jon420

Heres how I setup my last grow box. Its a cardboard box with mylar wrapped around it and 4 CFLs. I would advise you make sure the CFLs dont touch anything and that you vent it well if you cover it.

I started off with 4 light sockets, a piece of wood, 4 bolts and a computer cord.




Next we have how I attached it to the board:



Heres how u cut the wire:



Finish it up:



So thats the 4 CFL light stick. I have alot of experience with electrical components and how to be safe so I dont advise just anyone to do this. Make sure you know at least a little bit of how electricity works before attempting.

Next we have the box:



Pretty simple....a big cardboard box wrapped in mylar and thick plastic on the bottom.




The plants in there I was going to chuck out due to nute burn and other problems but Im keeping them a few days to see how they pan out.

Break down:
4 light sockets - $12
a piece of wood - free
4 bolts - $4
computer cord - free
4 CFL bulbs (20watt, 6500k) - $16
Extra shit...electrical tape, cord to hang light, mylar, wood, PC wire, voltage meter, time - I had all this laying around

total cost on this grow box - $32

ltsystems

i like the disign. the electrical needs a little work the lite fixture is wood it should be non flamable, crimp lugs for conections to lamps, wire nuts in j-box to conncet lite assembley to plug, plug needs ground, ground all conditive surfaces including foil/mailar

exposed terminal screws should be covered

gold/bronze/brass color screw gets the hot wire. sliver screw gets the nutiral wire.

jon420

I would totally agree but this is a monitored system...theres only like 6/hrs a day its not in my vision. Its also in a remote room from the rest of the house and has smoke alarms, surge protectors and a UPS unit behind it. Other than that Id spend the extra $200 or so to bring it to 'code'.

Also 1 little tip...3 wraps of electrical tape is thicker and less conducive then a wire nut or lug. My system with the 4 lights would fail as often as your desk lamp.

jon420

Sorry I sounded a little defensive in my last post. I agree with your assessments for the typical newbie and they should read about that. No one wants a fire...thats the ultimate bad thing to happen while growing.

bit_toker

I believe that advice should be for everyone, not just newbies. It only takes seconds for a fire to get out of control, esecially inside of a cardboard box, where you may not even notice it until its too late.

After safety we have security. Where there is fire there are firemen, usually followed by police. One glimpse of where the fire started and now you have a another set of problems.

$200 to make electrical connects safe in your cab in not a realistic price. Unless you have a commercial grow room going. Its more of a time thing not a money thing.

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rocky81426

IMO, a cardboard box with funky wiring, lights and electricity is an accident waiting for a place to happen...

navarro

Nice little DIY. Have you grown in this cab. befor? This is a nice temporary cabinet. I was wondering about your temperature. It's been my experiance that CFL's can get pretty warm. Well keep up with the good work, just be a little carefull with the cardboard though. Oh yea I had once worked at a factory that made those cardboard boxes and they have a lot of chemicals in them and some can COLLAPS under heat , moisture,and/or humidity. Im not going to tell you what to do ,but please be carefull using cardboard, its WILL get you when you least expect it. Remember cardboard burns FAST.....If you could find something diffrent for the walls you would have a pretty good start.( fire sheetrock, metal roofing, wood, or insulation board would be much better and its still so cheap). I found 1/2 x 4 x 8 insulation board at Home Depot for $7 BUX and it's bright white on one side and thin layer of foil on the other , and IS flame resistant. Good luck bro wit tha grow.


There wiil be times when you can't monitor your DIY carboard box and if it does catch fire , your gonna be upset. Once a fire has STARTED a UPS, surge protector, and smoke alarm ect...... WILL NOT PUT it out. Well you have my 2 cents worth.

One last thing, these guys have taught me to grow. Listen to them when ever possible, they are in fact, some highly educated gardeners.

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Luke Highwalker

once again lts is watch dogging over us newbs. at least someone is trying to prevent forest fires.... indoor forest fires at that. i must say i got my feathers ruffled at first when he jumped on me, but due to lts wisdom {and possibe badgering} my cab is now MUCH safer.

i totally agree with everything he said, except the mounting of fixtures to wood. im no genius, but almost all the light fixtures, electrical sockets etc in home construction are affixed directly to wood stringers. beams, joists, studs whatever you want to call them. i know wood kindles around 800 degrees or so, and wires melt at around 1200 degrees. but still i think its hard for a wire to put out enough heat, for long enough to raise the temp of teh wood high enough to start a flame. i think other cumbustables in the area would be a risk more than mounting bakelite fixtures to wood.

the thing that worried me the most in my cab is watering. and in yours since it seems you will have to reach through the lights to add water that could be bad stuff just waiting to happen.

home depot sells a "portable" gfci outlet for 13 bucks. if you can plug in a lamp cord you can handle the installation of the gfci. this nifty lil gadget will save ur butt when you go to water, trip over the shoe you left on the floor and dump water all over ur light sockets.

like i said i was more worried with electrocuting myself with the electricity/water close proximity combo than i was of some device mysteriously shorting out and causing my op to burst into flames.

ltsystems

when you look a lighting fixtures i.e. lamps they have a UL aproved sticker that means that as a assembled product it went through many tests and guide lines to see if it is safe for the public. when you make your own lighting fixtures un less your a UL guru you may not know how close is to close the light bulb shell can be to the wood base or what is the max watts of the bulb that can be used in it. that is why i dont recomend any flamable matirels to be used in a homemaid light fixtures.

at work we had to get rid of all extention cords that had the do it your self plug or scocket ends on them. also all free hanging reciptical outlets.
next will be a full blown arc flash sute required to get with in 3 ft of a powered up exposed power panel. the pressure to reduce accidents is growing every year. but its good to come home and still have all the body parts that you left with that morning

megatrich

My first grows were in a cardboard box with CFLs and it got quite hot in there unless I left the lid open. I think cardboard is an even better insulator than plywood - especially with added space blanket reflectors.

Keep in mind that it'll be humid in there too, especially without ventillation. The cardboard may get mildewy and rot out before the first harvest.