How To - Rubbermaid Tub Growbox

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Originally Posted by mspofford032579

Sunnyvale420: Remember, when you buy one of these compact fluorescent bulbs from walmart or wherever, the wattage is not the actual wattage. For example the "100 watt" compact fluorescent bulbs I bought from walmart (made by GE) only take 26 watts apiece. The "100 watts" is an incandescent equivalent. Or, in other words, they only use 26 watts of electricity apiece, but because they use fluorescent technology, and not a fillament, they put out the same ammount of light as a 100 watt (traditional, fillament, incandescent, hot ass burn your fingers) light bulb. They usually print the actual wattage in smaller print somewhere else on the box. They want you to see the equivalent wattage so that when you buy one, you have a reference to a technology you are familiar with to guess how bright it will be. That said, you SHOULD (I'm not an electrician) be safe using these bulbs in that fixture, because the maximum wattage per socket is 60, and you would be only using 26watts per socket.

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This is a terrible first post, but I'm glad you're not an electrician. I am...although it wouldn't take an electrician to read his post and see that he was planning on using TWO 42 watt cfls per fixture. They sell 42 watt cool bulbs at Lowe's; I believe that is what he is referring to. The tiny 13 watt is what they call "equivalent" (complete bs) to a 40 watt so i believe the OP was referencing the actual watts on his bulb. 2 x 42 = 84. That exceeds the rating for the socket by more than 35%. Would you put honda civic wheels on an F150? Don't put 84 watts in a 60 watt fixture. Those ratings are there for a reason, there is a real fire hazard when overdrawing for 18 hours at a time in a confined space.

Sorry to resurrect this thread but it has been a great resource and I want people attempting to build this at home to have a safe experience.

Also:

full spectrum bulb guy: you want the 6500k "cool white" or "daylight" style bulb. Cool/daylight/natural etc are just marketing terms. Any reasonable bulb should have the kelvin marked on the ballast (base of the bulb) or on the back of the box. It's better to know because some are in the 3500 range (you want lower) or 6000 range (you want higher) Also good resources are the GE, Sylvania, and Bright Effects (Lowe's house brand) websites. Bright Effects has gotten some pretty negative reviews and is only $2 cheaper. Sylvania is around 3000k for the warm and 6000k for the cool. GE is 2700k warm and 6500 cool. Something like 8 or 9 bucks at Wal - Mart. The full spectrum I believe is the terrarium/aquarium/plant bulb stuff....more $$$ than standard bulbs and not much better.

Rawtunes - Duct tape is your friend. If you're like me, it might be your ONLY friend. Forget glues, they don't fill wide holes and provide support. Make a tighter collar with cardboard to give the glue something more to adhere to if you must go that way. I'm not totally convinced that silicone caulking would destroy plastic tubs, either. In fact I think you'd be okay using white silicone general purpose stuff. I wouldn't use one meant for say, cement or wood. Also in Lowe's or Home Depot they have rolls of weatherstripping caulk that is like clay rope. Fills in fairly large gaps and easy to work with. Also, it's cheap. I use it in subwoofer enclosures among other things. Non-reactive (won't melt ur plasticz dood) but does stain a bit.

Foil tape guy - Foil tape is with the other tapes at Home Dizzle or Lowe's, don't get the stuff with writing on it, get the blank kind obviously. Use the widest size you can (less rows) they had 2" and 3" near me. I chose to use white spray paint.


White spray paint - works well, doesn't bunch up like foil. Blindingly bright. I don't believe there is much of a difference between the two in practical applications. The foil tends to crinkle and cause valleys. Not sure how detrimental this actually is, but layering foil tape sucks and spray paint is a cheap buzz. Okay, ignore that last part...but if you do use spray, get Krylon or Rustoleum plastic - specific paint. Otherwise you need to sand the plastic with some 100 grit or so first (just rough it up, don't chunkify it with 60 grit or it'll take 4 coats of paint to get it smooth) Avoid the crap plastic paint they sell at Lowe's; it's fairly chip resistant but goes on poorly and is extremely thin which causes drips if you don't go super slow. No matter what you use, you'd better baby your walls, plastic paints kinda suck. Roughing it up might help as was mentioned earlier, I am lazy and didn't do that (paint directions don't call for it either, just a wipe which I did)

Ducted fan guy -- Home Depot carries inline ducting fans. They are with the household ducting/heating supplies. They are used to get more hot/cold air to a distant room in the house. Available in 6, 8, 10, 12 + inches. I'd go for 8 probably, the 6 is only 160cfm or so. Like a desk fan (but more expensive at 30$) The suncourt brand seems to be the low end. Poor reliability ratings, but the Fantech (mercedes benz of the inline duct fan world) models start at $100; so the suncourt is not without it's charms for someone on a budget. FYI lots of online hydro shops sell in line duct fans as well, for about the same prices. I don't bother with all that but it's an option if you don't have a local home store. I buy local so if my cheap plastic crap happens to break I can bring my receipt and get a free one.


