carbon filtr. best brands

[Hammerhead]

I do wash my carbon to extend the life but I dont buy new carbon it's no longer cost effective. Buying a new scrubber is cheaper then buying just the carbon..
If you decide to do that you need to use RODI water so you not ucing contaminated water that the crabon will try to filter as your washing it.. I also tried a Muratic/RODI bath this woks very well but you need to be safe. Only do this outside and make the mix 3:1...

 

[Stonefree69]

I do wash my carbon to extend the life but I dont buy new carbon it's no longer cost effective. Buying a new scrubber is cheaper then buying just the carbon..

Plus I think you have to pack it right like Can does at their factory.

 

[Hammerhead]

I used a hand sander to vibrate the can works well..

 

[Stonefree69]

I do wash my carbon to extend the life but I dont buy new carbon it's no longer cost effective. Buying a new scrubber is cheaper then buying just the carbon..
If you decide to do that you need to use RODI water so you not ucing contaminated water that the crabon will try to filter as your washing it.. I also tried a Muratic/RODI bath this woks very well but you need to be safe. Only do this outside and make the mix 3:1...

Yeah that Muraitic 31% is some nasty stuff. Nothin' beats it for nasty toilets (The Works is good too). Can't even go NEAR the fumes!

I used a hand sander to vibrate the can works well..

So I take it washing w/RO is about the best you can do, along with humidity <60% and undersizing fan or oversizing filter somewhat.

 

[Stonefree69]

well, I have to go phresh for the fact that moving very heavy things in grow rooms is a no no for me ( potentially for plant breakage.. ) yes they don't last as long

MountainAir is lighter, plus you can change out the carbon w/a rivet tool. They sell carbon refills for that, so it may end up cheapest in the long run. Yeah those Cans are HEAVY, like 100+ lbs for 8" on up.

 

[ekomsi]

I love my phresh with a 12in vortex fan but I believe any brand will work if you go big enough. I upgraded from a 8in vauline and can filter and the difference is night and day, go big or go home with filters and fans. Security is priority #1

 

[LEDNewbie]

Since this topic is up already, here is a question for you guys with experience.

My room will be 16x12x8. Plan on running a 8" Max Fan with a Can Filter 100 as this filter seems to match up with the 8" Max Fan perfectly. Is this one filter enough to get rid of all the smell exiting the room or should I have like a 300 cfm fan with a Can Filter 50 scrubbing the air in the room 24/7 as well?

Just don't want any smells alarming neighbours.

 

[LEDNewbie]

actual plants in the room will be covering a 5x15 ft area......

 

[grow nerd]

What kind of room is it? How is the air being handled? How smelly are your plants?

 

[Stonefree69]

Since this topic is up already, here is a question for you guys with experience.

My room will be 16x12x8. Plan on running a 8" Max Fan with a Can Filter 100 as this filter seems to match up with the 8" Max Fan perfectly. Is this one filter enough to get rid of all the smell exiting the room or should I have like a 300 cfm fan with a Can Filter 50 scrubbing the air in the room 24/7 as well?

I'd say the Can 100 would be the bare minimum size, even for me and my room is smaller (15x9x8). There is some leeway for filter and fan sizing usually. I'd try to size it for room venting requirements, not what the plants take up in size. Instead of adding another filter and all the stuff needed to go with it take ekomsi's advice and get a bigger filter and fan. He oversized his Phresh filter and that should also last longer as well as get rid of smell. The Can filters you don't need to oversize as much as they use more carbon. They're the Yokazunas of filters.

