Budget/Refrigerator grow

[Smurph]

The Situation:
I have a side-by-side refrigerator that currently does not work, but I can't do any damage (i.e. cut vent holes) to it because its going to get fixed eventually.

The Box:
Approximate Interior Dimensions (for the side we're using for this):
59" tall (we'll call it 5ft)
18" wide
24" deep

So that's 3sq ft on the bottom, and according to a post in the lighting section, I want 5000lumens/sq ft which is 15,000lumen total.

I'm going with store bought CFLs. I have two in there right now at 1600lumens each (I know, not enough, don't worry I'll get more pretty soon). I'll get a few every week or so until I have 10, and the last few will be 2700k rather than the 6500Ks that I'm currently buying.

Big hurdle: Ventilation. Currently we can't fix the fridge (we're broke), and its not a huge deal because we don't actually NEED it right now (we have a working one in the kitchen, and a mini one in my room to hold a few more drinks or whatever) But... I can't damage it in such a way that would prevent it from being used as a fridge anymore... non-negotiable, we have to work around it. I do have everything taken out of it (shelves, drawers, etc) so it's pretty empty inside, lots of room for growth. But I can't change the air in there every five minutes manually, that's for sure.

I've been brainstorming a bit, and the only hope, as it seems right now, is to build a wall to replace the door. I can take the door off no problem. It will be easily sealed with magnets just like the current door. and I'll just have to put both the exhaust and intake holes there. Maybe even add some ducting to bring one of them to a more opposite point in the overall box to aide in the moving of air. Can I get some opinions on this?

Second thing is, I have a reflector which works fine for the two bulbs in there now, but very soon 2 will be 4, 6, etc, and the reflector is honestly just for one bulb, So I'm going to follow suit and build my own reflector. I estimate I'll put a good 10 bulbs in there. I can do that pretty good with about 5 sockets and 5 splitters under a tub spray painted white. Should I wire them in series or parallel? I think parallel, but I don't wanna fuck that up.

The Botanists:
*botanist term used very loosely
This is my first grow (Aside of putting some seeds in the woods to see where that can get me, and forgetting where I put em!), and the guy who's helping me has done it once before, but with incandescent bulbs, almost no results.

The genetics aren't anything to talk about, just some seeds I got out of a bag. My main goal is experience and maybe some free smoke.

Smurph Reviewed by Smurph on 04-24-2009. Budget/Refrigerator grow The Situation: I have a side-by-side refrigerator that currently does not work, but I can't do any damage (i.e. cut vent holes) to it because its going to get fixed eventually. The Box: Approximate Interior Dimensions (for the side we're using for this): 59" tall (we'll call it 5ft) 18" wide 24" deep So that's 3sq ft on the bottom, and according to a post in the lighting section, I want 5000lumens/sq ft which is 15,000lumen total. Rating: 5

[disrupt86]

without proper ventilation,both intake and exhaust this will never go anywere.you either need to cut out holes at least a exhaust and do a passive system,or dont use the fridge at all.maybe rubber maid containers would be a better way to start.

[dossantos]

If u have garden u r sorted.
Dig a hole.
This is now your fridge of the future.
Throw your cold things in it.
Cover with soil.
Cave man did it.
so can you.
Step 2.
Butcher the fridge.
u will not regret it.
Its only a fridge.

[Smurph]

Butcher the fridge.
u will not regret it.
Its only a fridge.

I sure wouldn't regret it. But, as mentioned above, its not an option. It belongs to my friend's wife and she said no to damaging it (though she's OK with it being the center of our project)

We don't need wife wrath raining down upon us, now do we?

The plants are about 2 inches now, and they've been in the ground for about 2.5 weeks. I'll get pics later

[bigtopsfinn]

Don't worry about reflectors with CFL's... :thumbsup:



Sounds like you could do it if you can replace the door... even if you just take a piece of plywood and bungy that thing in place! Just need to have a kitchen/bathroom fan attached to it, and a hole on the bottom for an intake. And yes, you can put a little duct on the intake to make the air flow better. I wouldn't put anything extra near the exhaust (to make it less efficient), except a carbon filter.

