Dusting off and updating my old grow cabinet

Decided to pull out my grow cabinet, clean it up, and updating it. Hoping the bad juju on my green thumb is gone. The cabinet i got is 67" tall, 11.5" deep, and 14.25" wide. So far ive taken it apart, sanded all old paint off with 80g paper. And repainted most of the cabinet with acrylic flat white. I also bought new white hardboard backing to replace the old backing so i can reposition my intake vents, fans, and add some electrical outlets in the chambers.
For ventilation ill be using one Delta 120mm fan and with zens diy carbon filter. Ill give the fan a good cleaning before it goes in. For the fans power source. ill be using a laptop charger ( 12v 5amp output. The fan really pushes some air with this power source. Ill be adding onto the back of the cabinet to give the fan some space and routing the ventilation structure and electrical wiring.

I plan on making a seedling/veg chamber 15" in height, 11.5" deep, and 14.25" wide.
Lightning may consist of two 300w cfl tube bulbs. Might go a lower wattage cfl seeing the grow space isnt that big.

The flower chamber will be 28.75" tall, 14.25" w, 11.5" D.
I want to go with a low budget led grow light for my flowering chamber but im not sure which one is suitable for the grow space. If i cant go led then ill go with cfl.

Both chambers will have a bubbleponic systems w/ 1 gal resivors, 10" bubbler stone, and an air pump for each reservoir.


Thats all i can think of atm.
Any suggestions is up for discussion.

Got the cabinet almost put back together, and sealant around the meeting joints on the inside. Also got the fan taken apart for a cleaning and greasing session.

After cutting all the pieces of wood, laying them out like as planned ( 1st attachment ) and doing some measurements for my exhaust fan and port not having the space. I decided to change it up ( 2nd attachment ). This would allow me to put the outlet where i wanted without the gang boxs interference of airflow, and i widened the exhaust port from 4", to 6". Once everything was in place and I decided to roll with it. I then measured where all the middle of the boards were and marked them on the side of the cabinet. I then screwed everything in place for a mock up. I then drew all my holes ( 4.5" holes ) and cut them out. I went and got some gang boxes today. They will be installed tomorrow.

Interested in how this works out. I have never done a micro grow myself.

Good luck, with your next grow!

Got the gang boxes installed. Had to add some wood so i could mount them. I put liquid nail around all the gang boxes and there mounts. I also went around the whole back side with liquid nail. Thats all i got done for now. Time to let the liquid nail to set overnight.

Next on the to do list will be get a 20ft extension cord with 14ga wire, chop it up, and run all the electrical wiring. I want 10ft of cord coming from the back of the cabinet so it doesnt have to sit next to an outlet in a room. The other 10ft will be enough for the electrical wiring for the cabinet.

You should check out a thread over on icmag, search "Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons". If you don't want to read the details, jump towards the end of the thread for some recent flowering results from screw in household led bulbs. The 9w bulbs are a great option for small areas. Pop the globe off and screw them in.

Rivendell said:

You should check out a thread over on icmag, search "Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons". If you don't want to read the details, jump towards the end of the thread for some recent flowering results from screw in household led bulbs. The 9w bulbs are a great option for small areas. Pop the globe off and screw them in.

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I second this motion. They are cheap too.

While on ICMAG you should check and see what spectrum color they prefer, warm white, cool blue and whatnot... Perhaps cool blue in veg and warm in flower?

Following! Looking forward to this I must admit and definitely cfl led need more head room

Rivendell said:

You should check out a thread over on icmag, search "Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons". If you don't want to read the details, jump towards the end of the thread for some recent flowering results from screw in household led bulbs. The 9w bulbs are a great option for small areas. Pop the globe off and screw them in.

Click to expand...

I'll have to look into that thread. I see them more then cfl's and was wondering if they could be used or not. I cant hardly find cfl anymore anyway.

