New here, 2x3x3 Cab [Complete] [480w SolStrips]

Hey everyone!

Was a member of the original OG before the long sleep. Can’t remember what my username was but alas, I’m here as my current handle that I use almost everywhere.

So here’s my short introduction. I’ve got a few grows under my belt now, kind of have an idea of what i’m doing. Always up for some constructive criticism and suggestions :slight_smile: Member of a few other sites but I feel there’s always room for more lol. Anyways, onto the goods.

So, as Title states, building a 2’ x 3’ x 3’ cab, well most of it’s built already. Just got a few things left to figure out.
QUICK SPECS:
AREA
6sqft cab
18 Cubic Ft
Lighting
Planned 250-350w of SolStrips (Max of 480w Possible)
Ventilation
Ac Infinity T4 Cloudline PWM DC Fan ~150cfm w/ temperature probe and programmable thermostat.

Scrapped the following because I decided to splurge and get a nicer fan.
2x Artic F12 120mm Fans
1x Random Squirrel fan

Growing Medium
Probably going to do COCO in fabric pots or something similar.

So, I scrapped a sample bar from a local vape shop that shut down. It was 8’ long, so I cut it down to 3’ and added some jankity legs so I wouldn’t have to bend over.


Made a floor, the OCD in me is upset I didn’t center the two supports but because i’m working with scrap I just gotta deal with it. Added some paneling to the back, and we almost have a complete space.

So for ventilation I’m using two 120mm fans, one at each end of the “hump” blowing out. I read somewhere that fans work better “sucking” so that was my thought process here.

This is a squirrel fan I salvaged from a tower heater that no longer functioned properly (Heating element burnt the wiring up) My theory is that this will help blow air into the exhaust portion of where ya’ll saw the “hump” I have no idea the CFM, but I’m hoping it’ll work as intended lol. The two 120mm fans by themselves cooled almost 200w of PLL bulbs in a mini fridge I built so i’m thinking with the extra space, it should be fine. Not pictured, is 8x 1 1/4" PVC Elbows painted flat black for intakes. I’ll get a picture of that up soon.

For lighting, I’ve ordered and received 10x 3500k SolStrips and the blue is the cab space, the yellow is my proposed strip layout. @Baudelaire hasn’t officially announced it yet, but i’m getting some heat sinks that are pre-drilled for the strips, should make for an easy build. Each strip is rated for max 48w, of course for my purposes 480w would be overkill, it’ll be more efficient to run them at 25-35w per strip.

Next steps,

  • Paint all interior surfaces flat white.
  • Figure out what to do for a door.
  • Build Lighting fixture
  • Install outlets inside the space and make certain all wiring is clean
  • Lightproof cracks and seams. (caulking)

Would a fabric “blackout” curtain work? has anyone done this? I was thinking about putting metal strips along the edges and sewing some magnets into the fabric, quick release style. Stealth isn’t a concern.

  • Eventually I’ll automate most of the mundane things, I have all the sensors/pumps to make an arduino powered grow room controller.

Thanks for stopping by, leave me some feedback! Hopefully this was a fun first post from me, to ya’ll!

Jelly

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Sounds like a killer cabinet setup. Running your 10 strips at 250-350w should deliver a photon flood on 6 s.f. I built a similar setup for a client that uses a Mean Well HLG-240 driver (about 280w at full power) with great results.

Those heatsinks are in stock whenever you’re ready for them. Just add some 1-inch angle aluminum and you’re in business.

-b420

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@Baudelaire I’ve sent an email, payment is waiting for ya.

Couldn’t sleep so I did some painting lol

Have 5 seedlings and 1 waiting to break the surface.

2x Super Silver Haze (breeder unknown)
3 bag seed,
1 nirvana white widow auto.

Hope to have some surprises from the bag seed as some of them came from pretty good bags lol

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Hey Jelly!

Really like the design so far. Can’t wait to see it be a mean bud producing machine… I too am looking into the solstrips, they look great! Following along to see your progress friend.

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looks amazing dude. i wanna build a cab now. but im thinking about just turning my big pantry into one. its got a 2x3 base but its like 7 feet tall with several levels for seedlings, teens and moms! seems like fun.

also under those solstrips i bet a nice notill bed would do you amazing!!

