I have an LED cabinet grow with 4" inline fan and matching filter exhausting to the outside through an unused dryer vent. I bought everything off ebay. I control the speed with a router controller. Problem is I can still smell it outside. Faint but still there. I searched and thinking I should dial down the speed. Currently about 45% speed. Should I keep dialing it down until there's a heat problem? I'm in day 40 of bloom and she's getting stinky!
Carbon filter not doing the job
- Thread starter tucker99
- Start date
Fuzzy Duck
Well-Known Member
Might be a cheap carbon filter problem ?
I had a cheap one to start with, had some carbon pellets in it & smell was an issue more apparent after 6 months of use tho.
Since then i have got more expensive brand name one by rhino to which i have very little issue's with apart from the most stinky strains grown.
I do like to back stuff up with odor removing gels etc you might be able to find some thing to stick in the vent for a quick fix ?
I had a cheap one to start with, had some carbon pellets in it & smell was an issue more apparent after 6 months of use tho.
Since then i have got more expensive brand name one by rhino to which i have very little issue's with apart from the most stinky strains grown.
I do like to back stuff up with odor removing gels etc you might be able to find some thing to stick in the vent for a quick fix ?
ConstantGreen
New Member
How is the extraction setup? Maybe the filter is not sealed properly to the fan, allowing the fan to pull air around the filter and pass through stinky? Or if it's pushing through the filter, might be a leak in the ducting before the filter.
As long as your filter is rated to handle the CFM, you should turn up the speed to increase the air changes per minute. That may solve your problem or at least dilute the potency of the leaks.
As long as your filter is rated to handle the CFM, you should turn up the speed to increase the air changes per minute. That may solve your problem or at least dilute the potency of the leaks.
- Thread starter
- #5
Yea, this may be a lesson learned. I bought fan and filter combo off ebay cheap thinking carbon is carbon. Also reading that the Phat filters, now Rhino, are not as good as the Phresh filters. Also reading about replacing the cheap carbon with carbon pellets. Anyone know where to get that?
Ripples
Well-Known Member
I will occasionally put some odor control in the exhaust side of my airflow for just that reason. The air passes over the container and helps cover the smell (if any doubts). I will often use the type that smells like laundry sheets but they have many flavors. Phresh filters are what I use with much success. The way to know if they are losing their effectiveness is by the weight. Be sure to weigh them when new and when they gain 15% more in weight they are at the end of the life span. as mentioned be sure to match the CFM with the filter. Perhaps your fan and filter are too small for your grow size?
Ricky Bobby
New Member
Local pet store or Wal-Mart for carbon. Replacemnt for fish tank filters. Don't use the pellet kind that is compressed little cylinders.
- Thread starter
- #8
Ok sprung for a Phresh filter. Sized larger than my fan so should be plenty of capacity. $88 for the dang thing. Won't have it for a few days. I'm jamming packets of Ona jell up the exhaust, seems to help a bit. This POS ebay filter isn't doing much at all. Do you guys have any luck replacing the carbon in the filters?? Problem is the smell isn't a real problem until late in the grow. I'm on day 50 of flower and she's stinking like crazy.
Highpotanoose
Well-Known Member
Money well spent
I went down the same road the phresh I have now almost a year old still going strong got close to two on them before
ConstantGreen
New Member
I've never replaced carbon before but you could extend more life to your filter by only attaching it during late flowering.
- Thread starter
- #11
That's exactly what I did. I need stealth and didn't hang it until about day 40-veg. The ebay POS filters are just that. I also ordered a bag of coconut carbon to repack it if/when the Phresh filter stops working.
Carbon filters, no matter on brand, will eventually clog up with the humidity. In Aus, only get 18 months and I notice restrictions. After 8-12 months I will take outside and bang around a bit to loosen any clog. You can have them re filled, my opinion, just replace once they are old. I use the old ones for my dry room.
Back to the topic, I had a smell issue, minor, found it was too much inlet air. Smell was leaking out door seal. Sped up the outlet air through the carbon filter and now perfect.
Back to the topic, I had a smell issue, minor, found it was too much inlet air. Smell was leaking out door seal. Sped up the outlet air through the carbon filter and now perfect.
- Thread starter
- #13
Yea, I installed my Phresh filter last night. Works perfectly, the wife's Smell-o-Meter didn't pick up a thing out in the yard. I did note a faint smell of weed in the house and increased fan speed which took care of that. That surprised me, the blower was on 1/3 speed and I thought for sure I was getting a vacuum but apparently not. Must be because we are getting into cold weather and the house is shut tight. I have some coconut carbon on the way to repack the spent filter. That Australian carbon is not available in the States.
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
I use the big can filters and love them because the carbon can be cleaned and re-activated after a year or so of use, and you can keep using them over and over again. I lose about 2-5% of the carbon in the cleaning/reactivation process and I bought a pound of carbon a few years back to add back when I do this... still have some for next time.
To clean:
Dump all your carbon into a bucket and add water. It will fizz and bubble and do all sorts of stinky nasty stuff, but just keep stirring and adding more water until it is done. Did I mention that you should do this outside? It takes a good while for the reactions to stop and lots of water, but eventually it will be done.
To reactivate:
Now the carbon is clean, but it has a shiny surface and would not be at all good as a filter at this point. Its pores need to be opened up, and this is done with heat. Use your backyard BBQ and crank that dude up to 500°. Get a turkey roasting pan or something similar, and send your charcoal through the heat for about 20 minutes in small batches until you are done. The very tips of the charcoal pellets will ash up, but that is good, and that ash will fall off as you transfer it back into a bucket and into your filter housing.
You will lose a small amount of volume in this process, but not much, and certainly not enough to justify buying a new filter. Just buy a couple of pounds of carbon to replace what is lost, and presto magico... as good as a new filter, and much cheaper.
To clean:
Dump all your carbon into a bucket and add water. It will fizz and bubble and do all sorts of stinky nasty stuff, but just keep stirring and adding more water until it is done. Did I mention that you should do this outside? It takes a good while for the reactions to stop and lots of water, but eventually it will be done.
To reactivate:
Now the carbon is clean, but it has a shiny surface and would not be at all good as a filter at this point. Its pores need to be opened up, and this is done with heat. Use your backyard BBQ and crank that dude up to 500°. Get a turkey roasting pan or something similar, and send your charcoal through the heat for about 20 minutes in small batches until you are done. The very tips of the charcoal pellets will ash up, but that is good, and that ash will fall off as you transfer it back into a bucket and into your filter housing.
You will lose a small amount of volume in this process, but not much, and certainly not enough to justify buying a new filter. Just buy a couple of pounds of carbon to replace what is lost, and presto magico... as good as a new filter, and much cheaper.
