Ventilation question

eexe

Active Member
Hello RIU!
I am planning a small grow setup(a first for me) out of an old fridge. internal dimensions are expected to be 52x48x102 centimeters (20x19x40 inches), where dimenions' order is length, width and height. I intend to have one auto in there, lighting will be a single prakasa 90W UFO LED light.

While the fridge and lighting are set for now, I have not yet decided what to do with ventilation. Would a 70 mm PC fan intake and a 80 mm PC fan for exhaust with an automotive cone air filter filled with activated carbon on the end be enough for a cabinet like this? Perhaps I would need something more powerful for exhaust or a bigger filter? I really don't have a lot of understanding in this area, so help would be greatly appreciated. The evironment isn't really warm with autumn ahead, it's really just the lighting that would be a more significant heat source.
 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
There's a section on here for stealth grows and micro grows you may be able to see what others are doing and get some ideas.
There is also a thread called diy carbon filter or something like that for similar ideas.
Personally I don't think PC fans can handle the resistance of carbon filters. But I have been told otherwise. Yet to see for sure if they work. But there are many people who do micro grows, stealth or not so I'm sure some of them have solved this problem.

A PC fan would work for an intake. But possibly not needed provided extraction was strong enough, passive would work.
PC fans also work great inside micro cabs to create a nice breeze and circulate air.

Edit, here is the DIY carbon filter thread, or one of the early ones.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/the-best-diy-ez-walmart-carbon-filter-for-micro-grows-zen-style.101248/

Edit2, looks like wolfmans picture are no longer available, which is a shame. There are plenty of others though.
 

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
Sterilize the crap out of the fridge with a 10% bleach solution before you even think of doing anything with it. If its been out of use for awhile, there could be mold inside the casing/insulation/etc you won't see. I've seen where these fridge grows went bad because of it, just need to take precautions.
 

eexe

Active Member
Thanks for the heads up about sterility, I have thought about it. The fridge in question is still in use today, as it is simply getting replaced by a newer one. I am intending to clean it thoroughly. An additional foot of height will be achieved by cutting into the freezing compartment below, so i will be messing with it anyways(the height estimate was written with that in mind). I guess that it should be a pretty neat setup, just need to work out the ventilation, mounting, electricity, etc. I guess that I'll have to see the light working in order to get a feel for the heat and make the decision then. It will be almost a month till the start from now, so I have some time to think about it.

I guess that it would be a good idea to add a small PC fan inside the fridge for general air circulation, just as coreywebster addressed
 

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
Are you doing the fridge for stealth reasons? If not, you'd be ahead of the game by framing a box with 2x2s and sheathing it in hard insulation board. (6) 8' 2x2s and (2) 4x8 1" thick foam will build a 2x2x8 box. Should have more usable space, unless you have a commercial fridge you're using. Bring the dimensions and most places will cut your materials to size for you.

Put the time and effort into building a optimal environment, rather than trying to adapt one, if you can.
 

eexe

Active Member
Yes, stealth is one of the reasons. Also, the dimensions of the fridge are pretty similar to the dimensions of the space that I have available. Also there is the issue of not having a lot of cash and trying to keep the spending down AND the benefit of not having to bring the old fridge out through a nasty, steep and narrow staircase out of the house's second floor.

It just seems that a fridge would draw less attention of any guests, would be pretty silent if the fans are facing the wall that is nearby(it will be in the corner), would do a pretty good job at being hermetic and keeping the smells in while being relatively easy to setup(apart from cutting the wall to the freezing compartment and holes for the fans). I guess that the bottom of the freezer compartment where I intend to leave some wasted volume would be handy to store liquid fertilizer or anything related to growing like in a drawer of an interesting kind.

In short, the situation I'm in just seems to be suggesting to do this conversion. The fridge is free and close to where it should be(just a few meters away). Maybe it seems like an odd idea, but I want to try this. I can replace it with a box/tent after one grow if it turns out to be bad idea or one that barely works. I would also try to DIY some COB lighting, but I'm getting to use this UFO for free, so...
 
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