Carbon air filter?

[Pigeons420]

Hi friends,

In the market for a carbon filter. I'm new to these pieces of equipment and I'm in need of some quality filters and their accessories.

So my specs:
My grow room is 410 cubic feet
I need both the inline/exhaust fan and the filter.
Would like to purchase the filter as a full unit.

Can anyone help me out with where I should get started?

You folks are amazing. And I won't take this question anywhere else.

Lots of love,
Pigeons420

 

[iwltfum]

I don't use carbon filters myself, but I know hydrofarm sells canfan/filter combo packs.

 

[Dave Groomer]

My experience is you want the air to change over 2-3 times per minute. @ 410cf you need a single fan in the 1000-1200cfm range. I have never had to have more then one fan, but I would imagine 2 smaller fans would equal 1 big fan. I have a Yield Lab 440cfm fan and it came as a combo with filter. Just do a google search for Yield lab 440 with filter. You could probably get away with 2 of these.

 

[Pigeons420]

I'm a bit confused. Out of the list I provide here and the possible choices. Which of thes do I need? I don't know the difference between the 3 headings.

Any idea.

 

[Ripples]

Choosing the Right Fan for Exhaust System

Even when you're not worried about heat, it's still important to regularly replace all the air in the grow area, which means you need a way to vent out old air. An exhaust system uses fans and often ducting to move hot and humid air out of the grow space. With any exhaust system, your goal is to vent out hot air, and replace it with fresh, cool air...
Designing an efficient exhaust system will be much simpler if you take the time to understand airflow in a room - the whole idea of setting up an exhaust system is to create negative airflow in the grow space or grow tent so that any hot air is regularly replaced with new, fresh cool air. All the air in the tent should be replaced by new air every 1-3 minutes for the best results. I recommend aiming to replace the air every one minute unless you live in a cool place. You can calculate the strength of exhaust fan you need based on the dimensions of your grow space. In order to move air out of the tent and vent it outside, you need to use at least one strong fan as part of your exhaust system. With every exhaust system, the idea is to vent out hot, humid or stale air, so it completely leaves the grow space...

How to Calculate Exhaust Fan Strength

In the US, most exhaust fans have a "CFM" rating. This means "cubic feet per minute" and is talking about how much air the fan can move each minute. It's important to get a fan with the correct CFM rating for your size space. In addition to CFM, there are 3 sizes that exhaust fans come in as far as diameter (how wide the fan is). They usually come in 4", 6" or 8". Generally it's recommended to get a 6" for most setups, since most air-cooled hoods and ducting have a 6" opening. You can also use converters if you need to convert a 6" hold to a 4" fan. 8" fans are usually used for more high-powered grows. You probably want a fan with a 6" diameter exhaust fan...

Here's a short equation to help you determine what CFM rating you need for your fan in your space.

How to calculate CFM needed

1.Determine the cubic area of your space by multiplying Length x Width x Height. You want to exhaust this amount of air every minute.


2.Exhaust Efficiency - Every exhaust system has some level of inefficiency which will lower the amount of air being moved by the fan. This step tells you how much extra air-moving power needed to compensate. With an efficient exhaust, air goes in a short, straight line after passing through the fan. An inefficient path is when air has to go a long way after leaving the fan, or if the air has to go around turns instead of being in a straight line. This step will help make sure your fan is moving enough air to properly ventilate your space.
- Efficient path - multiply previous number by 2
- Inefficient path - multiply previous number by 3


3.Pick your fan. Fans are measured by CFM (cubic feet/minute), so you need a fan that has a CFM higher than the number you figured out in the last step.



Fan CFM Rating Table
(here are some examples of possible setups using the equation above to figure out CFM)


GROW SPACE SIZE WATTAGE OF LIGHT CFM OF FAN*

2' x 4' x 5' 250W 80-120 CFM
3' x 3' x 6' 400W 108 - 162 CFM
3.5' x 3.5' x 6.5' 600W 160 - 238 CFM
4' x 4' x 7' 1,000W 224 - 336 CFM

Find the filter that matches the rating!!! I use Phresh Filters.... Look up s vline quiet inlines. They work great...

* Of course fans don't come in all these sizes, so round up to the closest fan size available.

You'll generally be able to get away with a lower CFM rating if your grow space tends to stay cool and dry. You'll need a higher CFM rating if your grow space tends to get hot or humid.

This doesn't affect many indoor growers, but if the exhausted air has to travel a long ways after going through your fan but before it's vented outside (for example the air has to go through several feet of curved ducting after passing through the fan), a single exhaust fan might not be enough - you may need booster fans along the way to keep the air moving.

When in doubt, it's usually better to get a bigger exhaust fan than you need. You can always turn off the fan if it's moving too much air. For example you could use a speed controller or put the fan on a timer if the exhaust fan is moving air out of your space too fast. There are often times during a grow where it's helpful to be able to move more air, so size up if you can when it comes to exhaust fans.

For many growers, a cheap 6" fan is all you need - this one is only ~$30 and moves 240 CFM - plenty enough fan for setups smaller than 4' x 4' x 7'.

6" exhaust fan with 240 CFM

Passive Intake

A passive intake means that you just have a fan blowing air out, and you have an intake hole to let new air in. With a passive intake, you don't have an intake fan to help bring in fresh air.

With every passive intake, make sure your intake hole is 3-4 times bigger than your exhaust hole to achieve proper suction and prevent your fan from working too hard blowing out air it can't replace. You can also help bring air in by having more than one passive intake hole. In other words the holes/spaces for new air to come in (vents, intake fans, doors, windows) should be bigger than the hole/space where air is being pulled out the tent by your exhaust fan.

Active Intake

An active intake simply means that you're using a fan to bring air into the tent. So in addition to your exhaust fan, you also have a fan at your intake hole blowing air in. With an active intake, it's not as important to have a huge intake hole, since the intake fan will help replace the air. An active intake is often a good idea if your intake hole is the same size as your exhaust hole.

Small Ocsillating Fans

Even with a good exhaust system, it is recommended that growers still install small oscillating fans in their grow space to blow air above and below to the plant canopy to improve air circulation and help prevent any hot spots or humid pockets of air.

Cannabis plants like having plenty of fresh air all the time, and your plants will reward you for setting up a proper exhaust system.

 

[iwltfum]

I'm a bit confused. Out of the list I provide here and the possible choices. Which of thes do I need? I don't know the difference between the 3 headings.

Any idea.

You'll have to figure out the difference between the phresh filter, the skinny filter, the intake filter, and the inline filter. My guess is the carbon filter is the top box which means you would need item#: 701005. Just a guess. You should figure out what the difference is between those four.

 

[DRM Ranch]

Ripples reply is outstanding, period!

Another factor you may want to consider is a way to pre-filter the air that makes it to your carbon filter. Dusty air will, over time, degrade the CFM rating of your expensive filter by collecting in it. Low cost pre-filters remove this issue and are easy to replace or in some cases you simply just toss them in the wash.

DRM Ranch