Waffledick420
Active Member
Wow. Those hlg lights always seem to produce amazing plants. I hope I can eventually get one to try it out in a mini tent.
MINI BUDGET GROW CHALLENGE
Waffledick420
Active Member
I wanted to get about 4 cobs to equal 200w (although I highly doubt it's actually draw is 50w) and see how they do in a space Bucket setup or similar stealthy boxJust wanted to update on my 50W Ebay blurple that came in the mail. I stuck it on a Pentium heatsink and it seems cool enough in free air so the on board drivers keeps the specified wattage flowing. the heatsink is warm and the end fins are not as warm as they could be. That means the thickness of the mounting side is not thick enough to transfer the heat to the ends. A bit of a shame as it would run the chips cooler but what do you want for nothing? So the 50W cob cost $5, the heatsink and fan I will have to look up at an E-waste recycling place in town as I had these laying around, the 12V adapter powering the fan was $4 at a thrift store.
printer
Well-Known Member
These draw an actual 50W, I measured the current at 0.41A at 120V so 49.2W, close enough for me. On the heatsink shown the current did not go down but the ambient temperature was 70 F, what they would do in an enclosed space might be a little less. I am going to keep the two 50's to veg a plant and keep it as a mother, at least that was the plan. Things change day by day with me. Oh wait a second, I am suppose to have two more coming soon, maybe I had a different plan, can't remember what it was.
Waffledick420
Active Member
I'm actually surprised it's actual 50w. If you want to use one for a mother, I'd recommend using just enough light to keep it alive so it doesn't grow out of control when you're not ready for clones. A simple USB light strip should be enough to give it just the energy it needs to live. And 100w would be perfect for a space bucket or you could use one cob per square foot. Depending on the ppfd output, that should be plenty for a decent grow. I was thinking maybe a strip of aluminum, with cobs every 12 inches, big enough for your grow space (in my case it would be like 1.5x3, so like 6 50w cobs) I've watched diy light videos and that's usually how they space them to get maximum coverage
printer
Well-Known Member
Maybe a 20W then for a mother.
Be mindful that one dissipating 50W is the same amount of heat as a 60W incandescent light bulb, think of the surface area of the bulb and you would not want to put your hand on it. So the same power needs a fair amount of surface area. I put the other cob I had on an old (486?) fan/heatsink and it got too hot to the touch.
Be mindful that one dissipating 50W is the same amount of heat as a 60W incandescent light bulb, think of the surface area of the bulb and you would not want to put your hand on it. So the same power needs a fair amount of surface area. I put the other cob I had on an old (486?) fan/heatsink and it got too hot to the touch.
Waffledick420
Active Member
20w should be plenty to keep a mother alive without too much growth. I've seen a guy use I think a 10w USB grow strip to keep his plants in veg outdoors with 12 hours of actual sun.
So good heat sink with fans is important. There's good heat sinks out there specifically for cobs, but they're a bit pricey from what I've seen. Still cheaper than buying a prebuilt light tho
printer
Well-Known Member
So I finally replaced the 11W bulb with the 50W 'full spectrum' cob cooled by the Pentium heatsink. The fan is powered from a 12V switching power supply I got for $2, the extension cord for $2, the power cord for the Cob (a laptop adapter cord with the end cut off) for $1. With the $5 cob that makes it, well cheap. The cob that I used had the solder on pads and I wrapped a Ty-Rap around the heatsink and it covered up the live ends. The chip with the push in connectors will take care of that issue. The fan is not exactly noiseless, not the type of thing I want in a living space.
Waffledick420
Active Member
First one is chocolate rose, then cookies n chem, and the tiny one is la Affie. I was forced to go outdoors with my grow, so i took these to the woods. I have 6 Hickok Haze seedlings popping at home and when they get a little bit bigger, I'll backpack them up here and scatter them around. Outdoor plants look like they've been having a few issues, but I'm just gonna let it go since it's outside. Not much I can do about heat and pests. I will use neem oil once flowering starts, and I'll give them some organic bloom fertilizer, but for now I'm just letting nature take it's course
Attachments
Waffledick420
Active Member
Are these baby buds?? I opened the space bucket and saw something different today. They've been under 12/12 for Maybe about a week and a half.
Attachments
Waffledick420
Active Member
Yeah, right after I posted i zoomed in and noticed it looked like tiny balls forming .That means I got really unlucky here. I have 4 plants in the bucket, and two are definitely males, and one I think is gonna be a male too. The fourth plant is this tiny plant that refuses to branch out. So it just sits there. I'll probably end up harvesting some pollen just because, then throw in a c99 and a cookies n chem .The cookies plant I am expecting to be male so I'll harvest some pollen from it too, and maybe pollenate a bottom branch of the c99 plant to see if the next female is stronger with the cookies n chem genetics mixed in
Waffledick420
Active Member
Sad update. Every. Fucking. Plant. Was. Male. I kept the male with the biggest "buds" and cut everything but the top two "buds" and a few leaves off. Once the pollen sacs open, I'll cut them off and put them in a pill bottle or something and I'll try to pollenate a single branch of the c99. I also have two bagseeds germinating just to see what happens with them on 12/12 from seed in a space bucket made from trash. Unfortunately I can't make a carbon filter with trash tho. Hopefully I'll be able to get a carbon filter soon and I'll use two pc fans to blow into it. If anyone knows of the cheapest carbon filter option, I'd love some feedback.
