Vetsmoke85 First Grow Stealth Cabinet

VetSmoke85 said:
My thinking was to start with autos as the ruderalis makes them quite hardy I believe and they tend to grow smaller. Plus I can have the same light setup and cycle for the entire grow. Also don't need a big yield but thought with autos I could get a different strain grown every few months. I like some variety. Will definitely do a photo grow at some point though. Hoping to have many happy years of learning ahead.
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**Edited after rereading your set up
I think it depends on the autos - I have GDP blast autos that are very squat and that are... quickly pops out to measure... 190mm/ 7.5" (well trained). One of these would fit into your box but you'd likely smell them!

I also have northern lights blue glue autos and they wont stop going out and up. One of these would not fit unless trimmed repeatedly.

Lots of experienced members reading your post by the way (this doesn't include me, I'm a total newb!) - if you are thinking soil and organics, even just for good watering practices look at some of Emilya's links and posts.

Good luck with this,m I'm watching with interest - oh and watch out posting pics with the LEDs on... it seems to send people nuts!
 
VetSmoke85 said:
Plan is to grow a single plant and use LST as the vertical space is quite limiting. I've done tons of reading to prepare and feel I'm at the stage now where I need to just learn by doing. I'm sure I'll encounter some issues along the way but with help from knowledgeable people like you I will be able to enjoy the fruits of my labour. It's been fun so far.
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Have a look at @Katins grow as he's got cabinet growing down to an art form and he'll be more than happy to help if you get stuck...

carcass said:
CFL's do a decent job,but you need a lot of them-there was 8- 60w equivalent cfl's in here,6 overhead
and one on each side. I've been using an led for a month or so now(in my new ghetto box),and they definitely work better.


1748419
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Do you have a journal going as I'd like to follow as I enjoy grows like this...

Norris McSquirter said:
**Edited after rereading your set up
I think it depends on the autos - I have GDP blast autos that are very squat and that are... quickly pops out to measure... 190mm/ 7.5" (well trained). One of these would fit into your box but you'd likely smell them!

I also have northern lights blue glue autos and they wont stop going out and up. One of these would not fit unless trimmed repeatedly.

Lots of experienced members reading your post by the way (this doesn't include me, I'm a total newb!) - if you are thinking soil and organics, even just for good watering practices look at some of Emilya's links and posts.

Good luck with this,m I'm watching with interest - oh and watch out posting pics with the LEDs on... it seems to send people nuts!
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If it comes down to maxing an auto in regards to training I'd give @Bilbobudkin420 and @Preston9mm i shout among others but to many to tag.....


Look forward to following your adventures....
 
Norris McSquirter said:
oh and watch out posting pics with the LEDs on... it seems to send people nuts!
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Yes, I've asked for pics taken under white light on several occasions. The reason has been to see the coloration of the plant to help diagnose problems. The 'blurple' light common to many LEDs often hides the problem.
 
Old Salt said:
Yes, I've asked for pics taken under white light on several occasions. The reason has been to see the coloration of the plant to help diagnose problems. The 'blurple' light common to many LEDs often hides the problem.
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Old Salt said:
A good reason and to be fair to the forum and members (based on my limited experience) going nuts is an exaggeration... edit to: firmly request non blurple photos
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I'm gonna tag-a-long with your grow. I've done a few stealths over the years, and had many problems to overcome along the way. Luckily, you're in the right place for some troubleshooting tips! Best of luck!
 
VetSmoke85 said:
Also if I get a plant anything like that I'll be well chuffed. Looks awesome.
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Hmmm from the way you talk id say you were english? Welcome bro. Smeegol says you could do with some advice on maximizing the size of your autos?
 
Hi All,
Thanks for joining. As I'm a veteran I'll invite you to pull up a sandbag. Appreciate all the comments and recommendations. Feeling a little under pressure to pull this off now but I do love a challenge and I get the distinct impression you all want me to succeed too which is nice. I've chosen an auto strain that doesn't grow tall and will do the same with future grows. I've looked at some of @Katins threads which are great. I don't plan on topping her as from what I've read it can work with autos but can also be a disaster. I will start LST as soon as possible. Still waiting for the seed to sprout. Lol. Had a couple more bits of kit arrive today. A fan which I'll put in to keep air moving nicely around the cabinet. Also a lower profile LED panel and a couple of heatsink fans as I read these panels can get quite warm. Will keep my current light setup for now and switch this one in if absolutely needed or on the next grow. @Bilbobudkin420 when would you recommend starting the LST? I'm not expecting a huge yield but it would be great to get as much quality bud as I can with the setup I have right now. In the not too distant future I'll likely build a taller cabinet. Being an engineer that's the fun part and I can take more time on the next one. Get it spot on.
 

