New grow set up advice...

[ellz]

Greetings GWE community! I am new here and this is my first post but I have grown before and hopefully can share my knowledge with the community while learning a bit more myself. I am currently working on a cabinet grow system that is 48"W x 24"D x 78"H and is housed inside a locking storage cabinet and uses a DWC bubbler setup with a 600W HPS/MH light. I was hoping to get started on this already but we are in the process of moving so I figured while I am waiting on that I should try to get all the info I need ahead of time. Using the tutorial for DWC bubblers on GWE, I have all of that figured out (I think anyway) but my main question really is about the exhaust fan. I was wanting input on whether I should set it up as a push or a pull for the light. First, a bit about my system:

Light: HydroPlanet 600W HPS/MH rectangle hood (enclosed) with 6 inch ducts on either side
Carbon Filter: iPower 6" x 16" 1050+ IAV canister with 6 inch outlet
Fan: Vivosun 6" 390CFM with speed control
Ducting: All 6"

My thought initially is to start with the carbon filter, run a duct section to the fan then to the light and from the light to the exhaust vent (standard dryer vent found on a house). However, I wanted to know if anyone felt it may be better to put the fan on the exhaust side of the light and have it act as a puller?

In addition to this question, I had one more regarding intake air. I was hoping to make this cabinet as air tight as possible to avoid any major smell issues. The cabinet itself has several holes for shelving and other things that I plan on taping up with duct tape because I am putting two computer fans at the bottom of the cabinet to draw air in. These fans each move about 110CFM each so total intake air would be 220CFM while the exhaust airflow would be 390CFM thus creating a vacuum that has more air leaving than coming in. Am I right in this theory or am I completely off? On a side note, I also will be running two lower speed fans at the very top of the cabinet where I plan on putting the ballast and running my wires. This area however will be separated by a shelf in the cabinet. I am going to place it at its highest level (about 12" below the top and seal it off as best I can leaving me with about 44 cu. ft. of grow space.

In case you were wondering why I am growing in a cabinet...because it is much more secure than a grow tent (IE: locking doors, steel construction). Ideally I would use a tent for the extra space but we live in a subdivision where the houses are right next to each other and you never know who may come along and get grabby!

I can provide further details if needed but I think I have rambled on enough for my first post. Thanks in advance for any help you can give! Happy growing!

[OzBud]

If you're running the carbon filter before the light I would suggest pushing the air out, that way if there's any leaks in the ventilation system the small amount of air will be pushed back into the grow space. If you pull air and there's a leak at one of the joins around the light unfiltered air will be pulled out of your grow space causing smell in the room it is in.
If you've got completely air tight seals you can do whatever works better for you.

As for the intakes yes, you want less air going in than going out to create negative pressure to make sure no air/smell is escaping without being filtered.

[OzBud]

One, maybe two plants max in that size space. You may need to do some plant training to keep the height under control depending on what strains you choose.

[OzBud]

You'd probably have better results training one plant to grow flat and wide to fill that space or two if you want to decrease veg time a bit but still fill the entire space.

[Zativa]

There will be restrictions somewhere in your flow path, are any of them obvious to you now? Fans tend to do better at pushing into a restriction than they do at pulling air through tight spots. It takes a lot more mechanical power to pull even a tiny vacuum than it does to build up a bit of pressure. So probably put your air moving devices at the intake end. You may need to seal the door(s) with soft foam weatherstrip to prevent odor leaks. Adding a second fan at the opposite end to make it a push-pull system can be plan B if your first setup winds up a bit underpowered.

Also, the CFM ratings on fans are specified in free air. As soon as they are asked to create vacuum or pressure, those numbers become meaningless. The fan will spin, but how much air actually gets moved is difficult to estimate or calculate. Plan on a few cycles of trial and error, and do what works rather than what makes sense. Lastly, Amazon carries fans pre-installed in metal air ducts. Mine cost about $20 and is branded 'Vivosun', with identical items under different names also listed for both 4 inch and 6 inch ducting. 4 inchers work well with those dryer hoses. Get a roll of the sticky aluminum grade 'duct tape' which is much stronger and more permanent than the cloth stuff.

[ellz]

Thanks all for the replies! I think most likely I will put the fan before the light, after the carbon filter. So basically the order of flow would be carbon filter to fan to light to exhaust. I also plan on sealing all of the doors and the top shelf with rubber weatherstripping so that the cabinet is as air tight as possible. I think I will first start with one of the computer fans instead of both of them and see how the air flow goes with that setup. The good thing is that even if I add both, I could always block off one of them and disconnect the fan power so that only one is running. I just know that our daytime temps in summer reach 100+ plus so I am thinking I may need both for cooling purposes at that time. Unfortunately, temperature management may be my biggest challenge of all since we have 30-40 degree swings from day to night temps in the summer. I live in western Colorado so it's almost like a desert.

