Carbon filters, aroma, and filter size

[darkbeagle]

Hi,

I've been looking at some of the DIY carbon filter threads, and have come to the conclusion that it's just not worth my trouble to build my own. By the time I add up the cost of the materials for the filter plus the time it would take me to build it (I'm not as handy as some of you guys), the overall savings seems minimal.

So I plan to buy a carbon filter and fan.

First, let me check my reasoning on one thing. On my last grow with no filter, the entire house stank like the wonderful weed I grew. I could smell it before the front door was opened. On that grow, I was using a small room in the house with passive air intake into the room, and a squirrel cage fan pulling exhaust out of the top of the room, into the wall, and into the dryer vent that exits the roof. Even with that fan, the house stank.

I'm thinking that if I just add a filter before the fan that exhausts the air, it won't kill the smell. I don't need to deodorize the air that's already leaving my house through the dryer vent. I'm more concerned about the odor that isn't getting pulled from the room. So, I think I need to get another fan to connect to the filter, and simply recirculate the air within the room, leaving my current exhaust system intact. Does that sound right?

Now for several other questions... I'm growing in a 5' x 5' x 8' area. The smallest filter/fan combo my local hydro shop carries is the Can-Filter 33 with a fan. But as well as I can guess, that's a fair bit of overkill for my area. Here come the questions:

1. Does anyone know if there's a smaller combo I can order online? I don't mind ordering a smaller filter and fan separately, but I'm not sure how to match the two up to fit my space. If the cost isn't significantly less than the Can 33/fan combo, I'd rather pay cash at my local shop than order online.

For the remaining questions, suppose I get the Can 33/fan combo.

2. Is the "extra power" of the 33 bad for my grow in any way?

3. Am I wasting carbon by using the 33 in such a small space? Can I extend the life of the filter by slowing the fan down so less air is circulated?

4. When using a carbon filter (either the correct size or too big), does the bud maintain its aroma at harvest time?

Thanks for your help.
darkbeagle

 

[Guest]

You want a negative pressure grow room, and for that you'll likely need a more powerful fan than you're using. You'll know you have it set up right if you hold a lighter flame to the door crack and the flame draws inward.

 

[MTF-Sandman]

For a 6", a Can33 is about the smallest I'd go with. I know it seems like overkill and is big and bulky, but it's really ideal for a 1K setup in a space similar to yours. You can pick up a 6" Vortex and a Can33 for $250 from mdhydro.com.

If anything you want to err to the large side on scrubbers...more carbon = more odor removal and longer life of the scrubber. It's in no way bad for the plants.

Carbon scrubbers don't effect the plants at all...they just remove odor molecules that are already airborn.

Personally, I'd keep the fan running 24/7 with the scrubber hooked up on the exhaust...this will create negative pressure in the room so that all the "dirty" air is exhausted through the fan and will keep it from lingering in the room and therefore preventing it from being smelled in the house.

 

[darkbeagle]

So it would be better to connect the scrubber to the exhaust than to just recirculate through it?

I'm concerned, because before, my exhaust fan was plenty strong enough to create negative pressure, yet I could smell the plants throughout the house. (And my exhaust fan vents outside the house.)

It seems to me that if I hook the scrubber to the exhaust, the same would be true, except that the air exiting through the exhaust would be cleaner. I'm not concerned about the exiting air -- I'm concerned with the lingering smell.

It would be great if hooking the scrubber to the exhaust would take care of it, because then I could continue to run on one fan instead of needing another one. But I'm still concerned.

Any other thoughts? Thanks!
darkbeagle

 

[MTF-Sandman]

I hear what your saying...I'm actually running my scrubber to recirc air since I've got a sealed room with no in/out...but if you're going to vent your room, scrub the exhaust. There won't be any lingering air in the room to smell up the house since the inline will be pulling it out too fast for it to have a chance to stink up the house.

 

[cadillachydro]

Thats how im running. I love it. My 6" inline pulls 440cfm of room air through the filter, then pushes through my aircooled light and out a louvered vent. The vent is mounted to a painted peice of plywood mounted in the window frame. When the fan is on, it keeps a negative pressure in the room so the smell doesnt linger through the house, plus it pulls fresh air through the ac vent so i always have cool, fresh filtered air and atleast the ambient amount of CO2. When i can afford CO2, I'll seal the room. Simple yet effective. In the window i painted the exterior side flat black, along with the vent. I also spray painted the old washed out screen flat black so everything is blends in a stealthy fashion.

I didnt want to get so much on the subject of my setup, just putting out an example of something that works. My advice is buy something that has a cfm rating of atleast 2/3rds your rooms cubic feet. Ive posted a pic of my exterior exit. Good luck, and always buy things you can grow into a bit. Its amazing how addictive expansion can be. Keep it easy ~caddy

 

[ComeOnNow]

Carbon filter to exhust fan to outside and you are set.

 

[rastamonunika]

if the odor is that bad inside of your house, there is always the lovely VTek4000. .

yes, cartridges can be expensive, but how much would YOUpay for freedom>?

if you use the vtek correctly, you shouldnt have any odor problems. . . especially with the Carbon Scrubber. . . But as sandman said, if u have the neg. pressure and the air from the grow is being exhausted through the scrubber, the only time u should smell them indoors is when ur in the room and bumpin in to them . . .

Darkbeagle, PM me if u want a link to some cheap supplies, i dont like to post them directly. . . good luck!

lots of Love and Light
unika

 

[darkbeagle]

Thanks for all the responses. Funny thing -- I dropped my my local hydro shop today to get an idea of what they had in stock and what they might have to order, and I was talking to a guy about the Can Filters and fans. Without any question or prompting from me, he said that most people tended to connect it to the exhaust, but that recirculating was the way to go. hmmm.

I don't quite know who to believe, but I'd rather run one fan than two, so I'll try it first with the exhaust fan.

Rasta - thanks for directing me toward the Vtek. I did some reading up on it before I posted this thread. I wasn't sure about the Vtek because I think that having a "hospital" smell in the house would be about as suspicious as a weed smell. I saw one post where someone referred to it as a hospital smell. I know there are many scents for the vtek, but I got the impression that all of them had a common "hospital" or "chemical" hint to them. So if I have the wrong impression, please let me know.

At any rate, I figured that my room is so small -- I can surely wipe out all odors with even a modest carbon filter. So, the carbon filter seemed like a guaranteed solution where the vtek did not.

darkbeagle

 

[marx2k]

I'd say that if you're pumping air outside, you may want to consider an ozone generator.

Also, recirculating the air I'm not too sure of since at that point you're no longer refreshing the air. Although multiple passes through a carbon filter DEFINITELY would do the trick.