Off-the-shelf grow cabinets anyone ?

[Gazza2001au]

none of these chambers will come ready to rock and roll u will need to install all the gear one of my LHS use to sell a small alloy chamber with film,complete light,option of flood and drain or aeroponics both good up to 6 plants, nutrients,fans etc..... $450 only thing needed was instructions u can check out this guy of corse hydro shops charge a shit load but when u buy a propper designed chamber ur paying for all the problems weeded out

http://www.hydrocentre.com.au/catalogue/li.../lightcat10.pdf

[pipeman]

the prices on that link were $500-$600 for the light and hydro system only. The cabinet is an extra $450 on top and its less than half the size of the home box.

[420Downunder]

I've ordered a home box from ebay (can't have too many flower rooms , it's out of stock but the seller has plenty more on the boat already on the way over, eta 10 days. It's the best design I've seen for the price and as Pipeman said it's twice the size of others at that price range.

[EntyMan]

I ended up building my own wardrobe/cupboard from scratch using wood so that it looks like a normal cupboard from outside. I covered the bottom half on the inside with off-white Colourbond to fireproof it.

 

Dimensions are 1200W x 700D x 2000H (in mm).

 

Building your own cupboard from scratch is a fair bit of work (total labour of nearly a week for me, spread over two months), and does cost some money, though less than a bought one. But you learn a shit load and can customise it exactly to your requirements.

 

I run a 400 watt HPS, with a good quality 125mm fan sucking air in a hole in the floor and blowing it out a hole in the top (the fan is at the top). The cupboard is raised 50mm of the ground on wood strips placed at the front and sides to allow air to get in underneath at the back.

 

The inlet and outlet vents are relatively easy to lightproof. The main problems are making lightproof doors, and running the power cable in without attracting attention.

 

Fan noise is a minor issue, but that can be controlled relatively easily by choosing the right sized fan, and mounting it properly. You can also wire in a standard electronic light dimmer/fan speed controller to reduce the speed of your exhaust fan if it is too big or noisy. Check with the fan supplier, but most fans can have their speed reduced this way by 25-30% without any problems. Sometimes it is better to get a slightly larger fan than you need and reduce its speed by 10-20% with a controller, because they can be quieter than a smaller fan running at full speed while still moving the same amount of air.

 

Don't wire the fan controller up if you don't know what you are doing with electricity. Get someone qualified to do it.

 

I would suggest that a 600 watt light is too large for a growing space the same size as mine, and it will cause heat problems during summer. I have no problems supplying myself with all the personal I need using a 400 watt, and they use a lot less power too.

 

The HydroMasta Homebox does look good.

Edited August 6, 2006 by EntyMan

[Gazza2001au]

the reason i posted that link pipeman was because everyone was talking about the light proof box all he needs is whats in that link a newbie first starting out will find our hobby alot more interesting and less frustraiting buying a ready to go kit complete if they were to try and build one i reckon they'd give up after a couple of months and dead plants

[pipeman]

dunno gaz I think hydro systems are pretty easy to build the trick is getting a bit of experience under the belt to learn how to use it properly. My thinking is there is no value in building your own cabinet, but there is value in building your own hydro system because if you look into how to build it yourself you will get a better understanding of your setup. and besides, like you said yourself those prices are a ripoff if you buy the parts you can probably do it for half that.

[Gazza2001au]

yeah i ment rip off for me to buy as i know how to grow but its the price a newbie needs to pay i reckon it could be a desaster for someone with no growing experience to design and build there own grow chamber from scrach than learn how to grow on top of that as someone mentioned before the grow chambers on www.grow.com.au i knew a bloke who used the shitty 6 fluro box think it was called the monster chamber or something the instructions that come with it showed every little detail on how to use the system and showed every step of growing the plants not just a general guide on how to grow but actual pictures and diagrams and shit showing the steps i reckon that booklet based on that model was pretty good for someone starting out

[Gruntus]

I'm experienced with outdoor growing but a newbie at hydro (ok, I once used a gro-lux tube in an old wardrobe once but had to move interstate before much happened). Rip-off is relative to your experience. I'd be happy to pay for a well-designed solution so that I can concentrate on the growing itself (and be growing sooner). The cost will surely be more than the sum of the components - you're paying for someone to solve problems, prepare prototypes, set up for consistent production, etc. I'm actually hoping more than a few vendors do provide off-the-shelf kits so that I'll be able to make price & feature comparisions.

 

That said, if anyone can recommend reliable hydro shops in or near Adelaide city (postcode 5000) I'd appreciate the link or PM.

 

Oh, and if there's anyone out there at grow.com.au please feel free to join in..

[Gazza2001au]

give them a call (grow australia) they will send u out a booklet with all prices and grow chambers/systems good luck mate hope to see a grow diary from ya soon

[thc24]

also try the yellow pages last time i looked there was an advert for custom boxes tailor made. Under grow rooms small ad but dont know the materials more than likley cool room pannels or plain old Panda film.

 

 

Or just build your own, if you can use a hack saw and measureing tape and know the light you will be using.