[ellz]

I have a number of options with this cabinet, one of which being that I can remove all of the shelves and give myself a total of 52 cu. feet versus 44 mentioned earlier (with the top shelf installed). Considering that was only going to hold the ballast and have wiring coming out of it, I could most likely just mount the ballast on the top of the cabinet and get rid of the shelf altogether. The only drawback to that is that I would need to hang my light and everything else from the top of the cabinet instead of from the top shelf. I know the shelves are rated for 400lbs of weight each but I have no idea about the top of the cabinet. I would imagine any increase in cubic foot would be smart, but then again the top may sag under the weight of the light, fan and carbon filter. Decisions, decisions.

I was already planning on some intense training to keep the height down and will likely play with different options based on the plants. Most of my seeds are bag seed but I do have some really nice seeds from various strains I have bought in the Denver area. I will be using the bag seed first since I don't mind making mistakes with that and hopefully learn enough from that grow to be ready to grow the good seeds. I also plan on posting photos of all of this very soon in case anyone was interested in this type of setup, but I have to wait until we move to begin that project. Hopefully, if all goes well, I will be getting started in the beginning of June.

[Zativa]

In prior years (before investing in LED grow lights) I found it helped to move the HID lamp ballasts outside my grow space so they could dissipate heat somewhere else. If you are going to need fans, ducts, etc. to keep your cabinet cool, avoid generating any extra heat in there to begin with.

[ellz]

That is a good idea OzBud...using a shelf on top of the cabinet to reinforce it. The light hood weighs about 15 lbs or less if I had to guess. This is the 1000w version of the setup I have (I have the 600W ballast and bulbs but the hood is the exact same). https://www.amazon.com/HydroplanetTM...net+light+hood

[ellz]

Thank you both for your replies on this.

[ellz]

This is the cabinet I am using for my grow setup: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[OzBud]

Should do pretty good. I did a bit of a DIY wooden cupboard conversion last grow pretty much the same size. Wasn't the best setup but I had all the bits laying around and it worked out well despite having my ballast and everything on the reinforced top shelf and having more air coming in than going out.
Went out and bought a completely new setup and did it all properly this grow though.

[ellz]

Here is everything I bought for inside the cabinet (besides the DWC system):

Inside the cabinet components:
Power strip/surge suppresion: Belkin 12 outlet, 8 foot cord https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Grow lighting: Hydroplanet 600W HPS/MH Grow light set with hood (only have a link for the 400W version now....600W kit is sold out):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019JATS7W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ventilation:
Vivosun 6in 390CFM inline fan https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Carbon filter:
iPower 1050IAV 6" x 16" filter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Air ducting:
6" dryer vent ducting https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Air vent:
Simple Lambro wall cap like on a house https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cooling fans for ballast area x2: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
With covers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(May not be necessary)

Cooling fans for grow area x2:
110 CFM each AC powered computer fans https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
With covers:
Dust covers and darkening https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Internal air circulation:
2x Clip on fans https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Temperature monitoring:
Indoor/Outdoor temperature/hygro gauge https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Fan cover shields (must be bent):
Galvanized sheets that will protect the fans from water or spills and shade light https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Reflective wall covering: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
With reflective tape: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wire grommets: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Spill protection: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am not trying to advertise Amazon by any means , but that is where I happened to buy everything for this cabinet so the links are more for reference than anything.

[OzBud]

you can post links to whatever you like here as long as you have no financial interest in the company or products being sold.
Some other forums don't like people posting links

[ellz]

Just wanted to update the post to show the cabinet I am using and how the inside grow space looks with all of the shelving removed...

[OzBud]

looks like it'll do well

[ellz]

Thanks. Fingers crossed.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Hello ellz. Looks like you have done your homework. Looks great.Good Luck. PEACE D.A.A.S.69

[ellz]

Thank you! I will certainly keep this post updated as I go along.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Great Bro.

[ellz]

It's been a while since I was last on here but I wanted to update my post with some pictures of my cabinet so far (it is almost done but I am waiting on one more part to come in)...

[ellz]

Thanks.

[Aloner]

Very cool

[ellz]

Thanks.

[ellz]

I am ready to plant my seeds now! YAY!!!!!

[ellz]

LOL...now I have lost power to my garage. Not sure why...didn't overload the circuit but I turned off the surge strip and all the power turned off with it. The joys of owning a home. Good thing it was at the beginning and not the middle!

[ellz]

Yeah. A breaker was tripped on an outside outlet. Not sure why. It ran fine without any issues up until I tried turning off the surge strip and I had done that a number of times without issue earlier as well so who knows what that was all about! LOL.