150w HPS Pro stealth setup. PC computer fans and a proper carbon filter?

Bagz

Active Member
Hey team, I know there is a lot of stuff on the net saying not to use pc fans with carbon filters as they don't move enough air.
Just wondering has anyone tried it? I'm not talking about some shifty home made carbon filter (been there done that), but with a proper carbon filter and ventilation design.

I'm asking because I am about to put a 7 month old Mother into my new design stealth flowering cabinet. It uses a 150w HPS lamp in separate pc fan vented aircooled hood (drawing air and exhausting it from outside the growroom).
The growroom itself is vented through my Phat Filter that is currently hooked up to a computer fan (pulling through) with passive intake.
I have been growing for a couple of years now and have actually got a big inline fan and have been using it with my filter and 150w to great success. However due to change of location I have to keep my noise down and had to drop the inline fan that I designed this cabinet around and am trying to resort to only cpu fans.

It is not temperature I am worried about! I have been testing this setup without the inline for weeks and can keep the temps down below 25 degrees c. What concerns me is the smell when I get my mother in there with only the pc fan on the exhaust.

Anyways here is afew pics of my setup as it was with my inline fan and filter combo so you can see what I have been plying with. It has worked a treat and I am very sad to have to lose the big fan from the setup. I am happy to go into detail with how this all works, just hit me up with questions.

If this gets enough interest I will turn it into another full blown Journal starting from when I put my 7 Month old mother plant into it, It has been vegging away in my pc veg case for ages now and should be interesting to flower, provided I know the cpu fans will do the job.

Any help, advise from people who have been down this road or have experience with this kinda setup would be magic.
 

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Bagz

Active Member
Oh yeah, and now that I have removed the big noisy fan from the setup it looks like this! 3 More pics for you to check out. These are the important ones!
You will notice the filter has changed sides to do away with the long wrap round piping, and the cpu fan is pulling through the filter and out the back of the cabinet where the cpu fan is mounted (the cooltube exhaust cpu fan is mounted beside it too).
You will also see I have hung a small fan where the filter was to blow over the plants.
This setup with only the cpu fans blowing through the cooltube and the cpu fan pulling through the carbon filter can hold the temps down between 20-25 degrees easy.

Question is will the cpu fan be strong enough to pull the smell through the filter? Thats what I need to know before I place anything green in there.
 

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dsam

Well-Known Member
I would absolutely not count on a PC fan pulling all the smell out... get some ONA gel in that CAB and get some wicked Server Fan (Beefy CPU Fan) pulling through the carbon and you should be cherry... cab looks great though!
 

Bagz

Active Member
Cheers Dsam, have you toyed around with PC fans and filters at some stage along the way? I have never used ONA gel, heard the name being thrown around a bit though. Found this stuff called *Odour Control Nilodour Concentrate*
It says

"Nilodour Concentrate is commonly used on air filters which are then placed over an exhaust fan to help eliminate unwanted odours. Alternatively, you can place a few drops on a small dish and place it inside the growing chamber."

This sound like the stuff? Thanks for the compliments on the cab, I'm real dark about the noise issue with the inline fan. Would have solved this issue.
 

dsam

Well-Known Member
I would say get an inline that pulls through the carbon filter... if noise is a problem then build a wood box for it and line it will insulation and that will take care of the noise issue... and ona gel is awesome. http://www.onaonline.com/prod-onagel.html get two of the one liter Ona gel PRO put one inside the cab and one outside... that with the carbon fan with the inline... NO SMELL!! you will not even know... well until you open the door then it is hard to hide.
 

dsam

Well-Known Member
and yeah have experience with CPU Fans... check out my grow you will see them on the last few pages... or last page not sure haha
 

Bagz

Active Member
I have got a wooden box lined with sound deadening foam for my inline fan, it knocks the noise back but still isn't quiet enough, My cabinet is in my small bedroom. I'm not phased about the noise, I just don't want my flatmates to catch on. With the PC fans I got on it now it is quieter than my xbox and there is still a good flow of air through the filter. So the filter isn't too restrictive.
Just trying to cover the stealth side of things.
There is no light leaks, and the cabinet looks legit.
With the pc fans the temps are perfect and it is super quiet..
The only thing is the smell.. So hopefully with that ONA get you mentioned and the pc fan / carbon filter vent it won't stink the place out.
Oh yeah and the cabinet is backed up against an open window.

I checked out ya grow Dsam, for a first grow you are doing really well. I'm keen to see how you setup your flowering tent. It should be amazing going by how well your doing now.
If you have never grown before just a heads up. Weed is some seriously stinky shit when it starts flowering. Prepare yourself for it.
My 7 month old plant that I have vegging in my pc case doesn't smell that much, I can get away with no filter on the PC box but I know that will change when it goes into the cab though. Flowering is a completely different game. I leant from my first grows to have your flowering cab ready to go, temps tested with HPS lights and fan setup and everything sorted before you even think of putting a plant in there.
I'm subbed to your grow man. Hit me up if you need anything.

Anyone else out there successfully flowered a plant and had no smell issues with PC fans pulling through a carbon filter?
 

atb

Active Member
I think 2 computer fans would work though get some fast ones. I use 1x3000rpm for outtake and 2x3000(set at 1500rpm) for in take
 

Bagz

Active Member
Good thought Alb, Are you using CFL's or HPS? I am trying to figure a way to use a second fan on the same setup, not much room for it but I will give it some thought, I have afew spare fans.
One thought for your grow Alb, have you heard of Negative pressure in a grow box? It is real helpfull controlling smell and temps.
Basically negative pressure is having more air being sucked out of your room than pumped in.
In your case with two fans pumping air in your box will be under pressure and the pressurized air will seep out any small cracks without going through the filter, causing smell. If you can make your exhaust suck more than intake it creates negative pressure and your box is a slight vacuum, sucking air in through the cracks and everything gets blown out through the filter.
Just an idea, its something I'm aiming for. Cheers for stopping by man.
 

dsam

Well-Known Member
Right on Bagz... I know that you will get it figured out... since it is up against a window I think with the ONA and the PC fans you will be set!!! on another note though... got my tents! pics of one of them is up in my thread... check it out! loving it!
 

Jar Man

Active Member
Somebody dropped the ball? Anyhew, I've worked with much the same idea since the mid '90's. I built a full rotating perpetual system (Parent, clone and 2 bloom units) inside modified bedroom furniture using 150 w HPS lamps. A tall free standing vert. tube flour. powered closet cabinet was for mamma, a small nondescript roughwood cab from Mexico sat at the foot of the bed for clones, and two converted chest of drawers with false fronts (drawer fronts mounted to a piece of finish plywood stained to match) that performed quite well as rotating bloom units. I used cpu fans on all the units and dealt with the odor with several small ion generators and one larger Honeywell generator that was a bear to clean it's core. The heat was a small problem in the summer that I merely installed a 5000 btu A/C in the bedroom window to fix that issue. Granted, working an unknown (bagseed) kick-butt fast 42 day strain helped skipping the need for a veg unit. The little stealth system cranked out about 7-8 oz off 6 SOG style plants every month. People often came over to visit and none were the wiser. Guests scarcely ever wander into someone's bedroom anyway.
 

Jar Man

Active Member
Looking again at this cabinet, considering it's size and the mere 150 w HPS, I have no idea why the dryer duct hoses are even needed. Having been a mech design engineer for over 30 years, it may look cool or bedazle onlookers to to employ sophisticated details. But the learned rule is "K.I.S.S." (Keep it simple, stupid!) Those scale-relative monster hoses take up valuable space where the bangin' business end is goin' on.
 
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