DIY - Build a Carbon Scrubber For Dummies!

[CANNACO-OP]

for getting us headed in the right direction. peace.

 

[sneaky_g]

well i decided i'd give the carbon scrubber a shot. Here it is completed


24 inches long 450 CFM fan, 6 " ducting converter is 8 to 6.. still need to purcahse some activated carbon than i'm done.

 

[MedGrowerTom]

If I have a Dayton style blower, and its 465CFM, how long should my 6" core be??

The guide here when I do the math they say, does not come up right for me,

I don't wana make it to short, im thinking prolly about 25-26" but just lookin' for some ideas.

Thanx much,
TOm

eek, okay so I got the blower today, its 465cfm, but the inlet is only 4"(thought it was 6")
i was gona make the core 6", so now what should I do, make it 6 inch with a 4" reducer(wouldn't that make to much of a air flow restriction??) or just make a 4" core, but make it a bit longer sinces it alot of cfm.........

hope that makes sence, its a 465cfm dayton style blower(eco plus), with 4" inlet, and 2 exhaust adapter with 1 having a singe 6" exhaust flange, and the other have 2 4" flanges........

Sry for all the questions, need to get this setup like a month ago lol

Thanx much,
TOm

 

[who dat is]

I've read this thread all the way through and it has answered alot of questions but also made me think of a bunch more. I plan on running 2 or 3 plants for personal use in my closet which measures 6x8x10 feet tall. I know that that is a 480 cubic foot area and I have a vortex 600. Problem is that it is so freakin' loud that I think I will have to get a fan controller to regulate the speed. That's where I'm confused as to what I should do. I'd be using a 400 watt light. Also I have a drop down ceiling so I could vent to the ambient air above the closet and get fresh air from various ductwork outside. I just don't know how to go about planning on the dimensions for the scrubber. I know I would need a 6" inner core to match with the fan ductwork and an 8" outer core to faciliate the activated carbon, but how long would I need to make it while possibly running the fan at 3/4 or 1/2 speed to lower noise? Also, I did alot of searching on here about activated carbon and where to get it and the ebay store Carbon-Eze kept popping up. The only thing is that it seems he only sells 14 lb bags of carbon with zeolite in it at a 80/20 mixture of carbon/zeolite. Would that change matters and would 14 pounds be enough for a scrubber for me. I would appreciate any feedback from you guys. Ya'll are all very knowledgeable and I really enjoy lurking the forums and learning from you. Thanks.

 

[no0dlemice]

I've read this thread all the way through and it has answered alot of questions but also made me think of a bunch more. I plan on running 2 or 3 plants for personal use in my closet which measures 6x8x10 feet tall. I know that that is a 480 cubic foot area and I have a vortex 600. Problem is that it is so freakin' loud that I think I will have to get a fan controller to regulate the speed. That's where I'm confused as to what I should do. I'd be using a 400 watt light. Also I have a drop down ceiling so I could vent to the ambient air above the closet and get fresh air from various ductwork outside. I just don't know how to go about planning on the dimensions for the scrubber. I know I would need a 6" inner core to match with the fan ductwork and an 8" outer core to faciliate the activated carbon, but how long would I need to make it while possibly running the fan at 3/4 or 1/2 speed to lower noise? Also, I did alot of searching on here about activated carbon and where to get it and the ebay store Carbon-Eze kept popping up. The only thing is that it seems he only sells 14 lb bags of carbon with zeolite in it at a 80/20 mixture of carbon/zeolite. Would that change matters and would 14 pounds be enough for a scrubber for me. I would appreciate any feedback from you guys. Ya'll are all very knowledgeable and I really enjoy lurking the forums and learning from you. Thanks.

i would make it roughly ~28" doesn't have to be perfect...see what others with that fan are using if not go to websites and see what scrubber they are mating with that style fan and just copy the idea. as far as the carbon goes i just got done shopping around for carbon and the cheapest place i found was from general carbon (http://www.generalcarbon.pth4.com/vapor01.htm) for a 55lb bag i paid 122 shipped, shipping might be a little bit more depending on where you live but that's all i can say and the guys over there are great people.

