Super Stealth Speaker Box Bulid

[overTHEman]

Nice video, msh. Thanks for posting.

You've built a nice speaker cab, rattle free construction is the sign of an experienced hand.

Sorry to hear about the temps, what's the plan?

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

trying different solutions right now im not really sure what to do right now.

seems stuck at 90F hmm im goin to have to get down a few more degrees

edit againn. ok so i remounted the 120mm to blow directly across the lights and not at an angle. this and the light trap are removed, im hoping itll fix everything

 

[avrum]

yeah dude light trap is what fucked my temps too.. i built a wider light trap (less effective obviously, but it did get temps down), and i moved the desk i have next to the box so fresh air would go through from the main space of the room. everything looks great though.. how big are those bulbs in W/Lumens?

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

Well I took off one light trap and that only brought my temps to 91 so maybe I need to take off the rear intake one as well. I was also told that having a fan blowing on the lights doesn't allow the light to rise and out the vent like normal so maybe thats a problem to

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

SEEDS are INNNNN

now i need to get this boxs ventilation setup right.

this is what i found out. i followed this guide to help me calculate how much CFM i need. turns out i need 20.95 total... each 80mm fan is rated at 31. ok so clearly its my ventilation setup.

can anyone here seriously think of whats going on?

 

[overTHEman]

SEEDS are INNNNN

now i need to get this boxs ventilation setup right.

this is what i found out. i followed this guide to help me calculate how much CFM i need. turns out i need 20.95 total... each 80mm fan is rated at 31. ok so clearly its my ventilation setup.

can anyone here seriously think of whats going on?

Well if the seeds are here, let's get this temp thing figured out!

The best way to reduce temperature is to exhaust out the ceiling and intake through the floor. IMO, one fan on each side of the powerstrip exhausting hot air directly off of the lights will dramatically reduce the temperatures inside the box.

Notes:
The more points of electrical connection, the more heat. Isolated electricity ventilates more easily than when spread out.
If all fans are used for exhaust, more air will be moved and the life of the fans will be reduced.
If one fan is installed as intake and one exhaust, less air will be moved and the life of the fans will be increased.
The best method of introducing cold air to the box is by placing the intake in the floor. Next best is on the walls at floor level.

Questions:
Are the fans on the sides of the box intakes or exhausts?
What is the ambient temp outside the box?
What is the temp with just the speakers running? Speakers & Fans?
What is the temp with just the lights running? Lights & Fans?
What is the temp with the lights and speakers? Lights, Speakers, & Fans?



Ventilation is tough, especially in DIY cabs. We're here to help, msh!

 

[maariic]

Very good oTm. Very good help. I would add a lil bit.

If it is possible put light shield. simple glass plate that is right under the lights and. If it is not possible - move your inside fans so that they blow upside. They won't force hot air to the bottom then.

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

temps outside can range from 65-76
the fans are on the top front and lower back.
i dont honestly run the speakers at night, and my day cycle is at night. but id say itd probably add a degree or two if that.
with just the lights running temps climb fast into the 90s, right now with no light trap and all three fans running for an hour now the box started at 66F and reached 88F as of a few mins ago.
the 120mm fan inside is blowing the heat towards the exhaust fan.

this was my first trail. i will now turn off the 120mm or maybe relocate it at the bottom pushing air near the intake upwards.

so all fans running, no light traps, with 6 lights a total of 126watts the temps reached 88F within a hour.

 

[overTHEman]

Very good oTm. Very good help. I would add a lil bit.

If it is possible put light shield. simple glass plate that is right under the lights and. If it is not possible - move your inside fans so that they blow upside. They won't force hot air to the bottom then.

maariic has a couple good points, i'll do some elaborative-translation for him here.

First, walling off the lights; a very effective way to reduce temperatures in a microgrowing setting. Ventilate this section separately from the grow space for maximum effect. In your case particularly, the speakers could be treated with the same method - instead of glass, use a false wall. These could be the last part of your ventilation... good thought maariic. If I can figure out how to use google sketchup, i'll post or PM you an idea.

Second, fans blowing upward. Hot air will exchange faster when it is allowed to stay hot and rise to ventilation. Having a fan blow across your lights is a great idea - just aim it at your exhaust fan above the lights. You've already commented on this but I figured it was good enough to reiterate.

temps outside can range from 65-76
the fans are on the top front and lower back.
i dont honestly run the speakers at night, and my day cycle is at night. but id say itd probably add a degree or two if that.
with just the lights running temps climb fast into the 90s, right now with no light trap and all three fans running for an hour now the box started at 66F and reached 88F as of a few mins ago.
the 120mm fan inside is blowing the heat towards the exhaust fan.

this was my first trail. i will now turn off the 120mm or maybe relocate it at the bottom pushing air near the intake upwards.

so all fans running, no light traps, with 6 lights a total of 126watts the temps reached 88F within a hour.

Nighttime day cycle is the only way to keep the plants warm around these parts at night. It's snowy out there! As mentioned, the 120mm blowing upwards will definitely help.

As far as the wattage goes; lights are a part of the measurement, as well as fans, powerstrips, speakers, etc... every wire resists and produces heat.

