Odor control for micro grow?

Hey hey everybody
I started this thread because, well, I'm having one hell of a time controling the smell from my PC case grow.

I've tried all manners of DIY carbon filters except for Red's deisgn (because it would look really out of place next to a PC case and kill the stealth factor) and no matter what I do it seems like I can't get the smell under control.

So far the best option I've found was to use True Air replacement carbon filter pads and sandwich them up against my 50 and 80 cfm PC fans along with some dryer sheets. I also have an ONA block sitting ontop of the computer cases.
Before that I tried refillable bags of activated carbon from the pet stores and bulk carbon in all sorts of home made carbon filter designs. But even with a heavy load of carbon and ONA blocks my computer room still reeks like the chronic every time me or my fiance walks in there. Just for reference I'm growing Sensi Seeds's Northern Lights, Sensi Seeds's Skunk #1, Serious Seeds's Bubblegum, and DJ Short's True Blueberry. It seems like the Skunk #1 and the True Blueberry are the main offenders odor wise.

Basicly I'm growing with two PC cases setup underneath my desk so any design has to be pretty low key and not look too out of place on a computer. Thus the reason I couldn't really use Red's carbon filter design.
The can style carbon filter's are just too damn big for my setup and I reaaaally don't want to use Ozone due to the extremely small room the cases are in. Using Ozone in such a small place where my fiance and I sit and work all the time seems like just a huge health hazard to me. Plus my fiance says "No ozone, no way, no how. Do it without ozone or ditch the grow."

So after trying lots of activated carbon doubled up with dryer sheets and ONA blocks with no success in controling the odor, the only thing left I can think of would be using some negative ion generators in the room as well.

Does anyone have any recommendation for a good ionizer that would help kill the ganja smell for my micro grow? Or any other suggestions (other than Ozone) that might help a brother out here?

There was a thread on OG years ago (I think it was OG) where someone had made one that was built around the fan. Basically a square around one side of the fan. A lot of people tried it and everyone said it worked good. I never got a chance to try it. If you did that you could put the box part inside the case so nothing abnormal would be sticking out the back.

I plan on doing what you tried (the bag) even though it didn't work for you, it's the only practical thing I can do so I will try to make it work. If I can keep the case sealed and have enough air exchange I'm sure it will work.

could all ways try a low odor strain my ak47 x bubbleberry has very little odor i am running with no odor controll at all... i did a bag seed grow last year and the stuff smelled up the hole house i could even smell it out side the house as well on day i will make a scrubber so i can grow some stinky weed lol

it might be a bit dodgy, but i reckon if you only have a couple of small plants you could get away with just permenantly venting to outdoors. as long as the air always moving i dont think the stench would build up enough to become noticable.

Hello Mr. Micro
I always read your posts on odor control, and you always came up with same new cool ideas for your PC grow. But I guess when you have a really smelly plant it doesn't matter how much you try, it'll always have the lovely ganja smell hehehe
But I found something else for you to try, I haven't tried myself yet, so I don't know if works as they say. Well it doesn't hurt to try and it is very inexpensive.
Basically what this guy did was geting one of those small waterfalls for the living room Like This , and instead of filling it up with plain water he used a mix of water and pinesol(the cleaning product). He claims that outside his growroom it smells like lavander!!! The good thing about this odor control is that it is very stealthy hehehe.
I don't know if your fiance will like this, but I think she will like the pinesol smell better. Everytime I bring the idea of a grow to my wife she ask: "Is the entire house going to smell like pot?" So I think a pinesol smell instead she wouldn't mind.
Let me know what you think of this idea, and if you try it tell me how it worked out!

Here is the link for the original post...
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=36061
By Mr. Nevermind

was just going to suggest the pinesol thing but i saw you already explaned it there pothead. im thinking baout trying it but i think it will just make my house reek unpleasently of pinetrees...

The trick to making a good air filter is to have lot's of surface area with a thin layer of carbon.

That design where the guy takes a computer fan and makes a rectangular box out of cardboard and packs it full of carbon doesn't work because the fan is fully blocked.

