Build A Stealth Grow Box For Less Than $150

This post was written by the HMJ Grow Expert ThisBuds4You, Click here to read more by this author

Howdy fellow HMJane-ers! Welcome to your FIRST stealth grow installment with ME, ThisBuds4You!!! I will show you how I made a STEALTH chest of drawers (dresser) for less than $150 and YOU CAN TOO. In 3 months you will be puffin’ on your own homegrown for less than the cost of a half ounce of herb. A little know how, a couple tools and a few items from your neighborhood hardware supplier and you’ll be growing in no time! This box should produce 5-6 ounces of A-Quality bud every grow cycle (60 days). This box also uses only 300 watts of power, about the same amount as a standard desktop computer.

Details about this dresser

It took 2 -8 hour days to complete this grow box. This dresser is comprised of 2 growing chambers, 1 for flowering your buds and the other for keeping your mother plant and young clones. The mother plant and clones are kept under 24-18 hours of light and your flowering plants are under 12 hours of light. I used 250 actual watts of power in the flowering chamber. This should give us around 5-6 ounces of bud every grow cycle (60 days) depending on the strain, nutrients, grow medium, etc. I will get into nutrients, caring for your plants, etc in future articles. Alright, enough talk, lets get growing!!!

 

 

Here are a few tools you will need:

Tools Needed for the job

Drill & Drill bits (standard sizes)
Jigsaw
2″ hole saw drill bit
Phillips Screwdriver
Rubber mallet or hammer
Staple Gun & Staples
Tape Measure
Sharpie Marker
Carpenter’s Knife
White caulk, NOT CLEAR
Scissors
Sandpaper
Wood Glue (not necessary, but nice to have)

If you don’t have all the tools, BORROW THEM FROM YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY! If they ask you why you need them, make up some bullshit! I didn’t want to spend $20 on a hole saw drill bit so I borrowed it, just ask!

Supplies you will need to complete your box:
Dresser – $30
6′x10′ of Panda film – $10
1 – 4′x2′ 0.25″ MDF or Hardboard (I prefer MDF) – $4.50
9 Ceramic light fixtures – $11.43
About 8 ft of lamp cord – FREE
3 standard plugs (for lamp cord) – FREE
Duct fan (I used a 6″ but a 4″ is also sufficient) – $16.00
3 – 120mm computer fans – $13.50
2 – 80mm (standard) computer fans – FREE
1 standard computer power supply & tester – Power supply FREE, Tester – $12.00
9 CFL bulbs (I used a mix of 42 and 23 watt bulbs) – $35.00
2 Hinges – $2.00
2 Magnetic Closures – $3.00
1 power strip – $2.47
1 piece of plexi glass 3mm thick – FREE

1 thermometer – $10.00

2 timers – $8.00

Misc items (not necessary but nice to have)

8 door/cabinet pulls (not necessary but a very nice touch) – $10

1 carbon scrubber (i got the smallest one CAN FILTER makes) – $39.00 if you are concerned about odor, this is a MUST

Money Saving Tips

1. Re-purpose the wood from inside the dresser! I got an old ass dresser that was probably hand-built by some old pioneer and I was able to reuse a lot of the wood. I only had to purchase 1 new piece of wood (the MDF) for the back door.

2. Get an old junked computer and use the fans and power supply from that, you can probably find one for free, I did.

3. Check the free section of craiglist for dressers, computers, etc. If you can’t find free ones, pretty sure you can find cheap ones. I got my dresser for $30.

4. Don’t pay for lamp cords! Find some old ass lamps in the garbage, free section of craigslist or whatever and use those. Just cut them off from the lamp and wa la!

Disassembling the dresser
Take great care in taking the dresser apart. We took time taking it apart and ended up being able to reuse most of the wood from the dresser. We took apart the drawers and used the bottoms to make the front face that the drawer fronts attached to. We also used the bottom of the drawers for the floors of our new grow box.

Now, I’m not going to get into too much detail from here on out; the pictures are pretty self-explanatory. If you’ve got any questions, feel free to fire away!

The Beginning
Here’s the dresser untouched

Dresser untouched

First, we took all the drawers out and began to take those apart with a rubber mallet

Drawer dis-assembly

Drawer dis-assembly

Here’s the dresser completely gutted (except for the top shelf, I left that in so we could mount the exhaust fans and run the power through there)

Dresser gutted

Then we attached one of the drawer bottoms to the front of the dresser, so we would have something to screw the drawer fronts to

Dresser with support board

Then we attached the drawer fronts with the new drawer handles/pulls

Dresser with drawers attached

Once that was completed we cut a 6″ hole on the inside top shelf we left in and we also added a partition wall in the middle with a hole cut out for a 120 mm fan. We also cut holes in the top of our flowering chamber for the 2-120mm fans we will mount there. Be sure to run caulk around the edges on the inside of the dresser so we don’t have an issue with light leaks. I also cut 4 pieces of wood the same depth as the dresser and screwed them into the bottom. These are going to support our new floors.

