1st ever Stealth cab....design input much appreciated!!

[BennyHogan]

Basically what I'm trying to do is setup a stealth cab to scrog 1-2 girls in ....but I'm a total n00b when it comes to ventilation and carbon scrubbers.

I've been thinking about using an old gutted out soda vending machine but if not a dresser.

Supplies currently on hand:
250mh w/ agrosun bulb, self-enclosed ballast/light that is loud and gets really hot
2 plant hydro setup and supplies.....no ph test kit (how important is that gonna be if I use good organic nutes??)
4in inline duct fan
ducting
pvc piping for passive intake

What would you recommend??.....I've been reading for weeks now trying to get a design together....I built a rubbermaid setup but feel that sound and heat are both an issue with my buddy's loud and hot self-enclosed 250mh.....plus the fact that I feel its already a pain in the ass to deal with stacking them and I don't even have anything in there besides for the light.


How do all the cool-tubes I see everywhere work?? I picked up some ducting and a 4" inline duct fan....hoping to cool-tube to a carbon-scrubber if that's possible? Will this fan have enough power if i build a small scrubber??

SHould I just ditch the 250mh and try to make one of these cool-tube things?? Is there a good tutorial you can recommend?? The bulb in the 250mh is an AgroSun which is supposedly better than a plain ole MH.....any way I could save it and use it in a cool tube design??

I want all the supplies to go inside the box and I want it to be stealth. I really like the idea of a soda machine because its normal for it to make noise.

I'm willing to buy a HPS if you guys feel it would reduce the heat.....the biggest problem with my current 250MH is that and the huge size of the thing.

So anyone willing to help me out???

Thanks for any input!!!

BennyHogan Reviewed by BennyHogan on 04-28-2008. 1st ever Stealth cab....design input much appreciated!! Basically what I'm trying to do is setup a stealth cab to scrog 1-2 girls in ....but I'm a total n00b when it comes to ventilation and carbon scrubbers. I've been thinking about using an old gutted out soda vending machine but if not a dresser. Supplies currently on hand: 250mh w/ agrosun bulb, self-enclosed ballast/light that is loud and gets really hot 2 plant hydro setup and supplies.....no ph test kit (how important is that gonna be if I use good organic nutes??) 4in inline duct Rating: 5

[wman44]

got a pic of that light?
i use this one...its a self contained mh/hps switchable from sunleaves...pulsar two-way mini 250
it resides in a small dresser that is 15"x23"x45"tall. its super stealth but i have no pics yet.
with the light in there i have about 37" of headroom.
right now im using it to prepare for the summer season (gotta take advantage of that free solar energy) but the first time i used it i scrogged 1 nlxmix1 in it and harvested 73.2 grams in soil. but i did fight temp problems until it got really cold outside.

just the inline duct fan is not gonna take care of all that hot air coming off your ballast. you'll need to spend some scratch on a fan that can move some serious air

if your capable of doing some modifications i bet you could turn that fixture you have into a cool tube, i would open it up and find the leads that go from the fixture that the bulb screws into. you might be able to solder a longer piece of wire onto it and then you would be able to just have the bulb in your cab in a cool tube

[BennyHogan]

Thanks for the response.
I've decided to build myself a cab that is 52"tall with a 21" x 20" base.
What sort of fan do you recommend using to get rid of the heat?

I saw a sweet cool-tube tutorial using a 4" inline duct fan to cool it....so once I decide what to do in terms of light I should be good. It would be cool to mod the 250mh to use a cool-tube but the ballast part of it is pretty loud.....I'm really leaning towards going with a 150hps or 250hps?? Does anyone know of any lights this size that have an EXTERNAL ballast??

What size of light would you guys recommend I use in this space??

Thanks for any info

[BennyHogan]

No pic of the light....but its very similar to the one you posted....I think its made by "hydrofarm".
Has anybody ever seen an internal ballast converted into an external??
If I did mod it, it would be cool to remove the guts and put them in one of those ammo cases that I've seen other peeps do....and it should decrease the sound.
How much heat does a ballast give off?? I've only seen internal ballasts and can't differentiate between the heat coming from the bulb and the heat coming from the ballast.

THanks

[BennyHogan]

Is it possible to delete a thread that I started???

[GrowmanSparky]

Theres nothing more annoying than a guy who keeps asking questions until he gets the answer he was looking for.....so heres my idea. You post a THIRD thread asking everyone about 'cool tubes' and we will all pretend they are the best thing since sliced bread. I will also supply you with a link to 'Cool Tubes for Dummies - 2008 updated edition'

OR

Go to google and type 'How do fluorescents work' and then read the most complicated article written by some physics geek. Only then will you know how they work.

