Sup all! While browsing my local CL I came across a skilled carpenter/electrician. Im going to have him build me a custom grow cab, but I want to get it right the first time. OK so this is the criteria i wanted included in the cab... tell me what other features I need to add...

the size will be about 27inx27inx42in
inside will be painted w/ reflective paint
a light socket and fan will be installed
intake at bottom, exhaust at top w/ incorporated fan
????? what else is a good idea to incorporate into my grow cab?????
any suggestions would be much appreciated

also, im not going to have an intake fan this time around, instead I will be hooking up a heater because its pretty cold in my house...

over 20 views but no replies...
somebody has to have some input

Because that is not really a super feasible height for cannabis and there already are premade tents and cabinets with those exact dimensions. That's why no replies.

Yeah i know its not that tall, but it is still feasible to grow MJ in something that size, in fact it has been done in smaller areas. I was just wonderin if theres anything else i should include in the cabinet design, regardless of size its still a grow cab...

Im getting this thing custom built by a carpenter/electrician and I only get one chance at having it built, so I was just wondering if anybody had some useful ideas that has used a grow cab previously, thats all...

as for the premade cabinets and tents, i know they're out there man, but im looking to create something more advanced/creative/original

well how bout getting a thermostatic control for the fan so you could set the exact temp you require. these are available quite cheaply but are generally for 3 speed fans. also if you duct your exhaust through the top of the cab, build a small box around the exhaust, (on top ofthe cab) then secure a mesh screen about an inch away from the bottom of the box, cover the mesh with some nylon stockings and then just pour some active carbon (available at any petstore) into the box, once you've got about 3 inches of carbon over the mesh voila effective odour control

Shouldn't really need an intake fan, just the exhaust fan and some intake holes in the back wall to bring fresh air in. Dont forget the cooling fan for the light if you have that type, those lil 4in inline duct fans (home depot $20) work surprizingly well for there size and wiring consists of matching 3 wires together so very simple. As for anything else inside what kind of system is it gonna be? E&F or drip or?

Is there a height and width restriction where you intend to put it? If you have more space I would consider going a shade bigger. Ever heard someone say they wish they had built it smaller? Prob not. I've done all kinds of micro grows born from necessity and always seemed more a pain in the ass to find the space to equip it properly. The one I use now is 2x4x6.5 and seems to work really well. The 8 sq ft seems more than adequate floor space and the height allows the use of an HID and enough space left for a decent canopy as well as space for your eqip. Dont get me wrong, I'm a serious advocate for personal grows by any means avail to you and having a cash of nugs when you wan't it is real nice. But just imagine how you would feel if you ran into a buddy while showing off your 3oz bounty and he shows his 7 oz bounty from just a tiny bit more space. Or worse, you lose or get an oz ripped off and now you find yourself going without while you rush to rock off some more. All i'm saying is make efficient use of ALL the space available to you because you can always grow less in a bigger space but not the other way around. Just don't sacrifice avail space for "advanced/creative/original" because unless you come up with new technology and a totally unheard of thing to grow in then there is nothing "advanced, creative or original" about a cabinet grow. The main focus should be efficiency to obtain optimum quality and yield in the avail space. Be creative in the way that you hide it or original in the unique place you put it. As far as equip goes, Intense light, adequate air- intake/exhaust/ recirc, climate controler, odor control, Co2 is still the common place advancements available, that I know of anyways. Tiny enviros just makes using some of these elements very difficult if not impossible. Now if your dimensions are your avail space then belay this reply and certainly make it happen with what you have and as always- best of luck PS What means did you plan on thermostic controlled heat durring lights out in such a small space if cold enough in room to worry about?

Thanks to all who replied. I will definitely be building my own filter, thanks sweetgreenbuds

I dont know what the best hydro setup would be to utilize as much free growing space as possible. right now i plan on going DWC but the 2+gal reservoir will take up valued space for the plants height.

cannakeeper , appreciate your input, as you have done what I am trying to do before. Its nice to have somebody thats concerned for his fellow smokers yeilds, I will deff make the box bigger after reading your reply. Im not gunna get bigger than 6 sq feet floorspace, but height-wise I'd say i could go 4 1/2 to 5 feet, the cabs gunna be more expensive now, but its worth the space. For heating the cab i was gunna use a space heater with exact temp controls
new dimensions of the cab; 2'x3'x5'

you might as well change your construction to a bigger cab.

yeah im thinkin closet size cab, but i dunno? haha i dont even have a closet
I may just stick w/ the under 5ft cab and start to flower at about 20", i dunno for sure.
Im still a noob w/ no experience so this will be a wonderfully interesting experience.

