I need your suggestions

[Ermm11]

So I've been thinking a lot about what to use as a growing area. Spent a lot of time researching pc grows and dressers however I've decided to use a dryer! I have a non working one and after inspecting it I can gut the machine and make what im thinking could be a worth while stealth grow. The interior measures 32.5 inches tall 26 wide and 25 deep. I will easily be able to make the machine air and light tight, with the ability to access quickly threw the loading door and the option to unsnap the lid for cleaning and or maintenance. This is my first grow and id like to try a scrog, im planing to em the entire grow with cfl's would you kind people be willing to give me your opionion on the size of my area and do you think if could work? How many plants would you try to put in that space?

 

[valuablevariable]

I would highly suggest switching to some sort of cabinet. I imagine it will be a real pain to work with a metal housing, mounting lights in it, making exhaust holes etc. Theres no real advantage to the dryer over a little wooden cabinet other than it is a fun idea.

 

[NEONKINEBUDZ]

If you are going to use the dryer grow two plants max. I would personally do a one plant Scrog or LST (I prefer LST without a screen but they are the same thing for the most part) and let that one plant veg a little longer. Of course for the Scrog it all depends on your screen and how much you want to fill it before switching the photoperiod. What medium are you planning on using and what type/size of container? How many cfls?

 

[Ermm11]

If you are going to use the dryer grow two plants max. I would personally do one a one plant Scrog or LST (I prefer LST without a screen but they are the same thing for the most part) and let that one plant veg a little longer. Of course for the Scrog it all depends on your screen and how much you want to fill it before switching the photoperiod. What medium are you planning on using and how what type/size of container? How many cfls?

I am currently using MG soil ( moisture control ) I know it is frowned upon within the culture however it's my first grow and I didn't want a large initial investment and let's face it the bag was $5 and I was concerned I would over or under water so what's better that moisture control !! I anticipate changing soil however that leads me to the question how do I properly replant in new medium and a new container? The three seedlings I have are currently in solo cups and are 10 days old with x4 26w 6500k CFL's that are roughly 3 inches above them. My largest seddling has 5 sets of leaves grown in and multiple new grow starts are visible. I was entertaining the idea of a scrog with two plants but I wanted some input from others, I was concerned if two would fit efficiently or not. I have worked out the design in advance and i should be able to install 12 cfl bulbs with reflectors on each set of 6. Let me know you thoughts thanks!!!!

 

[hotrodharley]

A metal housing for plants? I predict his return later with heating and ventilation issues. See "Sauna".

 

[NEONKINEBUDZ]

I agree with you hotrodharley. Ermm...what are your plans for ventilation? Since you already have the dryer I recommend setting it up the way you would grow and monitor the conditions for a few days, This way all you would really lose is time. If you count on it to work and it doesn't, you will lose your plants as well. Also, what I recommend for translplant is to take the medium you are going to use and put it into your new containers. Set the containers in the same place your seedlings are for 24-48 hours prior to transplant. This will allow the medium to be something that is close if not the same as what the seedlings are in as far as temp goes. This will help reduce stress and shock if you handle the plants with care. I have taken seedlings/clones from cups that were in soil and put them into a soilless medium with no problems. Soil to soil is simple, just let your cups get to where they need to be watered and turn the cups upside down to catch the soil and roots. Doing this when the plants need to be watered makes a more solid mass. Plan for a hole the same size as the cup.

 

[hotrodharley]

If you can set it up off the ground higher than a dryer normally sits it will help. Hell a guy grew some nice ones in an old TV. One of the early big screen jive jobs that are worthless now. And you have the whole back here to ventilate so if you simply cut the entire back away as much as possible it would also help.

 

[nick88]

He can use the lint filter opening for intake and the exhaust is already there.

 

[Ermm11]

Thanks for the replanting lesson neon, i think the time is approaching. As for the dryer I did plan on emptying it and running temp test and experiment with humidity. Ventilation I've done a lot of thinking and Im curious to see how well it will play out once the dryer is emptied but I'd like to utilize the existing exhaust for the intake and higher up the back side I would create a exhaust outlet. As I hope this could help remove as much heat as possible.( explain further in a moment ) Possibly a inline fan mounted to the exsisting exhaust for the intake, as I could also simply filter this to prevent a abundance of dust coming in. I would truly like to fabricated a simple exhausted light housing/reflector to connect to my exhaust ? Does any of this make sense, or am atleast close to making some logically guesses how to make this work.

 

[joe macclennan]

I converted an old fridge once. It worked great! I had to put three bathroom exhaust fans in it tho. One was intake on the bottom with some shop pegboard on bottom to help diffuse and get even air mvmt. One fan had the Hps mounted directly on it to suck most of the heat off it and one was in the freezer which I used to propagate with a month or so before harvest.It was a hell of a lot of work but was awesome when done. I used a 150 watt hps and around 200 watts of 2 ft flouros for side lighting.(t5s would be even better.)remotely ran all of the ballasts to the back of the unit to help keep heat down. The best part was noone ever thinks twice about an old fridge in the garage that "runs" alot. I used it for around 5 yrs and ended up selling it to a friend for 500 buks. He still uses it today.

 

[valuablevariable]

I converted an old fridge once. It worked great! I had to put three bathroom exhaust fans in it tho. One was intake on the bottom with some shop pegboard on bottom to help diffuse and get even air mvmt. One fan had the Hps mounted directly on it to suck most of the heat off it and one was in the freezer which I used to propagate with a month or so before harvest.It was a hell of a lot of work but was awesome when done. I used a 150 watt hps and around 200 watts of 2 ft flouros for side lighting.(t5s would be even better.)remotely ran all of the ballasts to the back of the unit to help keep heat down. The best part was noone ever thinks twice about an old fridge in the garage that "runs" alot. I used it for around 5 yrs and ended up selling it to a friend for 500 buks. He still uses it today.

What were the yields you got from it?

 

[joe macclennan]

Its been like 15 yrs but seems like around 2-3 zips

 

[melungeonman]

I wish I had ALL the wasted money I've spent building and trying to grow pot in a cab or closet, These grows are usually more trouble than the yeild and I'ts a long wait, and big power bill for very little product. If you have a room big enough to put a grow cab in you have a room big enough to grow pot in. Got a garage? spare bedroom beter yet a spare bathroom with ceiling fan and duct? these are great alternatives, and can be turned STEALTH simply, by taking the dorr nob off and replacing it with a deadbolt or entry lock. before spending time and money on these grows look around your house for un-used SPACE to grow in that way your biggest concern will be making it light tight at the appropriate times. basements are killer as well.