 

[BudMan30]

Hey man thanks for the advice. Gotta question for ya, say im running a 6" Vortext right at the front of the filter then goes though two 600 s (see led) then is goes through a 6" max fan and out of the room.
I'm thinking of a can filter 100, do you think that's big enough for my 12*12 room and are those two fans strong enough ? Thanks man

 

[LEDNewbie]

I'd say the Can 100 would be the bare minimum size, even for me and my room is smaller (15x9x8). There is some leeway for filter and fan sizing usually. I'd try to size it for room venting requirements, not what the plants take up in size. Instead of adding another filter and all the stuff needed to go with it take ekomsi's advice and get a bigger filter and fan. He oversized his Phresh filter and that should also last longer as well as get rid of smell. The Can filters you don't need to oversize as much as they use more carbon. They're the Yokazunas of filters.

That 8" Max Fan already puts me at room air exchange every 3 minutes. Are you saying I should get a bigger fan, bigger filter or both??

 

[Stonefree69]

Hey man thanks for the advice. Gotta question for ya, say im running a 6" Vortext right at the front of the filter then goes though two 600 s (see led) then is goes through a 6" max fan and out of the room.
I'm thinking of a can filter 100, do you think that's big enough for my 12*12 room and are those two fans strong enough ? Thanks man

Try to keep ducts for the filter and lights separate. Everything runs better that way and your lights get better airflow.

The Can 100 is rated to 840 cfm and your room (8' ceilings?) would be 1,152 sq ft. Quick rule recommended is to clear air in 1-2 minutes so that looks good. Those fans maybe too small for that as those 6"ers I think are 334 and 452 cfm respectively. Combining them won't increase cfm much, just makes each one work less. The 6" Vortex would barley work for the filter (or 1/2 of filter's 840 cfm rating) and would be undersized for the room. Yeah, you'd have to go with at least 8" or 750 cfm and be a good match for the filter.

That 8" Max Fan already puts me at room air exchange every 3 minutes. Are you saying I should get a bigger fan, bigger filter or both??

Every 3 minutes is the minimum. But that doesn't take into account filter resistance (add 20% to room size), having bare bulbs (add 10-15%) or reflectors (add 5%), adding CO2 (add 5%) and hot climate (add 25% if you have one). See How to size your exhaust fan That's why the "quick rule" says every 1-2 minutes, a good general rule of thumb. So I think every 2 minutes anyways would be 768 cfm for you (16x12x8 room).

Funny, C.A.P. 8" Max-Fan puts out 667 cfm while their 8" Valuline puts out 745 cfm and is cheaper. I have the 8" Valuline, and really like it. In videos it does show it out pulling the Max-Fan: 8" MAX FAN VS 8" Valueline Fan - Test & Review also even the 8” Vortex: Vortex Fan VS Valuline Fan- THE 8" Tug of the Titans! 8 Inch Inline Fan test

Well hope this helps. Wasn't too much to dig up as I saved this info when I did my sizing.

 

[Stonefree69]

Ah, sorry about the double post, but just learned something! You can hook up 2 fans in series or in parallel. In series it's 2 inline fans working in tandem in same duct or in another case 1 pulling on outtake and 1 pushing on intake. In parallel where you CAN increase cfm w/2 fans you would use a wye connector for the 2 fans going into a LARGER duct. Example: 2-8" inline fans connected to a 12" duct. They should be identical. Still I think it's better to just use 1 12" fan.

Here's some diagrams using 1 fan for series and parallel configs:

Got these illustrations from Ventilation Explained Part 2 - Venting your lighting systems There's also diagrams with no CO2 using a carbon filter instead of backdraft damper.

Still, it's known to better have light and filter ducts separate but yes some people, especially in small cabs will run filter>lights>fan>exhaust on same duct.

 

[BudMan30]

Thanks man. Yeah I'm going to run the light and the filter Sep. And I'm prolly gonna go with the can 100 or can 150. I'm also going to buy a 10" can fan for the filter. Then just gonna use my 6" vortext & 6" Max fan for my lights (which are 6" air cooled reflectors. Does that sound good?
Once a Ian I thank you friend, the ventolation is my only problem.

