Actually, it’s not that big a deal, easy enough to remove (and fettle as necessary) the side panel. I got the one you posted, from ‘Jungle Seeds’ (Bio Green) Heat Mats, Cables & Thermostats
I believe there's lots of advantages for, especially larger sizes and greenhouse staging top growlight boxes yo be made demountable, so they can be quickly dismantled when there's enough natural sunshine and staging used for other purposes, although still perhaps using the heat mat by itself. P.S. Are you going to make it with a waterproof top so plants/seed trays/etc. can sit on top and make use of that space?
@Scrungee , I’m a bit concerned about the heat generated by the lamps. At the same time, I don’t want too much heat loss. I had thought to leave (say) a one inch gap around the canopy. Any thoughts?
n I use a computer fan (fitted with a speed controller) on the same timer as the lights. With a speed controller the amount of hot air ejected can be fine tuned. The details of what I've used have been posted on here. EDIT: Found it Ventilation methods
Sounds like a plan. Would you therefore fully enclose the lighting? Also, what power source (adapter) is needed to run the fan?
Any old charger/adaptor. I used used one of my collection of mobile phone chargers that had taken me over 20 years to amass. I have top openings in both my boxes, but they are used in my study and the one in the greenhouse is only used when I put the heating on. It's easier to stop up top vents if not required that form them later.
I edited last post to add this bit I haven't used one in an unheated area, but think it might be prudent to have gaps at the top of a size to suit standard size timber to easily close up it it gets too cold inside.
Others suggest plastic sheet. I used Perspex sheet that our local hotel chucked out, think it might have been used for some food display purpose. Before I found that I was thinking of using some acrylic sheet left over from covering part of our hen run, something like this Wickes Durable Acrylic Sheet 60cmx1.22m | Wickes.co.uk I must get cracking on with my new LED tube lit growbox as my T5 tube lit study based box is about to explode with the amount of plants in it, some/many of which will now have to be swopped over in 12 hour 'shifts'. For top ventilation I was thinking of opting for some hinged drop down panels along the top of the long sides, possibly with cheapo vertical cabin hook fixings
A bit more progress... It’s been moved to it’s permanent position. Hole made to accommodate cables and made a start on the insulation and Mylar covering.
Oooh, that looks bright, have you taken a meter reading yet? All varieties of Chillies appear to thrive under any amount of light, but tomatoes can be fussy, some varieties are OK with a full day's artificial light, but not possibly every day, others less, or the leaves can start turning blue and blotchy, all they need is watching for those signs and then giving a break from the growbox environment and some natural daylight.
