How thick a layer of carbon for a diy scrubber

[theroadwarrior]

I am building a scrubber for my room and most of the diy links use an 6" core which goes into an 8" chamber. This only leaves 1" space for the carbon.

It seems the store filters like the CAN filters have a thicker layer of carbon. Somewhere I heard it was 2.5" thick. Should I modify the design to allow for say 2" of carbon. I have 50 lbs from ebay so don't mind using more carbon if it is better.

Would you guys recommend a thicker layer of carbon the the 1" or should I just do the 1" and change it more frequently. Thanks for any suggestions

 

[rasputin]

2" at least for sure.

 

[BobbleheadJed]

The thicker, the better for removing odor, its true. But, how big is your fan sucking/blowing air through it? A small fan might not be able to handle a really thick layer of carbon, but a bigger fan could handle it. The small fan would not remove enough air with all that carbon blocking it.

Engineers get paid big bucs to figure out air flows and pressure drops and cfms and average temps, etc, but I am not one, sorry. If you've got a big enough fan, the thicker the bed of carbon the better it will do at removing odor. If Can does 2" and you have a comparable fan, then 3" wouldn't be too much of a stretch if you wanted to.

 

[geopolitical]

The more air contact time, the less carbon there needs to be. So have a thick bed with fast moving air, or a thinner bed with slower moving air.

Personally I shoot for 2" packed and 3" if I can do it with a relatively decent fan pulling. I've done beds that were as shallow as 3/4" and still fairly effective, but they were on small cabs and used axial pc fans that pulled air at a snails pace.

 

[FreezerBoy]

A small fan might not be able to handle a really thick layer of carbon,

My DIY is an inch thick. Killed my smells dead. However, it's taxing my S&P TD 100x's cooling capacity to the point I'm going to try it at 1/2 inch. Course, I'm in a freezer with a single plant so, I don't stink as much as many.

 

[tree d]

Mine is 2" thick and the filter in about a foot long. The thing holds a ton of carbon . A Stanley fan pushes the exhaust thru it easily.

 

[theroadwarrior]

Engineers get paid big bucs to figure out air flows and pressure drops and cfms and average temps, etc, but I am not one, sorry. If you've got a big enough fan, the thicker the bed of carbon the better it will do at removing odor. If Can does 2" and you have a comparable fan, then 3" wouldn't be too much of a stretch if you wanted to.

Yeah I wish I had a can filter to tear open but I don't. I use a can 6 and 8 inch both High Output. I think the cfm is 440 and 737. I want to go as close to the can specs as possible. Want to build one for both.

Any Can Filter owners that can chime in? Thanks for the help.