DIY stealth grow box

[Goonie Goat]

Yeah - I've run that sort of setup a few times. Unfortunately stealth is also part of it - so no noise and making it look in place. I'm currently in a 1bdr flat, so it's tight. That's the sorta space/area I'm working with - also rental inspection bs etc to deal with.

The internal area gives me 0.3 m2 or 3.2 sqft, which means I'd want 120ws of light. I happen to have a 150w meanwell driver I can use, so will bump it up to 150w total - may look at side or underlighting as well to spread it out

You going to whack a diy light together? Seen some builds where they rivet some strips onto a baking sheet and run them soft at like 0.6-0.7 amps, might not look that good but I thought it was a cool idea

 

[ED-209]

You going to whack a diy light together? Seen some builds where they rivet some strips onto a baking sheet and run them soft at like 0.6-0.7 amps, might not look that good but I thought it was a cool idea

Yeah I will give it a go I reckon. I just need to get savvy with selecting and wiring - but it is within my ability. I've done plenty of other DIY wiring and stuff.

I was looking over at Cutter for their strips which Hudo uses. May use something like that, or go with a board from Kingbright on Ali. Was thinking of using aluminium T or V slot extrusions for mounting and passive heatsink.

I'm happy to do off the shelf, but I reckon for this I'd do better with a DIY option, and could save some good coin if I reuse the driver I already have

 

[Goonie Goat]

Yeah I will give it a go I reckon. I just need to get savvy with selecting and wiring - but it is within my ability. I've done plenty of other DIY wiring and stuff.

I was looking over at Cutter for their strips which Hudo uses. May use something like that, or go with a board from Kingbright on Ali. Was thinking of using aluminium T or V slot extrusions for mounting and passive heatsink.

I'm happy to do off the shelf, but I reckon for this I'd do better with a DIY option, and could save some good coin if I reuse the driver I already have

LM301H EVO Samsung Led LIghts Board Bar with Split radiator Phytolamp Plants QB128 100W Lamp in Strip Greenhouse Flowers Indoor - AliExpress 39

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Could do 4 of these on your 150w, each strip would get 38.4w / 0.8 amps, on the softer side but increased longevity.
That shop has good reviews, was going to buy some inventronics drivers and a bunch of those lights but decided to go with a pre-built this time around.

Cutter has some nice boards with the supplemental lighting, bloody expensive to make a big light though..

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Maybe get a used mini fridge and rip out the guts of it. Wouldn’t look out of place in a share house

 

[Squire]

Fridge is good . would keep the sound down and you would expect a fridge to hum a bit

 

[ED-209]

Not going to work with the aesthetics unfortunately. Also they are bloody heavy. I see heaps of them around on the street, with the condensers already removed so it would be an easy option.

However, the brief is, it's gotta look reasonably smart and fit in a bedroom. I'm going to have a look and see if I can find a pine frame wardrobe to modify before I go full custom build. If I can find something like that, it'd be ace. Pretty much just need something from the 70's like all the furniture used to be built before flat packs

 

[itchybro]

Neat stuff - I've used an Ecowitt weather station, so am somewhat familiar with their tech. However, the bits needed to do the sensor and feeding is pretty expensive. If the price comes down or I had a bigger grow, it looks like a neat bit of tech.

When I did soil sci at uni we learned about various water sensors - I've forgotten a lot of the detail but remember them not being super reliable, or at the least needing a lot of calibration to the soil (or I guess media). Even if these Ecowitt ones aren't perfect, I'm sure they'd work alright once played around with - that video was a good overview of possibilities.

This is my CAD of the sort of thing I'd like to build. It's a 450x700x1600 internal grow area. Framed up in H3 DAR pine, lined with 25mm Foilboard, wrapped in 3mm veneer. I wanna make it look a bit flash

View attachment 55702

you could always look at the blumat moisture meter at a reasonable price ( $90 ) , it won't turn things off & on but is pretty reliable & accurate , i used one with a blumat system that was attached to a backyard water tap for a constant water supply = no reservoir

 

[ED-209]

Playing around with how I could do the ventilation. I'll use 4"/100mm duct and equipment. Curious what you reckon of this:

Using one of these: https://mi-store.com.au/products/xiaomi-smart-air-purifier-4-filter to filter the air input, draw fresh air from up top, down to the bottom of the grow cabinet

For outlet, use a 4"/100mm carbon filter and push air out, rather than pull through (Can Fan state this is OK for theirs).