I'd say your only problem now would be getting the door off without f-ing up the fridge, and making the new "door" light-proof and odor-proof, maybe even stealthy

[Smurph]

Don't worry about reflectors with CFL's... :thumbsup
...
I'd say your only problem now would be getting the door off without f-ing up the fridge, and making the new "door" light-proof and odor-proof, maybe even stealthy

I'm going to fashion a reflector out of something I saw elsewhere on here using a rubbermaid tub or whatever.

We just put the door back on, actually. The handles made the difference on whether it would fit out of the house door frame (which we also had to take the door off of)

I'm thinking about using something and get some magnets all around it very similar to how the door seals currently.

Should I push air in by putting the fan on the bottom (intake) or pull air out by putting the fan on the top (exhaust)? I'm thinking pull air out, though, depending on what I can get some oversize pc fans for, I might do both to help keep the air flowing.

And yes, with only one door (we're not using the freezer portion right now for anything, though I might start something else in there. it's smaller and will require a little less light) the fridge won't look like "Just an old broken fridge we have in our basement". I think we'll just make a small rolling setup for it to stand on, and face it toward a wall.

[bigtopsfinn]

The thing about cfl's is that they are only effective up to 4", so that light has to travel up, reflect, and come back down to the plant. By that time it's not doing much... the reflectors might just build up heat and block airflow. Just my :twocents:

Always pull air out... So put the exhaust fan at the top, and you can have a passive intake on the bottom. I don't think a computer fan is going to be enough... I'd aim to clear that space 2 or 3 times a minute...
a good sticky in the indoor growing section http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...-progress.html

Here's an old OG thread....

Added by: MarvinM92 Last edited by: snoofer Viewed: 153 times Rated by 74 users: 9.16/10
Contributed by: Smokey D Dope

How do I add ventilation to my grow area?
There are a couple of considerations to observe when planning your ventilation, theyâ??re pretty simple concepts; but they are often overlooked.

� First, remember that warmer air will naturally rise to the top of any container, and that cooler air will naturally settle towards the bottom.
� Also remember that when ventilating any space, the volume (VOLUME, in cubic feet or cubic meters... [L x W x H]) of air that goes IN, also has to come OUT.
� You canâ??t expect to ventilate a grow space by simply forcing air in, and not providing an exhaust vent.

Since the object is to remove as much warm air as possible, and replace it with cooler air, it will be most efficient to place the exhaust as close to the top of the space as possible, and place the intake as close to the bottom as possible.


Should I place the fan in the exhaust, intake or both?
The fan should be placed in the exhaust, and the intake should be a simple hole (or light trap, if light getting out is a concern).
This type of system is known as an Active Exhaust, Passive Intake System.
Mounting the fan in the exhaust, sucking air out of the room accomplishes a couple of things...

� Since the exhaust is at the top of the area, the fan will suck the hottest air out of the area first.
� The fan is actually lowering the air pressure inside the area. Any incidental pinholes or leaky seams will simply draw air in. If the fan were blowing IN, those pinholes and leaks would allow potentially smelly air OUT.


How big should the passive intake be?
It should be slightly larger than the exhaust. Remember, the volume of air being blown out, will be replaced through the intake. Using a bigger intake hole allows the incoming air to be at a lower velocity (speed), which minimizes mixing up of the air in the area. It will also allow the fan to operate more efficiently.


How big should the fan be?
Fans are rated in either cubic feet (CFM) or cubic meters per minute in North America. In Eurpose, metric fans are rated in m3/hr - cubic metres per hour (m3/hr).

That means a 70CFM fan will move 70 cubic feet of air in one minute.
Your fan should be big enough to move the volume of your area 2 to 3 times every minute. A 70 CFM fan would be adequate for a 35 cubic foot area, and would be optimal for roughly a 23 cubic foot area.

� To figure your areaâ??s cubic volume, multiply (in feet) the length by the width by the height.


What if I have more than one fan? Should I use one to blow air in and one to suck air out?
Not if the object is to provide as much ventilation and cooling as possible.

