Carbon Filter Question

[Supernaut]

OK, I'm planning on either buying a carbon filter/fan combo or just buying a new fan and making a DIY filter. When doing some online shopping or browsing pics of grow rooms, I notice that the filter is almost always attached directly to the fan.

One of the fan/filter combos I was looking at has a fan that's rated at 424 cfm and a filter that has a 265-424 optimal cfm range.

I figure a short section of ducting between the fan and filter would do a few things for me:

1. Because of static pressure, the fan would draw less than it's max 424 cfm at the filter, this would keep the air flowing through it around the middle of its optimal cfm rating which I assume would be ideal.

2. I need to vent my veg room with this fan as well so it needs to be behind my Y connector so I can draw from both rooms.

My question is this:

Can I run an ~8' section of ducting between my fan and filter and retain the filters effectiveness?

As I sit now, I have 2x 6" inline duct fans rated at 250 cfm. One sits behind the Y and one is boosting about 2/3 of the way to the final outlet out the chimney. They are definitely NOT great, but they do get the job done. It creates a negative pressure in my room but it could be better for sure. I just started 12/12 2 days ago and my room already wreaks like skunk and need to get this filter setup soon!

 

[CannaVince]

Hey super...how's things?..well I picked up an 440cfm fan 6" (Mtn gearsmith) for 45bux and an 18" fatboy carbon filter ( 2 yr warranty) for another 50 bux.....(both products were brand new) ...I have my fan pulling my air and heat through my cooltubes and then being filtered last...I'm sure I will get less life out of y filter for drawing heat but who cares...it works so wonderful....just my thoughts anywho...hope it helps...

 

[Supernaut]

Things are doing good. Plants are healthy and growing like mad. I'm currently working on converting a typical single room air filter into something to scrub the air in the bloom room. I removed the stock hepa filter and replaced with a carbon furnace filter. I left the prefilter on for some particle filtration. On the exhaust, I'm rigging up something so rather than just pulling air through the first 2 filters then expelling it freely, it will push it out through some pet store style activated carbon. It seems to work OK with only the furnace style filter, adding the activated carbon should help a decent amount. Definitely going to look like its on the verge of Ghetto with a capital G, but functionally it's sound.

I do still want to get a better exhaust fan/filter for my overall system exhaust though. Those prices are way cheaper than what I've seen for anything comparable. Did you buy online and if so can you shoot me a link?

 

[CannaVince]

Well my man I bid them on Bay.....nobody set up is ghetto.. He'll it's the best part...I love everyones cut and paste action in there greenhouses....I push my air through the carbon filter and it works I swear 100%.....having the 440cfm I can connect it to 2 cooltubes and have enough draw still....got to remember your air into the bloomroom....

 

[Kaiser Sose 3]

Hey super...how's things?..well I picked up an 440cfm fan 6" (Mtn gearsmith) for 45bux and an 18" fatboy carbon filter ( 2 yr warranty) for another 50 bux.....(both products were brand new) ...

I am in the market for both these items. Where did you get them for that price? Is that filter the one with the coconut shell activated carbon or just activated carbon?

I have been finding these so much more expensive except for when there is coconut in them.

Any help is appreciated...

 

[Supernaut]

Yeah, air into the bloom room is good to go. I originally designed it with a passive intake but I wasn't getting the flow I hoped for so I put a fan in there and now it's good. I've spent more time on pondering/setting up my airflow than anything else. I have sort of been doing/learning everything on the fly. I honestly came into this with very little knowledge. I knew a lot less than I thought I knew, or there was far more to know than I thought there was. Either way, since then I've spent a LOT of time researching and learning about everything I possibly can.

Seems things have gotten on-the-spot improvisations sometimes when it came to construction. I ended up doing my light traps way different than I planned on, switched my ventilation fans around a few times to find what worked best, got an extra hps light outta nowhere the day after I put up the walls for the bloom room so I had to expand that, bought and added multiple elements to my rooms on the fly ect. I've nearly doubled the original budget for my setup. All a means to an end though.

 

[CannaVince]

Um you know the vendors I WON bids on for these products were both in Cali....I think pacific supply maybe....my cooltube 400/600 electronic was 135.00 and free shipping and both bulbs....gotta be thrifty.. I've also gotten all my magnifiers and misc things from eBay as well....keep looking....you know when the bid gets to the normal price to stop your bid...don't forget on the "buy it now" option that you can email the vendor with another offer and they might just take it instead of the more expensive buy it now price...sorry I can't remember the other two vendors names...

 

[SauronBlue]

Hey Chubba420, The scrubbers works great. My roommates can't smell a thing coming from the grow room (The forest consist of 100 plants). The guest didn't noticed anything foul odor either. The real test will be during drying after harvest. I think they will do fine because these are upgrades from the smaller scrubbers, also DIY. Even with the previous scrubbers when drying they worked. The new ones got more air flow which will increase the rate of cleaning the air.

Got two scrubbers identically with the same setup. This one is by the closet scrog grow. The other, by the flowering tents. Basically I use a plastic container with 4in opening top (fits nicely with the 4in Vortex) with holes 360 around the container for better airflow. This one is an upgrade from my previous DIY scrubber which had limited airflow and much smaller, but still works great. When the closet is closed (during 12off) I move the unit by the door when the other two flowering tents are open (12on for the tents).

I use these activate carbon inside the plastic container. Washed them before use (like hydrotons) or they will be very dusty, hehe. Got a 50 pound activate carbon from fish store for $45. 1 pound worth will lasts 3 months!

