My New Project Dual Metal Storage Cabinet Grow Room Stackable....Advice needed.

Hey Guys or Girls ....

I am currently on my 3rd scrog grow in a grow tent...now I move so I need to design a grow room that is lockable and 95% stealth.

First of all here are some centerfold picks of my girls! 4 White Widow,2 Black Jack and 1 Special Kush these girls are 10's lol.They are 3 weeks into flower.

Anyways back to my new project . I was going use A 78"h 36"w 24"D single cabinet like this one at first but after thinking of all the problems sealing light for 2 chambers and realizing that I barely would have enough height and the high shipping cost as well as the structual integrity and mobility with one big cabinet I have reconsidered and decided to go with 2 smaller cabinets that I want to stack and somehow attach. So now I am thinking 2 42"h 36"w 24" depth metal cabinets like these. I will draw up a diagram and post it tomorrow I wanna order these on Monday. They are like $550 for 2 including shipping so I don't wanna fuck this up...by the way these things weigh like 75lbs a piece as opposed to me struggling to move a huge 150lb monster cab.

Please add this thread and give me any advice....this should be a great but difficult project.

hydro or soil?

lights? im subbed lets get some more details up so i can get a better picture of what your trying to accomplish

Thanks for your support retired. Here is a diagram of my proposal...basic info

Soil -I use plain soil with no added ferts amended with perilte and peat moss...my most successful mixture
Nutrient- Miracle grow for veg , Jack blossom booster for flower and some doses of hydrofarm mico.
Ventilation- I S&P 323cfm fan I am currently using one for 2 grow tents and it does the job of cooling of course a carbon filter is attached. Also I am using 8x8 Darkroom louvers for passive intake they will be mounted near the scrog net level.

Scrog- This keeps the plants under a total of 26 inches including the pots. I messed up my current grow and didn't flip the light but still height is under 10" above the scrog net.

Ballast will be hung on the outside of the cabs.

Problems-Attaching these babies in a safe stackable manner I think some hinges with large washers should keep it stable.

Cutting holes- I can't mess these cabinets up. I am thinking a jigsaw for the 8x8 vents and a bimetal hole saw should work on this 22 gauge sheet metal.

Sound proofing ... the best idea would to be gluing some kind of fire retardent foam to the inside which I could then staple mylar onto.

Running electrical wire through holes in sheet metal....stripped wire = a nasty shock.

This is basically my plan.


Dark room light louvers

sounds like you have it down pretty pat, only thing i can suggest is maybe some angle iron tack welded or bolted to the sides that you can slide a plywood cut onto to use as a shelf for the second level. this should be more sturdy and supportive than hinges.

also for the 8x8 holes a grinder would work great if your skilled with tools it should cut a nice clean hole, make sure you get a cutting disc and not a grinding disc. cut along the straights with the grinder then maybe use the jigsaw to finish the corners so you get a nice square..

anyways, like i said you seem to have things pretty much in order and im by far a pro at creating DIY cabinets. i do like your idea though and am subbed up. interested to follow along and help with any bumps in the road. if you have any specific questions def toss them out im sure between the two of us we can figure out a good way to get it done.

and remember the golden rule...

measure twice cut once......going into something with the worng tools may just cost you more money in the long run, be prepared and might be in you best intrest to get a piece of 22g sheet metal to test drive your cutting methods on, im sure you can pick something up at home depot.

oh and a file will be a worthwhile investment for any burs on your cuts, also as far as securing your wires use some self tapper screws (sheet metal screws) and some small wire brackets they sell them by the pack at home depot.

what kind of wire do you plan on using?

i gtg work on one of my own projects so ill check back in later, feel free to stop by my thread if you havent will have a DIY aero dual bucket cloner being made today, going to take lots of pics and post a tutorial.

No real wiring should be required just the the light to ballast will be going through the sheet melal....maybe a piece of conduit will keep them from getting stripped a GFE's should be used in plugging in the ballast for safety.

I will be ordering the cabinets on Monday they will take 14-21 days to get here and then the project will get rolling.

That is cool...I built one of those...haven't had a clone die since!

drill a hole and just toss a rubber grommet in the hole this will keep the abraisive metal from agitating the cord. you can also fill the hole with some of that expanding foam spray stuff which is easily removable and will be light proof.

i bought grommets for $1.40 each at the local hardware store yesterday.

Grommet!!! Now I know what those things are called...I will search online . They have these particular grommets that the cable guys use that will be perfect for light proofing. Buy the way I ordered the 2 cabs today.

The other big thing I am worried about is light escaping the front. However I am going to build PVC frames to hang the lights and fans so if is an issue I will use panda film and velcro to create a front flap.

Great Idea, I was thinking of using some of these type of cabinets as well. As you know though they cost a pretty penny and I couldn't see spending that much on some cabinets. I recently picked up a side by side fridge for free and am working on getting it converted. It is definitely a pain in the ass. For cutting the holes through the fridge I used a rotozip, with the router attachment, worked great until I hit a copper pipe inside and snapped the bit. It was definitely not 22 gauge steel though. I would recommend using a sawzall very carefully to cut through those beasts. So how do you plan on keeping the light from getting from one cab to the other through the shared venitilation system with those cool tubes? Light traps? As far as the foam on the walls, you could get some foam insulation and use some 3M spray glue to keep them up and it will also help with any temperature control issues.

Well to answer your question about the light ....That is the reason I went with 2 cabs. The ducting system will not leak light one of the cab will have a 2 sided duct flang and the insulated duct will be fit super snuggly and take care of light leak issues.

Anyways...once you get through a few succesful grow....friends and family happily "invest" in your next adventure.

Gawd...we had a hurricane come thru... off of work and I have been pouring through every detail. Can't wait to get started.

I was up trying to figure out how I was gonna hang my lights exhaust fan and all that other stuff in the cab without more holes....so I was thinking pvc, but was worried whether it would stand up to the weight.... Then I ran accross this site...dudes are doing mad crazy stuff with pvc ....check it out.
http://flexpvc.com/projects.shtml

use weather stripping to light proof the front of the box, not all weather stripping is going to work so you may have to try a couple different styles before you get a good fit and light proofing, its fairly cheap stuff so its not a huge deal to go through a couple different styles before you get the right one

cool link

10 char

This part is called hurry up and wait.....

im about to order mu 1k wat light kit and i hate waiting for the mail

Hey everyone ....the time has come for me to get started. Here is the 1 of the 2 cabinets

Now lets get those holes cut for the dark room louvers for ventilation!View attachment 2493327View attachment 2493328

Nothing fancy this sheet metal is a little thicker than ducting really...a bimetal jigsaw blade does the trick after drilling 2 holes in the marked square.

Btw the way I use scrog...so I have set the height of the louvers to match the underside and the canopy of growth.....I think this is important.

Now to the insulation...for that I have chosen a 1/2 inch foam with one reflective side. It serves a couple of purposes. It reduces the noise, keeps temps steady and as it turns out keeps the locking mechanism from making that annoying jingly sound