Carbon air filter for odor control

[billy13778]

i am running a 6 inch carbon air filter for odor control - 24/7 - in conjunction with a 402 CFM 6 inch in-line duct fan - about how long do these filters last? i am assuming that when i start noticing the smell it might be time to change?

 

[Paul Squiggle]

i am running a 6 inch carbon air filter for odor control - 24/7 - in conjunction with a 402 CFM 6 inch in-line duct fan - about how long do these filters last? i am assuming that when i start noticing the smell it might be time to change?

You would be correct in assuming that. As soon as the stink gets too stinky, it's time for another one. All depends on the quality of them too. I had a cheap one that didn't last a year. But I've read some folks have had theirs for years..

 

[013]

Never ran extraction gear but I’ve read that the charcoal can be refreshed or replaced…

also worth mentioning - it’s common to become nose-blind to scent of your own garden

 

[Phytoplankton]

Mine is going on three years and is working well. Mine has an outer dust cover, I make sure to wash it after every grow. Some of the filters can be "refreshed" by replacing the carbon in the filter. When I raised tropical fish I would re-activate the charcoal by washing it well and putting it in the oven to bake at low temp. I guess you could do that with a grow filter as long as it's all metal.

 

[SmokingWings]

How long the filter is filtering probably will determine how long it will last. Mine is on a timer so it runs for awhile and then is off before coming back on. I remember the first one lasted over 2 years. I put the date I started using the 2nd one somewhere on the filter with a magic marker so it is easy to check how long that one has been going.

Never ran extraction gear but I’ve read that the charcoal can be refreshed or replaced…

Mine has an outer dust cover, I make sure to wash it after every grow. Some of the filters can be "refreshed" by replacing the carbon in the filter.

The "Refresh" for the charcoal canister has come up a couple of times over the last several years. One of the members, Emilya, has posted several times about how she has taken apart the charcoal filter, washed the charcoal and reactivated the carbon before putting everything back together. It does not sound like that big of a chore.

She has posted several msgs scattered around about the process. She might have had a thread which goes into detail. But this link to one of her msgs and several follow up msgs by others gives a pretty good idea of what is involved.
https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/the-girl-who-drank-the-moon.453640/page-46#post-4406886

 

[nickeluring]

I have read about people reactivating the carbon by putting the whole filter in a large oven. Some filers are made of plastic, though, and putting one of them in the oven would be a bad idea...