proper size carbon filter

[bass ackwards]

I have looked at all the major filters; Phat,CanFan,Carbonaire,Mountainaire,and General hydroponics and not one of them will tell you what size filter to use for a grow room. I can in some measure understand this because one crop,say radishes,will smell less than another such as onions. Of the manufactures I mentioned one,Phat,draws a correlation between CFM's and wattage. Saying a fan should draw 150cfm for every 1000watts of lights. This is helpful and seems to support other unconfirmed information I have received. That information suggests using 1lb. of charcoal for every 20 cubic feet of grow space.

My rooms are just about 800cu.ft. with 3600watts of light. At 150CFM/1000w I would use a filter rated at 540 CFM or above. At 1lb. of charcoal/20cu.ft. I would need a filter with 40 lbs. of Charcoal. Do these figures sound right?

Any help here to confirm or refute this conclusion would be appreciated.

Respect bass

 

[FreezerBoy]

Saying a fan should draw 150cfm for every 1000watts of lights.

Who says that? I'd think 300 would be minimum, if not too small. Find what you need for cooling and get a filter just slightly "larger". Smaller will fail sooner, too large will block airflow.

Maybe this will help http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112862

 

[bass ackwards]

Who says that? I'd think 300 would be minimum, if not too small.

I'm not sure you read my post correctly, using your figures I would need a fan capable of 1,100cfm for an 800 cu.ft. room. I.m sure your not suggesting that

 

[MrMortakis$moot]

I think it's recommended around 250cfm per 1000w's(on the low side). but, how are your lights set up, how many lights? what it going to be the ambient temps of the area? are you just using one fan to exhaust the room, is there a intake fan? all of these could affect what size fan you need. If you live in a naturally cooler environment you may be able to size down on the fan a little bit.

 

[bass ackwards]

MrMortakis$moot, I use six 600w HPS lights. I have no answer on ambient temps,that is dependent on whether I rent a space which has a/c or I have to install a/c myself. In the past I used portable room a/c units 8000btu's each. One unit per room and temps hovered around 90F in summer. I will exhaust,(once per hour, I hope) with just the fan on the charcoal filter,passive intake.

 

[Haps]

A 600 would work, 750 would be better. With that many lights, you want more not less.
H

 

[bass ackwards]

How about some of you guys telling me what you are or would use. Something like;
"I,m using a model xyz,from abc, and my room is xxx,cu.ft. with yyy,watts of lighting."

With information like that I can get a idea of what is going on in the real world.
It may seem like I don't want to learn but that is not the case. I only have one chance at this. Once I purchase them I can't return them,and I need to make the right decision.

Respect bass

 

[swampdank]

I use a 6 inch Vortex fan for both of my 1k sunmaster. They are linked in series and the fan is blowing out of my tent, therefore sucking hot air from my reflectors. The fan works pretty well. I got temps up to 84 degrees only when the outside tent temps get in to the 70s. Other then that, they stay around 76-78. Everything gets pushed through a carbon filter. I think it is a no-brand type. I paid like 50 bux for it on ebay. But when it comes to those things imo its whats inside that counts. I have no odor with great air flow using this. Oh, and I just replaced the original charcoal with some of that aquarium charcoal @ Walmart. Still works like a charm. The longevity of the "walmart" charcoal remains to be seen. But I know that 14 dollarsa worth of charcoal filled it up and it haslasted for almost en entire cycle. So far so good.

If you are using no more than two 1k lamps, I would suggest making one using the DIY tutorials in the sticky. I am going to try and build one just for fun and make it HUGE. I want to add another lamp and also filter my veg area. So I might up my exhaust system to compensate.


Lemme dig up a pic.

 

[rr14]

I was told 50lbs of carbon scrubber per 1000. So for my 1000, I'd need a can 150 in a sealed room.

