will a fan like this be able to push through a carbon filter?

I have one of these Panasonic ceiling fans http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wc...d=450709&catGroupId=119507&surfModel=FV-08VQ5

I have read that generally it is better to pull through a filter rather than push, but since these ceiling fans have large open intake openings I don't think you could attach ducting to the intake. I would like to use this fan rather than buy an inline fan because they are super quiet and use little electricity. Before I order one of the name brand 4 inch carbon filters I want to determine whether this 80 CFM fan will do alright pushing through it. I have read that computer fans such as the Axial Ecoplus fans are not powerful enough to push through a filter, and I'm not sure if my fan is more powerful than computer fans. I am also concerned about overworking the fan.. I don't want there to be any chance of the fan giving out when I'm at work or something, or worst case starting a fire somehow. So I'm leaning towards buying an inline and just dealing with the noise... I would prefer to use the bathroom fan but I don't want to take any chances with safety/security. Any input would be appreciated.

Sorry but the answer is no.
The Panasonic fan you linked to is rated at .25 " H20 static pressure while most carbon fans require .75 to 1.5 H20 static pressure to work. That is 1/3rd to 1/6th of the pressure that is required.

Check with BulèNath, author of Panasonic Whisper Fan Carbon Scrubber Tutorial: Quietest most efficient fan ever!.

Fans make noise. Period. You can lock the noise behind closed doors or you can incorporate it into the room. First thing visitors to my garage do is look for the noise of my fan. You can see the "wtf?" look in their eyes. When they follow the noise to it's origin, they see a beat up old freezer and promptly lose all interest. A freezer is supposed to make noise. Show them the noise and the noise disappears.

If you're growing in any sort of common area, start thinking of patsies to take the fall: white noise generators, fans, aquariums, computer servers (need not be real, just looks operative)

yeah I think i'm going to have to get a new fan. I remember seeing bluenath's thread long ago.. I'm just not sure I want to go that route because I think it would make me nervous having a homemade filter suspended over the spinning fan.. this may sound ignorant but I would be afraid little pieces of carbon could possibly slip through the netting and get into the fan and cause a disaster, like something out of a Final Destination movie. Also, I'm not sure I can aim the exhaust horizontally out of my Homebox tent. There is a small hole on the side designed for electrical cords (the exahust hole is the one in the ceiling, so I could not use gravity to keep the carbon layed out evenly over the fan since it would have to be on its side), but maybe I could make it work. Odor is a much greater concern to me than noise so I guess I will look into ordering a 4 inch inline filter combo. Anyone know if there are any special inline fans that use less electricity than others? Power usage is 2nd to odor out of my concerns.

4 inchers are all going to be within $1/month of each other electricity wise, I would look at build quality first. My Fantech FG4XL's use about $7.50 a month @ $0.15/kwH running 24/7 pulling through Phresh 6"x24" filters. I always recommend FG series fans on here when it comes to scrubbing because they are 100% sealed...there are vids around the web showing other fans (vortex, Eco, CAN) and other value brands going through the "smoke test" where it shows how much air actually leaks out of the seams, mainly the main casing seam in the middle of the fan..FG fans leak no air, therefore leak no smell. Tons of people use CAN and Vortex with no problem though, so don't take my advice as end-all.

Good luck!

Hydrolized, are you saying that your single FG4XL uses that amount per month? Is that a 6 inch fan? I'm trying to get an idea of how much a single 4 inch inline running 24 hours a day would add to the electric bill. My problem is I don't even see my electric bill. I am in an apartment in a big house and my landlord handles the bill. If I, for example, never used my oven or turned my video game system on throughout this grow, would it be easy to make up the difference? or is even the smallest inline going 24/7 plus my lights going 12-12 (100w HPS and a few CFL's) going to be a noticeable spike to my landlord's bill? I'm sure it's hard to say exactly.. just looking for a general idea here. Thanks.

I am now giving serious thought to cutting a hole in the side paneling or whatever you call it that seals up the window that my AC unit sits in and just running ducting to that hole and exhausting out. that way I wouldn't need to get a new fan and wouldn't need a filter. I am on the 2nd floor of a house and I am wondering if the air I blow out would be noticeable to people outside. Since i'm on the 2nd floor nobody would be within 30 feet of the hole. I am thinking the odors would disperse before being detectable but I'm not sure. I am also not sure the hole wouldn't be noticeable to someone looking close at my window if he happened to be at the right angle (just thinking out loud here)... not sure I can run an inline 24 7 without spiking the bill.

Heres my advice...

Don't cheap or cheat your way out. No offense.

Buy a real fan and filter, with the capacity for your space volume. You obviously know enough if you are at the push/pull point of contemplation to operate this basic grow tool. Use the filter so that in the future, no matter what new innovation you want to follow, your grow room is secure. I think if you own basic tools that muffling the fan enough to have its noise "blend" into the noise of the freezer/heater/dog/fish tank units we all own will not get in your way my friend.

