DIY Grow Box for cold garage

DIY will be cheaper too. I went with the DIY version of my light @bsjapost

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Thats what we are all here for brother is to share and learn. Theres no wrong way to grow. Many techniques just have to find what you love and how you love doing it! :muscle:

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Diy is an option. I am just trying to keep total cost down. What woukd be a decent DIY kit. I am a master electrician and i currently work in maintenance focusingbin electronics and hydraulics.

I should be able to handle it.

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Ahhh match made in heaven two electical guys! Bsj meet Dbrn ilgm light guru/expert as some lile to call him haha :smile:. Hes an amazing person tons of help with lights!

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Found this at a decent budget price. Not much info on this forum about it. Still searching for DIY reading a 6000 plus thread on DIY lights.

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@dbrn32

Would you still recommend this for a 2x2 and if so; what temperatures Led. 3000 or 3500

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For sure! That is probably even a little bigger than you need.

First thing i would do is measure inside of thent. A lot of them are short of nominal measurement. These particular strips are 22" long and may be a tight fit. If so, they are also available in 280mm length. We can spec you something with shorter strips if need be.

I did a little tutorial on a small light using 280mm strip. Exact copy may not be best for you, but there’s pics should be pretty self explanatory for someone with your experience.

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:arrow_up::arrow_up::top: listen to the all wise one haha

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This for 2x2 or the 2x3 built above?

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2 x 2 x 3’ 7 3/4" foil lined.

The fan can be moved out. I am running lights on a 24/0. The space is box is located is in an unheated/uncooled garage. Keeping temperature down in the box is easy right now with 30-45 degree days. That will be harder come later spring if the light produces excessive heat.

A light 15 by 15 is perfect, 20 by 20 a little tight.

The entire grow is running off of a dedicated 15A circuit. 1 500W Heater, a small 4W circulation fan, 28W exhaust fan. That leaves me with around 1200 available Watts to play with. I would like to keep the light down to 100 to 200W as I am working with an HVAC engineer to find a small and efficient cooling mechanism to build into the box.

The below link explains my intentions:

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I am also thinking if a COB light can be fit into a Wafer retro fit recess with proper cooling vented out of the box. That would allow me to use the entire grow space.

This me spit balling and the wattage and heat wpuld pose a problem, but if i can cool the space i can also actively cool the airgapwhere the heat sinks would be recessed and vent that heat out. Then I could, during cold weather, direct that active heatsink exhaust back into the box for heating with an electrically controled damper attached to the Temperature controllor relay. This would remove the need for a heater or allow for a smaller heater. It would require some ducting. But that is easily done with plenum spaces built into the airgap already provided…hmmmm,

But I digress…this first prototype must work first. I will keep my improvement idea book handy.

Wonder if I should start a thread when done for community input. I would post design plans on final design and leave it for the greater growing world for perpituity for public payment…and still have a side hustle building them an delivering for those who dont want to construct it.

Sorry…brain was running crazy there. Back to our regularly scheduled program.

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Progress report for those intrested. 2 weeks from seed coming up through dirt.

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She looks good and healthy! :muscle:

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@PharmerBob @Mark0427 @SilvaBack203 any thoughts and help can provide our friend here? If you scroll up a little explains whats going on.

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I personally dont have anything that could contribute sounds like a good plan layed out. I would bring @Hellraiser though in this conversation his experience and experiments might have a better guide on what ways to inprove it

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Closest to 15" i know of is eb gen3 slim line. I think they have 340mm version, but i couldn’t find them in stock anywhere. The standard 280mm version is 11", you could configure them to 15"x15" layout if you wanted. I suspect that a row of them would work plenty good.

If you’re worried about heat with cobs just keep heatsink external. Holesaw something for cobs to go into top of your box and top mount the heatsink. Should work plenty good in summer but would keep just about all your heat out of box in winter.

Whatever you’re thinking i can help make it work. We can make sure you have dimming capabilities to help manage temp and intensity too. Driver will be little more expensive, but makes sense to just get up front and have it.

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This light science stuff is more than overwhelming.

1st thing, cheapest light already built you would recommend for autoflower start to finish with decent but not WOW yeilds. I am trying to create an entry level box that just requires a new user to plug in a normal home cord and have it run all devices and equipment. Preferably the entire box build will cost 500 to 600 dollars US if you build yourself or if I build it and sell for 800 to 1000 shipped.

2nd thing for me (personal grows in my proto type)…i was considering building a light based on a design I found online.

4 Citizen Cu48-1212 COB…2 at 5000k and 2 at 3500k. With solderless ideal holders mounted to 133mm pin heatsinks and driven by a MeanWell HLG-185H-C1400B. The COB and heatsinks mounted to a frame and hung. The driver may be remote.

The cost will be around 200 dollars but I feel I could get a better 2 x 2 DIY cheaper and could definitely get a manufactured one with better results for the same price.

My conundrum is getting the best readily available light, for that box, that could be aquired easily and function properly. One that a first time grower will have no issues with.

Personally, i love tinkering and buildind. However, my end goal is plans and design for a working…easy to use…insulated…complete environmentally controlled…plug and play autoflower box for beginners.

I understand i am asking for expert opinions for free. I am not broke, but not rich. If this prototype acheives results, then I will start investing capital in a professional design.

As always, final self build plans will be posted here as my prototype plans are. I cant tell you how appreciative I am for everyones help.

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PharmerBob is a DIY master himself he should have an input

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I am open to anyones DIY designs for this grow, but I just dont have the light engineering skill to come with one.

I understand drivers, temperatures (colors) voltage drop, max Watt and voltage on drivers. Dimmable non dimmable.

As far as the science and waves. And spectrum. It is alot to consider. 3rd gen, 4th gen, what plants want. Man it gets in depth.

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Imo it doesn’t make any sense to blend cct on a 4 cob light controlled by single driver. Mixing 2 3500k with 2 5000k will give you final cct of about the average between the two. If you were running from different drivers to use dimmers to bring one cct in or out would make more sense, but imo this to expensive for your project to make small difference in performance. If you really wanted two different cct, Bridgelux vesta has this and you should be able to find them. These have 2 different channels on each module. One 2700k 90cri and one 5000k 90cri. If you wire each channel on it’s own dimming driver you can tune light spectrum anywhere between the two cct. They aren’t that expensive, and not that difficult to build with either.

I agree that this the best trajectory to kindvof figure out what you want. Then take it to pcb manufacturer at very least and get modules designed, or farm out whole light.

The cob concept was great, these midpower packages are just a little more efficient and easier to use. Lots have become available over last few years too. Whatever you’re thinking I’m sure i can help.

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