OR

If you wanted real results you could stop trying to take short-cuts - sorry if I'm wrong - but how is a soda machine stealthy, unless it is placed in a shopping mall along with other vending machines?

So hit me back and maybe we can work this out!

[chongman420]

Maybe he could design the inside of his grow room to look like a shopping mall! :S2:

[BennyHogan]

Theres nothing more annoying than a guy who keeps asking questions until he gets the answer he was looking for.....so heres my idea. You post a THIRD thread asking everyone about 'cool tubes' and we will all pretend they are the best thing since sliced bread. I will also supply you with a link to 'Cool Tubes for Dummies - 2008 updated edition'

OR

Go to google and type 'How do fluorescents work' and then read the most complicated article written by some physics geek. Only then will you know how they work.

OR

If you wanted real results you could stop trying to take short-cuts - sorry if I'm wrong - but how is a soda machine stealthy, unless it is placed in a shopping mall along with other vending machines?

So hit me back and maybe we can work this out!

Hey AsssClown,
If you would take the time to read either thread I asked how one goes about deleting a thread once the poster no longer feels it is relevant. I would love to delete this thread and the other thread I started if given the option as I researched other sites and was able to find what I was looking for.
I love losers like you on these blogs that go out of their way to say go use "google".....I've looked at lot of crap and have never seen an internal ballast converted to an external (other than Security LIghts)so I was hoping to get some insight.....is that so crazy??
And for the record, I think if it was done right an antique Coca-Cola Machine in a billiards room in the basement could be pretty stealth.....I don't think its that hard for people to believe that a 50 year old Coca-Cola machine would be inoperable.

Peace.....and if there is a way Moderator.....please delete this thread as I don't care to take the time out of my day to hear a worthless rebuttal that takes up more thread space.

[GrowmanSparky]

Ok I'm sorry for being rude, but you never said that you have an antique coca-cola machine. In terms of stealth it would make more sense to keep the lamp and ballast together as opposed to having the ballast outside the box. I imagine that with a decent intake, outake and a fan or two, heat should not be a problem. The bottom line is that HPS is the king of lighting when it comes to marijuana production, and fluorecents will never be able to match their intensity.

You could however try out the new LED panel systems, and maybe throw in a couple of UV tubes to help THC formation? I havn't tried this myself, but science would lead me to believe that this would be the best option if one were growing without ballast-induced lighting power. In fact, I have ordered a mixed red/blue LED panel from Ebay which I will be testing in my next grow. I plan to share photographs of my setup with all the lovely people here at Cannabis.com so that we may continue to learn from each other. I would hope that this site should amount to more than a collection of blogs, but more like a library, especially since the disappearance of Overgrow!

So once again I'm sorry for causing offense, and I hope that as a community of indoor growers we can bask in the warm glow of specialised knowledge and continue to produce top quality harvests!

[BennyHogan]

Apology accepted.....good luck with your project.
I decided to mod a 150HPS security lamp and put it inside a DIY cooltube as the self enclosed 250MH was way too loud, hot, and space consuming.
However, I'm still planning on keeping the ballast inside the box....I'm assuming putting it at the top of the box is best in terms of preventing dangers from water spilling on it and since it's the hottest element of the whole production I figure its best to keep the furthest away from my babies. Is there anything I'm missing in my thinking?? The ballast is inside one of those RadioShack project boxes that I drilled a ton of holes in for cooling.....however the thing literally gets hot enough to fry an egg on.....though its completely silent, which I love.

RIght now, I have 90cfm Hydrofarm Active Air squirrel cage fan mounted at the top of the box sucking air through one side of the cooltube and then blowing it out the box and into a Can 2600 carbon filter. I've been able to keep temps under control but the sound the fan makes moving the air is pretty loud.....not the fan itself (which I can't even hear) just the air that it is moving. As a result I'm thinking of cutting a hole in the drywall on the back upper side of the box and running ducting up to my attic (about 6 or so feet) and putting the fan and carbon scrubber up there. THe only problem is that in the summer it gets crazy crazy hot up there.....is it alright for my squirrel cage to be operating in these temps?? I'm talking maybe 120-140 fahrenheit?? OR would it be safer to just keep it how it is and try to mask the noise somehow???

Thanks for any help, it is much appreciated.

Peace and Love