I know it's very homemade but they're awesome. Might get one of my industrial designer friend to create a more stylish piece with the same concept and size. heh

I'm trying to get more info on these filters, but if they work in T12's frow room, then I'd put a lot of confidence in this setup. I've priced the carbon at evrything from $1 an ounce to less than $1 per pound, depending on where you buy and how much.

2. I need to vent my veg room with this fan as well so it needs to be behind my Y connector so I can draw from both rooms.

My question is this:

Can I run an ~8' section of ducting between my fan and filter and retain the filters effectiveness?

As I sit now, I have 2x 6" inline duct fans rated at 250 cfm. One sits behind the Y and one is boosting about 2/3 of the way to the final outlet out the chimney. They are definitely NOT great, but they do get the job done. It creates a negative pressure in my room but it could be better for sure. I just started 12/12 2 days ago and my room already wreaks like skunk and need to get this filter setup soon!

I have minimal actual grow experience, but common sense dictates that if you share suction between a veg room and a flower room, the moisture and sticky,dank air of the flower room will mean that that filter would clog faster than the veg room filter. once that happens, the suction in the stinky flower room would lessen, raising temps and odors. I would suggest two separate, yet possibly smaller units, to ensure neither room gets preferential treatment. Also, not sure if an inline duct fan would have the power needed to pull thru the filter and still clear 2 spaces unless it is a hi-velocity(250cfm sounds like hi-v). Remember, you must mulpiply length X width X height of your space to get total cubic feet, then you want your fan to be 2-3 times that. A 250cfm fan would be good for 1 3x3x7 grow room, and adequate for a 4x4x7 (info regarding cfm needed was taken from sticky thread on this site "How to Grow Marijuana - Everything You Need to Know!" under growroom design and setup)

 

[CannaVince]

Oh my bad insuranceguy it is only a carbon activated...filter...

 

[Supernaut]

I have minimal actual grow experience, but common sense dictates that if you share suction between a veg room and a flower room, the moisture and sticky,dank air of the flower room will mean that that filter would clog faster than the veg room filter. once that happens, the suction in the stinky flower room would lessen, raising temps and odors. I would suggest two separate, yet possibly smaller units, to ensure neither room gets preferential treatment. Also, not sure if an inline duct fan would have the power needed to pull thru the filter and still clear 2 spaces unless it is a hi-velocity(250cfm sounds like hi-v). Remember, you must mulpiply length X width X height of your space to get total cubic feet, then you want your fan to be 2-3 times that. A 250cfm fan would be good for 1 3x3x7 grow room, and adequate for a 4x4x7

I'm not using a carbon filter in the veg room and I'm not trying to pull through a filter with a duct fan. However; if I were using a filter in my veg room, 'common sense would dictate' that more moisture would be pulled into that filter due to the fact that the humidty in the veg room is at least 20% higher. I have the cfm from each room dialed in, I want preferential treatment to my flowering room, which is what I have now. Your reply seems as if you may have misunderstood me.

Cervantes says for plant health and C02 replenishment, air in the room should be cleared once every three minutes, no less than once every 5 minutes and no more than once every minute is ideal. I'm sticking to what he says, he IS the grow-pro after all.

It seems that the whole 'you need to clear your room 3x per minute' is on the far extreme end and has been exaggerated (Ever seen a 20,000 cu/ft greenhouse moving 60,000 cfm? I haven't, and that's not even a large greenhouse. Even large scale commercial grows by far exceed the cubic footage for any practical setup to clear that fast....). I definitely agree that more is better and I can see how some people get a lot of heat buildup so they need to clear the air faster. I however; only have a 6-8 degree change from day/night with my exhaust fan on 24 hours a day so my rig is great for my setup. Every setup is different though so to say "X is required for X" at any rate is a definitive statement regarding an inexplicit situation most times. My $.02

 

[SauronBlue]

Cervantes says for plant health and C02 replenishment, air in the room should be cleared once every three minutes, no less than once every 5 minutes and no more than once every minute is ideal. I'm sticking to what he says, he IS the grow-pro after all.

It seems that the whole 'you need to clear your room 3x per minute' is on the far extreme end and has been exaggerated (Ever seen a 20,000 cu/ft greenhouse moving 60,000 cfm? I haven't, and that's not even a large greenhouse. Even large scale commercial grows by far exceed the cubic footage for any practical setup to clear that fast....). I definitely agree that more is better and I can see how some people get a lot of heat buildup so they need to clear the air faster. I however; only have a 6-8 degree change from day/night with my exhaust fan on 24 hours a day so my rig is great for my setup. Every setup is different though so to say "X is required for X" at any rate is a definitive statement regarding an inexplicit situation most times. My $.02

I never claimed to be an expert, but the info I gave you is from very good sources, so throwing your "grow-pro" friend in my face is irrelevant. Even experienced growers have wildly different ideas on what is right and wrong. If you feel my info is wrong, take it up with the moderators of this site, who felt it valid enough to put up and sticky it in a thread about nothing but this topic, within a bigger thread about all the info you'll ever need to grow. Sorry if my attempt at helping you has offended you in some way, I wont post on your thread anymore.
PS. if your friend Cervantes has all the answers, then why are you asking for advice on here? Ask him
PPS. you're welcome for the photos and info on an AWESOME DIY filter by Twelve12 that I provided here for your consideration.