Hope this helps those of you still checking out this thread! It's an excellent resource! Just keep the temps down.....

Peace~~~:rastasmoke:

uppin this piffery

this is a noob so bear with me. say if u wanted to add a scrubber to the grow box where and how would u add one :)

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Originally Posted by Bodom Children Of

Now, it's time line the bottom half of the grow box with foil tape.
This takes a while but it makes it lightproof and reflective.:upsidedow

Then I caulked in the passive intake on both sides to ensure no airleaks.

I also caulked the holes the came with the rubbermaid tub just to be sure.:stoned:

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about the lining on the inside.? well what is that shiny stuff, tin foil.?and how do you get it in there so perfect.?

Bodom Children Of, just in case you check back on this thread, I want to thank you for the great how 2s. Thanks to this thread I'm getting a new hobby.

im new to this hole thing i need a friend to help me out ,i live in chicago so i cant grow outside so im thinking about a rubbermaid box and yours sound easy ///////can you help me along the way

is a 425watt sun lamp to hot for a rubbermaid box

I used this design and made 2 boxes. Slight modifications but essentially the same. I used white spray paint for one. It worked but the paint did start to chip in the corners from lifting the box. The other I used white duct tape. Took something like 4 rolls to complete. That box runs a little warmer too. Also instead of buying the 3 socket fixture I bought individual ceramic fixtures from walmart and used those. They have them with or without on/off chains, so you can turn off the lights individually if you don't want to have all 6 lights going. I also found an awesome fan at walmart but they don't carry it anymore. It looks like a small version of those industrial blower fans. I put a spy window in one of the boxes also. A few inches below the lights, so I could peak in without opening the box. I also put in 2 fixtures at the bottom of the plant to get more light to the lower branches (but this might have just been overkill).They both work great, but the temps are always on the high side. I only used each box once, although a friend of mine is using one of them now. The buds were airy and light but I did get a decent harvest. I think about 3 ounces the first time(was almost 2 years ago so I don't really remember). Not great but it was a bag seed and I really didn't know what I was doing back then. I also cut a large number of branches off of it a few weeks before flowering because I was worried it was too compact and might start molding. It was a sativa (i think from the look and high, plus it flowered for around 87??(if i remember correctly) days, although it was a major dwarf. nodes were about 1.5 inches apart from each other). Turned out better than what I can usually get my hands on though.

I am currently working on another box. This time I am using 2 of the round deep containers. Like the kind people keep beer in at parties. I am currently looking for a new fan for this one. Since the other ones I have are no longer made. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :) Also I think I will only put 4 fixtures in this one. Less light but better temps. Although with this one the lights will be pointing down towards the plant instead of being on the side of the box. Is this as efficient? Would it be better to have lights on the side rather than the top of the box?

And what can I do about light shing through the box? Duct tape works but the more layers I put on the hotter it gets. In a closet it is pretty stealth but if the room is dark anyone can notice the light coming from it. Closing the closet just makes it too hot.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

well, since this thread has been brought back, i must say that the OP's post regarding needing the exhaust to be bigger than the intake is totally wrong.

will it still work? yes.

will it kill your fan faster? yes.

can you still achieve negative pressure with a larger intake than exhaust? yes.

so what should i do, golden? intake 2x the size of exhaust. got a 4" fan? 8" intake, or two 4" intakes.

So i'm new to this forum and quite honestly i'm sick of messing with the erm, sales represntatives we all so comonly are forced to associate with.

My question might have already been asked, and even more so, perhaps answered, but i didnt see such when i skimmed through the thread.

Can i build this box, and cut out the bottom, sealing the top half to the bottom, making a taller rectangle like lid, that could then be placed on top of a stealth hydro box? this way its given 6 inches or so of more room fromt he lights, and given the oportunity to grow hydroponic in what seems ot be a good box.

My other concern comes from the exaust fan, is there a way to place a carbon filter on this design simply, efficiently, and still cleanly, so it won't break or be knocked around when removing the lid?




I figure if i make the box, i'll get ducting hose to run out of the closet(or bathroom) this thing'll sit in and get air from the other side of the room. Then duct all the exaust, after through the carbon filter, up into the attic, or to a dryingmachine as much as possible.

I also wanted to know if by chance you know what the average yeild you get out of this box is per harvest/per plant.


Thanks in advance,
Sid