kayuman
Member
Hi All,
Thought I would share this concept of balancing the volume and distibution of incoming fresh air to your scrog, might be helpful, might not...
I always noted during my research phase of creating a Scrog Box that often the intake air was typically a 4" to 6" hose literally dumping into the bottom of a scrog grow box. I felt this was inefficient in distributing an even air curtain of fresh air to the plants, but also a bit on the bulky side in a space where you want to maximize as much room as possible.
Coming from an industrial back ground I borrowed a concept that I saw applied in many inductrial air distibution systems and DIY'd my own air balancers/air curtains.
The matrials to make this are uber cheap!
3" diameter eaves trough down spouts@ 10' lengths (like $8/ea)
3" Aluminum 90 degree elbows (get the ones that can rotate - $3/ea)
3" Eaves trough "couplers" used to join sections of the 3" eaves trough down spouts- $2/ea
Alumiumum tape
Wire mesh
Foam/sponge
12 pcs of 1/2" x 1/2" x 48" lg pressure treated slates (look in the fence building section at your favourite harware store), like a $1/ea.
My air movement is based on a pull system. Fresh air is pulled into the mother cabinet (from the outside at floor level) and is drawn through into the grow cabinet and exhausted.
Fig1: Air Distibution tube installation in progress. Air entry is from the mother cabinet on other side of wall. I was also fortunate to run into some old pool liner (the baby blue floor) really cheap, so I cut and fit this to the bottom of the scrog box before I installed the air system.
a ) Drill 4, 3" diameter holes at the bottom side wall of your grow cabinet where you want the air to enter your grow cabinet, 1" off the floor. Insert the 3" eaves trough couplers 1/2 way into the hole (as the couplers have a fat and small side drill the hole to the small side that way the couplers wont pull through the hole.) See Fig 1.
b) Caulk and aluminum tape the coupler to ensure an airtight fit.
c) Cut a length of the 3" diameter eaves trough that will fit inside your grow cabinet, make sure to include in your measurement the lenght of the 3" aluminum elbow. So if your cabinet is 4' long subtract 3" for the aluminum elbow and maybe another inch for clearences, so you chould cut the tube @ 3'8" or so.
d) Clamp the 3" eaves trough, scribe a center line down the length. Take your drill and starting at the "entry" end of the tube drill a series of ever increasing diamters holes all the way down the length, approxiamtely 1" apart. I started with 1/4" holes and progressed to 1" holes by the end of the tube.
e) Insert the drilled tubes into the couplers already installed in the wall. Tape joint.
Fig2: This is taken from the mother side of the cabinet. Note the 3" diamter eaves trough couplers are drilled to the small diameter so they can't be pulled through the wall. (Please do not pay attention to the 3" aluminum elbow in this shot, I was playing around with ideas during the build
)
f) Install the aluminum elbows and join to make a "horseshoe" configuration. (Two tubes are now joined together into a distibution system).
Fig 3: Detail of the 3" alumiunum elbows joining two air tubes into a horseshoe.
g) Through one of the holes in the 3" eaves trough I actually inserted my drill with a screw and screwed the 3" to the floor fo the grow cabinet, (just to make sure the tube doesn't rotate, pull out of the wall). Alternately You can use nylon strapping to secure each tube to the floor.
h) I cut round wire mesh the size of the inner diameter of the 3" eaves tough coupler and inserted these approximately 2" into the opening of teh 3" eaves trough couplerhe
i) I cut round foam plugs per the size of the inner diamter of the 3" eaves trough coupler and places these against the wire mesh.
(No pics for item (h) and (i), but basically the wire mesh and foam plugs stop light from the mother cabinet from entering into the grow chamber through the air tubes.)
j) Finally I placed 2 - 2"x4" cut and fitted along the outer perimter of the grow box. These 2x4's just clear the height of the 3" eaves trough air pipes.
h) On top of the 2x4's I "bridged" the 1/2x1/2 pressure treated slates, place approximatley 4" apart. This recreates the floor for your pots.
To complete the picture:
On the opposite wall of the mother cabinet (opposite to the where you srilled and installed the 3" eaves trough couplers), I cut out a 21" x 18" hole.
In this I placed a HEPA furnace filter (smoke, pollen, mite etc etc). My fresh air is pulled through the HEPA, flows over my mother plants and enters the 3" eaves trough couplers to be distributed into the grow cab.
Fig 4: Picture inside mother cabinet, opposite wall to Fig 2. HEPA filter installed.
On the outside of the box I screwed in some wire mesh for basic security and to support the HEPA filter.
Fig 5: Outside of SCROG box looking at outside wall of mother chamber. Screen is screwed to the wall to support the HEPA filter and for a bit of security.
Fig 6: Air balancers installed and complete. Note the foor of 1/2"x1/2" pressure treated slates. This allows your buckets to sit stable and max air flow around your girls.
I have actually crawled into the grow chamber, had the door closed and the fans turned on. The air flow coming up from the floor is absolutley amazing. It's very even, has volume as you can really feel the breeze. And it only utilized in total 4" of floor space!
Hope this idea has some merit for anyones future build.
