Multi Tent Scrub Box How To: multiple tents with one fan and one carbon filter

[PakaCordova]

Goal: Filter that delicious stink from all enclosures with one fan and one carbon filter.

Why: This all started out of necessity because I bought one big tent and one big fan and filter but once I got my tent I realized it was way too big for the room it was going in. So I kept the damn tent (6'x6'x6' its still packed up in the basement) and picked up 2 smaller tents that were 4'x2'x5'. -Now I didn't want to spend more money on another filter and I wanted a perpetual grow going so I couldn't use my flower tent as a drying box and needed another location for drying but I also needed to filter out all of the odor from my drying box too.

I started thinking about ways to solve this issue and came up with a central scrubber for all of my enclosures.

Here is the equipment used -

- Two 4'x2'x5' Lighthouse Hydro Tents
- One 440 CFM 6" Inline Fan w/ Carbon Filter (was $157 now $110 son of a bitch)
- One 6" Duct Tee Junction - Master Flow 6 in. Round Tee
- One 6"x25' Flexible Duct Tubing- 6 in. x 25 ft. Flexible Aluminum Duct
- Six 6" Worm Clamps (or duct tape) - Everbilt 6 in. Galvanized Steel Worm Gear Clamp
- One Rubbermaid ROUGHNECK 37 Gallon Tote - Rubbermaid 37-Gal. 32-2/5 in. x 20-2/5 in. x 18-3/5 in.
- One roll of duct tape

So it ended up saving me money in the end because I don't need to buy more filters for each enclosure and with a big enough fan and filter, you can link more enclosures if needed.

Here is a diagram I made while still pondering solutions to my problem. Now that my girl was stinking up my house, even in veg, it was time to put the design into action.

Start off with your big ass filter in your big ass tote. Lay it on its side to make sure it fits in your tote. (I didn't lay it on its side in this pic but I did earlier, I swear) I went with a Rubbermaid tote because I was unsure how moisture would affect the wood. I didn't want the wood to absorb the moisture from the humid tent and create a breeding ground for mold.

Next, trace your duct and prepare to cut your holes. You will want one on each end. You will run your duct through these holes and connect one end to your filter.

You will use the worm clamps to hold the duct to your filter and tee junction and fan etc. You want to make sure you have your duct secured to your filter because we will be sealing the tote and you wont have easy access to it if it falls off. -You could always make a box with a hinged door for maintenance but this was low cost and I won't be needing to get into it any time soon.

Feed your duct into one end and attach it to your filter.

Duct tape the shit out of the hole you cut so it is air tight. This is vital. You don't want allow any air into the box other than way of duct.

I taped both sides just to be sure no air would leak.

You will connect your fan to this end.

You will connect the other end to your tee junction. The tee junction will connect to your enclosures. -Put your lid onto the tote and duct tape that as well. You don't want any air leaking into the tote. You will lose suction and the efficiency of your fan pulling air from your tents will drop. I don't have a pic of the lid taped to the tote.

I keep my scrub box in my attic so I punched a hole into my ceiling and ran it to my box.

You can see the negative pressure on my veg tent and I even have it unzipped! The fan is on the lowest possible setting too. 440 CFM was more than enough for both tents and a drying box. I could add more if needed.

Now all that's left is to attach a Rubbermaid tote (my drying box) to my flowering tent on the right via 4" duct using one of the ports on my tent. It will then draw air from my drying box into my flowering tent and then up into the scrub box where the air is cleansed and expelled.

Things to consider

Make a better box with a hinged, but air tight, door for maintenance. Weather stripping can be used around the door for an air tight seal and a simple hook and loop lock can hold it closed.

Another thing you might want to do, you can place your filter on blocks to allow air to encapsulate it completely. Something like this -

That's it. Now you can clear the stink out of all of your enclosures with one fan and one filter. My grow room has a light smell of brand new pool toys (that new plastic smell) and fresh water but I miss that skunky smell.

If you have any questions about the build just ask and I will try and answer them.

 

[wobbler]

Nice work OldMan, nice neat and organised work area also.
That's how I like it too, otherwise it messes with my OCD

 

[Alienpus]

Nice post very useful contribution. I do the same thing except I attach the fan directly to the filter and enclose them both in a plywood box, sealed with ZIP removable sealant, sometimes along with the ballasts. FWIW the only problems I ever had were uneven venting if one side has less resistance than the other, that can actually change with the plants/canopy restricting airflow. My best solution was to run a separate duct to each side from the filter box permitting me to restrict one a little without affecting the other.


What is that wrap over your fan? Never seen one before and I want one.

 

[PakaCordova]

Thanks guy. This was my first scrubber box so the next one I do will be better. Ideas for improvement are always useful. I may go with multiple inlets to the box if I experience any issues with suction.

