Kompressor

Stumbled across this today:

DIY Stealth Grow Box

Here’s what you’ll need (around $90):

Two 21.5 gallon tubs
A roll of aluminum foil tape
Two 3-socket 18″ light fixtures from Lowes
Two 26 watt 3-packs of GE CFL bulbs
Extension cord
12 volt AC adapter
Computer fan


Begin by grabbing your two 21.5 gallon Rubbermaid tubs and mask the inside walls and lid with the foil tape.



Next, remove the ground screws and white shells from your two light fixtures. Removing the white portion of the assembly allows you to bend and shape the remaining portion if you have trouble fitting it into the container. Images displaying how you can achieve this (if necessary) are included for this step as well. Ignore this step if your tubs don’t require these additional modifications to the light fixtures.









The next step is installing the fixtures to the inside of the tub. Mark the 3 holes you’ll need to drill (2 for screws and 1 for the wires) on each side of the tub. Grab some screws.



Mount the fixtures and fasten them securely.



You should now have 3 wires (positive, negative and ground) protruding outside of the box on both sides.



Next, grab the orange extension cord and cut a 3 foot section out of it.



With scissors, remove two inches of the orange plastic from both ends to expose the inner wires.



With a pair of wire cutters, remove the insulation from the positive, negative and ground wires on both ends or your extension cord segment.



Repeat the same process for the fixtures’ wires (the ground wires will already be bare) and then match them to one end of the extension cord segment.



Twist the matching wires together, securing them with wire nuts and electric tape. Make sure no wires are left exposed.



Now for the other side…

Take a nice long section of the “plug-in” portion of the remaining cord and once again strip it, exposing the positive, negative and ground wires.





Now thread all of your remaining loose ends together, matching them by color as before.





Cap the connections with wire nuts and wrap them carefully with electric tape.



Very carefully…




Twist your lights in and give it a test.



Now for some ventilation. You’ll need a 120mm computer fan, soldering iron or sharp knife, and a CD.



Use the CD to trace a spot for your fan and then remove the portion by using the soldering iron. The knife is for you unlucky folks without soldering irons. It may be worth the investment to just pick up a cheap one.







Mount the fan so that it will blow air out.



Now all you need to complete the ventilation is a passive intake. Make a hole near the bottom of the tub and insert a PVC pipe and caulk.



Now for wiring the computer fan.

Strip the wires of for the fan and your 12 volt AC adYou need to strip the wires of the 12 volt AC adapter so that you can connect them as you’ve done with the other wires in this tutorial. Be careful though, not all AC adapters have the wires labeled, as you can see in the images below. Both were white.







To ensure that the lid doesn’t fall off when the two pieces are assembled, add a few pins to secure everything together more effectively.



And here is the final product with some pics from the assemblers first grow.

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Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson