Grow cabinet design help

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extremophile420

Member
I am designing a 2x4 wooden grow cabinet, it will be powered by two HLG QB96, and i want to be sure to design it right and create the best grow environment. I am having a hard time deciding on ventilation holes placement, i have two designs in mind and i want to know which is the most effective design, taking into consideration maximum stealth. The cabinet will be placed in a room with a window in front of it, but the back of the cabinet will be a few inches away from a wall. This will bring my ventilation questions.

Design 1
1.png
In this design two 4 inch intake holes will be placed on the bottom of the cabinet, and a 4 inch exhaust hole is placesdon the top roof of the cabinet, i am leaning towards this design the most, since its the stealthiest, with some decorations on top of the cabinet and nothing will show.

Design 2
2.png
In this design the intake holes are places on the bottom back of the cabinet, and the exhaust of the top back. I see this design is the most common, but i am concerned for two reasons, first is that the back of the cabinet is a few inches away from a wall, and i am not sure if that would harm im passive air intake. And the second reason is that i am afraid that the intake holes will suck back the exhaust air because i will be exhausting in the same direction. (impossible for me to exhaust anywhere but in the same room)

I want to put the carbon filter and fam horizontally in the middle so i can gain more headroom for the lights, thats why the exhaust holes are in the middle of the cabinet.

If there is better designs than the ones i came up with please share with me. I want to grow the best weed.
 
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TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
Just my opinion, since you're looking for maximum stealth too, I'd put the both vents on the backside of the cabinet as low as possible. Here's my reasoning. The air flow down low will help the plants a lot better since it's down by their level. You'll also be able to hide them being on the backside of the box if anyone was just to open the door and walk around without really inspecting. You then can add a very small fan near the top, inside the box and above the lights to help move any heat from the lights. I am not sure if those boards have drivers but I would assume they do so they will give off even the smallest amount of heat.
 
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extremophile420

Member
TheSadVeryBadMadGrower said:
Just my opinion, since you're looking for maximum stealth too, I'd put the both vents on the backside of the cabinet as low as possible. Here's my reasoning. The air flow down low will help the plants a lot better since it's down by their level. You'll also be able to hide them being on the backside of the box if anyone was just to open the door and walk around without really inspecting. You then can add a very small fan near the top, inside the box and above the lights to help move any heat from the lights. I am not sure if those boards have drivers but I would assume they do so they will give off even the smallest amount of heat.
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The back of the cabinet will be placed against a wall so i was thinking that if i place the intake holes on the low back of the cabinet like in design 2 it will restrict airflow?

I am leaning towards design 1 but i am not sure about its effectiveness, the cabinet will be lifted 4 inches off the floor to let air pass, and the intake holes will be places on the floor of the cabinet covered by darkroom louvers so i dont need any ducting for light leaks. That way you cant really see the intake holes unless you bend down and look underneath the cabinet. What do you think?
 
TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
These are my current tents. If you notice in the tent on the left, I threw a small 4 inch fan literally next to my other tent. I want to say there's about 2 inches between the tents. Works like a charm. I blow air into the tent on the right directly on top of the other tent lol. Anyways, if you can keep even a good 2 inches from the wall or so and put a decent fan to pull air in, while properly being able to move the air out as well, you'll be more then fine. That space really isnt that big to where you'll need something huge to move the air.tents.jpg
 
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extremophile420

Member
TheSadVeryBadMadGrower said:
These are my current tents. If you notice in the tent on the left, I threw a small 4 inch fan literally next to my other tent. I want to say there's about 2 inches between the tents. Works like a charm. I blow air into the tent on the right directly on top of the other tent lol. Anyways, if you can keep even a good 2 inches from the wall or so and put a decent fan to pull air in, while properly being able to move the air out as well, you'll be more then fine. That space really isnt that big to where you'll need something huge to move the air.View attachment 4455937
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I understand what you mean, but stealth is a factor also. If you stand next to the cabinet and look you will be able to see the intake holes, i live in a country where stealth is extremely important.
Having intake holes on the floor and exhaust from the ceiling is not a good idea?
 
TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
extremophile420 said:
I understand what you mean, but stealth is a factor also. If you stand next to the cabinet and look you will be able to see the intake holes, i live in a country where stealth is extremely important.
Having intake holes on the floor and exhaust from the ceiling is not a good idea?
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I said put the intake on the lower back side. I was showing my tents as a reference to show you that you don't need much space between something to be able to circulate good airflow.
 
TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
I was just suggesting to leave the cabinet a good inch or so from the wall. It wont be noticed that it's not "perfectly" on the wall. This way you'll be able to hide any holes you'll need in the box by putting them on the backside of the box.
 
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extremophile420

Member
TheSadVeryBadMadGrower said:
I was just suggesting to leave the cabinet a good inch or so from the wall. It wont be noticed that it's not "perfectly" on the wall. This way you'll be able to hide any holes you'll need in the box by putting them on the backside of the box.
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The back side will be against a wall, next to a door. I was thinking about placing them on the back but with a goor look you will be able to spot them. Unless its a big 8 inch hole in the middle back of the cabinet.
So i think on the floor is better. Dont you think is better to raise it more than 2 inches off the floor? Or that would be unnecessary? I want what offers maximum effectiveness.
 
TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

TheSadVeryBadMadGrower

Well-Known Member
extremophile420 said:
The back side will be against a wall, next to a door. I was thinking about placing them on the back but with a goor look you will be able to spot them. Unless its a big 8 inch hole in the middle back of the cabinet.
So i think on the floor is better. Dont you think is better to raise it more than 2 inches off the floor? Or that would be unnecessary? I want what offers maximum effectiveness.
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either way will work fine. Like I said it was just my opinion. I'd rather space it off the wall a little rather then raising it a little off the floor. You'll also get a little more floor space too by venting it out the back.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
extremophile420 said:
I said im going to add a fan and carbon filter in the middle of tue cabinet. If everything goes as planned the cabinet should look nothing like a grow cabinet.
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Nice, I didn't see that part. I hope it's enough to stop the smell. Some of my strains are a lot smellier than others. Green Crack is one of them. I don't use a filter though, so I can't really give any good advice about the size or type to get. @Renfro is the one I would ask about the carbon filter. I'm rooting for ya man. Looks like a nice design.
 
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extremophile420

Member
PadawanWarrior said:
Nice, I didn't see that part. I hope it's enough to stop the smell. Some of my strains are a lot smellier than others. Green Crack is one of them. I don't use a filter though, so I can't really give any good advice about the size or type to get. @Renfro is the one I would ask about the carbon filter. I'm rooting for ya man. Looks like a nice design.
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The filter will be in the middle of the cab, that way the two QB96 can hang right next to it. I have 6.10 feet height and adding a carbon filter horizontally will make me lose about one foot, nothing noticeable but i would rather gain that 1 foot on my plants, thats why i decided to go with the middle filter in the middle. However i am afraid that in the future if i needed to upgrade to something better it wont fit. Do you think its worth it? Or i should sacrifice that 1 foot height?
 
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