plumberjohn420
Member
try mounting the fan so the the carobn filter works as the muffler.
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Odor control for micro grow?
- Thread starter Mr_Micro
- Start date
G
Guest
you are one cool cat...if you need help with anything...let me know
tiny_rabid_bird said: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: Sorry the font is so small, it was much easier to read while I was making it. I'll fix it later on though, time to actually get some work done.
very nicely done!
is there any sustitute for the hardware cloth? if so i might have to try to make one
is there any sustitute for the hardware cloth? if so i might have to try to make one
tiny_rabid_bird
Member
Yeah, it was always my intention to mount a fan, that's why you need the wide opening of the funnel to be cut to right size or to have a lip. If you use silicone to seal the fan to the funnel, that'd help with the vibrations and would muffle it further I believe.plumberjohn420 said:
However, I'm trying to think of another way to do it, because silicone is pretty permanent, and that'd make it difficult to replace it if something went wrong. You'd have cut out a new funnel and can and it'd be a pain in the ass. So I'm trying to think of a mounting method for the fan that would be both structurally sound and airtight, as well as have the option to be dismantled somewhat easily.
As of right now, the only option I can think of is if the funnel has a lip, you could put foam adhesive weatherstripping along the mouth of the funnel to act as a vibration/sound buffer and an airtight seal, and then use the corner screw positions on the fan to secure the fan to the funnel, assuming it all lined up right - which might actually be a longshot since I have no idea what the common measurements of funnels are. It'd probably be a good idea to use small rubber washers on the screws too, as vibration buffers.
bongasaurus, so far as there being a replacement for the hardware cloth, I doubt it. I came up with this little modified design after reading DurbanPoison's and Son is Shining's tutorials. Same concept, just scaled down and geared more towards microgrowers on a tighter than tight budget.
This is all still in the concept stage and is nothing but speculation, so I apologize if someone tries it and it doesn't quite work out like it is in my head. I'm going to start gathering what materials I can around the dorm (i.e. tuna cans, red bull cans) and try to see if I can put a solid prototype together next time I have access to my car (probably within a couple of weeks or so) and a means to get the cloth, funnel, polyfil, etc. To test out it's odor absorbing abilities, I'm going to make a second cap that has the top part of a bottle sticking out of it to act as a mouthpeice. It'll basically be a rather high-grade spoof, if all goes to plan, until I can get the means to start my own microgrow.
I'll take pictures of the whole process so someone can duplicate it and properly test it with a growroom.
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plumberjohn420
Member
looks good to me. something to start from for sure!
Mr_Micro
Member
I figured this thread deserved an update with my findings regarding the 39 cfm rated Can 705 carbon filter.
It was a bit of a pain to install, but I gotta say that after a little tinkering around it works perfectly!
I installed a 3" dryer flange on the back of my case over the exhaust port for my 3" 50cfm (19 dBa) PC fan using about half a tube of all purpose Goop and after it was dry I used Gorilla Tape to lightproof it since Goop is translucent.
I used some more Goop to attach a 4" to 3" reducer onto the little plastic screw on flange dealie on the top of the Can Filter and used some more Gorilla Tape to make sure the seal was extra tight. After that it was a simple matter of running some 3" ducting from the back of the case to the flange on the carbon filter and tightening down both connections with some metal duct clamps.
When I was satisfied that all the seals in the connections from the PC fan to the carbon filter were secure I went about experimenting in creating negative pressure inside the PC case so that all air coming out of the case would channel through the carbon filter.
I first tried using the 50 cfm intake fan like I had been using before and holding a very thin strip of paper up to a crack in the case. The result was that the paper was blown back twords me, obviously indicating positive pressure in the case. After that I tried a 37 cfm intake fan and the paper strip was once again blown back twords me, only not as strongly this time.
The smallest fan I had around was a 25 cfm fan. So I hooked up the 25 cfm fan (still using the 50 cfm exhaust) and held the strip of paper up to the crack once again... the result was that the paper was pulled in twords the case! YES! Negative pressure created!
This would also lead me to believe that the carbon filter is restricting my 50 cfm exhaust to somewhere around 30 cfm ultimately. And since my carbon filter is rated for 39 cfm, this seems just fine by me. If the 37 cfm intake created postive pressure but the 25 cfm intake allowed for the creation of negative pressure than I think it's safe to say that my true exhaust flow is around 30 cfm or so.