� If you have two 3-inch diameter fans, and you mount one in the intake, and one in the exhaust, you have a total intake area of one 3-inch hole and a total exhaust area of one 3-inch hole.
� If you use both fans as exhausts, you have TWO 3-inch exhausts and two 3-inch intakes (actually, two 3.3 inch intakes. They should be bigger than the exhausts, remember?).
� Twice as many holes, twice as much airflow.


Enhanced Blower Mods

Timer Options
If you find that the "Lights off" temps are lower than you'd prefer, you can simply run the fan from the same timer as the light by using a multi outlet power strip connected to the timer. Plug the lights and the fan into the power strip, and the fan will turn on/off with the lights. If you're using more than one fan, you could connect some or all of them, remembering that the more fans you have running, the lower the temps will be.
* SAFETY NOTE: The timer must be able to handle the additional electrical load, or an additional timer must be used. SAFTEY FIRST.

Sound Suppression
Making the ventilation system quieter can be an important consideration, and it's important to remember that the air moving through the intakes and exhausts make noise, as well as the fan itself. Some of the fan noise from vibration can be overcome by mounting the fan in a non-rigid manner. The fans can me mounted using rubber grommets to help dampen the vibration. Self-adhesive foam rubber window insulation can also be used. In some installations, it can be mounted by threading a bungee cord through each mounting hole, then attaching the other ends of the bungee cord to the exhaust hole.

� Generally, air moving through ductwork or tubing can become noisy, particularly if the air has to move at a higher velocity. More, larger diameter intakes and vent tubes will generally be quieter than fewer, smaller diameter intakes and vents. The fans also don't have to work quite as hard.
� Finally, although popular and easy to use, flexible "Accordion" type hose, commonly used to connect clothes dryers to external vents are not always the best choice, as they cause a great deal of drag, (making the fans work harder) and generally air flowing through them is noisier than smoother ductwork.

Filtering\Odor Control
Connecting a Carbon scrubber is a good method of controlling the odor that can be a dead giveaway to an otherwise stealthy installation. A carbon scrubber is simply an expansion chamber (box) into which the smelly air from a flower chamber is pumped. The chamber has a large exhaust vent, which is covered by an activated carbon air filter. The chamber must be big enough to provide a damping effect of the incoming air. If too small a scrubber is used, the fan will not be capable of pushing air through the filter(I would pull the air through the filter instead of pushing it through. Here, you actually want the exhaust vent to be considerably bigger than the intake.

� There are also several DIY Odor killers available, which work to varying degrees to provide an "Odor Cover-up."
� Remember, the term "Low Odor Strain" is relative.
� Even the low odor strains generally still stink pretty badly near the end of flowering.

Now go grow something!

[syde00]

Should I wire them in series or parallel? I think parallel, but I don't wanna fuck that up.

your wiring should be done in parallel.

you'll run into small problems if you wire in series - but nothing like your house will burn down or anything though lol :jointsmile:

[Smurph]

The thing about cfl's is that they are only effective up to 4", so that light has to travel up, reflect, and come back down to the plant. By that time it's not doing much... the reflectors might just build up heat and block airflow. Just my :twocents:

Can I get a citation on the 4" thing? I'm gonna keep the lights close. The refrigerator has a lot of spaces for an adjustable shelf. The shelves are glass sitting on a metal "frame" of sorts, which I'll use to hold my light, and just adjust it up as necessary. I'm going to build a reflector to hold 6 light sockets (each with a splitter on it).

[bigtopsfinn]

It's all over the place... best way to use cfl's is to get them as close as possible without burning the plant, up to within an inch from the plant. Their effectiveness decreases dramatically every inch the light has to travel. Text <-- more info there... even got some reflector ideas for ya. They explain it pretty well in there. The cfl's give off 360 degrees of light, so they use a soda can to wrap tightly around the bulb. That might actually give some sort of reflection since the can is an inch or less away from the bulb. The way I was picturing yours is that you would use one bigger reflector for several bulbs, maybe not as efficient... or maybe I just misunderstood your idea :jointsmile: