Phresh Filter starting to smell only after 1 year?

[rrog]

Reading a bit more about carbon recycling, here is a recommendation from alcohol distillers.

Rinse and drain the carbon
Boil the carbon for 15 minutes. Should be no smell coming off the carbon.
Dry the carbon
When thoroughly dry, bake in an electric (not gas) oven at 250F for 3 hours
Let cool

This method apparently cleans the carbon sufficiently to get 80% effectiveness back. I wouldn't do this, as I want that last 20%, but anyone certainly could.

 

[RetroGrow]

Looking at the Phresh filter vids. They use 4x8 screen mesh. Optimal for vapor filtration. That's a big plus. They use coal carbon, with an unusually high iodine# (1050). Coal is usually 1000. Might be an unusual coal. Coconut is 1100

Given the thin layer of carbon, I can see why packing is so critical with these. I think they look pretty top shelf.

From Phat filters:

"A genuine Phat filter is a carbon filter that uses 1200 mg/g Iodine number, Mongolian virgin charcoal, a higher grade charcoal than the Australian charcoal that our competitors use. "
They do not use "pelletized" carbon.
Also lighter & cheaper.
From their website:
"The quality of carbon also contributes to its adsorption efficiency. Most filters use pelletized carbon. This type of carbon contains bonding agents, which increases its weight but reduces the actual amount of fixed carbon per gram, which is the real factor behind a filter's adsorption capacity. In simple terms, other carbon pellets are glued together and glue weighs a lot but doesn't filter anything."



"

 

[walt cunningham]

hrm, i have a can 100 and it weighs like 80lbs. something tells me that refilling at $170 + shipping for 15 lbs wont be cheaper

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

rrog is 100% correct about using a vapor phase carbon instead of the pellets which is liquid phase carbon. The larger mesh sizes of the liquid phase stuff allows vapors to pass through.
Calgon Carbon Corporation out of Pittsburgh is the largest manufacturer of activated carbon in the states. Thier 4x6 and 4x8 coconut shell carbon is the choice for air/vapor filtration. Too bad they only sell it in 2,000 pound supersacks.
I pulled some tanks at their Columbus OH facility where they reactivate spent carbon.
Heat, steam and pressure is required for proper reactivation.
Washing and drying in the oven will give you a little more life, but it's not the same as reactivation.

 

[Hammerhead]

The Black Diamond is not pelletized. The bulkreef is called glandular but it looks pelletized to me(pencil lead size)I can add this to my tests.. I will get some vapor phase carbon and compare to the H20 carbon. I will try to get this one.



encotech.net/common/pdf/4x10_mesh.pdf

SPECIFICATIONS
US Standard Sieve Size 4x10
Greater than No.4 5% maximum
Less than No.10 3% maximum
Iodine Number (mg/g) 1200 minimum
Butane Activity 23.3 wt%
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Apparent Density 0.41 g/cc minimum​

Hardness No. 92

 

[Hammerhead]

lol you dont use the hole 15lbs maybe 5lbs to fill my 99.I have never weighed it. you dont have to buy 15lbs and there are others that sale it cheaper.. I have never purchased coco carbon. If your refilling it will be the same or more $

 

[rrog]

Sgt., what do you filter with, if anything?

 

[OGL1]

Ive been buying new carbon and refilling my can filters for years with good success, but I always wondered about reactivating it in a kiln, as I have one at hand. rrog, do you think this would do the trick,? Then maybe into the pressure cooker for a little steam treatment? Or maybe I should just continue throwing it into the veggie garden. Thanks for the technical info here guy's.

 

[rrog]

If you can heat in a low O2 environment re-pyrolize at 1000F. Low O2 or the carbon will ignite.

 

[OGL1]

Sounds doable maybe worth experimenting with. Thanks rrog

 

[rrog]

All of this info is online, btw

 

[eyes]

i got a real issue with Rhino filters... i run a 3300cfm airforce future tech fan only lights on so 12 hours a day and have a 1200 x 315 rhino filter rated to 4000cfm and 10 weeks in i have smell issues.... no high humidity and is the 3rd time it happened... even have the old one from the last grow with an 8"RVK sitting on top circulating the air... spoke to the grow shop who have spoke to rhino and no one can work it out... i did they are full of shit i now have a Ozone generator running 24/7 on an outlet with 10m of ducting before is goes out into the atmosphere... no more smell for me now.... carbon filters suck.. literally...

im going to have to agree. ive got a mountain air 12x20 and it cant even eliminate veg cycle smell. i wouldnt even try to flower and hope it will eliminate any smell. going to have to build a big ass ozone or use a cover up smell. its the only way. tried numerous carbon and none of em work. im not sure where people are coming from when they say no smell. no more wasting $ on filters.