I would get another computer case and build a large area filter inside of it. You could mount it side by side with the grow box and cut holes in both to direct the flow from the grow box to the filter.

My computer fan driven filter produces 10-15 CFM flow with 1 sqft of fiter with 1/2 - 1" of carbon.

Hey thanks for all the suggestions guys!

With the carbon filter/dryer sheet combo I got the smell down to about half what it was before, but like I said it's still pretty funky in here.

Venting outside isn't really an option because, well, I live in an apartment building and the nearest window is on the other side of the apartment while my PC case grow boxes are underneath my desk. Maybe next time around I'll go for some more low odor strains, but since this was the first time I have grown in about 5 years or so I really wanted to try some classic strains that I used to get from the locals way back when. Blueberry used to be my favorite smoke with Northern Lights a close second, but Skunk #1 and Bubblegum are gonna be new to me.

But anyway, I sat down and did a whole lot of reading last night (about 4 or 5 hours worth) on negative ion generators and ozone generators. After absorbing everything I had learned, talking with my better half about it, and looking at hundreds of varieties of ion/ozone generators I finally decided to order one of these nifty lookin little things...

http://www.heavenfresh.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/61

They seem to have a very large negative ion output while still maintaining an extremely safe level of ozone bi-product. I plan on putting it right behind the PC cases's exhaust so that any air coming out of the case will pass through a area saturated with negative ions and ozone.

The PC cases are at 90* angle from each other (one to the right of my chair, and one infront of my feet in the back of the desk) and they both exhaust into the same corner. So by placing this little thing in the corner I'm pretty sure it will be able to handle whatever the carbon filters can't.

Anyway, thanks again for the suggestions guys (and gals)! I'll be sure to let you know how the little ionizer/ozone generator works out when it arrives.


Edit: Darn good suggestion Red! I'm gonna have to think about that one for a while!

I was just about to suggest adding another computer case with a carbon filter inside and just have a good fan filtering all the air in the room through there and then I saw red-green beat me to it.

so yeah that's what I would do - just have a full size can filter in it's own computer case with a few fans moving air through it - if you have enough fan to cycle all the air in the room through fairly often or so you will not have an odor issue.

I use a pro carbon filter and I have no smell even with some funky skunky strains - since the intake and exhaust of the cab are in the same room I am basically just recycling the air through the cab and the filter and back around again.

-suga

I saw take Red Greenery's advice. He's a micro master. I would bet he could help you come up with something to make a carbon filter inside of another PC case. He's got an elite setup. A good carbon filter will prevent the need of anything else. I grow in a micro cab myself and my carbon filter prevents all smell completely. I think the ozone deal is a waste of money, but that's just my $.02 cents.

Hmmm the more I think about it the more using a nice sized and better designed carbon filter the better it sounds. I already have two PC cases under my desk, so any more would just look strange.. but I'm sure I can rig somthin up to hold a can carbon filter without looking out of place. Maybe an old speaker or something...

Anyway, I've been eyeing this carbon filter ----> http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/Itemdesc.asp?ic=AOCHHELF04

It seems like the smallest can style carbon filter made and I'm thinking I could come up with a decent way to hide it. My big question is how well would it work with a 52 cfm PC fan? I know it's rated for 150 to 265 cfm, but do you think it would still work with a 52 or is that just not enough power to push air through a filter like this?

I was thinking I could just epoxy one of those 4" dryer hose adapaters onto the exhaust fan port on the back of the PC case and run the dryer hose to the can filter. I'm guessing that would work well. I've never used a can filter before so the setup of these things is still a bit new to me.
But the question still remains as to if a 52 cfm PC fan is strong enough to push air through one of these things.
Any thoughts?