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Welcome @Jellypowered, I’m pretty sure I recognise your name from ICMag. That’s a whole lot of light for a 2x2, can’t wait to see what comes out of there. :popcorn: :movie_camera:

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This is an interesting fan arrangement. I have tried a similar arrangement before I found that the CFM differential between the two fans caused the weaker one to burn up. Basically, the strong fan pulled the weaker one, rather than one boosting the other. I’d focus on balancing the total CFM at input and output, with single identical fans at each point. Otherwise looking good. What are you planning for odor control?

-b420

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I’m actually not doing anything for odor control, I live way out in the sticks and don’t have neighbors lol

I’ve actually noticed this effect already, I tested my airflow with my vape and saw that one side was pulling harder than the other. I may need to rethink the squirrel fan.

Yep, I recognized your name and work immediately from there too lol

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My only problem with large pantry cabs is how to light proof the individual sections, sounds like a good plan though, if you build it, they will grow lol

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I kinda like the hump design. I’d probably skip the squirrel fan, put a louvered ventilation grate over the intake hole (for light proofing) and leave it at that. Also, paint the inside of the hump flat black - you’ll be pumping a lot of water vapor through that duct, raw wood will promote mold. Black walls will limit light leaks into the cab. Wire your two PC fans to the same power supply, if they are identical they should split the power more or less evenly.

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As suggested, i’ve removed the squirrel fan and there indeed is an improvement in the airflow through the cab, even without a door, I blew some vape into the cab to see if there was a better draft, and it was much improved.

I’ll need to pick up some flat black brushable paint so I can take your suggestion of mold/mildew proofing the exposed wood surfaces.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions!

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So I went ahead and ordered a 4" fan lol :joy:

This is getting as bad as when I built my shed… I think I’m addicted to building spaces haha.

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I like the remote control thermostat, what did that fan cost? How many cfm

1 Like

It was 89.00 USD on amazon. Here’s some(all) the info lol

Manufacturer AC Infinity Inc.
Product Name CLOUDLINE T4
Product Model AI-CLT4
UPC Code 854759004785
Product and Mounting Dimensions - Fan Unit
Total Dimensions 7.40 x 11.93 x 6.93 in. (18.8 x 30.3 x 17.6 cm)
Mounting Hole-To-Hole Distance 3.15 X 2.36 in. (8.0 x 6.0 cm)
Screw Hole Size Ø 0.197 in. (Ø 0.5 cm)
Cord Length 144 in. (12 feet)
Product and Mounting Dimensions - Controller
Total Dimensions 5.20 x 3.11 x 1.10 in. (13.2 x 7.9 x 2.8 cm)
Backside Enclosure Dimensions 4.41 x 2.68 in. (11.2 x 6.8 cm)
Required Mounting Hole 4.48 x 2.76 in. (11.4 x 7.0 cm)
Hole to Hole Distance 4.71 x 2.64 in. (12.0 x 6.7 cm)
Screw Hole Size Ø 0.157 in. (Ø 0.4 cm)
Display Size 2.25 x 1.25 in. (4.7 x 3.2 cm)
Cord Length 72 in. (6 feet)
Thermal Probe Length 96 in. (8 feet)
Mounting Template
Installation Manual PDF
Product Performance and Technical Specs
Total Airflow 152 CFM
Total Noise 28 dBA
Static Pressure 156 Pa
Operating Voltage 12V DC
Power 15 W
Current 1.25 A
Wall Adapter Input 100 to 240V AC
Operating Humidity 35 to 85% RH
Operating Temperature 14 to 230°F
Ingress Protection IP 44
Fan Bearings Dual Ball
L10 Life Expectency 67,000 Hours

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Crazy to see static pressure in pascals, that’s about 0.6" water for us imperial folks. :grin:

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I’d rather see it listed in PSI lol something I can understand

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That’s a nice fan, not too loud and operates in high heat. Should last you a while. Let me know what you think of it once installed. Good luck bro

Will do, and thank you!

It’ll be here tomorrow. I just got in from a 2 day work trip, so I probably won’t be doing anything on the cab this evening.

I did procure my blackout panel, a bunch of velcro to sew to it, (wifey will probably help me get that accomplished) and some flat black paint while I was gone.

Heatsinks should arrive on Tuesday and we can get this party started.

No till sounds amazing @lotus710 but I need to use up all the Happy Frog and CoCo Loco that i’ve got. I was thinking for the grow process i’d do CoCo with drain to waste.

The seedlings are gonna get their first feeding tomorrow, they are looking a little light green so it’s probably time for some food.

3 Likes

Great excited to see it come together. Im going coco drip for my next run. Then I am too going to go no till. They both rock from what I can see