Peace

Stromisle said:

Hydrolized, are you saying that your single FG4XL uses that amount per month? Is that a 6 inch fan? I'm trying to get an idea of how much a single 4 inch inline running 24 hours a day would add to the electric bill. My problem is I don't even see my electric bill. I am in an apartment in a big house and my landlord handles the bill. If I, for example, never used my oven or turned my video game system on throughout this grow, would it be easy to make up the difference? or is even the smallest inline going 24/7 plus my lights going 12-12 (100w HPS and a few CFL's) going to be a noticeable spike to my landlord's bill? I'm sure it's hard to say exactly.. just looking for a general idea here. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Yes, 1 4" fan. The FG4XL uses 70 watts of power. Calculations for the bill are (Watts*0.001) to get kW...then (kW * 720) (for 24/7 gear...24 hours x 30 days) to get kWh/month, then (kWh *X) to get cost. Put in your cost per kW for X to customize for your situation. Most US places are 10-40 cents per kWh. So assuming you pay 15 cents per KwH..., .070*720 hours = 50.4 kWh * $0.15/ kWh = $7.56 per month.

Lets say you run that fan, and also run a 100 Watt HPS and 2 25 watt CFL's....so you have 18/6 veg period for 30 days (.150Kw*540)= (81 kWh * 0.15) = $12.15 + $7.56 (for the fan) = $19.71 for your month of veg, and to skip the math, when you flip to 12/12 your cost will be $15.66 per month, for a grand total 3 month grow cycle of $51.03.

Find out your cost per kWh and plug it into the above to get your actual cost if you want.

Just wanted to edit in, checked out the other "big brand" fans, the Vortex 4" is 98 Watts, and the CAN-Fan 4" is 78 Watts, Fantech 4" 71 Watts...all pretty close.

I would listen to Skullz. Don't skimp out on the odor control, it's one of the easiest ways to get busted besides telling people.

Also, if you're renting and theoretically your landlord could enter your apt. with a good reason, a length of ducting leading to a hole cut out of the A/C window panel is NOT very stealth at all. The peace of mind that comes with spending the money to ensure that you're stealthy, noise and odor free is priceless.

i have a panasonic wisperfan 190 cfm...i don't know about the other models but with this one you can cut off about 3-4 inches of the outer metal shroud off, making the fan smaller, and exposing it's intake, which is a 6 inch circle, but the cone points inward to the fan, so it's not suitable to fit to a 6 inch duct. But with an adjustable pliers, you can bend the cone from inward to outward very easily, making it fit perfect to my 6 inch cool tube. the other side of the fan, the exaust hole, is already 6 inches so it fits well also.

my entire setup: air gets sucked into the cooltube from my flowering box, then directly from the cooltube it goes into the intake of the fan, the fan is then hung from the top of the inside of my cab. the exhaust opening is attached to the 6 inch hole in the top of my cab. on top of my cab is attached a Can Filter 33, a pretty decent sized carbon filter, the thing weighs over 50 pounds and my panasonic fart fan is plenty strong to push through it. so in a nutshell, my cooltubes attached to the fan intake, and the carbon filter is attached to the fan exhaust, no ducting at all.

i know my setup isn't as efficient as if i had the filter attached to the intake, but with my space restrictions, this is by far the best setup possible, and trust me, ive tried them ALL! with carbon filters, the bigger you can afford and find space for the better, because the bigger the filter the more surface area you have, so the less you will restrict the air, making it easier on your fan and also making the filter last much longer than if it were too small for the application, and also increasing the carbon exposure time

According to the description of this fan, http://www.sunleaves.com/detail.asp?sku=SIDF604, it will move air through filters and it's only 65 cfm. If a 65 cfm can do it I don't understand why the 80 cfm whisperfan couldn't. I think I'm going to go ahead and get an inline just to be on the safe side, I'm just curious about this cheap Sunleaves fan. I know my panasonic fan listed at only 80 cfm but it sure seems powerful when I put my hand over the exhaust. It moves air very well and creates nice negative pressure in my tent.

Hydrolized, thank you for those calculations. If you were to play playstation 12 hours a day and left the TV on 24/7 wouldn't it add up to even more than the $50 figure over 3 months in the formula? a PS3 uses 197 watts and a big TV would be 200 or 300 watts probably.. I guess what I'm getting at is if common electronic devices use as many watts as grow lights and fans then maybe I am worrying too much about electricity. It wouldn't be normal to leave your TV on 24-7, but 12 hours a day wouldn't be a big stretch. I don't want to add $15 per month to my landlord's bill but if that's what would happen if I bought a big plasma TV or a fish tank then I guess spikes like that aren't so out of the ordinary.

I think I'm just going to get an inline and use my 250 HPS and try to compensate by cutting out other power usage in my apartment. Does that sound realistic? I'm not going to be doing a perpetual grow so after 2 months of flower it's over. It may take longer than that for my landlord to think something is going on based on the electric bill.

fungzyme said:

Also, if you're renting and theoretically your landlord could enter your apt. with a good reason, a length of ducting leading to a hole cut out of the A/C window panel is NOT very stealth at all. The peace of mind that comes with spending the money to ensure that you're stealthy, noise and odor free is priceless.

Click to expand...

(deleted my post here), not sure why but analyzing the risk reward of this situation on a public forum makes me a little nervous. I'll just leave it at there is a very slight chance of a bad outcome and I can live with that. lol back to the design/equip discussion..