Both inlet and outlet will be on top of the main grow box, but I will use a divider in the middle, and using a permeable outter (timber with holes drilled or some kind of mesh - ignore the bad CAD render)

 

[MM2K6]

Maybe get a used mini fridge and rip out the guts of it. Wouldn’t look out of place in a share house

free at tip and insulated and light proof

 

[Sedge]

Playing around with how I could do the ventilation. I'll use 4"/100mm duct and equipment. Curious what you reckon of this:

Using one of these: https://mi-store.com.au/products/xiaomi-smart-air-purifier-4-filter to filter the air input, draw fresh air from up top, down to the bottom of the grow cabinet

For outlet, use a 4"/100mm carbon filter and push air out, rather than pull through (Can Fan state this is OK for theirs).

Both inlet and outlet will be on top of the main grow box, but I will use a divider in the middle, and using a permeable outter (timber with holes drilled or some kind of mesh - ignore the bad CAD render)

View attachment 55732

Why not copy what works with tents ,,inlet at the bottom and outlet at the top on the opposing wall ,,?
Fresh cooler air streaming past the plants .
And no need to use vital space in the tent with extra ducting.

I’d stick to a carbon filter for the can fan, not the one in the link.

 

[ED-209]

Why not copy what works with tents ,,inlet at the bottom and outlet at the top on the opposing wall ,,?
Fresh cooler air streaming past the plants .
And no need to use vital space in the tent with extra ducting.

I’d stick to a carbon filter for the can fan, not the one in the link.

Mostly due to practicalities of fitting it all inside the cabinet. I am needing to make this look at discrete as possible, so having vents on the sides down the bottom isn't necessarily practical - either for aesthetics or needing to accommodate other furniture next to it its which may block vents.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel - but pulling air from the top shouldn't be an issue and I am happy to sacrifice a small amount of space for the duct work. I have to deal with a cat, and my partners houseplants and such. Lots of crap which always got sucked into the tent so I'd like to use a filter for the in put - a HEPA filter should work well for that and is cheaper than a carbon filter.

I'd still be using a traditional carbon filter for the exhaust not the HEPA filter. In the CAD image, I've positioned the carbon filter outlet on the left and the HEPA filter inlet on the right.

If I could work out a way of running the inlet lower I would - but can't see how it wouldn't risk being blocked or too obvious.

 

[ED-209]

I've got the lighting sorted:

Going with three Kingbright W55 L560mm PCBA with Samsung LM301H EVO 3000K * 5000K mix + Osram 660nm and 730nm diodes. paired with a Meanwell HLG-150H-AB to run them at around 1amp for total of 150w.

It's more light than needed, but I already have the driver spare so will make use of that and wire up the rest.

 

[ED-209]

I've got the lighting sorted:

Going with three Kingbright W55 L560mm PCBA with Samsung LM301H EVO 3000K * 5000K mix + Osram 660nm and 730nm diodes. paired with a Meanwell HLG-150H-AB to run them at around 1amp for total of 150w.

It's more light than needed, but I already have the driver spare so will make use of that and wire up the rest.

Edit:

A slight change up - they didn't have the 3 PCB's in stock so went with the following:

LM301H 3500K+ Cree XPE2 660nm+730nm+LG UV

I didn't really want UV, but it's only a couple of diodes so will take it. Only a few dollars more, but will be as good

 

[seeded]

Not going to work with the aesthetics unfortunately. Also they are bloody heavy. I see heaps of them around on the street, with the condensers already removed so it would be an easy option.

However, the brief is, it's gotta look reasonably smart and fit in a bedroom. I'm going to have a look and see if I can find a pine frame wardrobe to modify before I go full custom build. If I can find something like that, it'd be ace. Pretty much just need something from the 70's like all the furniture used to be built before flat packs

If inspections are your only worry I'd just buy a grow tent and a gas lift bed. I've been able to pull everything down the night before an inspection and be up and running again within an hour of it ending.

 

[MM2K6]

I've been stuck not being able to grow with all my gear since having to up and move earlier last year. For the foreseeable future, I'm going to have to navigate living in smaller places with others which means I need to change my approach. I'm itching to have a play and so I'm considering building a stealth grow cabinet.

