Cheap Chinese LEDs - Compost bin grow box - A bit ghetto but so easy

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stage4

Well-Known Member
Hey Guys.
I am 2 weeks from harvesting my 1st ever grow, but I have been reading and learning a great deal from these forums and of course youtube.
This post stems from the holy japanese LED thread.
I wanted to show a really cheap but nice and easy LED setup.
I have started the seedlings in this new compost bin arrangement and only yesterday have transplanted into bigger pots.
I have used a MARS Hydro II 900W unit for my 1st grow and to be perfectly honest my OG and Critical Kush plants have budded quite well but are small.(yeah I have a lot to learn)

But hey this ghetto bin idea is pretty cool. So easy to get a compact grow area going with cheap LED`s.
With 2 square holes cut into the lid I have 2 different 100w units pushed into place. The heat sink and fan
is effectively on the outside of the grow room which helps with cooling the leds.

Compost bin - £32
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LED 1 - £10.62
This includes Driver 220v input. 20-40 vdc 3.0 amp output.
100W LED Chip
Color: Warm White(2800-3200k)
Cool White(6000-6500k)
Input Current:600MA
Voltage:32-35V
Lumen:9000-10000LM

12v transformer -£6.58
12v fan and heat sink cobbled from an old computer cpu fan
------------------------------------------
LED 2 - £3.03
100W LED
Voltage:AC 220V (No need power supply )
Dimmbale： NO
Color Rendering Index:Ra80
Color Temperature: White 6000-6500K,Warm White 2700-3200K
Lumens ?? dunno but very bright.
12v supply, fan and heat sink setup as above.
-----------------------------------------

Have a look at the photos.
Has anyone tried this ?
I have had this testing for 3 days without a problem and we have had unusual hot temps here in the uk.
My room must be around 30 deg C. and yes I will make all that wiring safe.
Could this do a whole grow ? possibly 3 plants. I would probably add another LED and also add a
fan for expelling stagnant air. again this could be mounted in the middle of the lid with only the fan blades inside
the grow area and the motor outside.
To water the plants the lid is removed and then the main bin is lifted and put aside.
(Don`t put it on your girlfriends side of the bed. they hate that.)
There is a panel to close the window/door when you tuck them in at night.
Please let me know if the links are crap or if you want any further info.

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I like it well done just a suggestion and I am a novice so don't take this too seriously but you may want to look at some reflective material for the inside of the bin like panda film or mylar to get the most out off you lights. I would probably stick with one or two plants at most as I think 3 plants would be too crowded once they start to get a little size. Good luck with the grow.
 
Thanks a lot for your reply, and also for the mylar/panda idea, i`ll defo be looking at that.
I`m gonna add another 2 led`s to the bin this weekend, it seems the plants really dig the intense light beams these led clusters give.

But yeah, 2 plants or 3 plants ?
the strains i`m growing (for my wife`s stage4) are purely for high CBD and low THC values.
If I get a good mothers from the 3 varieties, I am considering using clones for an SOG type grow with this bin, so might be able to get 6 pots with main colas that provide good stuff.

Loving this grow education.
 
Thanks mate.
Mounting and hanging any light system as you probably know is half the battle,
this lid makes it really easy.
ok maybe adjustable height would be better, man i can see mark II coming on.
 
I have had a total of 4 lights hanging for this last week, 16 hrs on 8 hrs off
No problems with overheating or anything.
The plant growth seems good here is 2 update pics showing 13 days growth.

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This is very interesting. I'm currently researching the best options for a small grow room but it will be at least 6 months before I can start it, so this may be a quick way to get something basic going. I can use it as a learning tool. Already have an unused compost bin that would be ideal, plus heatsinks and fans and 12 power supply so would just need to get some cheap cobs to try out.

As for your suggestion of making the lights height adjustable. It could be tricky so I'll probably just bring the plant nearer the light with some internal supports - sturdy cardboard box or whip up a wooden support from scrap wood.

Looking forward to seeing the next progress update.
 
Thanks Pyr0
yes mate it`s dead easy. If you have some spare fans, you could match 2 of them and have 1 blowing in and 1 blowing out this should give you a pretty good air exchange and keep things fresh.
You might not see it in the pics, what I have is a piece of galvanized plate that sits on 4 bricks, this is packed so it`s slightly tilted to let any feeding run off water collect in a shallow container under 1 corner of the galvanized plate.

I believe it is important to have a really dark night cycle, so check your setup to prevent the plants seeing any light during the night cycle

Yeah you also need a cheap electric socket timer to have your system come on and off to suit.
 
stage4 said:
I have had a total of 4 lights hanging for this last week, 16 hrs on 8 hrs off
No problems with overheating or anything.
The plant growth seems good here is 2 update pics showing 13 days growth.

