What kind of filter do you use?
Well im in the UK so brands may vary to yours but i use Rhino Pros. Im thinking of switching to mountain air though when i set back up.
I run my 440cfm fan at half speed so that filter should do a great job. Store owner said to leave the top half of the plastic on the filter until smell starts getting through then take that off and wrap the bottom half with plastic wrap to use the fresh top half. Sounds like a plan to me.
Making sure safety goggles are firmly in place obviously...
Really just going to force the surface dirt deeper into the carbon tho. If they've had the sock on all the time and plug up then the ability of the carbon to absorb stink is exhausted and either needs refilling with fresh carbon or the carbon needs to be cooked in a hot oven to drive it out.
It completely blows through the filter cleaning off all the dust that makes it through pre filter. You would be surprised how much dirt/dust and carbon dust come out of one. You get real nice and dirty from all the black carbon dust. I've done it a few times in past. It doesn't renew the carbon but does unclog the filter like OP asked about. I have 20 or so phresh filters and a few 100lb can filters sitting around that are used up, wish there was a way to renew the carbon or at least a way to throw them away without security concerns.Really just going to force the surface dirt deeper into the carbon tho. If they've had the sock on all the time and plug up then the ability of the carbon to absorb stink is exhausted and either needs refilling with fresh carbon or the carbon needs to be cooked in a hot oven to drive it out.
Cooked out carbon won't last as long as fresh but better than nothing. Refilling slowly with lots of tapping to make sure the carbon is tightly in place is needed and it will likely not fill right to the top again without adding more. A strip of foam rubber around the top of the carbon so you have to squish the top on will keep the carbon firm. Or some added activated carbon. Any voids will let the stink through.
For sure it's going to blast a lot of crud thru the carbon but the way carbon works with millions of microscopic pores it doesn't clean those out so other than breathing better it won't clean the stink better.
I use to build my filters back in late 90s early 2000s but they don't get the carbon as compacted as the store bought ones. I still have some carbon i bought off ebay way back then, i used alot of it on my aquarium filters before i got a non carbon filtration system. Store bought filters work so much better and the prices don't bother me for piece of mind.For sure it's going to blast a lot of crud thru the carbon but the way carbon works with millions of microscopic pores it doesn't clean those out so other than breathing better it won't clean the stink better.
You never bought bulk carbon and refilled any filters? Get a new filter for less than half price that way.
I've never really had a filter on my grow room the 16 years since I bought this house. We live on a small acreage 10 miles from a small town and my closest neighbour is a half mile away. During the coldest months the air just doesn't move sometimes and the whole yard stinks. A few years ago the wife started selling eggs so we get strangers knocking on the door and sometimes the smell at the front door is really noticeable so I figured I better get a good filter when I had some extra cash last summer. Blew a couple grand on grow goodies.
One thing I've been thinking about using that old filter for is making a dry sift tumbler out of it. Got all sorts of electric motors, rollers etc laying around the shop and mad DIY skills so if I lined the inside of the empty filter with the right screen I could shovel the sugar leaves in there and come back to a pile of kief. Hand screening takes so damn long.
There must be someplace you could dispose of those old filters. No highway-side garbage cans? Toss into a dumpster some dark and stormy night? Put them in garbage bags and take to the local dump? I'd find some place that doesn't leave a mess for others to clean up. I got a dozen old HID lights need getting rid of too.
What material is used for refilling? I tried using the carbon they sell for fish tanks, but it didn't work.Really just going to force the surface dirt deeper into the carbon tho. If they've had the sock on all the time and plug up then the ability of the carbon to absorb stink is exhausted and either needs refilling with fresh carbon or the carbon needs to be cooked in a hot oven to drive it out.
Cooked out carbon won't last as long as fresh but better than nothing. Refilling slowly with lots of tapping to make sure the carbon is tightly in place is needed and it will likely not fill right to the top again without adding more. A strip of foam rubber around the top of the carbon so you have to squish the top on will keep the carbon firm. Or some added activated carbon. Any voids will let the stink through.
The carbon found when i disassembled a huge one was cylindrical pellet type, not the crushed dusty type.
Hydro stores usually sell bulk carbon for filters. Might be better to find it online. The Australian virgin carbon is considered the best. Not cheap but there should be enough for 3 or 4 refills in a bag.