My goals:
(1) For risk management, 1 plant at a time (or at most one in bloom plus a seedling)
(2) Max yield in shortest time
(3) Max stealth. Inconspicuous and hiding in plain sight. Something a nosy relative or friend would never think to open.
(4) Off the shelf components where possible, as little fabrication as possible
(5) Manageable heat without elaborate duct fans and suspicious dryer vent hose
(6) Low electrical draw
(7) Odor control
(8) Portable, can easily take the whole operation over to a friends house if needed to "babysit" while away
(9) Supply all my personal use, never have to buy again
I succeeded in all except (7). I still have difficulty when getting close to harvest time and need to setup a couple small O3 gens in and around the room which still doesn't always do the trick. Cost was not too much of a concern. I look at it as I could easily spend several hundred to a grand in a year on ganj, so I was willing to spend to permanently remove this expense. For max stealth and portability, I decided to go with a PC grow.
The box:
I went with a "gaming PC" due to the extra wide size of the chassis. Further, this one is divided into two vertical chambers, a thinner one for the wiring and larger one for the PC components. This way I could create an air handling chamber built in without the ridiculous dryer vent hose I see some PC growers use. To me that completely destroys the stealth of a PC grow to have a suspicious dryer hose coming out of it!
The front:
The flash washed out the 4 temp readings in the top left, but that is a 4 fan controller with 4 temperature probes with an external read out, something common in a gaming PC that might be "overclocked". The probes can actually be placed anywhere in the box, they are not connected to the fans. I have one at the canopy, one just below the canopy, one near the exhaust, and one near the intake so I can get a complete temp picture of the inside. The fan controllers control the main exhaust, an input fan, and two internal fans for air movement inside. I can see and adjust temps without even opening the box.
The back:
Notice there are no suspicious extra power cords or anything out of the ordinary for a PC. I tapped AC off the real computer power supply you see in the lower left, that also powers some of the DC electronics inside. Notice the USB and monitor ports. That is a real but nonfunctional motherboard installed!
The air handler and electronics chamber:
In the upper left are 4 very powerful Delta computer fans. These are not your typical computer fans and have some serious draw power that rivals duct fans. I ganged 4 of them for extra pull and reliability. With 4 working together, I can run them each at a lower speed for less noise and a longer lifetime. Notice the computer fan duct connected to them. I was surprised to find such a thing, but PC gamers use them to cool their machines sometimes. On the other end of the duct is a homemade carbon filter made from a home depot atrium drain and a panty hose stocking filled with charcoal. There are power strips and a small O3 generator that doses the air right before it exhausts.
The grow chamber:
Mylar lining with (2) 90 watt 6 band UFOs. I use an LST approach, using coat hanger hooks and binder clips to tie down any limb that grows too high. I've tried small varieties like Blueberry and Low Rider but they actually do NOT fill up this chamber well and produce smaller than optimal yields. White widow works great and at full bloom will be a sea of green busting out when you open the door. The only problem with White Widow is the strong smell. I start at 12/12 and use a 2G smartpot to keep it small and finish fast. Currently on my 5th grow with 1-4 ounce yields each, typically done in 12 weeks or less. In the past, there has not been enough room for even another seedling. My current grow is having some self inflicted nute issues which is why I got another seedling going. I don't expect this one to be big.
(1) For risk management, 1 plant at a time (or at most one in bloom plus a seedling)
(2) Max yield in shortest time
(3) Max stealth. Inconspicuous and hiding in plain sight. Something a nosy relative or friend would never think to open.
(4) Off the shelf components where possible, as little fabrication as possible
(5) Manageable heat without elaborate duct fans and suspicious dryer vent hose
(6) Low electrical draw
(7) Odor control
(8) Portable, can easily take the whole operation over to a friends house if needed to "babysit" while away
(9) Supply all my personal use, never have to buy again
I succeeded in all except (7). I still have difficulty when getting close to harvest time and need to setup a couple small O3 gens in and around the room which still doesn't always do the trick. Cost was not too much of a concern. I look at it as I could easily spend several hundred to a grand in a year on ganj, so I was willing to spend to permanently remove this expense. For max stealth and portability, I decided to go with a PC grow.
The box:
I went with a "gaming PC" due to the extra wide size of the chassis. Further, this one is divided into two vertical chambers, a thinner one for the wiring and larger one for the PC components. This way I could create an air handling chamber built in without the ridiculous dryer vent hose I see some PC growers use. To me that completely destroys the stealth of a PC grow to have a suspicious dryer hose coming out of it!
The front:
The flash washed out the 4 temp readings in the top left, but that is a 4 fan controller with 4 temperature probes with an external read out, something common in a gaming PC that might be "overclocked". The probes can actually be placed anywhere in the box, they are not connected to the fans. I have one at the canopy, one just below the canopy, one near the exhaust, and one near the intake so I can get a complete temp picture of the inside. The fan controllers control the main exhaust, an input fan, and two internal fans for air movement inside. I can see and adjust temps without even opening the box.
The back:
Notice there are no suspicious extra power cords or anything out of the ordinary for a PC. I tapped AC off the real computer power supply you see in the lower left, that also powers some of the DC electronics inside. Notice the USB and monitor ports. That is a real but nonfunctional motherboard installed!
The air handler and electronics chamber:
In the upper left are 4 very powerful Delta computer fans. These are not your typical computer fans and have some serious draw power that rivals duct fans. I ganged 4 of them for extra pull and reliability. With 4 working together, I can run them each at a lower speed for less noise and a longer lifetime. Notice the computer fan duct connected to them. I was surprised to find such a thing, but PC gamers use them to cool their machines sometimes. On the other end of the duct is a homemade carbon filter made from a home depot atrium drain and a panty hose stocking filled with charcoal. There are power strips and a small O3 generator that doses the air right before it exhausts.
The grow chamber:
Mylar lining with (2) 90 watt 6 band UFOs. I use an LST approach, using coat hanger hooks and binder clips to tie down any limb that grows too high. I've tried small varieties like Blueberry and Low Rider but they actually do NOT fill up this chamber well and produce smaller than optimal yields. White widow works great and at full bloom will be a sea of green busting out when you open the door. The only problem with White Widow is the strong smell. I start at 12/12 and use a 2G smartpot to keep it small and finish fast. Currently on my 5th grow with 1-4 ounce yields each, typically done in 12 weeks or less. In the past, there has not been enough room for even another seedling. My current grow is having some self inflicted nute issues which is why I got another seedling going. I don't expect this one to be big.
