DIY - Build a Carbon Scrubber For Dummies!

[Chomas]

nice design!

I'm just hesitant on what is the best carbon to get. Link anyone?

 

[Lex Dysic]

I'm sorry...I've looked at for quite awhile now... that formula doesn't make any sense to me.



I've got a 4" dayton blower rated at 265cfm.
I want to use a 4" core and 6" outside.
How long should the filter be??

Thanks much!!
Lex

 

[blynx]

I'm sorry...I've looked at for quite awhile now... that formula doesn't make any sense to me.



I've got a 4" dayton blower rated at 265cfm.
I want to use a 4" core and 6" outside.
How long should the filter be??

Thanks much!!
Lex

15.5 inches

 

[P-NUT]

im marking this for future reference

 

[THISISME]

Thanks for the great tutorial.

THISISME

 

[jonezin]

Is this exactly how the Can filters are made? Has anyone ever seen one of those dissected or pics of one anywhere? I'm just curious if they use mesh for the core like this design?

 

[potenza]

i read that ''Always make sure that the capacity of the chosen carbon filter is higher than the capacity of the used sucktion fan !!!''

and i will make/buy a carbon filter that has 20cm diameter,and i will use it wth a 20 to 12,5 cm reducer;
becauz my cooltube has 12,5cm diamater .

is it a trouble ?

 

[potenza]

do i have to water the carbon before putting into the filter,firstly to prevent carbon dust

 

[potenza]

I'd like to give credit to SunIsShining for being the originator of this design, It's the exact same one that SunIsShining posted on OG that i've been using for years (I remembered his name partly due to it being my favorite Bob Marley song. ).

I made one that has a charcoal chamber 16" long and 8" diameter, it works great with my 4" 19 watt Fantech FX4 inline fan hooked to a 1000 watt HPS.

One modification I made was to take a large air filter, cut out the paper box part surrounding it, and use duct tape to secure it around the outside. This prevents the carbon from sagging out and also extends the life of the carbon greatly by preventing dust infiltration.

Nice writeup Durban Poison... and a big thanks to SunIsShining!

Not trying to be a neg here but I thought the recommended thickness of the carbon was 2". Thicker the bed the longer she's gonna last and the more she's gonna filter. So to get a 2" thick wall of carbon around a 4" core you would need to use an 8" shell, yes 8-4=4 but remember your centering the core, splitting the 4" which gives you a 2" perimeter. Wholesale HVAC distributors will have the large size fittings. If you can't find them in the phone book ask an HVAC guy when you see one.
On a side note, I enclosed my carbon filter inside a plywood box with a home return air filter installed, I use the high dollar home filters as a pre-filter to keep the dust out of my carbon. Try this setup, look at how dirty the filter gets in a month and you'll see how much life you just added to your carbon filter. She's been running 2 years and I still don't smell it outside.

Peace

and pls add pics

 

[Hera]

Great! but i think a buy complete but this and this same cost .

 

[GrüneErd]

made mine and it works great.
BUT i have my fan sucking through it, i have about a 3' length of ducting attached to the intake side of my Panasonic whisper, and it just hangs in the middle of my closet taking air in through it.
noticed no smell immediately after installing.
great tutorial.
peace

 

[d4twamp]

I plan on building a diy carbon filter soon, I'm gonna be using a 8" value line 750 cfm fan, but wanna run the inner core of the carbon filter 6" and the outer filter 8" how long does the inner core need to be...BTW I love the ease of the design Props for sure...

Later, D

 

[reefa cheefa]

Quick question.
i have a whole room with 3 seperate cabs veg, flower, and mothers. do i vent the room as a whole 1 unit like open scrubber in room, fan, duct or should i run some other combination, like stand alone scrubbers
thanks

 

[swampdank]

I wonder if you can increase the dimensions and make a huge version for high airflow.

 

[Tarbosh]

If you are using blowers to air cool a hood and ultimately regulate temps in the area, but at the same time don't want to directly vent the space bc of co2 usage...... would putting the scrubber on either the intake or exhaust outside the space clean the air?

question relates to cabs..... if you are trying to scrub air so no odor, can you do this via the closed aircooled circut?

 

[FreezerBoy]

While you want to filter intakes you only scrub exhaust. The exhaust can be scrubbed inside or outside the cab. If you have a canister type, it has to go at either end of the line.

Scrubber-lamp-fan-exhaust
Scrubber-fan-lamp-exhaust
Scrubber-lamp-exhaust-/fan (here the fan's outside)

............ OR

Lamp-fan-exhaust-/scrubber (scrubber outside in both)
Fan-lamp-exhaust-/scrubber
Lamp-exhaust-/fan-scrubber(here the fan's outside too)

Filter intake because carbon adsorbs (with a "d") like flypaper. Every bit of dust is a fly the paper can't catch. There's only so much stickum. Here's the crap trying to get into your cab. Beyond clogging your Scrubber it can also coat the glass of air-cooled hoods blocking light and bring in bugs that, minus predators, will flourish.

 

[no0dlemice]

does a 6-4" reducer affect performance that much if the filter is 4" diameter and the fan is a 6"? i'd like to make the carbon scrubber 6" diameter as opposed to 4" but have'nt sat down and actually tried to figure out all the formulas to get em right for a 6" diam. scrubber. you guys think it would make that much of a difference if i just made one with a 6" diam by 2ft long and just compensate for the remainder of the activated carbon needed?

 

[rave420]

How effective are these filters really?
I am thinking about building a carbon scrubber for the micro cab i am constructing.
The cab will be something like 1x2x4, so 8 cubic feet in total. I would like to run a 50cfm bathroom fan to use in a cooltube for my 150 HPS and then exhaust into the carbon scrubber.
Would i be able to run the setup, say, in my bedroom with window and door closed, and someone would be able to smell anything?

Can someone that has used them before chime in and report on their effectiveness? How long does the carbon last? When do i need to replace it? Also, let me get this straight... 50 cfm fan with a 3" diameter, core height 3" (maybe even 4")?

 

[FreezerBoy]

They REALLY work. So well, I'm thinking of rebuilding mine with a 1/2 inch core.

While a 50 cfm fan may be enough to cool a 150 with no filter, I seriously doubt it would work with a scrubber of this type. It may be a homemade odorsock would work in a cab your size. I used one with a 76 cfm axial on a Destroyer plant but, it wasn't very stinky. My new 8 Mile overpowered the odorsock at week 3 before flowering even started. This scrubber immediately squelched the smell.

 

[rave420]

The thing is, my 150 BARELY produces any heat at all, so by cooltubing it and having a low, constant flow of air moving through it, should cool enough i think? Even if the scrubber reduces my 50 cfm to 25cfm i still think i have enough air movement to create negative presure inside to prevent any smell from leaking.

I plan on installing a little tabletop fan inside the cab to rotate the air inside the cab, and provide some cooling for the plants. The cab will be completley sealed, except some intake holes.

I have the option of buying a new motor/fan for my bathroom fan for like 20$. That would give me 70 cfm of air movement. Do you think i should "upgrade"? By how much do these scrubbers reduce the airflow?

Thanks for taking the time and answering me. It's very important to me to get this right, because there is a lot that depends on it!
Also, what is this "odor sock" you're talking about?