Why is there still smell outside my apartment?

[ChenBenTz]

Where are you exhausting your smelling air to? Out a window? Into the attic? Into a sewer vent? You really need to give us as many details as possible if you want help. You can't just say that your house doesn't follow the laws of physics. That's not going to elicit any help from anyone, I promise. Might as well start a thread called "I fell up, and I'm stuck on the ceiling, how do I get down?"

Give us any and all details.

Into the attic via an 8" duct.

I was sparse on details because this is my second thread on the subject.

This is the first: http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69878

 

[ChenBenTz]

Wrong link; can't edit post.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=6643456#post6643456

 

[hush]

Yeah I remember that thread and I remember being confused by it, too. You aren't being very clear, frankly. In that thread you were talking about holes in the ceiling where you can feel the negative pressure... But if you are exhausting into the attic then how or why are you feeling negative pressure in the ceiling holes? Let me back up... Why do you have ceiling holes if you are exhausting up there? Your intakes should be coming from a different place than you're exhausting to. Most people who exhaust into the attic don't have any holes in their ceiling, except for the one hole where the exhaust fan is connected to. Then all of the fresh air comes from a window, or an adjacent room, through holes that are specific to this purpose, usually totaling twice the area of the exhaust hole. Everything else, every other gap or seam in the room, should be sealed up, so that the only air that leaves through that exhaust hole is air that came in through your dedicated intake(s).

Have you read the ventilation 101 thread? It might help you big time. https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112862

 

[Mikell]

Your house is not impervious, but your setup is. Almost sounds like it's recirculating, but as hush said, you're posts are confusing at best. State everything you can clearly and concisely.

Granted, the twits from the peanut gallery aren't very helpful, everything to solve the problem is here, much of it on the second page, or the main ventilation sticky, linked above.

RH? Passive intake size? You may want to convert everything to feet and CFM. Americans are bad at math, conversions and the metric system.

You mention the fan is operating under heavy load, making me think your intake holes are undersized. Do the both fans run 24/7?

I made this for you. I'm a visual person and many others here are as well. You have a sad face because it smells, and by the looks of that angry police officer, you better have a taste for cockmeat sandwiches.

You're exhausting air at 14.67 m3/m, roughly every 80 seconds. Probably even slower if intakes are undersized.

 

[sourpuss]

Dude its so obvious now... we all been saying someone else is growing.... your sucking air directly from the other grow lol..... fucking funny as hell. Figure out where that air is coming from and you will find your asshole.

 

[trichrider]

you're venting your air into the attic and your passive intakes are in the ceiling???

get the ozone genny for the mold in your attic...ozone kills mold/mildew...good luck

 

[ChenBenTz]

Ok, pictures.

This is the aforementioned fan and filter, with the holes I drilled into the ceiling (which lead up to the attic) to mount them. There are two more holes to the right, off the picture. Basically, I drilled a series of holes in the ceiling to mount whatever it is I needed to mount as I went along. I didn't think this would be a problem, because the negative pressure in the room would pull the air out of them anyway and would provide some passive intake.

The duct exhausts into the attic as well. The attic extends over my apartment and into the stairway, where there are two large vents. I suspect this is where the smell in the stairway is coming from.

This is the vent that was previously sealed, but because the negative pressure in the room got so high I opened it up with the hopes of providing some more passive intake and aleviating the strain on the fan, which makes a whining noise under stress. That worked, but now some parts of my apartment smell, as I suspect this vent leads to other vents in the house (probably as part of my apartment's central air conditioning system). I just can't figure out HOW that is possible, considering the air should be coming out of them, not going in.

Some more holes in the ceiling, used to mount this light, which is above my plants.

The plants, all eight of them, are not sealed in a tent or anything, they simply sit in this corner of the 20 M3/h room.