 

[RomulusUSA]

Weird man. My Phresh 8x24 works great. Its about 4mo old at this point, on its first flowering run. 0.00 veg smells (building use to smell like wet dirt, now it smells like nothing) and 0.00 6wk flower smells also. YMMV.

 

[joe fresh]

all the commercial guys i know use 3 filters per room and change em out every 8 months to a year

 

[eyes]

Weird man. My Phresh 8x24 works great. Its about 4mo old at this point, on its first flowering run. 0.00 veg smells (building use to smell like wet dirt, now it smells like nothing) and 0.00 6wk flower smells also. YMMV.

im not sure how often your venting,but im at 4 vents per hour- 24/7. this is supposed to be a 3yr rated filter. i hoped for the best. thing worked for a week. brand new filter. genuine. i couldnt see myself buying 3 filters for one room when 1 filter cant cut the mustard. i think these manufactures will say anything to sell merchandise.

 

[NorthernKronic]

im not sure how often your venting,but im at 4 vents per hour- 24/7. this is supposed to be a 3yr rated filter. i hoped for the best. thing worked for a week. brand new filter. genuine. i couldnt see myself buying 3 filters for one room when 1 filter cant cut the mustard. i think these manufactures will say anything to sell merchandise.

What is the size of your grow room? If your filter cant cut it then you need a bigger filter or you have a problem with your neg. pressure situation.(That or like glasamarius said, you just dont understand that it will always smell in the room) If you dont keep negative room pressure, that can allow growroom smells to leak out of the room instead of being scrubbed and exhausted by your filter and fan. The grow room itself will always smell like plants, just how it is.

I have a feeling though that you either dont have neg pressure or that you dont have a big enough filter, so let us know the size of your op and gear so we can figure it out.


-N.Kron

 

[eyes]

What is the size of your grow room? If your filter cant cut it then you need a bigger filter or you have a problem with your neg. pressure situation.(That or like glasamarius said, you just dont understand that it will always smell in the room) If you dont keep negative room pressure, that can allow growroom smells to leak out of the room instead of being scrubbed and exhausted by your filter and fan. The grow room itself will always smell like plants, just how it is.

I have a feeling though that you either dont have neg pressure or that you dont have a big enough filter, so let us know the size of your op and gear so we can figure it out.


-N.Kron

i appreciate ya trying to help but yeah this problem is the filter and not the negative pressure aspect of it. i been growin for years and years and i never used filters till they became alll the rage. i used to think,yeah,too small or wrong filter. but after reading other people post elsewhere as well, i know its not just me being dumbfounded- its actually others as well saying the same thing.

the way i see it, if a 12x20 33 lb filter cant handle a dozen plants 7 inches tall in veg, how the heck is it going to handle full flowering plants? i understand bout smell drifting through the house when the filters are between run cycles. im talking vented, supposedly scrubbed air being expelled. its not just me ive read countless threads of people who had concerns and have came to the same conclusions. there immediate reaction is at first,oh,maybe its the brand of filter.

thanks for the reads and such,but a big ass ozone generator in- line and cover ups are the way to go.

 

[cody2white]

My 6x24 phresh works. Open then tent up and it stinks. Close it and smells disappear.

Personally I think it comes down to neg pressure and the speed of the fan hitting the filter... contact time. That's why I buy a overly huge filter for my fan. Next purchase is a 8x39

 

[RomulusUSA]

That's really nuts and disappointing in regards to the failed carbon filters. I just picked up a 6x16 (IIRC, sounds right) this weekend and it entirely makes my tent discharge not smell. Open tent, it smells pretty heavily. Before installing the filter, you could smell it outside the tent.

 

[T_B_M]

If the carbon becomes loose you will get smells. This can happen anytime. Gradually the smaller pieces and chunks wear down and stuff starts moving around. Where the loose areas are, the air doesn't get scrubbed passed enough carbon to be effective. Nothing necessarily wrong with it, just getting loose most likely.

Pack more or replace it all. Phresh isn't too hard to do. There are just a couple rivets to drill out and you can replace them with #6 or #8 metal screws. While you pack new carbon in, shake it or vibrate it a lot to pack it tight.