No prob bro, I'd like to see nugs piled on the sides of streets like snow piles so everyone... gro gro gro. I'm gonna FINALLY post some pics of mine in a few mins in a hydro thread in this section.

kingsloth, you can do a lot with a little. check out my grow. my dimensions are something like 27" x 19 1/2 x 20". i can't exaclty remember. and this is my first grow, so i don't know what the yield is gonna be.

you can always go ebb & flow and put the res underneath the grow cab on some legs.

what kinda light you going with? all i saw was light socket. you're gonna need more than one if you are running CFLs.

make sure to get a thermometer.

depending on your size get an appropriate fan/fans. make passive intakes that double your the total size of your exhaust fans.

think about any luxuries you might want. it's yours. you are gonna be using it.

you can put "invisible" hinges on it. not sure if those are the name, but the ones that you can access from the outside. you can put a biometric fingerprint reader on it. you can put a webcam in it and monitor from your phone (with the right equipment and software). so really the sky is the limit. use your imagination and have fun with it.

-shake

__________________
"happy trees"

troubleshooting form

"some of my sweets be tight and some of my sweets be fucked up, but all of my sweets gon' blow so killa smoke gets sucked up..." -Bun B

"But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." -Deceleration of Independence

my 48" height works quite well.

Go DWC not Ebb & Flow. DWC requires less height.

how does DWC use that much more height? is basically the same. except you have one growing in the res, and one, with the tray sitting right on top, no?

-shake

__________________
"happy trees"

troubleshooting form

"some of my sweets be tight and some of my sweets be fucked up, but all of my sweets gon' blow so killa smoke gets sucked up..." -Bun B

"But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." -Deceleration of Independence

Ebb & Flow (Flood and drain) requires the table you are "Flooding" to be on top or above the resevoir. That takes up valuable space.

In 48" height every inch counts.

With DWC the plants are right in the resevoir removing any ned for a table on top of it hence saving space. You can even get rubbermaid containers that are shorter and wider rather than taller and deeper.

Sounds fun. I've been thinking about a cab grow in addition to my regular grow room.

2 concerns i have:

1: is this carpenter guy cool? Does he know what he's building this for?

2: The webcam/online monitoring is NOT a good idea. It's not hard to find the IP address of a live video stream. Even if you keep it to yourself, that's not something you want lingering around the net. You might as well do it on your front lawn. (i know the webcam was just a casual suggestion, but don't do it.)

otherwise, have fun!
Skeet.

you can encrypt it,vpn or SSH in. you can hide it, trust me. it's not like i suggested leaving a running video feed going. there are ways to do it.

i understand your point. but 48" is plenty of vertical space. you can set the tray right on top of the res. or put it under the legs of the cab, in necessary.

i've got 6 plants in a box 25" tall. they are doing just fine. granted it's soil. they would be fine in either DWC or ebb & flow.

i'm not arguing, but the loss of space is minimal! you can use the same low profile rubbermaid tub for the res.

just my opinion. he'd be better off going with a sea of green as opposed to a couple of large plants. if he went with e & f he could use part of the cab as a veg/clone area. that's what i would do.

kingsloth, what are you wanting to accomplish with your setup? how much are you wanting to yield, how often?


-shake

__________________
"happy trees"

troubleshooting form

"some of my sweets be tight and some of my sweets be fucked up, but all of my sweets gon' blow so killa smoke gets sucked up..." -Bun B

"But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." -Deceleration of Independence

At first, judging by the first reply in the post, I thought i wasnt going to get much helpful advice, but I am very pleased with the feedback and with cannabis.com

Im deff gunna go w/ DWC setup w/ around 6 plants SoG style. I would like to yeild ATLEAST 3oz of some FIRE meds every harvest(can I do this in 3 months
?), but Im not getting my hopes up...

I figure I could limit myself to smoking 1oz per month, about a G a day should do me fine... I could deff smoke more, but only if my yeilds permit me too.
Thanks again for everybodies responses to my thread, except for that first response, that didnt help whatsoever...
Stay High,
Kingsloth

Oh and the carpenter/electrician thats building the cab knows its for hydroponics, he just doesnt know what I'll be growing, hope he doesnt catch on... it may not be a prob though cause I plan on getting my authorization for cultivating MJ right before i start, the added expense is really going to kill my wallet though...

Maybe this might help you out a little bit. I built a box similar to what you're talking about but posted it on another site. I made it step by step so it's easy to understand. It's fairly compact so I ScrOG it and have been yielding 5.5oz per plant so far.

Grow box
Grow Box Construction - 420 Magazine

Here's the thread of my grows using the box.
Stratlogic's Hydro Closet ScrOG Grow - 420 Magazine

Here's the hydro bucket I made that I use with the box.
Hydro Bucket Construction - 420 Magazine

Hopefully this helps out or points you in the right direction.