Other points:
1.) The duct itself cannot have a leak, because it is insulated.
2.) I am positive that the smell is coming from us, because I conducted a short experiment in which I moved all the plants to the bedroom and shut the door. The entire apartment reeked, but the smell in the stairway positively vanished.
3.) It is not a defective filter, as I just returned the old one and bought another.
4.) The smell in the stairway is actually quite peculiar, in that it is one small spot only, and on the first floor, whereas I am on the third floor. There is never any smell right outside my front door, or anywhere else but in that one spot on the first floor. It's also harder to smell it when you're walking *down* the stairs, only when you go *up,* (I have no idea why) and though it is brief, it is distinctive and noticeable.

I am on my wit's end. I am considering getting some ONA gel (though it is expensive in my country) to provide a temporary fix while I figure out a permanent one, but I don't know how/if it would work in an entire room. Maybe if I place it inside the exhaust duct? Do I have any temporary options?

 

[hush]

By moving the plants to the bedroom and closing the door like you did, you proved that the smell in the stairway was coming from your grow room. In your own words you said that the entire apartment became more stinky, but the smell in the stairway was gone. I'm assuming you don't have any holes in the ceiling in that bedroom. Well, that suggests to me that stinky air is bypassing your carbon filter in the grow room and ending up in the attic without having been scrubbed.

You need to provide dedicated intake holes to the grow room, not in the ceiling either, and then you need to go around and seal up any holes that are not dedicated for intake or exhaust.

Regarding your holes in the ceiling, for hanging your hardware as you go... Have you not considered using ceiling hooks on toggle bolts?

 

[messn'n'gommin']

The only thing I can suggest is to go back to square one and rethink your setup as if you were setting it up for the first time. I suspect it is a couple of things, but there's not enough info to go by. Where is the air originating from? How large is the intake? When you dump into the attic, where does it go? etc.

Can you post a drawing or photoshop type of thing for those of us that are more visual?

After that, you really need to go through this thread and understand it well!
“Ventilation 101,” by redgreenry
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112862

Also, if you're hanging all that weight from a couple of inches of drywall, you're asking for trouble!

 

[FlowerFarmer]

The fan itself isn't sucking anything in it is it? Any seams or electrical strain reliefs letting air into the fan post filter.

I know I've need several can fans and similar over the years that needed a good taping around the seems. Make sure that fan itself is sealed up tight.



I'd foam up the small holes for good measure, but I'm still not sure why you'd be getting odor with this setup if your fan is spec'd properly for that filter and you've got negative pressure in the room.

 

[sourpuss]

Hole in the duct? From the fan looks like a hole no? Although you said there is good negative pressure. Maybe seal up that tear.. maybe smell is coming thru the tear a tiny bit ..

 

[sourpuss]

By moving the plants to the bedroom and closing the door like you did, you proved that the smell in the stairway was coming from your grow room. In your own words you said that the entire apartment became more stinky, but the smell in the stairway was gone. I'm assuming you don't have any holes in the ceiling in that bedroom. Well, that suggests to me that stinky air is bypassing your carbon filter in the grow room and ending up in the attic without having been scrubbed.

You need to provide dedicated intake holes to the grow room, not in the ceiling either, and then you need to go around and seal up any holes that are not dedicated for intake or exhaust.

Regarding your holes in the ceiling, for hanging your hardware as you go... Have you not considered using ceiling hooks on toggle bolts?

View Image

Id say toggle bolts r last resort. If you can hit wood or steel or concrete thats the way to go. Ez anchors, toggle bolts r weak.... not hard to put some mud in the holeand sand

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Yeah could be the fan those fans aren't made for grow rooms. Taping it up real good might fix it if youre pulling dirty air through the seams.

 

[Scrappy-doo]

or just reverse the flow so you're blowing air out through the filter and just have the filter in the room you're exhausting out into

 

[sourpuss]

The only thing I can suggest is to go back to square one and rethink your setup as if you were setting it up for the first time. I suspect it is a couple of things, but there's not enough info to go by. Where is the air originating from? How large is the intake? When you dump into the attic, where does it go? etc.