I was inspired looking at the cannabonsai guy and thinking that even being able to do small harvests every so often would tickle my need for the hobby as well as provide a little supplement to my medical script. However, I don't want to faff about with bonsai specific training techniques - I just wanna grow a small plant.

On the basis of 30-40w/sq ft, I'm thinking of using the following and building around it:

A single 8.5L pot variant of this: https://hyalite.com.au/products/nutrifield-autofeed-by-autopot-1-pot-extension-kit-boxed

And a 65W full spectrum LED panel https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005778251758.html

As for the main cabinet - that I still need to work out. I don't have access to my tools to do a complete from scratch fab, so will look to re-purpose something. However, I want it to be relatively light so it can be moved down the track - ie, I don't want to use an existing piece of furniture made out of timber which is too heavy.

Ideally I'd probably make an insulated box covered in 3mm MDF and some veneer, but will have to go for something somewhat off the shelf. Internal area is to be roughly 500x500 - unsure of height just yet, but will want to keep it tight.

As for ventilation - that I'm thinking of wiring up some PC style fans etc. Will need to think about filtering - seen various DIY takes on carbon filters, but don't really want to muck about with it, so may opt to use a cheapish 4" filter or something.

The only fly in the ointment at this stage is if I have enough time to build and crop before I go travelling for a bit. Still would be some fun to work on in the meantime and be ready for when I get back.

A slight alternative would be to use the following

Nutrifield AutoFeed by Autopot Easy2Grow Extension Kit | Hyalite Australia

Nutrifield AutoFeed Easy2Grow Extension Kiteasy2grow Extension Kit includes:1x easy2grow tray and lid2x 8.5 litre pots (optional upgrade to 15ltr pots)1x AQUAvalve52x PotSock Square2x marix disc1x 1 metre of 9mm pipe1x 9mm tee connector1x 16-9mm tee connector1x 16-9mm cross connector 9mm pipe –...

hyalite.com.au

with 120w LED (2x 60w bars) similar to the above.

And go for dimensions of about 800x400, but I'm not sure I want to go that way, a square cabinet would be better

Would you mind if I ask, is this a unit or a house? is it a share house? has it got a yard? has it got a roof? has it got built in wardrobes? thinking of your options, but know ideas of what you have to start with..

 

[MM2K6]

in rentals I used to use a chest freezer, make them grow horizontally fit 2 plants 1 each end and on wheels easy to move..

 

[Hudo]

I remember reading about hempy buckets back in 2014 when I first started growing. Haven't seen people posting about them recently - but yeah, similar approach by bottom feeding.

Like @Aye Shroomer All my coco grows are Hempy pots. Last grow was 60litre hempy pots.

 

[Hudo]

in rentals I used to use a chest freezer, make them grow horizontally fit 2 plants 1 each end and on wheels easy to move..

When i rented I had a builders trailer in the garage and on inspection days id tow it to work or park it out the front

 

[ED-209]

If inspections are your only worry I'd just buy a grow tent and a gas lift bed. I've been able to pull everything down the night before an inspection and be up and running again within an hour of it ending.

Hah, now that's an idea. However, buying and moving a gas lift bed doesn't look fun for me.

Would you mind if I ask, is this a unit or a house? is it a share house? has it got a yard? has it got a roof? has it got built in wardrobes? thinking of your options, but know ideas of what you have to start with..

At the moment in a 1bdr flat with my partner. It's a very small space and all existing fixtures are in use. A tent would fit - but it would not be discrete. If I could keep it that simple I would.

I know there are plenty of ways to go about this - and appreciate the suggestions - however, the brief is definitely needing something a bit more flash. If I can re-use something I will, but very much think I'll custom build as per the CAD I've worked on.

I've had a look and found a few cabinet makers who cut veneer mdf to order which solves a major hurdle for me. The rest I can get from Sausage Barn and other places nearby.

The lights from Kingbright have been shipped - if they arrived before Feb, I might still get time to run a grow before I travel. Otherwise it'll be a work in progress for a bit with perhaps a test run

 

[Hudo]

The lights from Kingbright have been shipped - if they arrived before Feb, I might still get time to run a grow before I travel. Otherwise it'll be a work in progress for a bit with perhaps a test run

What did you get from King bride. I get heat sinks off them and found them to be the better of the chinesium componants. You can get heat sinks off them for Quantum boards for about 20 bucks v 140 here. Shipping is 70 bucks but if you buy 4 or more it's still 1/4 the price