Help building carbon filter for my cab...

[thescissors]

(DONE WITH THE DESIGN ANYWAY!! ))


my existing "backpack" exhaust silencer is 14"x8", if i make a carbon filter screen for this of the same size, am i going to be able to push air through it? I have a STANLEY blower and i made up a "backpack" for it to reside in at the upper/back of my cab, so that it wouldnt take up a ton of space *inside* the cab, and also not take up too much space out back! anyways, ive seen MUCH bigger carbon filters out there, and im worried this will not be enough surface area to exhaust the air... i could in theory expand this to cover four sides of the "muffler" box on the output side of my "backpack"....




It makes the most sense to do it on four sides, to maximize the output potential. the back side is currently tight against the wall, but i can space it out a bit (just a bit tho!! ). so that is a total of about 420 (!!) square inches if i make filter/screens for all four sides. that is the same surface area of about 8-9 of 8" round vents/ducts (i have a single 8" duct for passive intake), but of course the output will be impeded by the layer of carbon. Should this work OK??

 

[thescissors]

copied this from my cabinet thread...

copied this from my cabinet thread...

i took the time this time to actually model the cagework and frames for the actual filters, so i could figure out a) exactly how much carbon i needed, and b) exactly how much surface area of filter i will end up with. The answer=297.

Now on raw open area space, that is basically 300inches, or six 8" round ducts. I've lost a full two ducts worth with my frames idea. Is this going to be enough to pass enough CFM? Im also worried about noise... i will put a thick piece of foam on the INSIDE wall, and leave the cab an inch or two away from the wall to let the back panel breathe also.

Does anyone know if this will be enough surface area to FLOW the big CFMs i need to cool 800w? again, assuming 1" thick scrubbers...


obvously the frames are removable, and i can leave them out in the sun to recharge the carbon, or if i use metal screens, even put them in the oven... hmm maybe a more efficient metal framework would be better.... hmmmmmm..... possibly some wandering-around homedePOT time is in my future....

 

[thescissors]

foam sound absorbtion...

foam sound absorbtion...

this should help sound levels... i might also put "soft" stealth stuff around the outputs (like on top of box/on shelf next to side output, even put foam under the bottom output etc..) like soft plush toys, etc... everything helps suck up that sound!

 

[thescissors]

came up with an extension to MAXIMIZE the scrubber/filter area........





this is 630sq.in., or almost thirteen 8" vents

 

[thescissors]

Yet ANOTHER design, this one far simpler,,, and .....

Yet ANOTHER design, this one far simpler,,, and .....

it kills two birds, albeit with two stones!!

This lets me keep my silencer, and add a HUGE carbon scrubber. I need MASSIVE surface area because i am trying to cool 800w, and also keep NOISE down to a minimum. The stanley blower can keep the cab cool on "LOW", but only when it is blowing freely. Hopefully with this massive scrubber idea, i can keep the airflow up HIGH with the fan on LOW (or medium )...


this gives me nearly 800(!!!) square inches of surface area inside the scrubber where the airflow first hits the carbon... thats almost TWICE the surface area of a 6inch (8" outside) by 24" scrubber!!! (450sq.inches)

800= sixteen 8" ducts... if the 1" layer of carbon reduces airflow by as much as 15/16ths, I will *STILL* have a totally FREE-FLOWING setup, and the stanley blower will be able to run on LOW most of the time (basically silently with the silencer box involved...)

ive got a trip to homedePOT in my near future!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! see what i can figure out.

 

[Mr GreenJeans]

Hiya thescissors
Man, you are a designer par excellence! Having a great time watching the development of your design ...

 

[thescissors]

Hiya thescissors
Man, you are a designer par excellence! Having a great time watching the development of your design ...

thanks mang!! its fun, and i hope this inspires others maybe to try some "out of the box" designs... in the case of my "backpack" blower chamber, halfway in- and halfway out- of the box...

 

[badgr]

Man Scissors I am in the process of trying to design an air flow efficient scrubber for my stanley blower. Good luck with your setup. I'll have to watch this thread.
Peace

 

[thescissors]

I'm almost done! the guide i used was to simply build the Biggest scrubber that would fit! (and also it happens to be the easiest to build---no woodworking!) I'll post the pics when the carbon arrives (hopefully today) and i get it all together..

 

[thescissors]

i just copied this from my cab thread in the micro forum...

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! even with my blower set to HIGH, the scrubber combined with the silencer box section stuffed with foam (creating a 90deg turn) is almost totally silent. a very soft "hummmm" from across the room. even if you were standing right in front of the box, as long as the TV was on, you would never know it was running. I cant wait to try it on LOW, to see how quiet it "REALLY" is!! (Blower speed switch is inside, with the blower (duh) and the lights are out.... i will soon set it to run only at night since the low noise is now inaudible from outside the door (and thats on high!!)

I hope i can keep the temps down running it on low or even medium,,, i want this thing to be as quiet as possible, and i can always manage ambients to keep the temps in line inside!!! and there is of course absolutely no smell coming from the cab...

the next thing i am going to do is eliminate the seperate vegbox fan... actually, i dont want to be running the main blower with the lights off too much... with the intake over by the window, im afraid it will lower the temps too much! so maybe i should just ... hmmmmm..... i could make a small seperate scrubber and keep the existing fan..... or maybe use a PC type fan which might be quieter. i have a bit of material left over for a small scrubber, but not any more screen. wait i do have a little screen left...... i think that is what i will have to do! i will mount it inside in the back corner of the box... or something....... there is a little room behind it but its getting a little crowded these days!

im sorry i didnt take pics of the process of finishing the scrubber. i took some pics of the inner sleeve/screen, but the camera batt is dead so that will have to wait.

its basically the usual DIY design... only difference is i scaled mine up... its about 40" long or so, and 9" in outside diameter. pretty basic stuff. it took close to 23-24lbs of carbon to fill it (a full 5-gal pail--ebay), i only have a little left (pail supposed to hold 25lbs) so thats how i figure 23-24lbs...

 

[Sonic Death]

thats pretty slick scissors.
Sonic