 

[who dat is]

Hey there noodle, thanks for the info. What size filter did you make and how much carbon did it take to fill up? I want to know a pretty close number so I don't have extra carbon kicking around? I don't know poundage per length of filter, you know what I mean? Thanks.

Well I saw the density on the website provided and did some math. Somebody double check me if you don't mind. I have a vortex 600 with 6" ducting which necessitates a 6" core with a 8" outside. In order to find the area of the space between you need to find the area of an 8" circle and then subtract the area of a 6" circle from it. 8/12 is .66' and 6/12 is .5'. Since those are the diameters then you need to divide them in half in order to get the radius of each circle. So if the area of a circle is pi x r (squared) then .33 x .33 x 3.14=.35 cubic feet and .25 x .25 x 3.14=.19 cubic feet. .35-.19=.16 cubic feet. 28"/12"=2.33'.

.16x2.33=.37 cubic feet

Density of carbon according to that site is on average 30 pounds per cubic foot. .37 cubic feet times 30 is just over 11 pounds of carbon. Is that right? Can somebody chime in with info on a similar sized scrubber? Thanks.

 

[who dat is]

Bump for somebody to check my math? Better yet somebody with a similar sized scrubber know how much carbon they used? I want to order it but don't want to overdo it. Thanks.

 

[RalphStanley]

Hey there noodle, thanks for the info. What size filter did you make and how much carbon did it take to fill up? I want to know a pretty close number so I don't have extra carbon kicking around? I don't know poundage per length of filter, you know what I mean? Thanks.

Well I saw the density on the website provided and did some math. Somebody double check me if you don't mind. I have a vortex 600 with 6" ducting which necessitates a 6" core with a 8" outside. In order to find the area of the space between you need to find the area of an 8" circle and then subtract the area of a 6" circle from it. 8/12 is .66' and 6/12 is .5'. Since those are the diameters then you need to divide them in half in order to get the radius of each circle. So if the area of a circle is pi x r (squared) then .33 x .33 x 3.14=.35 cubic feet and .25 x .25 x 3.14=.19 cubic feet. .35-.19=.16 cubic feet. 28"/12"=2.33'.

.16x2.33=.37 cubic feet

Density of carbon according to that site is on average 30 pounds per cubic foot. .37 cubic feet times 30 is just over 11 pounds of carbon. Is that right? Can somebody chime in with info on a similar sized scrubber? Thanks.

Your math is correct for the final answer. The bold faced "cubic" should be square since you are computing the area of that annulus. Then to get the volume, you correctly multiplied the area of the annulus by the height to get the volume of the space filled by the carbon.

 

[Dr.Doe]

So I have basicly the same question as Med-Grower-Tom...... I have a 400w ballast and a 465cfm hydrofarm exhaust fan with a 4" exhaust collar. I have a dial for it and don't plan on setting it any higher then 50% so should I build it accordingly(4"/232cfm)?....I was also wondering if the filter will work the same if I have to raise or lower the cfm by a little to control temps?

How does the formula in the original post make sense?..... it says to take your cfm then divide by the height.... but isn't the formula meant to find the height?.... One last thing, 150/9- 200/12 and 400/24 all result in 16.6 but the rest are different, is 16.6 the perfect ratio?

P.s. I'm growing in a 2' x 4' x 6.6' cab with a A/C hood(22"x20"x9"), I only plan on haveing 4 plants in there maybe 6 if you think I can.

 

[NOKUY]

So I have basicly the same question as Med-Grower-Tom...... I have a 400w ballast and a 465cfm hydrofarm exhaust fan with a 4" exhaust collar. I have a dial for it and don't plan on setting it any higher then 50% so should I build it accordingly(4"/232cfm)?....I was also wondering if the filter will work the same if I have to raise or lower the cfm by a little to control temps?

How does the formula in the original post make sense?..... it says to take your cfm then divide by the height.... but isn't the formula meant to find the height?.... One last thing, 150/9- 200/12 and 400/24 all result in 16.6 but the rest are different, is 16.6 the perfect ratio?