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Click to expand...

Hi Stage4, any progress pics on this, would love to see 2 weeks of growth.

So you're using 4 leds now, what type did you add ? Mains or regular driver type ? What colour temp ?

I've ordered a bunch of stuff but it will probably take a good few weeks to arrive, hope to have something similar up and running by mid August.

I was transplanting my Early Skunk plants last week (growing in a cheap plastic 2' x 4' greenhouse) and I broke one of the lower branches on one, and it's a female, so managed to clone 3 plants from that one branch, they have just started to root, so will probably try them in the compost bin for my first attempt. I'm going to make my own activated carbon filter module for it to minimise the odours, will let you know how it goes. I will be locating this compost bin outdoors in a sheltered area behind my shed, so I may even add insulation so that the night time temp variations aren't too bad, as it causes elongated internodal stem growth, not what you need in such a confined space.

I'll probably try a few autos after that once I get it setup properly.

Good luck with your grow.
 
Hi Pyr0
Yeah the 4 led`s I have are running from 220v mains supply all wired into a single connector block so I guess wired in parallel.
Their light output
Color Rendering Index:Ra80
Color Temperature: 2 x White 6000-6500K, and 2 x Warm White 2700-3200K
not sure of the Lumens but I think over 10000 judging by some of the smaller 36v versions I have.
The plants have took off but the 7 I have in the bin are now competing for light.

I am making a new setup for my flower room based on these cheap led`s.
I will have a 24v pump pushing water through a rectangular tube and then through a spiral of copper tube,
cooled with a fan, and then flowing back into the pot.

The flat led`s will be attached to the rectangular tube with simple bent springy clips. no fuss with screws etc.
The tubes I have are 600 mm long and I am hoping to have a range of different colour temp led`s for the best mix of light.
Sorry if that doesn`t make sense but I will post some pics once completed.
The beauty of this system is a single source to cool the led`s and not a bunch of fans making a lot of noise,
not to mention all the wires all over the place.

Here`s some update pics of the plants growing in the bin.

Looking thru the door
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compare previous pics from earlier in this post using the beer can for size
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a view of the 7 plants from above the canopy.
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The led`s in the lid
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all 4 fans run from this psu
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I have topped all the plants to reduce the stem length, won`t be long now and they`ll be in flower.
They have now been a total of 5 weeks in the bin.

Good luck with your grow ! I look forward to your progress.
 
Some good info there mate. Also some good growth. Yeah that's too small a space for 7 plants. I reckon it would be good for 2.

Your cooling system sounds eh, cool.

What light schedule are you on and when are you switching to flowering hours. Remember they will continue to grow during flowering. I would keep the best looking 3 plants and move there was an rest somewhere else. Give them room to grow and breath.

I have a bunch of stuff ordered but will be a few weeks before I make any progress on my build.

I do have some early skunk growing outdoors in a cheap plastic 2ft x 4ft greenhouse. 4 plants but one of them got attacked by slugs early on and has never really recovered. Judging by the size of them there's no way you can keep 7 plants in that compost bin.

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hey Pyr0
just kidding around
nice35.jpg
:thumb:

I made my new water cooled thing and those 7 plants have moved from compost bin to flower room.
My post about it was moved from this forum to HERE
I now have a taller single plant in flower 12/12 cycle in the compost bin.
I wanna post a pic of it soon as I`m not sure what strain it is, and it has had a wierd kinda history so far.
The nugs are forming nicely but all sorts of wierd leaf problems.
 
If they were crap I would genuinely say so.
(sshhh.. there seems to be a divide between the `cree` lot and us cheapskates around here. Just saying.

I have had them running daily on a timer for 6 weeks now and no trouble.
The cpu heatsinks and fans are doing a good job. Hey 4 fans from 1 tiny psu can`t be bad.
The leds are screwed directly to the heatsink I did not use any thermal paste or anything.

I can`t tell you exactly what lumens they output but it`s seriously bright and the plants seem to thrive ok.
This was my 1st foray into these cheapo`s so I was`nt too concerned with colour matching and plant spectrum`s and all that.
Sorry I can`t be of more use. Check out the member Gree N He kicking ass with these cobs.
I just like to come up with easy engineering solutions, that`s what gives me a buzz, oh and grow some good shit too hahaa.

Thanks for stopping by lucy88
 
Forgot to mention.

You know, my old dad did the best he could for us kids.

We never actually lived in a ghetto ...



But once we could afford it we moved into one hahahaha
 
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