So the next big question... with a 25 cfm intake and a 50 cfm exhaust thats been restricted to around 30 cfm by the carbon filter... how are my temps doing?
Well, with a 50 watt electronic ballast HPS (ballast contained inside the housing in the case) and a 42 watt CFL my temps stay about 3* to 6*F above ambient room temperature on average. My usual room temp is around 75* now so the case stays about 78* to 81*. That might be considered a little high in some cases, but I am using Co2 as well so I think thats really quite fine. Mind you my PC case is 18" (L) x 8" (W) x 20" (H) so I think this is about the best I'm going to be able to do temperature wise using the ventilation system that I am.
But anyway, I'm ultimately really satisified with this 705 model Can Filter! Its about the smallest pre-made can filter you can buy and at 11" tall and about 4.5" wide (with the pre-filter installed) it fits very nicely behind my 20" tall case! Overall I'd definately recommend one of these little bad boys to anyone who is in need of some good odor management in their micro grow.
After the cost of the can filter itself and the stuff needed to install it I spent about $50, but you really can't put a price on having an odor free apartment and a safe stealthy grow.
Heres a quick pic of the filter installed behind the case
It was a bit of a pain to install, but I gotta say that after a little tinkering around it works perfectly!
I installed a 3" dryer flange on the back of my case over the exhaust port for my 3" 50cfm (19 dBa) PC fan using about half a tube of all purpose Goop and after it was dry I used Gorilla Tape to lightproof it since Goop is translucent.
I used some more Goop to attach a 4" to 3" reducer onto the little plastic screw on flange dealie on the top of the Can Filter and used some more Gorilla Tape to make sure the seal was extra tight. After that it was a simple matter of running some 3" ducting from the back of the case to the flange on the carbon filter and tightening down both connections with some metal duct clamps.
When I was satisfied that all the seals in the connections from the PC fan to the carbon filter were secure I went about experimenting in creating negative pressure inside the PC case so that all air coming out of the case would channel through the carbon filter.
I first tried using the 50 cfm intake fan like I had been using before and holding a very thin strip of paper up to a crack in the case. The result was that the paper was blown back twords me, obviously indicating positive pressure in the case. After that I tried a 37 cfm intake fan and the paper strip was once again blown back twords me, only not as strongly this time.
The smallest fan I had around was a 25 cfm fan. So I hooked up the 25 cfm fan (still using the 50 cfm exhaust) and held the strip of paper up to the crack once again... the result was that the paper was pulled in twords the case! YES! Negative pressure created!
This would also lead me to believe that the carbon filter is restricting my 50 cfm exhaust to somewhere around 30 cfm ultimately. And since my carbon filter is rated for 39 cfm, this seems just fine by me. If the 37 cfm intake created postive pressure but the 25 cfm intake allowed for the creation of negative pressure than I think it's safe to say that my true exhaust flow is around 30 cfm or so.
So the next big question... with a 25 cfm intake and a 50 cfm exhaust thats been restricted to around 30 cfm by the carbon filter... how are my temps doing?
Well, with a 50 watt electronic ballast HPS (ballast contained inside the housing in the case) and a 42 watt CFL my temps stay about 3* to 6*F above ambient room temperature on average. My usual room temp is around 75* now so the case stays about 78* to 81*. That might be considered a little high in some cases, but I am using Co2 as well so I think thats really quite fine. Mind you my PC case is 18" (L) x 8" (W) x 20" (H) so I think this is about the best I'm going to be able to do temperature wise using the ventilation system that I am.
But anyway, I'm ultimately really satisified with this 705 model Can Filter! Its about the smallest pre-made can filter you can buy and at 11" tall and about 4.5" wide (with the pre-filter installed) it fits very nicely behind my 20" tall case! Overall I'd definately recommend one of these little bad boys to anyone who is in need of some good odor management in their micro grow.
After the cost of the can filter itself and the stuff needed to install it I spent about $50, but you really can't put a price on having an odor free apartment and a safe stealthy grow.
Heres a quick pic of the filter installed behind the case
plumberjohn420
Member
wow thats awsome. excelent info . thanks for taking the time to post the details.
VladTheInhaler
Member
Hey, would this thingy work as odor remover for micro grows?
http://www.scythe-eu.com/products/accessory/ionizer/ionizer.php
It's cheap and uses low amount of electricity.
http://www.scythe-eu.com/products/accessory/ionizer/ionizer.php
It's cheap and uses low amount of electricity.