 

[swampdank]

Hmm. IDK I might have done thing differently. But I kinda pieced things together with the grow room. I didnt have a scrubber for my first grow. That was when I realized I did need one. LOL! I didnt wanna drop the cash on those big scrubbers so I bought what I thought I coult get away with. I only had one 1k lamp then. But when I added the other one, the only difference was a slight rise in temps. The filter still worked for twice as much area. (Homebox XXL). I still have my eye on one of those BIG filters though. I think they kick ass and I think I might get better airflow over that huge surface area. I guess I would go for the biggest one I could buy. I dont think you can have too much airflow if noise isnt a big concern.

Remember this.... You can get a huge vortex blower like a 12 inch and get a speed controller for it. Turn it down and you can still pull big air with lower RPMs Thus reducing your noise. It just costs more. I am leaning this way though. I am also thinking about replacing my central air blower with a vortex blower. Mine is noisy as hell.

 

[GDK]

Good thread even tho im still confused...we dont use cfm over here, but m3/h. Im just tryin to get this right...if i need 300cfm fan power pr 1000w light, and i hafta cool 6 1k´s hanging in a row with the intake coming from fresh outside air....i would need a 1800 cfm fan right? This is just for coolin the lights since ill have ac in the room as well. Or could i go smaller? I know that 6 lights in a row aint optimal, but its the only way it can be done..

Stay Safe

 

[Brastaman]

i just matched my filter rating to the size of exhaust fan i have.

i use an inline rated at 450cfm regulatd on a speed controller and matched it up to a filter rated for 412cfm. my room is small tho about a 4'x8' area. i have a G watt and 600w hanging and air duct is connected to both. We'll see if smaller filter works its my first time with this setup.

Before i had the same setup but with a filter rated at 1110cfm. the system seemed to work fine. no smell and suction was strong from the room( used to suck my doors shut) even with an intake fan. i've also built my own but i think i didn't pack the carbon enough, or not enough holes or the bucket was too small cuz it didn't work as good as these factory filters.

freezerboy- how would too big of a filter restrict airflow?

 

[Brastaman]

I use a 6 inch Vortex fan for both of my 1k sunmaster. They are linked in series and the fan is blowing out of my tent, therefore sucking hot air from my reflectors. The fan works pretty well. I got temps up to 84 degrees only when the outside tent temps get in to the 70s. Other then that, they stay around 76-78. Everything gets pushed through a carbon filter. I think it is a no-brand type. I paid like 50 bux for it on ebay. But when it comes to those things imo its whats inside that counts. I have no odor with great air flow using this. Oh, and I just replaced the original charcoal with some of that aquarium charcoal @ Walmart. Still works like a charm. The longevity of the "walmart" charcoal remains to be seen. But I know that 14 dollarsa worth of charcoal filled it up and it haslasted for almost en entire cycle. So far so good.

If you are using no more than two 1k lamps, I would suggest making one using the DIY tutorials in the sticky. I am going to try and build one just for fun and make it HUGE. I want to add another lamp and also filter my veg area. So I might up my exhaust system to compensate.

hey swampdank, how long did your $50 filter last you before you changed the charcoal?

 

[Smokerman]

This is from website where I buy some of my equipment,


PROfilter Reversible Carbon Filter 100 (8" 900 CFM)

TIP
Recommended fans:
Vortex Inline Fan 8" 747CFM
OR
Active Air Exhaust Fan 800CFM

Most can-type air filters utilize 50% of the carbon available by only filtering through the top section of the carbon filter, leaving the bottom section unused.
PROfilter uses an innovative patented design allowing the user to reverse the filter, benefiting from the use of 100% of the carbon available and effectively extending the units’ life span.
Manufactured with only the finest TC940 virgin 3mm grain sized carbon, PROfilter effectively removes 99.5% of odors.
Rated for a continuous worry-free operation, PROfilter can be used for commercial or residential applications. Technical specifications:
+ CFM: 900
+ Flange: 8"
+ Carbon Weight 67lbs. Approx. Room Size: 10' x 10' x 8'

 

[bass ackwards]

Smokerman, Thanks for the recommendation, sounds like a good size filter. I will look into it.

 

[bass ackwards]

bump.

 

[GDK]

Yea bump!

Stay Safe