Easy to Build DIY Carbon Filter
- Thread starter MightyBuddha
- Start date
Skoad
Well-Known Member
I dont think he used the carbon rocks. He used a activated carbon filter. The black material you see in his pictures is the filter. Assuming it has activated carbon inside of it.
jrk184
Member
For those not understanding how this carbon filter would fit into a grow room set up, this is how i set mine up.
carbon filter(about 18"Lx7"W)>>Valueline 6 Inch fan (435 CFM with adjustable speed at 1/2 the speed)>> 6" ducting>>600w hps light>>6" ducting>>400W MH light>>ducting>>out the window
My grow room is about 150 cubic ft.
all the activated carbon is in the black filter you see wrapped around the mesh wire.
I bought this carbon filter-http://www.filters-now.com/products/rhw.html#products
Works great but I am still curious as to wether this is more effective than using the activated carbon (pellets or ground up carbon) from the fish stores instead on a filter??
carbon filter(about 18"Lx7"W)>>Valueline 6 Inch fan (435 CFM with adjustable speed at 1/2 the speed)>> 6" ducting>>600w hps light>>6" ducting>>400W MH light>>ducting>>out the window
My grow room is about 150 cubic ft.
all the activated carbon is in the black filter you see wrapped around the mesh wire.
I bought this carbon filter-http://www.filters-now.com/products/rhw.html#products
Works great but I am still curious as to wether this is more effective than using the activated carbon (pellets or ground up carbon) from the fish stores instead on a filter??
devestating
Active Member
i just built one but didnt use the mesh. just wrapped it around my 4" duct fan duct taped it and put a cap on it...easy
#1Raiderfan420
Well-Known Member
I have been planning on making one of these..I will make mine a bit bigger though as I have a vortex 6".
I have looked at these carbon filters at the hydro store and they are very simple..this should work just as good..but $30 instead of $300.
+rep
I have looked at these carbon filters at the hydro store and they are very simple..this should work just as good..but $30 instead of $300.
+rep
I'MDBUDDMAN
Member
this all loks great... but you may want to tack screen in place with duct tape and use some silicone to make it perment or some metal hose clamps... duct tape can dry out and become flammable...
#1Raiderfan420
Well-Known Member
yeah, mine isn't working all that well either.
I am looking at his one that was recommended to me on here. i am looking at the pro 70.
Skoad
Well-Known Member
I had mentioned this like 3-4 pages back several times. No one seemed to read my post :/.
I have a very small grow too, they were JUST beginning to stink, and it still didnt help any.
bovicegrower
Member
hey guys whats going on? starting my first grow and I am building a stealth box for my room, its going to be somewhat close to my bed and I was wondering if having the carbon so close to where I would sleep would be an issue. anyone have any idea?
lostfedexman
Well-Known Member
YOU sir ARE a god! kiss-assI can't take credit for this it has been ripped from another site but it is worthy of posting. I built one about double the length of the one below and found it to be very effective. I also attached it directly to a bathroom fan unit so it is inside of the grow room not hooked to the exhaust.
**
Security is important to marijuana growers, and odors can lead the police straight to your grow room. There are a number of 'odor solutions' out there, but they can be quite costly. Here is a simple method you can use to build your own carbon filter. It will take you about half an hour to construct it, and it will cost $20 to $30 dollars.
Aside from its main advantage of being ultra cheap, this method is also very versatile. It utilizes the exact same activated carbon filters that are used in professional air cleaners, without paying the huge prices. It can be adapted to practically any ventilation system. You do not need any crazy tools to build this - anyone can do it.
For supplies, everything is easily available at a store like Home Depot. You will need the following:
1 activated carbon filter - ( found near humidifiers, air, and hepa filters )
1 small roll of aluminum screen
1 four inch ventilation end-cap
1 four inch duct connector piece
1 roll of duct tape
No tools are required. A pair of scissors and a measuring tape are all you need.
The carbon filter I purchased is a 'universal' replacement filter for HoneyWell air purifiers. Since I didn't pay the hefty price for a professional unit, I will cut this to size. It was originally 16" high and about 48" long, so I cut it right down the middle. When the first filter is expired, I will have a replacement ready to go.
The next step is to cut your aluminum screen to size. I chose aluminum because it will be strong, and will still allow good air-flow. You could substitute chicken mesh or something similar. Since my (cut) carbon filter is 8" high, the aluminum will be cut to 12". The carbon filter will go in the middle 8" of this screen, with 2" coming out of each end to connect to the duct pieces.
Now we will attach the aluminum screen to the duct pieces, with duct tape. (This might be the first time you have actually used duct tape on ducts!) Do your best to keep it straight as possible.
