DIY Veg/Clone Cab- TRASH TO TREASURE (Cheap) - GreenPassion.org - Dedicated to Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation and Education

JointGirl · #1 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 12:24 PM

I decided I needed a separate place to break seeds and veg. I only have 1 cab used right now for veg and then flower. I wanted an option that would let me get my babies well on their way before throwing them into cab. With only 1 cab, I have to wait until harvest is complete to drop more beans or start to veg. With this option, I can break seeds and veg for a fre good weeks before 1st harvest is finished. That will put me 3-4 weeks ahead a schedule vs. waiting till harvest to start the next one. I don't know if this cab is big enough to veg completely out in, but it will DEF work to veg for a few weeks. Cutting my veg time under the MH down to at least 1/2 the time (I'm assuming) Anything that helps me get my grows moving along a lil faster is worth it to me. If this cab was a pinch bigger, I could ve vegged them out completely in here. Since its so small, I will probably use it to veg out for like 3 weeks, then put into the cab under MH for a week or 2 before switching to the HPS for flower.

Well, Here is a quick list of the parts I needed and purchased.

1 Metal Cabinet= $5.00 Thrift Shop
1 Light Bar (3 Sockets) = $10.00 Home Depot
3 YSplitters (2 bulb adapters) = 2.50 each= $7.50 Home Depot
6 27Watt Daylight CFL=2pack $5.00 each= $15.00 Home Depot
1 4inch AC Computer Fan= $25.00 Radio Shack (Other fan options can be purchased for less $, I opted for this one due to its size and width and appearance (fit perfect)
1 Heavy Duty Cord= Free Garbage (I used an old microwave- I got a fan from the microwave also and it worked PERFECT, but it looked a little bulky, and stuck out a bit too far from the back but it would've worked fine and saved me the $ spent on the other fan.) The cord on the microwave was PERFECT and I did not cut it, but opened the back of Microwave and unhooked it from the other wires, making the cord very safe and strong, and used for its intended purpose.

In all I have $62.50 invested in this small cabinet. It is working out as the perfect seed started cab, and will be used to experiment with clones in. I could also use her as a mother cab, keeping the Mum short/bonsai style. If all else fails, and cab proves to be to tiny to 'veg' anything in, she can always have her lights unplugged, and used as an herb dryer! The uses are endless, and for $62 she fits right into my room. She is disguised as a night stand, sitting next to my bed. Her lights have been on now for about 5 straight days 24/0 and the highest temps have reached 83. I have only had 3 of the 6 light running, so I'm sure once I turn on the other 3, the temps will rise a pinch more? Of coarse with the changing weather, and cooler days/nights that will help to bring down the temps. As of now, when I see it get hot in there, I turn on the AC for 5 mins, Which is located right next to my intake and withing a few minutes, shes back down in the 70's where she stays for a while.

The hardest part of this project was making the cuts in the metal cab. The metal was flimsy and not taking to the drill bits. We ended up using tin snips to finish the holes. My Dad did all the wiring for me, and after watching him (and a quick lesson) I am confident that I could do this lil bit of wiring myself. My dad did a professional job with the wiring, and left NO WIRE EXPOSED! He even added a junction box to the back, so all the extra wires and caps, and tape is hidden. The only wire exposed is the plug. (Which fits PERFECT inside the junction box since I did not cut the wire. It has that lil lock (Chunk of plastic) that locks it inside the junction box, so if the plug is pulled on, no wires feel the pressure- only the junction box.

A few final thoughts... The fan I purchased is NOT strong enough to pull or push through a carbon scrubber. If I need to add this option, I will have to upgrade the fan.
I kept the shelves as an option to raise/lower the babies. I did not want my lights to be adjustable, so I opted for the shelves.
Cab is a bit on the small side, and if doing it again I would ve opted for a bit bigger cab.
Cab dimensions are 10"x18"x20". So I will have to do some training/lst to get 3 girlz vegged out in there. I will probably not use it as a veg cab, unless I'm trying to just veg out 1 plant?
I tried to use a light trap on the intake vent, and it cut my airflow down tooo much, So now itheres just a 4' hole open in the back.
I am also planning on cutting out the bottom and inserting some type of 'Pan'. This will give me about 3 extra inches, and then I can remove the pan to empty out drain water.

Any other tips, or pointers?

Happy Growing,
JointGirl

JointGirl · #2 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 12:36 PM

Heres a pict of this girl in action. Shes working out BEAUTIFULY so far! I just hope I can manage to keep these 3 girlz in here untill its time for flowering? Probally not, but I will see how long they stay comfortable in here.

Happy Growing,
JointGirl

OMINOUS_ICABOD · #3 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 03:57 AM

LOOKS GREAT..LOTTA WORK U DID THERE,, IT IS A LIL SMALL BUT LIKE U SAID U CAN AT LEAST GET SUM LADIES STARTEDD IN THERE AN WHEN THEY GET TO BIG JUS MOVE THEM TO UR OTHER CAB,, VERY SMART REMINDS ME OF MY CAB,, PEACE,,,

Sprocket · #4 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 04:05 AM

absolutely brilliant. i love it, good job JG!!!!

siriguejo · #5 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 10:09 AM

as the french say "VERY NICE" (add the accent)

chuckd420 · #6 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 02:37 PM

That's a nice little cab. How's it been workin' out so far?

