DIY Flower Room w/pics from start to finish

GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
GrowerGoneWild said:
Super interested in how the LEC's work..
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Hey grower, the red link in my sig is a thread I've been running since July when I got the first LEC running. A ton of info in that thread and some links to a couple of other threads related to this tech. It's a specific version of Ceramic Metal Halide technology, the Philips Elite Agro line which is the most efficient in the CMH tech. Bulbs are similar to running an hps or MH unit, ballast, bulb, hood or bare-bulb but that's where the similarities end. These bulbs are about efficiency per watt, the 315w bulb/hood unit I'm using the LEC Sun System can yield close to a 600w hps. They produce minimal heat compared to hps so they're easier to manage and less costly to deal with heat associated with hps (hps works great but waste a ton of light and generate a bunch of heat). They have a lot of the same benefits as LED's but cost about 1/2 of what you'd pay for high end LED's and comparable in performance to the best LED's available.

The tech has been out there for a while but not widely used for growing so in that respect they're relatively new. Pretty sure my thread is the first fully documented grow in here with these. Since i started the thread several folks have been buying different configs and getting them setup, we'll see some more grows in here in the next while. I started with one unit, bought another several weeks back and running 2 in the room now, total pull of my units at 120v is 760w/6A, the 240v units are even more efficient pulling about 680w/3A for 2 units. 2 of them cover off a 3x6 easy, side by side like I'm running it they can cover off about 3x7' well. A lot of coverage and bud for 760w.

Only problem I have now is keeping this flower room full with my small veg cabinets so this winter I'll be building out a smaller and less elaborate veg area to feed this flower room properly. Cheers.
 
GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
Hot Diggity Sog said:
I'm gunna go and read your entire journal on the 315W CMH. I think that is going to be perfect for what I want to do next.
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They're awesome, one of the few techs that lives up to its billing. If you're running hps/MH you can either reduce your draw and get the same yield or use the same draw and increase your yield. My son is replacing 2x 600 and 1x 1000 with 6x LEC's. We're in the midst of converting his electrical feeds to 240v. We expect a lower total draw and about a 30% yield increase by just switching the lights, one full round will pay off the investment, not a bad ROI. Cheers.
 
H

Heavy Consumer

Well-Known Member
What a superb room! Great photos. And unbelievably useful information. The only down side to all of this is, it's so great, it intimidates the shit out of me as a DIY spastic! Very daunting to see a smallish room sooooo well thought out and put together. But on the other hand, if you, being by your own admission "by no means an avid DIY guy" can do it, there might be hope for the rest of us too! (Although my guess is your being very modest) :clap: :clap: :clap:
 
GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
Heavy Consumer said:
What a superb room! Great photos. And unbelievably useful information. The only down side to all of this is, it's so great, it intimidates the shit out of me as a DIY spastic! Very daunting to see a smallish room sooooo well thought out and put together. But on the other hand, if you, being by your own admission "by no means an avid DIY guy" can do it, there might be hope for the rest of us too! (Although my guess is your being very modest) :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Thanks Heavy, and lol really not an avid DIY guy, when I moved in a couple of years ago I had a guy come in and paint top to bottom, another contractor rip out the carpeting and re-do the floors. If I can outsource it I will so I can do the shit I like to do. The place I came from I had a gardener, snow removal guy and pool cleaner, I did specialty gardening only ;) For obvious reasons (not legal here) this room was not a project to outsource so I dove in, googled like crazy and got her done! Only thing I had done before like 25 years ago was finish the basics in the basement, mainly partition walls and sub-floor, drywall, flooring and electrical were done by family in the business. What drove me was the first couple of indoor runs in the first cabinet I built, I realized the environment is absolutely critical indoor and can be a pain in the ass to manage, particularly where I am where we get so many extremes in temp and humidity. Building the first cabinet gave me some confidence that I could do some stuff and it wasn't terribly difficult. Since those builds I built this little cab below in a day when I needed a separate spot to run 12/12 from seed, use it now for seedlings/clones, cost me next to nothing, simple 2x2 frame, that DuroFoam insulation, and a piece of ceiling tile I had laying around for the floor, works great! Cheers and to quote a line from Waterboy, YOU CAN DO IT! lol
12-12-CabinetBuild-1.jpg 12-12-CabinetBuild-3.jpg 12-12-CabinetBuild-4.jpg 12-12-CabinetBuild-5.jpg 12-12-Cabinet-Finished.jpg
 
jijiandfarmgang

jijiandfarmgang

Well-Known Member
I have no idea if that wireless cam is secure enough or not. In serious security environments casinos, prisons etc they are all wired. I've seen people with aftermarket car reverse cams pick up other peoples wireless signals. Would suck if someone picked up a grow cam on their receiver.

- Jiji
 
GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
jijiandfarmgang said:
I have no idea if that wireless cam is secure enough or not. In serious security environments casinos, prisons etc they are all wired. I've seen people with aftermarket car reverse cams pick up other peoples wireless signals. Would suck if someone picked up a grow cam on their receiver.

- Jiji
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I hear you, wired cameras are more secure in that you need physical access to tap into them. These are more secure than vehicle cameras but still risky. They can be made secure but require a lot of knowledge and access to equipment most people couldn't cost justify. I'm in the security business so I have the equipment and background to secure them well. The only way I'd recommend to use them for remote access is to use a VPN which is difficult with most home connections.
 
bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
Just keep it in mind when you do DIY electric be sure the entire grow op is plugged in...not hardwired into the home electrical circuit. I like 30 and 50 amp 240vac receptacles to plug ops into. These receptacles can be installed without hassle by any electrical contractor. I've got a 30 amp dryer receptacle located right next to my breaker box.
 
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bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
The water catchers under the plantpots should be replaced with a trough just large enough to accomodate the plantpots covered with white and black poly draining into a catch basin.
 
GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
bird mcbride said:
Just keep it in mind when you do DIY electric be sure the entire grow op is plugged in...not hardwired into the home electrical circuit. I like 30 and 50 amp 240vac receptacles to plug ops into. These receptacles can be installed without hassle by any electrical contractor. I've got a 30 amp dryer receptacle located right next to my breaker box.
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I ran separate circuits/breakers from my panel into junction boxes in the room, then wired the outlets to each circuit, the electrical panel is a couple of feet outside the room it made sense. It'll be a pain in the ass when/if I move but it's all to code.
 
bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
GroErr said:
I ran separate circuits/breakers from my panel into junction boxes in the room, then wired the outlets to each circuit, the electrical panel is a couple of feet outside the room it made sense. It'll be a pain in the ass when/if I move but it's all to code.
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I hard wire my HID's and other equipment. This is my I have not connected the (grow)panel to the main and have plugged it in instead.

The panel and wire can easily be removed in the case the op has to be moved.
 
GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
bird mcbride said:
I hard wire my HID's and other equipment. This is my I have not connected the (grow)panel to the main and have plugged it in instead.

The panel and wire can easily be removed in the case the op has to be moved.
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Yeah, only downside with all the customization will be when I decide to move but I'm there for at least a few years. Take down of the room will have to be part of the move, will just remove all except one circuit and replace one of the in-wall timers on the panel with a regular light switch, remove the reflective walls and make it look like a shop ;) By that time that room will have grown a pound or two so no biggie. As far as security risk, it's so stealth I have family over all the time and other than my son who also grows, they have no clue I'm growing. That's the beauty of using the cold cellar with 9" thick concrete walls all-around. Main door going into the area is an outside insulated steel door, then a standard door to get into the flower room, the incoming air inline fan is inside the second door in the room, can't hear a thing even if I have it running full tilt mid summer. Cheers.
 
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