It will seem a bit flimsy at the beginning. Continue to wrap the aluminum screen around and around, taping it every few inches. You want it to hold firm.
After a few wraps it will be fairly sturdy, and able to hold its own weight. However, don't drive your truck over it! Treat her nice and gentle like a Christian schoolgirl.
The ends of your screen may have little strands of metal poking out, threatening to impale you. Add some more duct tape to cover this up and to finalize the DIY carbon filter. Soon it will be done.
Now it is time to wrap the activated carbon filter onto our device. Conveniently, the filter I bought came with a couple of velcro straps, so I used them to hold it on. This will be convenient to replace when the activated carbon is expired.
After she's all sealed up, throw on a bit more duct tape around the edges of the carbon filter, to seal up any gaps. Only tape over the edges, because you want the air to flow as easily as possible. Air does not flow through duct tape. Here is the finished product.
Time to hook her up to the grow room exhaust! In this case, it is being hooked to a 4" square duct. (That is why I used a 4" round to 4" square connector piece. You may need a different piece to suit your ventilation setup, but a million sizes are available.) Just slide her onto the vent, and tape it down nice and sturdy. Duct tape is your reliable grey friend.
After she is attached and fire up, things are looking good. It is working nice, hooked to a 60 CFM fan, and you can feel the air flowing out of it lightly. The fan was not slowed down too much, but obviously a carbon filter will add some back-pressure to your vents. I haven't tried this with a slower blower (under 60 CFM), but 60 CFM is not a lot.
I just hooked this up today, so I don't know how often I will have to replace the carbon filter. The box the filter came in says to replace every two or three months. It does seem to make a difference though. Outside the grow room does not stink like a skunk anymore. There is almost no smell at all, except the faint odor of duct tape adhesive. I'm sure that will go away after a few hours.
Using this method, everyone can now build their own activated carbon filter. Its quite easy, and you can build it any size you need, to fit any grow room and any type of duct. Could it get any better than that?
NewStressTraining
Member
very nice pro with this idea! i'll be making one also!
dingbang
Active Member
Are you INSANE?
CARBON?
NEXT TO YOUR BED!?!?!
WHILE SLEEPING!?!?!
Hey, wait a second.......are you Chuck Norris?
hightyde27
Active Member
OMG, I love you for this.
CSI Stickyicky
Well-Known Member
Ok, this looks like one of the easiest DIY filters to build, but i have a quick question for those who have built it....
Is it just me, or does that picture with the filter material say the material is a "universal replacement pre-filter"?
That is not a carbon filter at all!
That is a pre-filter! It doesn't scrub out odors, it's only purpose is to keep larger particulate matter out of the HEPA filters used in the air purifiers. That would explain why people are saying it doesnt work. Its no different than blowing air through a T-shirt. In 14 pages, no-one caught this? Or is there some sort of carbon filter cloth that i don't know about?
Is it just me, or does that picture with the filter material say the material is a "universal replacement pre-filter"?
That is not a carbon filter at all!
That is a pre-filter! It doesn't scrub out odors, it's only purpose is to keep larger particulate matter out of the HEPA filters used in the air purifiers. That would explain why people are saying it doesnt work. Its no different than blowing air through a T-shirt. In 14 pages, no-one caught this? Or is there some sort of carbon filter cloth that i don't know about?
You are both right and wrong. This is carbon "infused" prefilter. it is designed to be used to scrub odor from air before it enters the filtration stage of a HEPA filter.
There IS a small amount of activated carbon sprinkled over the cellulose mat. if you did like 100 wraps, it might scrub some odor.
But because there is not much carbon, and it not not evenly spaced and because there are lots of voids with AIR instead of CARBON much of the smell will slip by.
Now look at how a HEPA filter is designed to work. By recycling the air in a room over and over again it will EVENTUALLY clean the air of dust and odor {in theory} of course hepa filters do not remove odor {usually smoke odor} worth a damn... the odor sticks to soft objects long before it makes it to/through the filter.
In a growers situation you are asking the filter to scrub A LIVE DUCT! this is much more air flow than a floor hepa would ever see...so even MORE stink leaks!
DO NOT base your security and personal freedom on some piece of shit filter you cobbled together. You can buy a decent inline carbon filter off ebay for about 40 bucks. AVOID the home made jobs!!! just a regular can style carbon filter from any of the china importers will do you just fine.
Professional filters are filled/packed on a vibrating table. this assures all the carbon is nested and there are no voids where air can pass AROUND the carbon instead of THROUGH it.
grow safe.