The smell is invading...HELP!

So I have a 165cfm active air inline fan with a can lite 4" carbon filter in a bedroom closet(6' x3')with a diy fabric door kinda like a tent would have. My intake has air forced in by a make shift vent coming from a window AC unit. I have negative pressure cause it will suck the door closed. With my first grow I had no issues with smells outside but now the the smell is in my whole house and is super funky. Only thing I can think of is that my first grow was during cooler months so I didn't have to have intake vent directly connected. Minus the cloth door the room is sealed so I dunno why this is happening this time? Failed to mention the can lite filter is brand new cause I thought the old one was failing so don't think it is reason. Any thoughts or ideas?

Is the exhaust running 24/7? Check the hoses for pin holes. How is the Rh? At high Rh carbon filters don’t work so well. I found the best way to combat smell is running a carbon filter and fan scrubber inside the tent.

Merlin1147 said:

Is the exhaust running 24/7? Check the hoses for pin holes. How is the Rh? At high Rh carbon filters don’t work so well. I found the best way to combat smell is running a carbon filter and fan scrubber inside the tent.

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It runs 24/7 and I replaced all ducting today and it seems to be working now. Guess I had punctured the old venting somehow. I don't see how I did and has me puzzled since it's not reachable for me cause I'm short lol. Could to much air flow ruin ducting?

The cheapo spiral flex duct can break down from UV light and crack. I avoid that crap whenever possible, especially long runs.

Not the worst problem to have. My house is starting to reak again too now. I have noticed it helps a lot to vent outside if possible. It still may smell in the house, especially close to harvest, but not as bad. And I would listen to Renfro.

If you really wanna get serious about odor control, do like @Merlin1147 mentioned and setup a second carbon filter and fan inside the tent simply recirculating tent air over and over. A scrubber is what it is commonly called. You can set it down low and run a piece of duct up above the lighting and let it just run 24/7 moving the air and scrubbing the odor. There won't be much odor left for the exhaust filter to deal with.

I use scrubbers in my rooms since I use AC &CO2 and don't exhaust. Each flowering room has two 12x48" Phat filters with vortex 1140 CFM fans. I have one in my veg room and one in my drying room. They keep the odor under control big time.

PadawanWarrior said:

Not the worst problem to have. My house is starting to reak again too now. I have noticed it helps a lot to vent outside if possible. It still may smell in the house, especially close to harvest, but not as bad. And I would listen to Renfro.

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I have it vented into my bedroom currently. If I had it vented outside it would have stunk up my neighborhood. That is kinda why I chose to vent inside so I can catch when filter goes bad.

Renfro said:

If you really wanna get serious about odor control, do like @Merlin1147 mentioned and setup a second carbon filter and fan inside the tent simply recirculating tent air over and over. A scrubber is what it is commonly called. You can set it down low and run a piece of duct up above the lighting and let it just run 24/7 moving the air and scrubbing the odor. There won't be much odor left for the exhaust filter to deal with.

I use scrubbers in my rooms since I use AC &CO2 and don't exhaust. Each flowering room has two 12x48" Phat filters with vortex 1140 CFM fans. I have one in my veg room and one in my drying room. They keep the odor under control big time.

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I think if I can get two more grows outta the new can filter I will probably upgrade everything. I kinda went the budge route on my setup to make sure I would be able to grow consistently. I did but a phat filter cause hydro store highly recommended and I only got 1 grow outta of it so I'm not impressed. Wish I had the room u had for your grows

Burnout81 said:

I have it vented into my bedroom currently. If I had it vented outside it would have stunk up my neighborhood. That is kinda why I chose to vent inside so I can catch when filter goes bad.

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It probably wouldn't stink your neighbourhood out.
Think of it like this, your filtering a high amount of your smell out but its going into your house so the small amount that's getting through is building up.
Usually when you send your air back into the same room your Humidity will slowly rise too and that can stop the carbon filter working properly, though RH has to be fairly high for that.