Boards mounted, holes cut

Partition wall with hole cut

Next, make your floors from the scrap drawer bottoms. I drilled holes in them with a 2″ hole saw bit for air flow. Air is your best friend in these small spaces! I lined the floor of the veg room with panda film, I’m making a separate tray to place the plants in the flowering area so I did not line that floor with panda film

Vegetative chamber floor

Flowering chamber floor

Next, line the entire interior of the dresser with panda film and install the floors

Dresser lined with Panda film

Now, time for the lights. I daisy-chained all the lights together and mounted them to some scrap 1/2″ board I had laying around. You can use pieces of the dresser drawers for this also.

Ceramic fixtures

Lamp cord plug

Break time with Sweetwater 420 and Mandala Hashberry

Break Time

Now for the fans, I used 3-120 mm fans. I’m using 2 in the ceiling to exhaust hot air out of the flowering chamber (the lights will be sealed off by a piece of plexi glass), and 1 fan will be blowing air from the flowering chamber into the veg chamber. I powered these fans with a PC power supply. I got a power supply tester so the power supply would power the fans.

120mm fans

Power supply with tester

Now, mount the fans and the lights. I mounted 2-80 mm computer fans in the corners of the flowering box, air flow is our best friend in these small spaces!

Lights and fans mounted

Exhaust fans for lights in flowering chamber

PC fans mounted, exhaust fans for flowering chamber lights

Hinges attached to door

Hinges attached

Magnetic closures attached

Vegetative chamber up and running!!!

Flowering chamber with plexi glass installed
Lights on!

Flowering chamber with plexi glass installed

Door installed on back of dresser, still need to get a piece of hardboard to attach across the top of the back…

Back of dresser

Grow box is done!

Front of dresser, DONE!

Any questions, feel free to fire away. Overgrow the world!!!

TB4U

http://hailmaryjane.com/build-a-stealth-grow-box-for-less-than-150/

El Monte Marijuana Bust Uncovers $1 Million In Pot

When Los Angeles deputies responded to a burglary-in-progress call in El Monte, they had no idea they’d be stumbling across one of the biggest marijuana grow houses in the city’s history.

On Saturday morning, four men and a teen boy were caught trying to break in to what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse on Continental Avenue. Instead of guns or other weapons, the thieves were armed with gloves and clippers, reports NBC LA. Their getaway car? A U-Haul.

Eventually, one of the suspects tipped authorities off about their intended target: over 3,000 marijuana plants valued at around $1 million. After obtaining a search warrant, El Monte police entered the warehouse to carry out what is being touted as “the biggest drug bust in El Monte history.”

KTLA’s look inside the El Monte warehouse plantation reveals a secret 3-foot high crawl space where a guard was stationed to watch the door through an air-conditioning vent. Inside, a sophisticated system of lighting and irrigation nurtured thousands of marijuana plants that were just three weeks away from harvest. Finally, the growers evaded detection by sourcing their electricity directly from underground wires, which authorities believe enabled them to steal $10,000 of electricity per month.

One of the robbery suspects alleges that the grow house belongs to his family, who was cutting him out of the profits. He had wrangled four friends to help him claim his share. From the Daily News Wire Service:

Benjamin Kwok, 37, of San Gabriel, Xing Xi He, 24, of Baldwin Park, Louie Frank Fraijo, 28, also of Baldwin Park, Raymond Guan, 29, of Rosemead and a 17-year-old boy from San Gabriel were all arrested and booked for commercial burglary…

El Monte is no stranger to jackpot marijuana busts. In 2008, a home in a small gated community was busted for housing a $1 million marijuana plantation. In 2010, police busted two more home plantations with estimated values of $250,000 and $1 million.

Humboldt County Residents Plan Marijuana-Based City

Photo: Cheebatech

Just go ahead and put me down as a permanent resident, man.

A group from southern Humboldt County, California is hoping to capture the independent, weed-friendly spirit of the area by creating a city that uses revenues from the local marijuana industry.

The Humboldt Emerald City Organizing Group is holding an informational fund raiser Sunday, May 15, for the formation of Emerald City, according to Jim Lamport with Lamport Legal Documents in Garberville. The event, begins about 1 p.m. at the Beginnings Octagon in Briceland, aims to inform the public while raising money to fund the incorporation process, reports Donna Tam at the Eureka Times-Standard.

Lamport said the group hopes the new city will benefit from sales tax related to its marijuana industry.

While Arcata and Eureka have adopted ordinances regulating medical marijuana grows, Humboldt County itself has yet to pass an ordinance. Lamport said he thinks the Emerald City Council would quickly take up the passing of an ordinance.

Photo: PhoenixPharmer

A juicy bag of primo local product, Humboldt County Kush. Could this cash crop support a cannabis-friendly Emerald City?

