DJ54
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2009
- Messages
- 4,196
- Location
- Carroll, Ohio
- Tractor
- IH Farmall 656 gas/ IH 240 Utility/ 2, Super C Farmalls/ 2, Farmall A's/ Farmall BN/McCormick-Deering OS-6/McCormick-Deering O-4/ '36 Farmall F-12/ 480 Case hoe. '65 Ford 2000 3 cyl., 4 spd. w/3 spd Aux. Trans
I have a couple buddies who built germination chambers out of non-working fridge's/freezer. Put a small 1-1/2-2 qt crockpot filled with water in the bottom for heat and moisture, controlled by a heat mat thermostat, and a LED growlight panel.
I didn't want a full sized fridge, so put out a want ad on local FB pages for a free mini fridge, out of a camper. Got a response within 10 hours for the perfect one, just taken out of a motor home. Ownser said they took it to a dealer, and apparently the gas leaked out, so instead of repairing, just bought a new one.
I cut all the refridgeration system off of it to lighten it up. Bored a 1-1/2" hole through the back to run power cords through, then packed the hole with duct seal. Placed the crockpot filled with water in, and connected to the thermostat, and turned it on. After 2 hours, it was seting on the perfect 75º. I then put the grow light panel in, and within 1 hour, temp inside had reached 116º. I plugged the grow light into the thermostat, and within a minute, the light had put out enough heat, the thermostat shut it off, set @ 75º. Didn't realize an LED light put off that much heat. Feels barely warm to the touch, but in an enclosed, insulated compartment it does.
Went to plan B. Found a 12" 13.5 watt grow light at a local big box store. Plugged it in and left it for 2 hrs. It reached a near perfect 77º. I used one of the produce drawers from the fridge to put water in for moisture, hoping it would evaporate providing moisture. Within 2 hrs. it got to 80º, and using a digital thermometer that also shows humidity, it was at 76%. By 9:00 pm last night temp had gotten to 82.2. By 11:00 pm, it had went back to 80º. I'll check this later morning for humidity level.
Doing a quick search yesterday morning found most seeds prefer 65º-85º, and humidity levels from 50%, up to 95%, so I'm in the ball park.
I put small trays of various seeds in it yesterday afternoon to see some results. My one buddy is germing onions in 48 hrs., lettuce in 36 hrs in his. I put bunching onions for green onions, several different pepper seeds, and a couple different types of cabbage, and some Yucca plant seeds I harvested last Fall from the plant in the yard, to see how long it takes to come up, hopefully speeding the germination process especially the pepper seeds. Once up, I'll transfer to my little greenhouse.
Need to find my Rhubarb and Asparagus seed and try that too today. I'll put the date and time on the little marker sticks when I set them in, to determin in hours, instead of days of plant growth.
I didn't want a full sized fridge, so put out a want ad on local FB pages for a free mini fridge, out of a camper. Got a response within 10 hours for the perfect one, just taken out of a motor home. Ownser said they took it to a dealer, and apparently the gas leaked out, so instead of repairing, just bought a new one.
I cut all the refridgeration system off of it to lighten it up. Bored a 1-1/2" hole through the back to run power cords through, then packed the hole with duct seal. Placed the crockpot filled with water in, and connected to the thermostat, and turned it on. After 2 hours, it was seting on the perfect 75º. I then put the grow light panel in, and within 1 hour, temp inside had reached 116º. I plugged the grow light into the thermostat, and within a minute, the light had put out enough heat, the thermostat shut it off, set @ 75º. Didn't realize an LED light put off that much heat. Feels barely warm to the touch, but in an enclosed, insulated compartment it does.
Went to plan B. Found a 12" 13.5 watt grow light at a local big box store. Plugged it in and left it for 2 hrs. It reached a near perfect 77º. I used one of the produce drawers from the fridge to put water in for moisture, hoping it would evaporate providing moisture. Within 2 hrs. it got to 80º, and using a digital thermometer that also shows humidity, it was at 76%. By 9:00 pm last night temp had gotten to 82.2. By 11:00 pm, it had went back to 80º. I'll check this later morning for humidity level.
Doing a quick search yesterday morning found most seeds prefer 65º-85º, and humidity levels from 50%, up to 95%, so I'm in the ball park.
I put small trays of various seeds in it yesterday afternoon to see some results. My one buddy is germing onions in 48 hrs., lettuce in 36 hrs in his. I put bunching onions for green onions, several different pepper seeds, and a couple different types of cabbage, and some Yucca plant seeds I harvested last Fall from the plant in the yard, to see how long it takes to come up, hopefully speeding the germination process especially the pepper seeds. Once up, I'll transfer to my little greenhouse.
Need to find my Rhubarb and Asparagus seed and try that too today. I'll put the date and time on the little marker sticks when I set them in, to determin in hours, instead of days of plant growth.