JointGirl · #7 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 04:41 PM

She's working out JUST BEAUTIFULLY! Better than I expected! I broke my first 3 seeds in her. My 3 lil ones stayed inside cab for a little over 3 weeks, before outgrowing their veg cup, and the cab. I stuck em under 600Watt MH for just 1 week, and heres what they looked like after 1 week in big cab. (Pict 1) I must say, I am happier with these girlz, than the girlz that spent their entire veg cycle uder the big lights. These girls did not stretch a bit under the cfl's.
Once these girlz found their new home, I took my first ever clones to fill the box. (Pict 2) The clones are doing GREAT! Since this pict, I have had to tie down 2 of the clones to keep em in the box. I've also added 3 more clones into the mix now, so now there are a total of 12 in there. Heres a pict before the other 3 were added to the family!

Happy Cloning,
JointGirl

chuckd420 · #8 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 05:24 PM

They look like they are pretty happy in there. Gives me hope for the small space I've got to work with to veg clones and bonsai moms.

OMINOUS_ICABOD · #9 (**permalink**) 11-12-2009, 04:25 PM

r u growing with just perlite??

JointGirl · #10 (**permalink**) 11-12-2009, 06:34 PM

Im using 3 parts perlite to 1 part vermiculite right now in a Hempy Bucket. ( A bucket with only 1 drain hole aprox. 2" on side up from bottom to create an internal resevoir) I am experimenting with 1 clone in perlite only in the hempy bucket, and so far almost 2 weeks later, she is looking FINE! Actually she looks better than the clone that is in the 'mix' but she looked better from the day I clipped her off her Mum, so I cant really say yet. I can say she is NOT suffering any so far being in straight Perlite!

JointGirl

CAMSTER626 · #11 (**permalink**) 11-12-2009, 10:14 PM

Awesome cab JG...You and your father did a very good job

Thats also a nice line up your working with...I am a huge fan of DNA Genetics...They have yet to dissapoint.

Good Luck and happy growing =)

CAM-

operator1 · #12 (**permalink**) 11-12-2009, 11:49 PM

nice use of a old tool box... I'm pretty sure thats what that was. I have a couple of those laying around and may have to use this design as I too am very limited on space.

Zigzagman · #13 (**permalink**) 11-13-2009, 09:32 AM

Nice work JointGirl. Looking good...

shakehan ds.gif

JointGirl · #14 (**permalink**) 11-15-2009, 05:07 PM

CAM,
Thanks for the compliments. Dad did a WONDERFUL JOB on this cab. I am proud to say its 'Homemade'. We were SOOO impressed with what these CFL's were throwing out at us that we modified the design a bit, and have begun another one for my sister. She has NO IDEA about my grow, but she does know dad attempted it many times before with no luck indoors, so he is a good cover for passing this project along. We made her box twice as big, holding 12 CFL's (6 Blue/6 orange) and her box will take her through till harvest. I have never flowered under CFL's so it will be a learning experience for us all. If my girls vegged out that nice under 6 bulbs, hers should have no problems flowering with 12 of em? I HOPE! I will post some picts of her box as soon as its completed. We're trying to make a filter system to attach to hers since she will be flowering.

OPERATOR,
YES. It was an old tool box. We removed the open shelves at the top, and spray painted it all. I did have to add some extra plastic pieces on the inside of the door to block out the light. Once we removed the shelf, and the drawers, we were left with a big gap at top. A few thin pieces of plastic, cut to size, and she works BEAUTIFULLY! No light leaks from the door, and it seals up quite nice! I actually found this box at a resale shop for 10$. I smiled at the guy, and asked if he could give me a deal on it, and landed it for only $5.00 SO YOU CANT BEAT THAT!

Zig,
Thanks for noticing. That pict was taken about a week or so ago, after being under the big MH 600watt for only 1 week. I kept em in the cab as long as I could, then only had to have em under the big boy for 1 week b4 switching to flower. I thought I would be disappointed at the girls being vegged under cfl, compared to the girls that were vegged under the MH, but let me tell you... NO DISAPOINTMENT this way. The girls that vegged under the MH for the whole 5 weeks seemed a bit more stretched than these girlz? I will DEF continue to veg em out in here from now on! My clones are growing exceptionally fast in here too!

BTW Zig, How do you get the picts to show up full size IN the post, instead of just having it in a thumbnail at the bottom of the post?

Happy Veggin & Cloning,
JointGirl

robotdinosaur · #15 (**permalink**) 11-15-2009, 05:15 PM

Great Job!

PhotonCollector · #16 (**permalink**) 11-15-2009, 06:22 PM

Fine work there J-Girl, It is nice to see sucess in projects like this. It should enhance your grow cycle nicely.
Keep us posted on the mods to your sister's cabinet.

operator1 · #17 (**permalink**) 11-15-2009, 09:10 PM

that would be so good for security too... separate locks for the boxes, if needed, or you could just wheel them away if you need to also. Not many people question tool boxes either, its just one of those things that "are" and don't require a second look most times.

JointGirl · #18 (**permalink**) 11-16-2009, 11:18 AM

The lock is a GOOD thing, even if its just a box! Keeping unexpected visitors away could mean all the difference in the world!
I had to paint mine black, since its in my bedroom. I did not want a red tool box jumping out at you as soon as you enter. I dont have many visitors in my room, but on occasion I might have to have a baby sitter here for a few. At least I know if she starts snooping, she won't get far!

JG

OMINOUS_ICABOD · #19 (**permalink**) 11-16-2009, 06:30 PM

Yes indeed.. I keep mine padlocked