P.s. I'm growing in a 2' x 4' x 6.6' cab with a A/C hood(22"x20"x9"), I only plan on haveing 4 plants in there maybe 6 if you think I can.

build the scrubber for the MAX of your fan ...not where you 'plan to set it'.

a bigger scrubber will work w/ a smaller load....and last longer between refills....

an undersized scrubber could be a BIG mistake

 

[Dr.Doe]

My cab is only 52 cubic feet, I deffinetly wont need to turn it on full blast but the exhaust collar is 4" instead of 6" like the examples.... does that mean I need to make it even longer to accomidate?

 

[NOKUY]

all u need to do is build the scrubber to accomodate the fan.

the other variables are minor.

the cubic footage of your grow space is almost pointless in scrubber design...(it counts in fan selection tho)

...build the scrubber bigger.

 

[Dr.Doe]

Thanks, so how big do I need it then?.... 28"s? <(465/16.6=28.01)+1/2"

I mentioned the CF of my room to show that I really wont need to turn my fan on full blast but if bigger is better then that's the way it is. I already have everything but haven't started building yet.

I was also wondering if I need to use batting or if I can just seal everything with duct caulking?

 

[FreezerBoy]

Batting provides compression between carbon and cap. This reduces or hopefully prevents carbon from shifting and forming air tunnels for smells to escape. It needn't be batting, a foam rubber gasket would do. There are probably other solutions. Fill all but the last 1/2 inch with carbon and fill the last 1/2 inch with 3-4 inches of ... something ... that compresses to lock carbon in place.

 

[sito007]

just wanted to show my filter i made for my 4x4 room, I don't have a big smell but want to control the Little i have with out making wholes in the wall or making a whole on the door to take out the air , so I decided to make a filter that will recycle the air in the room and it been three months and its WORKING!!!! of course i have to open the door to come in and out but by that time the odor is too low..Its made from parts around the house a small but strong table fan , chicken wire, ativate carbon from the pet shop, a tin cup, carobon ativate ac filter . pantie holes and zip tides . hope you guys like what i made.

 

[Dr.Doe]

Thanks for the help, I was reading the original post again and came across this quote.....

Depending on how you will connect your fan, you may also want another reducer thats the same size of your fan and will connect to your reducer on the filter.

It seems like from that quote that a 465cfm fan needs a 6" core like the chart says and that i'll need to add a 4-6" reducer to connect the fan to the filter? My question is, Can I still make this with a 4" core?

 

[NOKUY]

Thanks for the help, I was reading the original post again and came across this quote.....



It seems like from that quote that a 465cfm fan needs a 6" core like the chart says and that i'll need to add a 4-6" reducer to connect the fan to the filter? My question is, Can I still make this with a 4" core?

you can make the 'core' any size that u want bro.

you just have to do some math to figure out the volume of carbon that u will need for efficiency.

it would be nice if someone w/ some math skills could make/post a chart for this....it wouldnt be hard and i might just do it myself if no one comes up w/ something.

 

[Dr.Doe]

Thanks for the help Yukon, you too freezerboy and of course DurbanPoison/SIS.

I think a 28"-36" scrubber should work, I sent med-grower-tom a message seeing if he built his and what his specs are because his fan is just like mine. I'm not sure what to calculate to get the answer but i'm sure a little trial and error will get to the bottom of this.....again thanks for the help.

P.s. Durban Poison hasn't been on in almost a year, hope he's doing fine! Probably just too busy.

 

[Dr.Doe]

So I made one 36"s long and i'm ordering 10lbs off ebay to fill it, I can't believe how much a local fish store wanted..... 3.5L(seemed like 2.5lbs?) cost $33 before tax, seemed way to expensive!

I had another question if you guys didn't mind.... Is it alright to have the scrubber vertical? I can see how horizontal would be better but I thought I would ask.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Either orientation is prone to carbon settling and thus opening up air channels for smell to escape. Before capping, make sure you tap the unit several times on the table to settle the carbon as tight as it will go. Use extra batting between carbon and cap for tight compression.