TheConstantGardner
Well-Known Member
Simple unit to help cool a mid-sized grow cabinet. My veg cabinet is 42" wide, 32" deep, and 34" tall. I have a total of 384 watts of fluorescent light and a total of 25,000 or so lumen. With summer heating things up I'm hoping this unit will help keep the cabinet around 75f - 80f.
Items needed:
1 - 5 gallon bucket
1 - 8 foot length of 4" accordion ventilation tube
1 - 3 foot length of 3/8" od 1/4" id vinyl tubing
1 - tube of silicon caulking
Tools needed:
Drill and 3/8" bit
Jigsaw
Razor blade
***Correction*** DRAIN hose can be elevated to prevent draining until time to refresh ice and water.
How it works:
The air inside the bucket will get cold, as will the vent tube. With my exhaust pushing air out of the cabinet, air will be pulled in through the small holes at the top of the bucket where it will be cooled and get pulled down into the cabinet through the vent hose. I've installed a drain hose that will allow me to constantly drain away the liquid in the event that moisture and condensation become an issue. I have plenty of ventilation so this shouldn't happen. The drain hose is handy to drain the water off in order to refill it. Three feet of drain tube allows me to extend it past the edge of the table and hang down another foot.
Construction:
Drill holes around the upper rim. Drill one hole through side of bucket 1/4" above bottom. Use the razor blade to clean up plastic burrs.
Use the aluminum vent hose to trace a circle on bottom of bucket. Use the jigsaw to cut this hole out.
Insert vent hose through bottom hole and pull up till 1" below the top holes. Caulk around the vent hose inside and outside of the bucket.
Insert vinyl tubing through bottom hole. Caulk around the tubing inside and outside of bucket.
Allow to dry for 24-48 hours and test for leaks before using.
Cut hole through top of cabinet. As before, use the hose to trace circle.
Push the long piece of vent tubing through the top of your cabinet and extend hose to the bottom.
Now fill bucket around vent tube with cold water, ice cubes, or both. Fill a few inches below top of vent tube. Put a lid on it!
Nothing suspicious going on here. Just a screen printing table. Guess what I can use my t-shirt screens for later?
Items needed:
1 - 5 gallon bucket
1 - 8 foot length of 4" accordion ventilation tube
1 - 3 foot length of 3/8" od 1/4" id vinyl tubing
1 - tube of silicon caulking
Tools needed:
Drill and 3/8" bit
Jigsaw
Razor blade
***Correction*** DRAIN hose can be elevated to prevent draining until time to refresh ice and water.
How it works:
The air inside the bucket will get cold, as will the vent tube. With my exhaust pushing air out of the cabinet, air will be pulled in through the small holes at the top of the bucket where it will be cooled and get pulled down into the cabinet through the vent hose. I've installed a drain hose that will allow me to constantly drain away the liquid in the event that moisture and condensation become an issue. I have plenty of ventilation so this shouldn't happen. The drain hose is handy to drain the water off in order to refill it. Three feet of drain tube allows me to extend it past the edge of the table and hang down another foot.
Construction:
Drill holes around the upper rim. Drill one hole through side of bucket 1/4" above bottom. Use the razor blade to clean up plastic burrs.
Use the aluminum vent hose to trace a circle on bottom of bucket. Use the jigsaw to cut this hole out.
Insert vent hose through bottom hole and pull up till 1" below the top holes. Caulk around the vent hose inside and outside of the bucket.
Insert vinyl tubing through bottom hole. Caulk around the tubing inside and outside of bucket.
Allow to dry for 24-48 hours and test for leaks before using.
Cut hole through top of cabinet. As before, use the hose to trace circle.
Push the long piece of vent tubing through the top of your cabinet and extend hose to the bottom.
Now fill bucket around vent tube with cold water, ice cubes, or both. Fill a few inches below top of vent tube. Put a lid on it!
Nothing suspicious going on here. Just a screen printing table. Guess what I can use my t-shirt screens for later?