 

[Stonefree69]

Thanks man. Yeah I'm going to run the light and the filter Sep. And I'm prolly gonna go with the can 100 or can 150. I'm also going to buy a 10" can fan for the filter. Then just gonna use my 6" vortext & 6" Max fan for my lights (which are 6" air cooled reflectors. Does that sound good?
Once a Ian I thank you friend, the ventolation is my only problem.

Your welcome, like I said I'm looking at future ways to vent too. That should work for 2-600's and I see you have the Max-Fan at the exhaust so that sounds right too. Since I guess the air cooled hoods are w/6" ducts looks like a good fit.

I had planned 3-600 watters in vertical cool tubes with 8" duct and 750 cfm fan but ditched it for bare bulb. I'll heat my house in winter and use a mini-split in summer.

 

[ekomsi]

Bigger is always better go with a can 150, I have the same size room as you pretty much and if I didnt go with a big phresh filter I would have gotten the can 150. Like I said earlier 12in vortex and big ass phresh filter or whatever brand filter you choose thats rated higher then the fan will work wonders. I almost went with a 14in maxifan.

Im thinking about switching up from fresh air intake exhaust to a sealed co2 room, I have a 36,000btu mini split. Think my scrubber would be a bit overkill haha?

Its always best (most efficient) to cool the room not the lights.

 

[Stonefree69]

Bigger is always better go with a can 150, I have the same size room as you pretty much and if I didnt go with a big phresh filter I would have gotten the can 150. Like I said earlier 12in vortex and big ass phresh filter or whatever brand filter you choose thats rated higher then the fan will work wonders. I almost went with a 14in maxifan.

Im thinking about switching up from fresh air intake exhaust to a sealed co2 room, I have a 36,000btu mini split. Think my scrubber would be a bit overkill haha?

Its always best (most efficient) to cool the room not the lights.

Yeah ekomsi, your mini-split is sized just about right w/6,000 BTU/kw of light. Especially if your hoods have no glass. You seem to like to max the ac out too. Yeah I'm looking at that Can 150 (1,260 cfm) or the MountainAir Carbon Filter 12", 1200 cfm with a 12" Valuline upgrading from my 8" system. The 8" works fine, but down the road I think the 12 like you say would be better. Besides being good to circulate more cfm/minute it's good for up to 7,400 watts of light. The Can's a beast at 156 lbs. and MountainAir is 75 lbs. Yet it's supposed to last as long as the Can.

Here's what bhhydro says about MountainAir: "So what's so good about the MountainAir Activated Carbon Filter ?
To start with, the resistance to airflow is less than 10% through the filter. Some other carbon filters available have much greater resistance to airflow, which leads to increased noise and increased work for the fans. Secondly, over 99% of particles >5 microns are removed. We have yet to see another filter able to make these two claims. Thirdly, refilling can be done anywhere and requires only an inexpensive rivet tool ($10-$20 at most hardware stores).

*Indicative CFM: These air flows are indicative of a 37 month filter testing program, at the end of which time the tested filters were still 100% effective. We have also found the Indicative CFM to be the most economical area in which to run the filters (i.e. less electrical usage, fan wear, air noise, etc.).
** Maximum CFM: The filters can handle considerably more air than this rating, however, there are trade off's when running any air handling system at high air pressures. There is a point where it is more economical to go up to the next size filter and this is what the Maximum CFM represents. I.E. you could run a 400 CFM fan on a 6" x 20" filter, however it would be more economical to run a 400 CFM fan on a 8" x 20" filter. Although a larger filter may cost a little more, the savings in electrical usage, air noise, fan wear, etc. is a great trade off. Over the life of the system the additional cost will pay for itself many times over."

 

[catalyte]

Mountain Air filters are great. Go can re-use them in many ways like someone else mentioned...

 

[Bueno Time]

I can vouch for the performance of the original mountain air brand. They have some newer models that are higher flow but they carbon layer is thinner. You can still find the thick carbon bed originals.

Dont get a no name ebay carbon filter, I made that mistake already... Stick with a name brand. Never cheap out on odor control/stealth.