Edit : Another idea... what if I ran the dryer vent from my PC case as planned, but before attaching it to the carbon filter I hung the carbon filter from some bungee cords inside a small rubbermaid tub with it's own 50 cfm exhaust sytem? The rubbermaid tub wouldn't look too out of place on the floor behind my desk and I could easily hide the carbon filter can inside it along with it's own 52 cfm exhaust system ala Red's design. That way I would have the PC case fan pushing air into the filter and a seperate fan inside the rubbermaid tub pulling air through the filter and exhausting it out.

Does this idea sound reasonable?

Update:

After doing many hours worth of seraching, I think I finally found the perfect carbon filter for my setup! Red's design is an extremely good one, but would have just been a little too bulky to hide behind the PC case.

I've never heard anyone talk about this particular filter before, but it seems perfect for a micro grow ----> http://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=CF0067

It's made by Can Filters and rated for 39 cfm! Seeing as how my exhaust fan is a 52 cfm fan I think this should work just perfectly. And at 11.4" tall and 4.3" wide I can easily hide it behind the case itself. For $39 I probably could have made one a bit cheaper, but after trying 5 or 6 different times at making my own carbon filters and never having them work quite right I decided I'd just be better off buying one of these little puppies.

I've never used a can filter though, so if someone can give me some advice about hooking it up I'd much appreciate it. I'm guessing I'll just epoxy a 3" dryer vent adapater to the back of my PC case and run some 3" dryer hose down to a 4" to 3" reducer and attach it to the carbon filter.
I was at the hardware store lookin at these dryer hoses and the 4" ones just seem too big to conceal behind my case, so I decided to go with the 3" hose. I'm using it with a 3" computer fan so the sizing should work fine.

I was wondering though... what exactly is a pre-filter? This Can Filter says it somes with a pre-filter but I'm still a bit unsure what that is and how it works. Anyone care to drop some knowledge on me here?

Hi Mr Micro

Those CAN filters are really good and you can build one yourself. There's directions for the Sun is Shining design on the site.

These filters are designed to be used with blower style fans that produce about 3 times the backpressure of a blade style fan. You won't get 39CFM using a pc fan, more likely around 10-15.

The pre-filter is the pad that is wrapped around the outside of the filter. It's to collect dust and can be removed for cleaning.

I kinda figured as much, that the filter would restrict the fan a bit. I'm guessing it would still work fine with a 50 or so cfm PC fan though, eh'? As long as it will filter the smell out and not cause much heat buildup in my cab from over restricting the fan I'm happy with it.

I was wondering something though Red... due to the limited space and high ammount of light running in my PC cab, I've yet to find a way to cool it effiently without using an active intake. I tried passive intakes that were twice the size (or more) of my exhaust and not only did it kill my lightproofing but it also made my temps go up to 15* or so above ambient room temp. But when I use a 52 cfm active intake I can generally keep the temps around 2* or 3*F above ambient room (thats with a digital ballast 50 watt HPS and a 42 watt CFL).

But I was wondering, what would your suggestion be for creating a vacuum inside the case so I won't have smell escaping through the cracks? I want all the odor to get exhausted through the carbon filter and not leak out the sides, so creating a vacuum (more air going out than coming in) seems necessary.

Right now I'm using a slightly restricted 52 cfm PC fan as an intake and a 52 cfm as an exhaust. I have a few lower power fans I could use as intakes instead to create that vacuum... a 37 cfm one and a 25 cfm one. I do want to have maximum airflow while still creating a vacuum so I'm thinking the 37 cfm one is the way to go.

Do you think that this Can 705 filter (with about 2 feet of dryer ducting attached to it) would cause a small enough ammount of restriction to the 52 cfm exhaust PC fan that I could use a 37 cfm fan as an intake and still create a vacuum? I mean, if I still have smell escaping through the cracks in the case than the carbon filter isn't going to do the job I need it to.

What do you think for the cfm of the active intake on this one? I've proven time and again that a passive intake just doesn't work well in my tiny PC case so the only way to keep temps down has been an active intake. Any thoughts on the right cfm intake for this situation?

The key to understanding fans is that the maximum rated flow is achieved with no restrictions. Any pressure buildup either positive or negative, results in a reduction of flow.