​ “The rural southern part of the county is socioeconomically different from Arcata or Eureka, or Rio Dell or Fortuna,” Lamport said. “Currently, we’re lumped in politically with all the vast unincorporated areas of the county to the extent that we feel the need for greater local representation.”

The group needs about $7,500 for the first steps of the incorporation process, including an initial feasibility study, a preliminary analysis of available revenue sources for a potential city, and how any financial gaps might be filled.

The group would need to file a formal application with the Local AGency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which decides if an area has the fiscal capability and community support to form a new city.

The preliminary boundary of Emerald City, which LAFCO helped draw up, includes areas of Garberville, Redway and Benbow, including the Garberville Airport.

“They need to show where the money is going to come from because as a city, they would be responsible for a range of services and those services will need to be clearly defined,” said LAFCO Executive Officer George Williamson, who has the organization has already been in discussions with the Humbold Emerald City Organizing Group.

According to Williamson, who will be at Sunday’s event to answer questions on a panel, the initial study will only be the first of several the group will need to complete, and all fees associated with processing the application will need to be paid up front.

There will also be marijuana experts and speakers at the event on Sunday, including Julia Carrera, a medical marijuana inspector from Mendocino County.

If the group completes the required studies, which include an environmental analysis and a plan outlining how services would be provided, it will need to gather petition signatures from 25 percent of registered voters who are property owners within the defined area.

The group would also need to negotiate a tax revenue sharing agreement with Humboldt County, which indicates what services the new city would take on and how much of the county’s tax revenue it would take in order to have those services.

“It all has to be revenue neutral,” Williamson said. “They can’t ask for more than they need to provide, and they can’t leave the county with less.”

Lamport, who was one of the organizers of an attempt to make Southern Humboldt its own county 15 years ago, said the efforts are part of a longstanding sentiment over local control of services.

“We’ve had several meetings with LAFCO personnel and county officials,” Lamport said. “And, we’ve been pleased with their efforts to take us seriously, and they’ve certainly been encouraging.”

poor guy!

‘The Last Time I Checked, It Wasn’t Illegal To Grow A Tomato Plant,’ Man Says

Hundreds of marijuana plants were seized by police officers in Independence, Missouri on 4/20, a day celebrated by pot smokers. But when the cops came busting in at one man’s door looking for cannabis, they found a tomato growing operation instead.

“What I saw today was not protection,” the man told KMBC‘s Cliff Judy. “That was harassment, all because of where I made a purchase.”

See, it turns out the Missouri Highway Patrol “monitors” stores that sell hydroponic growing equipment — and they use those sales to track down illegal marijuana growing operations. That information — couple with the asinine assumption that any customer at a hydroponics store must be involved in cannabis — led them to the tomato farmer’s door.

Photo: KMBC

​”The last time I checked, it wasn’t illegal to grow a tomato plant but it makes you wonder,” the man said.

The tomato grower asked KBMC News not to identify him because he’s an emergency responder and his job would be put at risk for speaking out. He said there’s a good chasnce he could end up working with several of the officers who came to his home looking for marijuana. (Welcome to modern America, where you can be wrongly raided for “drugs,” but you’d better not complain about it.)

The man said he thinks labeling him as a possible drug dealer because of buying hydroponic equipment is profiling.

“I understand that a lot of people use hydroponic equipment for illegal ways, but that’s just like saying everybody who guys a guy is going to be a criminal and murder someone,” he said.

Independence police said the same tactic which took them to the tomato grower’s home also led them to a different residence in Independence on Wednesday morning, where they busted an active marijuana growing operation. Coincidentally, the cannabis was just as safe as tomatoes, but far more illegal.

Police claimed hundreds of marijuana plants were seized throughout the Kansas City metro area on Wednesday, 4/20, in addition to the Independence bust.

Word on the street is that the cops didn’t even make a dent in the weed supply.

17 Pounds of Marijuana Growing in Man’s Basement

OSWEGO — Oswego police say they found more than 17 pounds of marijuana growing in a man’s basement at a home where four young children lived.

Police initially responded to 229 Munn Street around 10:47 p.m. Friday for reports of a domestic dispute. When they got there, police say, they smelled a strong marijuana-like odor.

Police say Shawn Hort, 35, admitted to possessing marijuana. Police say a search of the home turned up an indoor marijuana grow in the basement. Police say they found 175 marijuana plants along with high density lights, two separate air filtration systems and all necessary hydroponics containers, chemicals and pumps. Investigators also say they found a large quantity of dried marijuana packaged in several different containers.

Hort is charged with criminal possession of marijuana, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful growing of cannabis. He was arraigned in Oswego City Court and sent to the Oswego County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1,000 cash bail.

If you have any information, call Oswego police at (315) 342-2283. You can also remain anonymous and call the tip-line at (315) 342-8131 or send an email to: crimewatch@oswegony.org.

http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=603888