Carbon Filter no longer controlling odor in tent

m4s73r said:

And most people will run the fan outside of grow room if they can for this reason of fan heat. As for bulb fragments upon detonation, you can go to lowes and get some gutter screen and put it the ducting between fan and hood. that should catch the big pieces of bulb with out blocking air flow.

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i have a 640cfm on a 20' run of 6" i was actually blowing through one carbon filter and sucking through another for a while and still had good air movement .........
i dunno suck or blow its still moving air maintenance is inevitable ........ might as well put the fan where its most convenient

Agreed on the maintenance. I never went down the ducted hoods route. For me the expense vs vertical barebulb was just so much more. Even more so if your running multiple lights. Bulb, socket, ballast, 8 plant donut. one fan 440 cfm, 12 inches of ducting, no filter, Vaporteck 4000.

tekdc911 said:

you ever noticed the little chunks of carbon in your duct or wiped them out of your hood?

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I have windexed the hood glass only once and I have to say that I have never noticed any carbon residue inside of my reflector. I have never checked in the ducting but when I do the work today I will.

If your environment is dialed and carbon filter is set up properly, it should work darn near 100% for at least 6 months, IMO. I buy a new one every 2-3 rounds, they aren't that expensive and the peace of mind is worth it for me. I always keep a back-up as well.

If your realitive humidity ever goes above 50-60%, that could be your culprit - carbon filters do not work very good in humid conditions. I've had very stinky plants in my veg room and carbon filters would only last about 3-4months in the higher humidity, I've since switched to using ONA gel in my veg room, which works great if you don't mind the smell of linen 24/7.

Running a passive intake is another thing that leads to odor leaking out. Until I went with an actual intake fan on speed controller I always had smell leaking out at random times. Getting an active intake ensure that all the air is being forced to exit through the carbon filter. You would think a passive intake would work the same, but they don't.

Check all the joints of your duct work and run your hands over all of it to see if you can feel any pin hole leaks...it only takes a pin hole to let smell escape.

It's kind of a head scratcher. Humidity has stayed consistently in the 40's and 50's. Never gotten into the 60's. Up until 2 weeks ago or so it was perfect...no odor at all and then it gradually started to get stinky in the room. Initially I just attributed it to the smell of the plants as they were entering into the stinky part of flowering.

Over a two week period the smell outside the tent continued to get worse and worse. It has to be either a leak or the filter has failed.
When the new filter goes in today I'll let you know. If the odor is not gone within a few hours then I'll start replacing the ducting too.

usually its one plant that will reek past the filter every grow ....... and that one plant will be water logged or hungry, overfed something along those lines and when i figure out which one it is and remedy the problem the smell gets taken care of

i have some 12/12 FS going myself 2 super lemon hazes and a few other random strains , also a AKR that popped with the super lemon haze for a side by side on 12/12 auto vs photo

New carbon filter did not help. Next step is to replace the ducting and check the seals on my reflector.

Hot Diggity Sog said:

New carbon filter did not help. Next step is to replace the ducting and check the seals on my reflector.

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My refectors had tiny leaks so instead of fighting with it i just put the fan and filter before the hood. Now i push the air thru instead of pulling. Worked like a charm.

If replacing the ducting does not fix it then a leaky reflector is the only explanation left other than "the dankness can't be controlled"...lol

tekdc911 said:

usually its one plant that will reek past the filter every grow ....... and that one plant will be water logged or hungry, overfed something along those lines and when i figure out which one it is and remedy the problem the smell gets taken care of

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^ that..... i would figure out why they smell dont get me wrong pot stinks in flower but its nothing a filter cant fix ...... take them out one at a time until you figure out which it is

if my SLH gets to close to the door and i have it open it smells the house up .... and it reeks and the filter still handles it ....
this sativa that smells like a cat pissed up your nose 2 days ago is handled by a Ipower 6" cheap filter and its atleast a square yard of canopy

I'm exhausting my tent with 440 CFM. The tent is only 4'x'4' !
I gotta have a leak...I mean this is just nuts.

Hot Diggity Sog said:

I'm exhausting my tent with 440 CFM. The tent is only 4'x'4' !
I gotta have a leak...I mean this is just nuts.

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Leave the room for a while, come back to it, hold your breath before entering, walk up to the exhaust, stick your face in it, then breathe. If it reeks of dank, your scrubbing setup is wack. If the air coming from the exhaust is clean yet the whole room is danky, it must be a leak of some sort.

UncleReemis said:

Leave the room for a while, come back to it, hold your breath before entering, walk up to the exhaust, stick your face in it, then breathe. If it reeks of dank, your scrubbing setup is wack. If the air coming from the exhaust is clean yet the whole room is danky, it must be a leak of some sort.

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Yeah...that was one of the 1st things I did. You know that *scrubbed* air smell? Well, that's what it smells like....just like the other filters running. I did not do the hold your breath thing 1st...I'll try that. I have not replaced the ducting yet but I just went down and windexed the reflector glass again and this time I reseated it when the exhaust was off. The last time the glass was off for a clean, I left the fan on and it occurred to me that perhaps it did not seat correctly. A long shot, but worth a try.

Well, I'm pleased yet embarrassed to report that the problem has been solved. After re-seating the glass on the reflector with the exhaust turned off, the problem has been fixed. Outer room now is back to zero odor!

Just want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped out...appreciate it.