My Carbon Filter Sucks.

2sheds

2sheds

Member
Howdy. It is vented to the outside, 6 inch tubing, short run, and under my deck. I walk out there and the smells are huge. It is actually ruining my life.
So I saw something where a guy said wrap the first foot with saran wrap and that made sense, but didn't work. I am thinking of reversing the filter, see if that works. I slid back the dust cover. The pics show the saran wrap. The fan is 6 inch and heavy duty (no, I don't know the numbers.) The filter weighs about 35 pounds. I am willing to buy a new filter, a better brand, this one I got from a store It's 11 months old.

batwing, 2 400 wt hps, 2 small clip fans aerate, grow room on pallets, plywood box, luever door, open window opposite of area for intake and inline intake small fan outside box. CO2 bag, humidity unknown, constant 67 degrees underground, in soil and 2 gallons water a day. average 4 mature plants any given week, and 16 almost mature. Am considering making makeshift charcoal/cheesecloth wrap of filter. It's the only Idea I got.

Thanks for your expertise.filter 005.JPG filter 007.JPG filter 006.JPG
 
Hablamos

Hablamos

Member
It's hard to tell, but the first thing we need to kwow, is if the filter is not too old, or Made in china. ?

If you're sure the filter is working properly, it could be because the room is not enough sealed, and your open windows attract the grow room air to the outside. try to intake the fresh air with inline fan 4 inch direct to the grow room without let the window open. if i understand well your configuration. It's impossible to filter the air properly even with 8 inch fan. your room must only receive air, and NO air is suppose to get out of the room without passing through the exhaust fan. the idea of open window will work for the Veg and 2 first flower week, but you need other way to cool your room.

If i'm right the weed odor come from the open window and not from the end of the ducting ??


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_room_pressure

Try the smoke test to see where the leak come from and fix it !

Good luck amigos!
 
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booms111

booms111

Well-Known Member
Something isnt right? Your prefilter looks brand new, your pulling through the filter right? Take that plastic wrap off thats for ghetto made carbon filters that arent packed right. Is your fan running full power? It could be pulling the "dirty" air through before its completely scrubbed. I replace my filters ever 12 months nowadays but ive used them up to 2 years in the past. Ive also bought brand new filters before and the smells cut right through them. Always buy a filter rated alot bigger then your fan for best results.
 
Observe & Report

Observe & Report

Well-Known Member
Is Phresh ghetto crap? Phresh recommends using plastic wrap if your filter is very oversized, otherwise you're wasting the carbon in your filter. If the OP's filter used to work but doesn't anymore then the carbon is exhausted, time for a new one. High humidity will reduce the life of carbon. You should get a hygrometer, they are inexpensive and high humidity also promotes bud rot and other fungi that can ruin your harvest.
 
2sheds

2sheds

Member
Observe & Report said:
Is Phresh ghetto crap? Phresh recommends using plastic wrap if your filter is very oversized, otherwise you're wasting the carbon in your filter. If the OP's filter used to work but doesn't anymore then the carbon is exhausted, time for a new one. High humidity will reduce the life of carbon. You should get a hygrometer, they are inexpensive and high humidity also promotes bud rot and other fungi that can ruin your harvest.
Click to expand...
It worked for about a month. Seems excessively short. I'll order a new one. I'm at the brink, the smell is like advertising, and I don't want to advertise, 'follow the smell'.

Thanks.
 
2sheds

2sheds

Member
booms111 said:
Something isnt right? Your prefilter looks brand new, your pulling through the filter right? Take that plastic wrap off thats for ghetto made carbon filters that arent packed right. Is your fan running full power? It could be pulling the "dirty" air through before its completely scrubbed. I replace my filters ever 12 months nowadays but ive used them up to 2 years in the past. Ive also bought brand new filters before and the smells cut right through them. Always buy a filter rated alot bigger then your fan for best results.
Click to expand...
Prefilter...what is that? the white cloth covering? Maybe there is something major I am doing way wrong. How about turning the cylinder around, will that do anything, they mentioned it in the store.
 
2sheds

2sheds

Member
Hablamos said:
It's hard to tell, but the first thing we need to kwow, is if the filter is not too old, or Made in china. ?

If you're sure the filter is working properly, it could be because the room is not enough sealed, and your open windows attract the grow room air to the outside. try to intake the fresh air with inline fan 4 inch direct to the grow room without let the window open. if i understand well your configuration. It's impossible to filter the air properly even with 8 inch fan. your room must only receive air, and NO air is suppose to get out of the room without passing through the exhaust fan. the idea of open window will work for the Veg and 2 first flower week, but you need other way to cool your room.