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Hi @VetSmoke85, a cabinet is my weak spot, so I'll tag along :)
Don't worry, you really do have enough space for a very decent harvest. I have no experience with autos yet as I found out that controling a photo height wise is as easy as snip it here, bend it there and have some patience. But I am sure you can easily squeeze 2 plants in there and then only a dead plant would hold you down from achieving at least a 50g harvest. And that is a conservatie number :)
I wonder what fan do you use for extraction? Also I would strongly suggest to make the intake active, it would greatly reduce the load on the extraction fan. I have a 120mm exhaust fan and an 80mm intake and still need to change the exhaust after each grow.
Do you plan on having the cabinet near the bed? If so, have you tried sleeping next to it. How is the noise? Mine would drive me nuts if I had to sleep right next to it :)
 
I like your fan choice,Vet-
I'm also using USB fans in my box- $2.00 each at the Dollar store (wtf??) 1 for circ. ,the other for exhaust.
(passive intake)

They're quiet,and they move a lot of air for their size(4")-They've been running 24/7 for 45 days,and show no signs of doing anything but their job.
I imagine they save a few cents in electricity,also.

I do have 2 spares on hand though,just in case...
 
The exhaust fan is a 120mm 5V fan. 53CFM I believe off the top of my head. Don't have my notebook to hand. Has 3 activated charcoal pads in front to filter the air. Seems to be pumping enough out right now. I put a a bag of weed in the cabinet and left it running for 10 mins or so and didn't notice any smell outside. I have some 120mm Artic PC 12V fans to upgrade if needed along the way. They were being a pain wiring up and wouldn't run for some reason that's why I ended up putting the USB fan in. I could also put a 2nd extractor in the top right if required. May do that anyway after this grow. We will see what bumps I hit along the way on this one. I have slept next to it with the fans going the last few nights and barely notice it. The Mrs didn't even notice it had been running.
 
Also just doing the one plant this time as the pot I'm using is 275mm wide. May try 2 plants in slightly smaller pots next time.
 

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I'm growing in the spare (junk) room,so I don't need to worry about the smell (no carbon filters)
The Mrs. is the only one that gripes about the smell,but after 44 years of marriage,I know she's only griping because "that's what she does"....

You probably know this,but those PC fans are polarity sensitive-so they won't run if wired backwards.
I like the modified air pot-should work well in your space
 
If stealth is a concern, I would rethink the charcoal pads... smell does really get intense towards the very end of grow. Also it tends to accumulate, since it is basically recirculating the same air in the room, so leaving some weed inside for 10 minutes, isn't the same as having a plant in late bloom for weeks. Trust me, learned it the hard way :) you can read in my first couple of journals. All the smell problems were solved with this latest filter with 30mm layer of charcoal.
 
Ha ha. Well they need something to moan at us about hey. Smell will be a big one for me so may need to upgrade during the grow. Yeah I wired them every way possible and made sure the DC adaptor had the correct output to run those fans but they just wouldn't go. Tried several adaptors as I thought one may be duff. Gave up on them in the end. Will keep them for the next build and try running them off a PC power supply. Just more cost I didn't want to incur this time around. If the first/2nd harvest offsets the cost of the build and grow then I'm happy. Yeah I read about chopping down a larger pot on of these sites and thought it sounded a good idea. Saved me a few inches if vertical space and lots of room for the roots.
 
Katins said:
If stealth is a concern, I would rethink the charcoal pads... smell does really get intense towards the very end of grow. Also it tends to accumulate, since it is basically recirculating the same air in the room, so leaving some weed inside for 10 minutes, isn't the same as having a plant in late bloom for weeks. Trust me, learned it the hard way :) you can read in my first couple of journals. All the smell problems were solved with this latest filter with 30mm layer of charcoal.
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Great thanks for the heads up. I'll get planning the upgrade sooner than later then. I was having a flick through your journals earlier trying to find what you did for the filter but haven't found it yet.
 
It was a DIY one. Very first post in the very first journal. The latest, commercial one was introduced in my last (completed) one.

Edit:

Here is the link to a separate thread about me making it :)DIY Carbon Filter

But please, save yourself money time and labour, and don't go this route :)
 
Katins said:
It was a DIY one. Very first post in the very first journal. The latest, commercial one was introduced in my last (completed) one.

Edit:

Here is the link to a separate thread about me making it :)DIY Carbon Filter

But please, save yourself money time and labour, and don't go this route :)
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So you'd recommend just buying a manufactured one? I was thinking of that but was worried it would take up too much space and be overkill.
 
VetSmoke85 said:
So you'd recommend just buying a manufactured one? I was thinking of that but was worried it would take up too much space and be overkill.
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Exactly, just buy one. They go cheap. Mine cost me like 30 bucks including (local) shipping. The hard part was getting a mount for it. Lucky I have a friend who runs a workshop.
I am not sure regarding posting a link here, but if it's illegal, the will gladly remove it :) check filter-shop24.de to see how they look. But you can find them a bit cheaper.
And trust me, when it comes to a filter, there is no overkill :)
 
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