Keep us updated!

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

i was just told that having the light directly on the thermostat throws off temp readings, so i covered them up and modified the light traps. i might just use a pvc like ducting that leads to right next to the lights sucking in the hot air and out the box. ill have the 120mm fan blowing from the other side of the light directed into the pvc pipe. but for now im going to let it sit running over night so i can get an idea of the temp max and min. it records them for me.

what would you guys say if i added a co2 bottle in there probably a little diy one but maybe would help since temps stay high?

 

[overTHEman]

Hey msh,

CO2 is a great addition to many growing scenarios, however, it should be the LAST thing to dial in. Altering air in an effort to help a plant adapt to a temperature problem is not the right reason to add CO2. Doing so would mean that temperature control is dependent on the efficacy of the CO2 production unit and the plants absorption.... there's still a temperature problem. Leave it out until you've got a run or two under your belt so as to avoid unneeded complication.

Let's just fix those temps.

maariic mentioned glassing off your lights, this is a great idea. Since we're musing on this and I wanted to learn how to use sketchup anyway, here are some pictures that do his idea more justice than my words (lights and speakers isolated):

I couldn't figure out how to tilt the lights... but you get the idea.

Ventilate from the growing space into the speaker area, then up and out. Use one of the fans between the glass and ceiling blowing across the lights, towards the exhaust. Though it looks like a decrease in growing space, this is likely the amount of space in which the plants will grow anyway.

Finally, a large benefit might be had from moving the powerstrip from the floor to the wall or ceiling near the ventilation. This would allow any heat produced here to be more easily evacuated and also curb possible water/electricity issues.

/ventilation rant.


Hope this helps!

 

[maariic]

wow oTm! You dont waste your time at computer! Are they first sketches? Very good. About shield- horizontal one should be smaller than footprint of box. There should be left gaps where the air can go from plant! I am not sure about vertical shield. Do you think speakers produce noticable heat?

 

[overTHEman]

wow oTm! You dont waste your time at computer! Are they first sketches? Very good. About shield- horizontal one should be smaller than footprint of box. There should be left gaps where the air can go from plant! I am not sure about vertical shield. Do you think speakers produce noticable heat?

It took a couple tries to get the cab right. Haha.

My knowledge of speakers is limited to guitar amplifiers, the amount of heat would likely depend of the type of speaker. Since most speakers are electromagnets and not airtight, it seems like isolation is the best treatment. Yes i agree, glassing off the lights alone would be a huge step; run the glass from back to front, leaving a small gap between the glass and door to the cab for ventilation of growing space.

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

Wow that seems like a lot of work and remodeling bro. What about using PVC pipe to put my intake right next to the light? Then I'll take the intake fan and put it on the end of the PVC next to the lights to draw more heat in through the PVC out to the other 80mm fan and out the box. Then I'll use the 120mm below pushing heat up. I'd use a passive intake, Just not sure how big the hole needs to be.

What do you guys think? I'm sorry but putting glad in would really be hard

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

after to a ton of research and asking my local hydro store what the problem is i was given this answer. having both fans one at the top and one at the bottom is actually throwing off the airflow, i need to just have one exhaust with my 80mm fans the brand runs around 31cfm which would turn my box over 5.5times per min roughly. the problem is i have my light traps setup set up shitty along with not having a passive intake. he told me to ditch the cardboard light trap and use ducting. i asked if pvc paint black would work and he said yes might even be better. he directed me to have it drawing air in near the light this way with the passive intake my air is taking out right by the light first so hottest air is leaving right away and new cool air will be drawn in from the bottom. he told me to do trial and error, first just have one 80mm fan for exhaust and watch the temp, if it gets to high add the second 80mm fan to the other end of the pvc closest to the light. he also said dont run that 120mm yet, see how your airflow is with out it first then deiced if its needed. he told me that itll disrupt the circulation and i should only use it once the plants get around 4" or when i start flowering.

very informative guy, im really impressed that he took the time to sit down and explain it to me, even drawing up diagrams.

what do you guys think? its worth a shot id have to say

 

[overTHEman]

Hook it up! Let's see what happens!

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

itll have to wait until i get home im at workk right now wont be home till 7ish but i really hope this works.

on a side note i put three seeds into germination last night, i figured if the box wasnt ready ill just hang some cfls over them in the closet

 

[overTHEman]

I'm stoked to see what happens... cut work early!

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

hahaha i wish i dont think my boss would think to much of me if i ran to him saying "BRO i gota get home now and set up my grow box!" or would he

 

[Mr Skunky Haze]

well did some remodeling, that main power strip is up on the wall so in case of any spills it wont get wet. i ended up trying to hook this pvc duct idea and realized after testing the airflow that something had to be seriously wrong in or on the box. the fan moves a lotttt of air standing alone so whats causing it to loose so much power when hooked to the box. remember a few pages ago when i added that mesh to cover up the ports? well this mesh DESTROYS the airflow i removed both pieces and it made a huge difference just one 80mm fan is pulling in a pushing air out more than all 3 fans combined did. i put a pvc elbow to work as a light trap and it really didnt do to much so im going to add another one. im shocked that the mesh was the real problem here.