Good Growing
Kayuman
Thought I would share this concept of balancing the volume and distibution of incoming fresh air to your scrog, might be helpful, might not...
I always noted during my research phase of creating a Scrog Box that often the intake air was typically a 4" to 6" hose literally dumping into the bottom of a scrog grow box. I felt this was inefficient in distributing an even air curtain of fresh air to the plants, but also a bit on the bulky side in a space where you want to maximize as much room as possible.
Coming from an industrial back ground I borrowed a concept that I saw applied in many inductrial air distibution systems and DIY'd my own air balancers/air curtains.
The matrials to make this are uber cheap!
3" diameter eaves trough down spouts@ 10' lengths (like $8/ea)
3" Aluminum 90 degree elbows (get the ones that can rotate - $3/ea)
3" Eaves trough "couplers" used to join sections of the 3" eaves trough down spouts- $2/ea
Alumiumum tape
Wire mesh
Foam/sponge
12 pcs of 1/2" x 1/2" x 48" lg pressure treated slates (look in the fence building section at your favourite harware store), like a $1/ea.
My air movement is based on a pull system. Fresh air is pulled into the mother cabinet (from the outside at floor level) and is drawn through into the grow cabinet and exhausted.
Fig1: Air Distibution tube installation in progress. Air entry is from the mother cabinet on other side of wall. I was also fortunate to run into some old pool liner (the baby blue floor) really cheap, so I cut and fit this to the bottom of the scrog box before I installed the air system.
a ) Drill 4, 3" diameter holes at the bottom side wall of your grow cabinet where you want the air to enter your grow cabinet, 1" off the floor. Insert the 3" eaves trough couplers 1/2 way into the hole (as the couplers have a fat and small side drill the hole to the small side that way the couplers wont pull through the hole.) See Fig 1.
b) Caulk and aluminum tape the coupler to ensure an airtight fit.
c) Cut a length of the 3" diameter eaves trough that will fit inside your grow cabinet, make sure to include in your measurement the lenght of the 3" aluminum elbow. So if your cabinet is 4' long subtract 3" for the aluminum elbow and maybe another inch for clearences, so you chould cut the tube @ 3'8" or so.
d) Clamp the 3" eaves trough, scribe a center line down the length. Take your drill and starting at the "entry" end of the tube drill a series of ever increasing diamters holes all the way down the length, approxiamtely 1" apart. I started with 1/4" holes and progressed to 1" holes by the end of the tube.
e) Insert the drilled tubes into the couplers already installed in the wall. Tape joint.
Fig2: This is taken from the mother side of the cabinet. Note the 3" diamter eaves trough couplers are drilled to the small diameter so they can't be pulled through the wall. (Please do not pay attention to the 3" aluminum elbow in this shot, I was playing around with ideas during the build
)f) Install the aluminum elbows and join to make a "horseshoe" configuration. (Two tubes are now joined together into a distibution system).
Fig 3: Detail of the 3" alumiunum elbows joining two air tubes into a horseshoe.
g) Through one of the holes in the 3" eaves trough I actually inserted my drill with a screw and screwed the 3" to the floor fo the grow cabinet, (just to make sure the tube doesn't rotate, pull out of the wall). Alternately You can use nylon strapping to secure each tube to the floor.
h) I cut round wire mesh the size of the inner diameter of the 3" eaves tough coupler and inserted these approximately 2" into the opening of teh 3" eaves trough couplerhe
i) I cut round foam plugs per the size of the inner diamter of the 3" eaves trough coupler and places these against the wire mesh.
(No pics for item (h) and (i), but basically the wire mesh and foam plugs stop light from the mother cabinet from entering into the grow chamber through the air tubes.)
j) Finally I placed 2 - 2"x4" cut and fitted along the outer perimter of the grow box. These 2x4's just clear the height of the 3" eaves trough air pipes.
h) On top of the 2x4's I "bridged" the 1/2x1/2 pressure treated slates, place approximatley 4" apart. This recreates the floor for your pots.
To complete the picture:
On the opposite wall of the mother cabinet (opposite to the where you srilled and installed the 3" eaves trough couplers), I cut out a 21" x 18" hole.
In this I placed a HEPA furnace filter (smoke, pollen, mite etc etc). My fresh air is pulled through the HEPA, flows over my mother plants and enters the 3" eaves trough couplers to be distributed into the grow cab.
Fig 4: Picture inside mother cabinet, opposite wall to Fig 2. HEPA filter installed.
On the outside of the box I screwed in some wire mesh for basic security and to support the HEPA filter.
Fig 5: Outside of SCROG box looking at outside wall of mother chamber. Screen is screwed to the wall to support the HEPA filter and for a bit of security.
Fig 6: Air balancers installed and complete. Note the foor of 1/2"x1/2" pressure treated slates. This allows your buckets to sit stable and max air flow around your girls.
I have actually crawled into the grow chamber, had the door closed and the fans turned on. The air flow coming up from the floor is absolutley amazing. It's very even, has volume as you can really feel the breeze. And it only utilized in total 4" of floor space!
Hope this idea has some merit for anyones future build.
Good Growing
Kayuman