If i'm right the weed odor come from the open window and not from the end of the ducting ??

open window is 30 feet away and outside the room the box is in. I also pump fresh air into the room with 'box' (flower closet). Then the exhaust is a 2 foot run in back of the box to a window, pane removed, hole cut, hood on exhaust, luever, air tight. But someone said 'prefilter'. Is the big cylinder a prefilter and there is supposed to be a post filter?

Also, and this is for anyone: If I buy new lights which are 'cooled' (hoods, higher watts, digi ballasts) and duct to filter and out-fan, will that help odor (difference in heat of air, some dude selling filters on youtube mentioned.)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_room_pressure

Try the smoke test to see where the leak come from and fix it !

Good luck amigos!
Click to expand...
 
2sheds

2sheds

Member
Aye yi yi, I think I messed up reply.

if I get cooled lights, hoods, duct to filter and fan, will that be better for odor-neutralization?
 
booms111

booms111

Well-Known Member
Observe & Report said:
Is Phresh ghetto crap? Phresh recommends using plastic wrap if your filter is very oversized, otherwise you're wasting the carbon in your filter. If the OP's filter used to work but doesn't anymore then the carbon is exhausted, time for a new one. High humidity will reduce the life of carbon. You should get a hygrometer, they are inexpensive and high humidity also promotes bud rot and other fungi that can ruin your harvest.
Click to expand...
No phresh is what i use, got 4 ranging in sizes and prefer them. I didnt know they recommended that crap. I guess if your fan was to big for your filter that would work but this guy obviously could use a 8x24 phresh instead of the 6x24 looking one hes got
 
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2sheds

2sheds

Member
slowandsteady said:
what brand is the filter ?
Click to expand...
It's this one. Says it's reversible. says 6 months. I'm going to reverse it, if it doesn't work, it's time for a new one. Any recommended brands..."I'll buy it. The time is all we've lost, I'll try it. And I can't even scrub my own air, I may start making winnnnnnne....."
 
Ilovebush

Ilovebush

Well-Known Member
As mentioned all air must pass through your filter and to do this with an open window you'd need to create negative pressure. If your intake is too big then you can't achieve this and you will have a leak...may not necessarily be your filter although I'd definitely consider it to be the culprit. You can shake the filter to fill any voids created in the carbon over time and if that doesn't work..drill the filter so you can refill it or replace it altogether. You can also double up on a filter if you really want to

 
booms111

booms111

Well-Known Member
2sheds said:
Prefilter...what is that? the white cloth covering? Maybe there is something major I am doing way wrong. How about turning the cylinder around, will that do anything, they mentioned it in the store.
Click to expand...
Yeah prefilter is the white outer filter. Usually they turn grey after couple months using them. Yours looks pretty white for a 11 month old filter. Whats on the other side of the fan? Id get a 6x24 or even a 8x24 phresh filter.
 
Squidbilly

Squidbilly

Well-Known Member
I find replacing your filter frequently a small expense to pay for little to no smell. Phresh and Phat are both good brands. I really like my 6x24 Phat filter, absolutely no smell from my Jack, Bubba OG, and Headband and it's all ducted right into my basement. Make sure you have negative pressure and there aren't any leaks around your ducting. It only takes a little hole to pull unscrubbed air in and right out. If you have negative pressure and your fan and filter are the appropriate size and cfm for each other, a good(and big enough) filter should put your mind at ease.
 
Observe & Report

Observe & Report

Well-Known Member
Filters should last more than a month. Even with high humiditiy I think it should last a lot longer. Maybe you have a new hole in your ducting that is letting stink bypass the filter. One night I started messing around with my ventilation system and I mistakenly reattached the fan in reverse. I took me a while to figure out why everything was stinking outside the cab.

plastic wrap is for under sized fans... if there isn't an abundance of pressure/flow then instead of air being sucked through the filter evenly in only enters in a ring near the duct. Wrapping the half of the filter closest to the duct, or reversing it (Phresh aren't reversible), blocks off the part near the duct that is spent and forces the air to flow through the back half of the filter that hasn't been used.
 
datboytrue

datboytrue

Active Member
Do you have a fan controller??

if not get one, carbon scrubbers work best when fan is running medium speeds, allowing the air to be scrubbed not just pulled through... try it if it doesn't work id say look for leaks in your grow space that are allowing non scrubbed air to disperse.
 
Screaming trees

Screaming trees

Well-Known Member
This is so funny cause I had the same problem and I thought I fixed it. First off I made the HUGE mistake of buying one of those window-less air conditioners and let me tell you, THEY create a negative pressure that's so unreal. It was smelling down right bad and I have four brand new filters blowing full speed. Looks like the same I line can he has. 434 sq ft per unit. I ditched the AC unit and bite the bullet and got a 24,000 btu unit and with my rooms being air tight I still have a smell. I even caulked the electrical outlets! It's so air tight that it's hard to open my doors. It's a sealed room and I can't think of what could keep causing the smell to still creep out too.
 
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