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
This is a cool thread that I just found. I’ve got to get back and finish the read. Great idea OP.
@Waffledick420, that just sucks. I can’t wait to get into fem seeds.
@Waffledick420, that just sucks. I can’t wait to get into fem seeds.
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
I’ve got a Watt Shine P-300 lihjt that ordered some time back. I’m an outdoors grobro so new to these. I have read some tho. Question, is a tent necessary if you have a closet or an entire small room that I can use?
Xepshunall
Well-Known Member
You guys'll pioneer a future of "waste not, want not" believers with this attitude. my most recently completed grow was one male and two female of Fast Seeds Stardust and one fem'd Barney's Farm 8-Ball Kush. I was making seeds since my previous grow will take my old lady through my next two grows. I'd love to participate but we're about to relocate for my job and until then, I have little time for setting up an experiment but I will share my idea.
$0.00 1 pail with lid (found on roadside)
$0.00 1 used "Route44" drink cup or similar (found or re-used)
$10.00 1 100 watt inverter bought new 1/2 price from truck driver who had fuel reward points
$1.09 1 bag opaque glass jewels from Dollar Tree
$0.00 1 seed of Stardust x 8-Ball Kush
$9.99 1 supersonic mist maker
$0.00 scrap polystyrene platter for floating in pail
$0.00 decomposing meat and vegetables to float on foam
$0.00 scrap plastic bag
Bury the pail in soil near low ground-cover weeds or plants
Place my solar battery maintainer and deep-cycle battery near
Cut the foam in a platter and make an opening and a notch for a cord
at the edge for the mist to be generated
Cover the platter with scrap plastic and place rotting material on top
Fill the pail with water to the appropriate level and inlay the platter
Make a net pot from the cup and put your jewels and plant inside
Put the lid on with a hole for the cup and one for the mist maker
Make a net pot from the cup and put your jewels and plant inside
Route the mist make into the pail lid and the cutout in the foam adjust depth
Leave enough slack in the cord for the water level to drop over time
Power up and ensure good mist generation and depth to protect mist maker
Insert the plant in cup and occasionally adjust water level
This would set me back $21.10 since I would have most of what I'd need. I actually have the mist maker but it was bought for a "fogponic" bucket which, by the way, works great so it's cost has to be included.
$0.00 1 pail with lid (found on roadside)
$0.00 1 used "Route44" drink cup or similar (found or re-used)
$10.00 1 100 watt inverter bought new 1/2 price from truck driver who had fuel reward points
$1.09 1 bag opaque glass jewels from Dollar Tree
$0.00 1 seed of Stardust x 8-Ball Kush
$9.99 1 supersonic mist maker
$0.00 scrap polystyrene platter for floating in pail
$0.00 decomposing meat and vegetables to float on foam
$0.00 scrap plastic bag
Bury the pail in soil near low ground-cover weeds or plants
Place my solar battery maintainer and deep-cycle battery near
Cut the foam in a platter and make an opening and a notch for a cord
at the edge for the mist to be generated
Cover the platter with scrap plastic and place rotting material on top
Fill the pail with water to the appropriate level and inlay the platter
Make a net pot from the cup and put your jewels and plant inside
Put the lid on with a hole for the cup and one for the mist maker
Make a net pot from the cup and put your jewels and plant inside
Route the mist make into the pail lid and the cutout in the foam adjust depth
Leave enough slack in the cord for the water level to drop over time
Power up and ensure good mist generation and depth to protect mist maker
Insert the plant in cup and occasionally adjust water level
This would set me back $21.10 since I would have most of what I'd need. I actually have the mist maker but it was bought for a "fogponic" bucket which, by the way, works great so it's cost has to be included.
Waffledick420
Active Member
The tent is just to contain light and makes it easier to create the ideal environment. You don't need a tent tho. You can do fine with a plant in the corner with a light hanging over it. But if it's a photoperiod you need to either keep the entire room pitch black during the night cycle, or find another way to prevent any light from hitting your plant. If you want a cheap tent, you can get a 2x2 for a little under $50 on Amazon
Waffledick420
Active Member
Sounds like a pretty nice little setup. Im not sure if I missed something or what, but are you planning on using this outdoors? I didn't see you mention any artificial lighting options
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I’ve been getting a better understanding of both tents and lights. The more I look into it the better I like the idea of using a big tent even in a spare room.
Waffledick420
Active Member
No doubt a tent or custom built grow box is the best way to go in my opinion. Its way easier to control the environment and it's easier to control smell too. Good luck with your grows. And if you Wana make your own fem seeds, look up colloidal silver spray and you should find a bunch of video tutorials on how to use it.
WhereWe'edGo
Member
I would like but can't yet.