nan1234
On The Way Up
Joined: 23 Jul 2007
Location: Chicago Area
Posts: 159
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| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:57 pm Post subject: Homemade Seed Sprouter |
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I made a 200 gal glass box from wood, acrylic glass, ceremic heating bulb and a therm controller. It is spacious and works much better than small ones available from stores.
The box has two parts which can be separated. The bottom part is made entirely by pine wood (1X12 board with 1x4 trim). I installed four wheels for easy moving. The upper part is made by wood frame and acrylic glass and can be opened from the top. Cutting acrylic glass is tricky and must be handled carefully because its very easy to crack. I use a table saw and a new blade with smaller and sharp teeth.
In the center, I installed 500W ceremic heating bulb. You can get it from pet store in the Reptile section. The therm controller (as shown in the bottom center picture) are installed outside of the box. The sensor and the thermometer must be placed inside and far wary form the heating bulb (as shown in the bottom left picture).
When seedlings outgrow the box, I just open the lid and cover a plastic sheet on the top. With this method, I had 4 fully grown eggplants before the weather is warm enough to transplant.
I use storage boxes as tray to hold small containers. Some insulation must be put under the tray in the space directly over the bulb; otherwise, it may get too hot on this spot.
Last edited by nan1234 on Tue Oct 09, 2007 6:01 pm; edited 1 time in total
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eileen
Moderator & Resident Taxonomist
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Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Location: Scotland (Map)
Posts: 10735
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| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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WOW!!!  Nan your seed sprouter is a real work of art. I'd love to have something like that to start my seeds off in.
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Frank
Happy Gardening
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Joined: 25 Jan 2005
Location: Malmö, Sweden
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| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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I really like this Nan, did you have some sort of plan to work from when constructing it or was it an original piece? I suspect you have made a few jealous 
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redrose
Showing Great Promise
Joined: 30 Sep 2007
Location: Michigan (Map)
Posts: 262
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| Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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Very impressive!!
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Droopy
Slug Slaughterer
Joined: 11 Aug 2007
Location: Western Norway (Map)
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| Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:44 am Post subject: |
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That is the most beautiful sprouter I have ever seen.  I'm that envious.
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cajunbelle
Daylily Diva
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
Location: zone 8b Louisiana (Map)
Posts: 2954
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| Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, talk about envy, I would love one of those too. It is beautiful, great craftsmanship.
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Sharon
Phil. 4:13
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zuzu's petals
Silly Old Bat
Joined: 19 Oct 2006
Location: Coastal N.Carolina ~zone 8~ (Map)
Posts: 2569
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| Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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Jiminy Crickets! What an awesome contraption! 
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bsewnsew
Knows Their Stuff
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
Location: Rural Western Pennsylvania
Posts: 1191
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| Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:57 pm Post subject: gees |
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What an invention ....
You got smarts like anything there.
Did you get the glass ready cut or what .
Back here flexiglass is the popular tool for that stuff.
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nan1234
On The Way Up
Joined: 23 Jul 2007
Location: Chicago Area
Posts: 159
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| Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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I'm glad that you like it and thank you for the complements.
Frank, for things like this simple, we do not draw a plan. We get all material and figured out the right size in order to use most of the material with minimum waste. My hubby helped to cut all material into the right size and I use glue, clamps and a cordless nailer to put pieces together. I know that building things without a drawing plan is not a good habit. Once, we started a project for a entertainment center and end up with a china cabinet!
Bsewnsew, we use acrylic glass or sometimes called plexiglass. I don't know whether it is the same material as flexiglass that you mentioned.
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scareyut
Just Arrived
Joined: 12 Jan 2008
Location: Utah
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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All I can say is wow! We usually get by with leftover trays and pots and some shelves with lots of lighting down in our furnace room. My mom, who starts almost all of her flowers that she plants from seed does them same. The system you have is amazing!
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Dutch Oven Cooking
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dirt2diamonds
Showing Great Promise
Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 410
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| Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:13 am Post subject: |
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Me likey.
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Biita
Arctic-ally Challenged Forager
Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Location: Norway (Map)
Posts: 1481
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| Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:54 am Post subject: |
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I can never find my husband when i need him,,, he has got to see this,,,
That is great Nan, very nicely done, and i want one too,,lol.
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nan1234
On The Way Up
Joined: 23 Jul 2007
Location: Chicago Area
Posts: 159
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| Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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My seed sprouter is now in use. Here is the picture of what we have inside:
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Frank
Happy Gardening
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Joined: 25 Jan 2005
Location: Malmö, Sweden
Posts: 8958
PlantStew: 1494 |
| Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Looks like it's working extremely effectively from the photo Nan. What are you growing in there at present?
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toni
Mistress of Garden Junque
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Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Location: North Texas (Map)
Posts: 4921
PlantStew: 520 |
| Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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Nan what a sucess your seed sprouter is, congrats.
Nice healthy looking seedlings.
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