Can you post a drawing or photoshop type of thing for those of us that are more visual?

After that, you really need to go through this thread and understand it well!
“Ventilation 101,” by redgreenry
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112862

Also, if you're hanging all that weight from a couple of inches of drywall, you're asking for trouble!

This is smart. Quit venting into the attic. Move it to a new location. Have it stay in your apartment imo.

 

[ChenBenTz]

By moving the plants to the bedroom and closing the door like you did, you proved that the smell in the stairway was coming from your grow room. In your own words you said that the entire apartment became more stinky, but the smell in the stairway was gone. I'm assuming you don't have any holes in the ceiling in that bedroom. Well, that suggests to me that stinky air is bypassing your carbon filter in the grow room and ending up in the attic without having been scrubbed.

But that's impossible, since there is a ton of negative pressure. Where could it be bypassing through?

Also, there is a vent in the bedroom, so it could easily have gone into that but it didn't.

The most likely scenario (as crazy as it sounds) is that both carbon filters are faulty.

You need to provide dedicated intake holes to the grow room, not in the ceiling either, and then you need to go around and seal up any holes that are not dedicated for intake or exhaust.

Since I have plenty of negative pressure from those holes, I don't see how sealing them will solve anything, as air has to be coming FROM them, not INTO them.

However, I do agree with the idea that the intake should be coming from elsewhere. I have a made a hole in the material I use to cover up the window and inserted a 5" duct into it. However, it's still only passive intake since I can't afford a powerful silent inline fan.

Regarding your holes in the ceiling, for hanging your hardware as you go... Have you not considered using ceiling hooks on toggle bolts?

I have, but toggle bolts aren't as strong.

Once I actually get the chance to go up there I'll install some proper bolts with large washers.

The only thing I can suggest is to go back to square one and rethink your setup as if you were setting it up for the first time. I suspect it is a couple of things, but there's not enough info to go by. Where is the air originating from? How large is the intake? When you dump into the attic, where does it go? etc.

The air is originating from the holes in the ceiling (size can be seen in photos), the vent in the ceiling (5-6") and now the hole in the window (5"). All passive.

The air that goes into the attic gets circulated back outside via the stairwell which leads out directly outdoor when you reach the lobby.

Can you post a drawing or photoshop type of thing for those of us that are more visual?

You mean like a blueprint? I would, but it's honestly very simple as it is just a classic attic - shingled roof with plenty of light leaking through.

Also, if you're hanging all that weight from a couple of inches of drywall, you're asking for trouble!

Lol. If I was hanging that carbon filter from drywall it would fallen by now.. or I would be a very handy person.

It's a relatively thin layer of reinforced concrete.

The fan itself isn't sucking anything in it is it? Any seams or electrical strain reliefs letting air into the fan post filter.

I know I've need several can fans and similar over the years that needed a good taping around the seems. Make sure that fan itself is sealed up tight.

I wrapped at as best I can.. I also can't feel any air pressure around it, so I assume it's at least 98% sealed.

I'd foam up the small holes for good measure, but I'm still not sure why you'd be getting odor with this setup if your fan is spec'd properly for that filter and you've got negative pressure in the room.

Precisely. Couldn't have said it better myself.

It simply doesn't make sense.

 

[hazyfontazy]

the smells escaping through the holes in the ceiling and then finding a route to the vent ,,just plug the holes

 

[WaittillIdie]

.

 

[GuyManDude]

I picked up a dual bulb inline ozone generator last year. I'll never spend money on carbon again. The smell in and around my house is completely gone. You still have to keep negative pressure in the flower room and my grow is exhausted out through a window.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

You rely strictly on ozone guymandude?

I'd be curious to know where you have it located and how you run it. How do you ensure your ozone has enough time to mix with your stinky air before it leaves your flower room. Do they have to be spec'd with a certain size fan to ensure air isn't passing through the inline ozone too fast?

Is it one of those corona discharge units or just a dual UV bulb? Uvonair brand?