The cooling needed for your system is 1CFM/Watt of HPS and 1/3 CFM/Watt CFL or about 62CFM.

It sounds like you were blocking the exhaust to make a scrubber while increasing the intake size at the same time. The blocked exhaust is what is killing the airflow, not the intake size.

Now if you put two fans in series, whether as an intake and an exhaust or as a stacked pair, the working pressure is doubled but the CFM is at the rating of a single fan. This explains why your system works better with the active intake.

With an active intake and a active exhaust blocked with a scrubber, the intake will pressurize the box and blow smelly air into the room.

I would stack two fans up on the exhaust and see how it works. At least it will be creating a negative pressure in the box and all the smelly air can be directed into your homemade scrubber.

high times a few months ago showed how to make a home made carbon filter from a 5gal bucket. if you need just scale it down. no need to sweat a little odor.(get it , sweat,odor hahaha). and as red said(now im a poet!)you will need to increase air flow with more powerful fansbut its worth the odor control.

i love the smell ...of my pot infested house...although i let nobody in my home
how bad can it be...what strain are you growing in your squarefoot to stink so bad

Red & PlumberJohn - Yeah, I think what I'm probably going to have to do is to stick with the current 50 cfm intake fan and use a 80 cfm exhaust fan. I have a few 80 cfm ones laying around, but they sound like a hairdryer and are seriously just as noisey as one. About putting out like 55 dBa I think. Maybe I can come up with some clever way to muffle it, who knows. Since theres no way to get a 120mm fan in this case I'm really stuck with 80mm ones. I tried getting a 120mm one in another case that was the same model as the one I'm currently using and ended up pretty much wrecking the case and having to throw it out. But anyway, I'll try to rig up a 80cfm exhaust and see if I can handle the noise level without going nuts.

Mastermagic - Skunk #1 baby Not even a quarter of the way into flowering with one plant (and one True Blueberry too) and the whole apartment stinks worse than my old growroom did, back when I lived in a house, with 6 Dutch Dragon females going.


On a side note, my combination Ionizer/Ozone Generator/Electrostatic cleaner arrived today. Besides the funky smell of ozone around my computer desk it seems to be helping quite a bit. I think between that and the new carbon filter I should be able to get the smell under control.

I've been lurking around for a short while now, but I tend to refrain from posting because although I'd love to, I don't think I could undertake a grow of my own anytime in the near future.

However, after reading through your odor problems, I got in something of a creative mood and set out to design a can carbon scrubber much smaller than the one you're looking to buy. I enjoyed making these blueprints, they were a welcome change from studying for econ. Perhaps someday I'll be able to start my own microgrow and implement them.




Anyways, lemme know what you think.


Edit Edit: Font fixed. Easier to read now.

Woah! Very nice! Thanks a bunch T.R.B.!

I had looked at Durban Poison's design before and thought about scaling it down a bit but wasn't sure exactly how to do it. Your idea is a most excellent one though! I already ordered the carbon filter for my PC case, but I think just for the heck of it I might have to give your design a try in the near future.
If some other people try it and it works out well for PC fans than I'd say this design diagram might be something that should be made into a sticky for the Micro section.

On a side note... I spent a while this evening working on my PC case and trying different fans. After about an hour of trying everything I could think of I just couldn't get the 80 cfm fan to a even remotely tollerable noise level. LOL It sounded like I had a really loud hair dryer crammed inside a PC case. Plus even with the dryer vent attached the fan was pushing way more than 40 cfm through the tube... I'd guess it was around 65 or 70. So I think I'm just gonna stick with the 50 cfm exhaust and maybe use a 37 cfm intake. Sad as it is I just dont have the space in my case (or on my power strip) to run more than two 80mm fans in this thing.

In any case I'll press on with the design and hope it works. For now the negative ion generator/ozone generator/electrostatic filter unit combined with the ONA block is doin a pretty good job of keeping the smell confined to the room the cases are in. Hopefully with the addition of a good carbon filter I'll be able to knock out the smell completely.