First grow and cabinet build

[Kicksome]

I decided to put together my own cabinet together so I could grow.

First thing I have to say is - it's probably five times harder than I thought it would be to put together the cabinet. I bought a 400 HPS light but it got way too hot in that cabinet. I wanted to be able to sleep at night so I took it out. I went ahead and put 12 CFL's in there and it's a LOT cooler. It gives me around 20,000 lumens. I also put a duct fan in there that does 500 CFS. I might go ahead and try the 400 watt HPS.

Kicksome Reviewed by Kicksome on 11-11-2006. First grow and cabinet build I decided to put together my own cabinet together so I could grow. First thing I have to say is - it's probably five times harder than I thought it would be to put together the cabinet. I bought a 400 HPS light but it got way too hot in that cabinet. I wanted to be able to sleep at night so I took it out. I went ahead and put 12 CFL's in there and it's a LOT cooler. It gives me around 20,000 lumens. I also put a duct fan in there that does 500 CFS. I might go ahead and try the 400 watt Rating: 5

[klup]

nice. why not just get a 250w hps bulb and see how it works

[Kicksome]

A couple more things...

I bought the cabinet (30" x 19" x 6') , duct fan, reflectix at home depot.

In hind sight - I wish I would have bought a deeper cabinet.

I also made some 1" holes at in the back behind the bubbler to let air in.

A couple questions
1) Do you think I could put my 400 watt hps in there without adding additional cooling?
2) Do you think the existing light will be good enough at 20K lumens?

Thanks!

-Kicksome

[Kicksome]

Now that I already spent the money on 2 sets of lights I'll probably see how this grow goes before I invest any more.

I also need to work on light proofing this thing - I have lots of leaks.

Next time I build a cabinet - I'm going to work on ventilation FIRST. Then worry about everything else.

[Kicksome]

One more pic of the full cabinet open.

Need to put some more reflectix up in a few places as you can see...

[kindprincess]

consider making a cool tube out of an oil lamp glass shade. i think you can get the 400 in there, you'll just need a 75cfm or bigger for the cool tube...

love, kp

[BlueBear]

I think that you might be able to go with a 90CFM Dayton fart fan as an active intake and try the 400W depending on the ambient/room temps. For light proofing, on my cab I took thick tarp and made a velcro frame on all 4 corners and got a tarp zipper for the middle so I could have easier access. You can get the tarp zippers at Lowes or Home Depot, they are zippers with an adhesive sticky strip that you stick to the tarp and then cut a line up the tarp to open the zipper up and down with. You can put a zipper on each side so that the whole tarp opens. By the way I have a cab with the same dementions from there, I think it is a Kolman cabinet. I have a 175 MH in it for mothers and clones and an optional 6X23W CFL rack that I can put up when needed. I only have a 230 CFM bathroom for outtake.
PS. Those 90 CFM Dayton fans are only$30 at most hydro stores.
Adieu