Mr_Micro
Member
VladTheInhaler said:
Its a cool idea, but I don't think that ionizer has a high enough ion output to even begin to make a difference in the smell around your cab. If you had the ionizer blowing ion charged air into the cab than I'm sure it would help a bit, but it would ultimately reduce or kill the smell from the buds themselves, which is definately not a good thing IMHO.
In the picture of the back of my case on the last page you can see a little oval shaped thing mounted on the back of the case above the dryer venting. Thats a high output combination ionizer/ozone generator/electrostatic cleaner that I was using for odor control before I hooked up the carbon filter. It will reduce the smell a lot but it will also make the room reak of Ozone (even on the low setting). Its something I'm reserving for late flowering or emergency situations if needed.
You can pick one up for about $22 US at http://www.heavenfresh.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/61
It's probably strong enough to handle any odor from Northern Lights or similar low odor plants, but for stuff like Skunk or Bubblegum it will only reduce the odor by about 3/4 I'd say. A carbon filter is really the way to go but it is nice to have a backup plan incase you get some smell leaking from your cab that the carbon filter can't take care of.
VladTheInhaler
Member
Well, i've read about people having ion generators in their actual growboxes without any consequences (for the bud,that is). I'll grow NL, anyway, and my main concern is stealth. Thanks for the link, but they don't ship where I live.
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whered ya get the can filter mr. M? and how about the fan too?
Ordinary Joe
Member
IN your first attempts, I believe mixing the fabric softner sheets with carbon sheets causes the carbon to work harder to clean the air. The fabric sheets put a scent in the air and once that air is pulled back through the carbon, the carbon works to take the scent out. Counter productive.
Glad the CAN filter worked so well. Is it still treating you right? It looks like it was made to pull air through it instead of pushing through it like you are now. That prefilter is suppose to grab the large particles in the air before they go through the carbon. Since your pushing, it goes through the carbon first. Granted, it goes back to your first posts, you can't put in the cabinet because of room.
In the photo of the can filter, what is the blackngray cylinder right in front of it? It has a 1/4" hose that goes to the top of your box. What is it's purpose?
Glad the CAN filter worked so well. Is it still treating you right? It looks like it was made to pull air through it instead of pushing through it like you are now. That prefilter is suppose to grab the large particles in the air before they go through the carbon. Since your pushing, it goes through the carbon first. Granted, it goes back to your first posts, you can't put in the cabinet because of room.
In the photo of the can filter, what is the blackngray cylinder right in front of it? It has a 1/4" hose that goes to the top of your box. What is it's purpose?
waydee
Member
I managed to squeeze a 125mm duct carbon filter into my box, they're not huge... of course not going to work for a pc grow. Also of issue, there isn't the room inside the box for the inline fan, but you'd probably be surprised at where you can squeeze a carbon filter into.
Its just one of those cheap 1 year models, might last longer since its not venting much but its not a huge expense to replace.
we'll see how it works
Its just one of those cheap 1 year models, might last longer since its not venting much but its not a huge expense to replace.
we'll see how it works
Hey did you get your odor under control 100%?
I am thinking about a PC Grow, how do you think this would work for odor control?
They make Carbon Filters for Cat Litter Boxes that are about the size of a computer fan, I would use a few of these on the exhaust fan.
Also have a negative ion generator INSIDE the computer case. This may effect the buds smell but the high will still be there, something you sometimes need to sacrafice if micro/stealth.
And then also have some odor killer gel inside the PC case.
Which ion generator? Should I just go with the one you got?
http://www.heavenfresh.com/catalog/xj1000.php
http://www.heavenfresh.com/catalog/xj800.php
or
http://www.heavenfresh.com/catalog/xj600.php
Odor killer gel--> http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/Itemdesc.asp?ic=AOCOKG16&eq=&Tp=
I am thinking about a PC Grow, how do you think this would work for odor control?
They make Carbon Filters for Cat Litter Boxes that are about the size of a computer fan, I would use a few of these on the exhaust fan.
Also have a negative ion generator INSIDE the computer case. This may effect the buds smell but the high will still be there, something you sometimes need to sacrafice if micro/stealth.
And then also have some odor killer gel inside the PC case.
Which ion generator? Should I just go with the one you got?
http://www.heavenfresh.com/catalog/xj1000.php
http://www.heavenfresh.com/catalog/xj800.php
or
http://www.heavenfresh.com/catalog/xj600.php
Odor killer gel--> http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/Itemdesc.asp?ic=AOCOKG16&eq=&Tp=