The wrap around the filter is a prefilter. It came with the filter but you can go to a craft store, like Joanns or Michaels and get a sheet of quilt stuffing. It's pretty much the same thing. Folder it over then zip it to the filter. Keeps the larger particles like leaf debris, bugs or hairs etc from getting stuck in the metal grille of the carbon filter.

 

[Alienpus]

Thanks guy. This was my first scrubber box so the next one I do will be better. Ideas for improvement are always useful. I may go with multiple inlets to the box if I experience any issues with suction.

The wrap around the filter is a prefilter. It came with the filter but you can go to a craft store, like Joanns or Michaels and get a sheet of quilt stuffing. It's pretty much the same thing. Folder it over then zip it to the filter. Keeps the larger particles like leaf debris, bugs or hairs etc from getting stuck in the metal grille of the carbon filter.

I meant the wrap around the fan, never seen that before, mine get all ugly when I tape them up to seal them, yours looks so clean like that.

 

[Ascended]

Absolutely brilliant set up! Simple and efficient what more could you ask?!

 

[Pockets]

OldMan, I just joined this forum to ask you a question but will hopefully stick around after this. I had/have a nearly identical problem..I started with the intention of one light/ one grow at a time. So I bought supplies accordingly also note ::This is only my second grow. Anyway you're plan seems like a brilliant solution to my problem..I'm trying to split the room but odor is an issue and now so is money...

Boy you can rack up a lot of dough getting this and that little gadget. Anyway, I think you're plan will work for my situation but my question is Do You Need An Intake? Did I miss something..did you have one?

I am so new to growing, it's like the more I learn the more there is to learn so maybe I'm misunderstanding...either a fresh air intake is not needed or you are using one of some sort and I missed it...could you please clarify, got time off work and building next week..thanks man..

Last part of question, you're nug drying room, you didn't have a pic of that ...what's the set-up of that like ? anything special..materials size etc..or just a small space connected to the flowering tent?

Reason why I'm so curious is that it seems like with pretty air tight stuff if you just sucked air out/filtered through charcoal filter that it could create unintended consequences..Instead of recirculating it seems like it would just suck til the things collapse..lol..

Look I hope I'm way wrong and all you need is the air getting sucked out as described because that would mean you helped my problem big time. Thanks in advance bro..and thanks for sharing you're wisdom..I was really scratching my head on this one.

 

[PakaCordova]

I meant the wrap around the fan, never seen that before, mine get all ugly when I tape them up to seal them, yours looks so clean like that.

Ah, I see. Its a leather pouch. It came with my fan. You can probably get that on amazon, I haven't looked into it.

 

[PakaCordova]

OldMan, I just joined this forum to ask you a question but will hopefully stick around after this. I had/have a nearly identical problem..I started with the intention of one light/ one grow at a time. So I bought supplies accordingly also note ::This is only my second grow. Anyway you're plan seems like a brilliant solution to my problem..I'm trying to split the room but odor is an issue and now so is money...

Boy you can rack up a lot of dough getting this and that little gadget. Anyway, I think you're plan will work for my situation but my question is Do You Need An Intake? Did I miss something..did you have one?

I am so new to growing, it's like the more I learn the more there is to learn so maybe I'm misunderstanding...either a fresh air intake is not needed or you are using one of some sort and I missed it...could you please clarify, got time off work and building next week..thanks man..

Last part of question, you're nug drying room, you didn't have a pic of that ...what's the set-up of that like ? anything special..materials size etc..or just a small space connected to the flowering tent?

Reason why I'm so curious is that it seems like with pretty air tight stuff if you just sucked air out/filtered through charcoal filter that it could create unintended consequences..Instead of recirculating it seems like it would just suck til the things collapse..lol..

Look I hope I'm way wrong and all you need is the air getting sucked out as described because that would mean you helped my problem big time. Thanks in advance bro..and thanks for sharing you're wisdom..I was really scratching my head on this one.

Whats up Pockets.

All of my intakes are passive meaning I am not forcing any air into my tents. The fresh air is being pulled in through the vents near the bottom. The air being pulled out by the fan is so strong that new fresh air is being introduced by simply having my tent vents open.

My drying box will be just a large rubbermaid container. Tiny passive intake holes will be added and I am not sealing the lid so lots of fresh air will be coming in and then pulled into the flower tent through the 6" / 4" duct port.

My tents are in a spare bedroom in my house. The air that is scrubbed is expelled through my attic. All air entering my tents is fresh air coming from the rest of my house. It is not recycled air.

I hope that helps with your build!

Here is a pic of the intake vents that I leave open on the left side (these are closed since they are near my 2nd tent and I dont want light to bleed out of one and into the other when flowering)

 

[Alienpus]

Ah, I see. Its a leather pouch. It came with my fan. You can probably get that on amazon, I haven't looked into it.