I was also looking into some 18w ( 3rd pic), 30w ( 2nd pic ), and 100w ( 1st pic ) full spectrum led screw in bulbs for alternatives. Maybe do some 18w in the seedling/veg, with angle adjustable sockets. And for the flower chamber i was thinking of 2 100w, and some 36w bulbs ( amount unknown atm ) with keyless sockets. Maybe even build an light fixture for the flowering chamber. All this really depends on the dimensions of the bulbs. I have to find the dimensions so i know round about what fits best with the space.

Led strips would take up less area as they are flat but you need to get into a little DIY wiring. I am sure there are guys in the LED section that can help you out.

I was looking into those aswell. But building one seems complex.

Question on electrical wire size. In the beginning i stated i wanted to do 14awg wire for the outlets and cord. Do you think it will be safe with 16awg ?

bertosmurf said:

Question on electrical wire size. In the beginning i stated i wanted to do 14awg wire for the outlets and cord. Do you think it will be safe with 16awg ?

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How many amp breaker are you hooking up to? 15amp you use 16 gauge, 20amp use 14 awg. I would use 20 amp breaker and 14 awg and sleep well at night.also check how much amp service you have at your box before adding anything.with that said you could get by with 15amp and 16 awg just remember if it is a plug with other outlets on the same breaker you may have other things hooked up as well.

The cabinet will have its own cord and will plug into an outlet anywhere in the house. So it will have a 15amp breaker more then likely. I wasnt planning on putting a breaker on the box just some gcfi outlets ( 3 in all ). We are moving in a month so its hard to say cause everyhouse is different.

old buzzard said:

How many amp breaker are you hooking up to? 15amp you use 16 gauge, 20amp use 14 awg. I would use 20 amp breaker and 14 awg and sleep well at night.also check how much amp service you have at your box before adding anything.with that said you could get by with 15amp and 16 awg just remember if it is a plug with other outlets on the same breaker you may have other things hooked up as well.

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INCORRECT

15 AMP is 14 AWG

20 AMP is 12 AWG

You're trying to burn down his house. I am a licensed electrician.

What would you suggest Renfro ? Would 16awg be safe with this setup. Electronic components will be a top fin 170gal aquarium air pump, the delta fan ( dc12v 3.00a ), its power source ( 12v 5a), and a few screw in leds/cfl bulbs.

A 15 amp x 120v feed will provide about 1440 watts of power before the breaker should trip. That should handle anything you put in there.

The only way I would say 16 gauge is "ok" is if it's not hardwired (like an extension cord) and you KNOW the load is less than 13 AMPS (the ampacity of 16 AWG) because a 15 amp breaker should trip at 12 amps but a 20 amp breaker wont trip until 16 amps. So a 16 AWG extension cord would be in danger if connected to a heavy load of say 15 amps and plugged into a 20 amp breaker. This is only ever allowed because the extension cord isn't in your walls "unattended" to start a fire.

Stick with 14 AWG on a 15 AMP breaker and your gonna be safe.

Breakers typically trip at 80% of their rated ampacity.

You would be fine with a 16 AWG extension cord provided there are no heavy loads and its not hardwired on either end (code). I just don't recommend it as wiring practice as someone out there will assume 16 AWG is gonna handle a 15 AMP breaker.

For pure safety reasons I cannot recommend this, just go with 14 gauge heavy duty extension cord or 14 GAUGE (SJOOW) and wire your own plug end on it.

Ok Thanks, Friday is the day for the wire then lol. Better safe then sorry dont want to burn down the babies

http://www.sjoow.com/14-sjoow-300-volt-portable-electrical-cable-14-awg-3-conductors-300v.html?_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI14qCpaui4AIVNCCtBh2TIQ7yEAQYBSABEgIBHvD_BwE

Something like that from the hardware store is only about 50 cents a foot and is exactly what you need. Or a 14 AWG extension cord is sometimes cheaper and you can cut the female end off if you must to wire. Make sure any junctions are inside a approved junction box/cover so if they arc there is no fire hazard.