The golden rule for me is always buy a high quality filter that is bigger than the fan, it will last longer and less likely to have fails.
I would never vent into my own house. Everyone I know that tried had smell problems.

coreywebster said:

It probably wouldn't stink your neighbourhood out.
Think of it like this, your filtering a high amount of your smell out but its going into your house so the small amount that's getting through is building up.
Usually when you send your air back into the same room your Humidity will slowly rise too and that can stop the carbon filter working properly, though RH has to be fairly high for that.

The golden rule for me is always buy a high quality filter that is bigger than the fan, it will last longer and less likely to have fails.
I would never vent into my own house. Everyone I know that tried had smell problems.

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Ya, once I started venting outside the humidity dropped drastically. Don't even need to run my dehumidifier anymore. I'm still amazed of the difference.

Careful, my last round I had a power strip go out and my big filter shut off. I didn’t notice and the next week I was in HR at work for stinking up the office.

I am in the same boat. Got a friendly heads up from my neighbor, I vent outside with a single hose portable AC/. Growing sour OG cheese and it stinks. Luckily cutting tomorrow , they have been in dark since Friday

M

coreywebster said:

It probably wouldn't stink your neighbourhood out.
Think of it like this, your filtering a high amount of your smell out but its going into your house so the small amount that's getting through is building up.
Usually when you send your air back into the same room your Humidity will slowly rise too and that can stop the carbon filter working properly, though RH has to be fairly high for that.

The golden rule for me is always buy a high quality filter that is bigger than the fan, it will last longer and less likely to have fails.
I would never vent into my own house. Everyone I know that tried had smell problems.
[/QUOTE. I have window AC that intake air comes from. I'm currently trying to figure

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coreywebster said:

It probably wouldn't stink your neighbourhood out.
Think of it like this, your filtering a high amount of your smell out but its going into your house so the small amount that's getting through is building up.
Usually when you send your air back into the same room your Humidity will slowly rise too and that can stop the carbon filter working properly, though RH has to be fairly high for that.

The golden rule for me is always buy a high quality filter that is bigger than the fan, it will last longer and less likely to have fails.
I would never vent into my own house. Everyone I know that tried had smell problems.

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I have had 2 what I was told are good filters. 1st was a phat filter(lasted 8m) and now im trying a can lite filter(1m used so far). So I purchased the filter that my fan was rated for and your saying to buy a bigger filter. Wouldn't that mess up correct flow rate or put strain on the fan. Also my incoming air comes from a window AC. I'm currently trying to find a good way to remove moisture from the intake air b4 it reaches the closet. I also have a small dehumidifier also in my closet that keeps me at 43-45% humidity. I'm definitely just gonna have to vent it outside.

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SickboyDilligaf said:

I am in the same boat. Got a friendly heads up from my neighbor, I vent outside with a single hose portable AC/. Growing sour OG cheese and it stinks. Luckily cutting tomorrow , they have been in dark since Friday

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I'm afraid of that knock on da door. Part of the reason I vent back n room let's c them after pics

Burnout81 said:

M


I have had 2 what I was told are good filters. 1st was a phat filter(lasted 8m) and now im trying a can lite filter(1m used so far). So I purchased the filter that my fan was rated for and your saying to buy a bigger filter. Wouldn't that mess up correct flow rate or put strain on the fan. Also my incoming air comes from a window AC. I'm currently trying to find a good way to remove moisture from the intake air b4 it reaches the closet. I also have a small dehumidifier also in my closet that keeps me at 43-45% humidity. I'm definitely just gonna have to vent it outside.

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Your RH shoulnt be a problem then.

No having a bigger filter wont mess with your airflow, it gives the air more contact time with the carbon since its going through a bigger surface its going slower but the actual flow rate would stay the same and should be less strain on the fan. Its like drinking a McDs Milkshake through a thin straw or a fat one, one is easier.

A good filter can last 18-24month running at capacity and a lot longer if running at half.

Have you considered an ozone generator as a backup for emergency smell reduction (irritates your throat left on all the time) ?