Cool, thanks for going out of your way and posting the picture.

 

[BakedWafl3]

If you had a drying tent couldn't you put all the components in it instead of the tote? I'm not good at keeping so many thing air tight.

 

[OttawaGreen]

Nice setup.

It doesn't need to be air tight just negative pressure.

 

[PakaCordova]

If you had a drying tent couldn't you put all the components in it instead of the tote? I'm not good at keeping so many thing air tight.

I suppose you could but youre drawing all humid air from the other tents to the one that should really by the driest.

The only thing that really needs to be air tight is the tote. Everything needs an intake for fresh air.

 

[Oriorio]

Goal: Filter that delicious stink from all enclosures with one fan and one carbon filter.

Why: This all started out of necessity because I bought one big tent and one big fan and filter but once I got my tent I realized it was way too big for the room it was going in. So I kept the damn tent (6'x6'x6' its still packed up in the basement) and picked up 2 smaller tents that were 4'x2'x5'. -Now I didn't want to spend more money on another filter and I wanted a perpetual grow going so I couldn't use my flower tent as a drying box and needed another location for drying but I also needed to filter out all of the odor from my drying box too.

I started thinking about ways to solve this issue and came up with a central scrubber for all of my enclosures.

Here is the equipment used -

- Two 4'x2'x5' Lighthouse Hydro Tents
- One 440 CFM 6" Inline Fan w/ Carbon Filter (was $157 now $110 son of a bitch)
- One 6" Duct Tee Junction - Master Flow 6 in. Round Tee
- One 6"x25' Flexible Duct Tubing- 6 in. x 25 ft. Flexible Aluminum Duct
- Six 6" Worm Clamps (or duct tape) - Everbilt 6 in. Galvanized Steel Worm Gear Clamp
- One Rubbermaid ROUGHNECK 37 Gallon Tote - Rubbermaid 37-Gal. 32-2/5 in. x 20-2/5 in. x 18-3/5 in.
- One roll of duct tape

So it ended up saving me money in the end because I don't need to buy more filters for each enclosure and with a big enough fan and filter, you can link more enclosures if needed.

Here is a diagram I made while still pondering solutions to my problem. Now that my girl was stinking up my house, even in veg, it was time to put the design into action.

Start off with your big ass filter in your big ass tote. Lay it on its side to make sure it fits in your tote. (I didn't lay it on its side in this pic but I did earlier, I swear) I went with a Rubbermaid tote because I was unsure how moisture would affect the wood. I didn't want the wood to absorb the moisture from the humid tent and create a breeding ground for mold.

Next, trace your duct and prepare to cut your holes. You will want one on each end. You will run your duct through these holes and connect one end to your filter.

You will use the worm clamps to hold the duct to your filter and tee junction and fan etc. You want to make sure you have your duct secured to your filter because we will be sealing the tote and you wont have easy access to it if it falls off. -You could always make a box with a hinged door for maintenance but this was low cost and I won't be needing to get into it any time soon.

Feed your duct into one end and attach it to your filter.

Duct tape the shit out of the hole you cut so it is air tight. This is vital. You don't want allow any air into the box other than way of duct.

I taped both sides just to be sure no air would leak.

You will connect your fan to this end.

You will connect the other end to your tee junction. The tee junction will connect to your enclosures. -Put your lid onto the tote and duct tape that as well. You don't want any air leaking into the tote. You will lose suction and the efficiency of your fan pulling air from your tents will drop. I don't have a pic of the lid taped to the tote.

I keep my scrub box in my attic so I punched a hole into my ceiling and ran it to my box.

You can see the negative pressure on my veg tent and I even have it unzipped! The fan is on the lowest possible setting too. 440 CFM was more than enough for both tents and a drying box. I could add more if needed.

Now all that's left is to attach a Rubbermaid tote (my drying box) to my flowering tent on the right via 4" duct using one of the ports on my tent. It will then draw air from my drying box into my flowering tent and then up into the scrub box where the air is cleansed and expelled.

Things to consider

Make a better box with a hinged, but air tight, door for maintenance. Weather stripping can be used around the door for an air tight seal and a simple hook and loop lock can hold it closed.

Another thing you might want to do, you can place your filter on blocks to allow air to encapsulate it completely. Something like this -

That's it. Now you can clear the stink out of all of your enclosures with one fan and one filter. My grow room has a light smell of brand new pool toys (that new plastic smell) and fresh water but I miss that skunky smell.

If you have any questions about the build just ask and I will try and answer them.

Why not just run a duct from veg into the flower tent then exhaust from that tent normally?

 

[cr8grow]

PC...great solution for your needs using what you had on hand mostly...thanks for sharing some good ideas.