis fans for the exhausting air ventilation I got from the local ‘puter shop. I would recommend four (which I will do next time) as summer can get hot.


This is the lower cabinet inside. You can see the wire closet racks I got from the hardware store. This helps keep the plant pots off of the cold cabinet floor (I have this cabinet in my garage). Note the weather stripping around the doors. Keeping the cabinet CLEAN and AIR TIGHT will help your garden stay healthy.


These are Rubbermaid tubs I use to put my plant pots in. I very strongly feel that you need to have a CLEAN garden and this really helps keep the excess dirt and water in control. Each container can hold two plant pots up to 5gals each. If you look you can see more wire closet rack in the tubs. This is so I have a space between the bottom of the plant pot and the tub. Helps remove the damp, dark and bug loving area under a saucer. It makes clean up a snap too. After each watering I use a turkey baster to empty the excess water.



Here are the tubs and the racks all in place ready to go in the cabinet.


I use this cabinet for propagation right now so you can see my two New Wave 24” T5 lights hanging from the ceiling. I used white plant hooks and chains. Note the support brackets I installed on each inside corner.


The vertical pole in the front center is a paint roller extension pole to clip the 8” clip on oscillating fan. I wasn’t very professional here; notice the nice duct tape holding the fan pole!


Added some support brackets. This just helps give it rigidity. A small hole in the upper left side for power cords.


Exterior close up of top of cabinet. I bought a desktop PC at Goodwill that had a power supply and a motherboard in it for $5 which drives the two exhaust fans.


I use a 400W HPS for the bloom stage and am able to stay under 90 degrees. Two more fans would help. For a total of 9.9 square feet, I only had 40.4 watts per square foot. We averaged about 3-4Oz per plant which makes it a very nice way to grow in small, discreet places.

Here are some older shots of the cabinet with plants in it and my old 400W HPS. It can get tight but works great.


Hope it helps someone...
Lil Elvis

 

[tom-tom]

looks good i like the last pick id like to have somethin like that i might buil one in the future

 

[BizzyHigh]

Hey Lil Elvis.. I really like this box design it looks like a winner as a micro grow option.. How many plants would you say might be able to fit in that kind of a box?

 

[Lil Elvis]

I can get four in there but usually do three. Last time I did four and they got to about five feet and about 4oz a plant. I would bet you could get four to six at three feet in there.

I see I typo-ed the title...urggg! Can you tell spelling is not by best trait?!

Lil Elvis

 

[Vegs]

That's a really nice lookin' setup, Elvis. Nice summary too... =)

 

[SSwest]

I like the design. I am using something similar just arrange differently. How do you keep the odor down with no carbon filter? The reg. vents are your intaks correct?

I'm looking to upgrade my cabinet and you definetly have a clean looking design.