Help with the skunk smell

Djdanko23 said:
I have a 4in S shaped hose with a modified flower pot on the end to prevent light from coming in. Eventually will add a filter to the end.

So pulling from the room.
Click to expand...
And what is the humidity level in your room? Do you have a way to exhaust the heat from your room?
 
I use a 270CFM fan with a 530CFM filter.

I always advise to over spec fan and filter and to control them using a fan controller.

unfortunately just because you bought a 4” fan with a 4” filter there’s no guarantee they’re going to work well together.

All 4” fans are not created equal as such all 4” filters are not created equal.

for example your filter could be rated at 150CFM but your fan could be rated at 250CFM.

This will create smell leakage.

your filter should always be rated higher than your fans CFM.

that way when your fan runs on 100% it’s not going over the working CFM Of your filter.
 
Djdanko23 said:
After more digging today, this is the conclusion I have arrived at.
Problem 1) Running the fan at full bore is not allowing enough time for the smell to be scrubbed in the filter
2) I have a wyse adapter sending it outside however some of it is coming back into the intake vent of my furnace. Hoping if I lower the flow of the fan, the smell will go away while maintaining my humidity.
Click to expand...
You need a 6” setup. I know you haven’t accepted that as a correct answer, but it is the answer. I have a 4x4 tent and a 4” fan/filter wasn’t enough. I have a 6” setup in there now, I exhaust right back into the house during the colder months, and the only time I smell the plants is when I open the tent.
 
TreeFarmerCharlie said:
You need a 6” setup. I know you haven’t accepted that as a correct answer, but it is the answer. I have a 4x4 tent and a 4” fan/filter wasn’t enough. I have a 6” setup in there now, I exhaust right back into the house during the colder months, and the only time I smell the plants is when I open the tent.
Click to expand...
If he is running negative pressure and exhausting outdoors, shouldnt be any smell indoors unless there is a leak. Even with no filter
 
Boatguy said:
If he is running negative pressure and exhausting outdoors, shouldnt be any smell indoors unless there is a leak. Even with no filter
Click to expand...
I thought by he said earlier he also has an intake fan?

edit: I have no idea why I thought that. I can’t see anywhere where that was said.
 
TreeFarmerCharlie said:
I thought by he said earlier he also has an intake fan?

edit: I have no idea why I thought that. I can’t see anywhere where that was said.
Click to expand...

They did mention an intake causing pressure. They could probably ditch the intake and use passive intake which would cause negative pressure and likely stop any smell leaks.

I also was using a 4 inch fan with a 4 inch filter in a 4 x 4. I ended up upsizing to a 6 inch setup on a controller. I have the fan turned down and it's quieter and no smell like I had with the 4 inch setup.

Djdanko23 said:
I think it's a different issue. I think intake is causing too much of pressure or there is a leak. a 6in fan is over kill for a 4x4 from all the reading I have done.
Click to expand...

A 6 inch is not overkill. It's what you need.
 
jondamon said:
I use a 270CFM fan with a 530CFM filter.

I always advise to over spec fan and filter and to control them using a fan controller.

unfortunately just because you bought a 4” fan with a 4” filter there’s no guarantee they’re going to work well together.

All 4” fans are not created equal as such all 4” filters are not created equal.

for example your filter could be rated at 150CFM but your fan could be rated at 250CFM.

This will create smell leakage.

your filter should always be rated higher than your fans CFM.

that way when your fan runs on 100% it’s not going over the working CFM Of your filter.
Click to expand...

The fan is from the same company as the filter. Filter is rated at 215 CFM and fan is 205CFM.
 
I am using passive intake for those asking. Also, even though I am venting outside, I connected via Wye connector so the smell was back blowing into the house out of the other side of the of the wye. Since the furnace is not running in the summer, I closed the damper and that should help with that issue.

My latest revelation: is that the carbon filter might be damaged or clogged in some way. once the lights came on I went to take a look at the situation. I lit a candle and blew it out to see the suction of the smoke and it wasn't as powerful as I expected. I think took a small piece of paper the size of my hand and the suction of the fan at full speed wouldn't even hold the paper in place. I then called a friend with the same system and with his fans running on 50% it sucked the paper up like it was nothing... As of right now I am running without a filter and closed the damper to the house. Hopefully warranty will replace the filter. Until then the neighborhood is going to smell like sweet super skunk.
 
passive intake area should be 3-5X the active exhaust area
screens/filters generally restrict area by 50%

If too much humidity locks up in carbon, the water clogs it. You can drill the rivets out of the filter, put the active charcoal in an oven for a while, then put everything back together with rivets or screws. Typically active carbon when used properly lasts a while. High humidity can clog it which in turn, clogs the fan. Fucking with fan speeds can definately back up humidity in the grow chamber and then in turn clog a filter.. also it is good to use seperate filters for veg/bloom



To test if the filter is fucking up your fan speed.. simply seperate the filter from the fan... if the suction greatly increases (match experiment) you know the problem is @ the filter not the fan
 
Nizza said:
passive intake area should be 3-5X the active exhaust area
screens/filters generally restrict area by 50%
Click to expand...
Good to know. What the heck do you use that is so large? I am just using 4in intake and 4in exhaust right now which is creating a good amount of positive pressure.

Like two 6in?
 
Djdanko23 said:
Good to know. What the heck do you use that is so large? I am just using 4in intake and 4in exhaust right now which is creating a good amount of positive pressure.

Like two 6in?
Click to expand...
you said it is active exhaust. to passive intake you need about 8" passive intake or two 6" for your 4" exhaust to work the most efficient .

also configuring ducts to that fan are important- to the filter and whatever is in between
 
and on another note~~
the room the tent is venting into is very important.. If you can't control the room it's in, fans will not help you!
 
Right, so I am running 4in throughout. 4in from filter to fan, 4 in from fan out of the house and then 4in ghetto rigged intake to prevent light leak.
 
so if I get this right, you actually do have two fans. One in one out? If there is positive pressure... your problem is right there. The reason the match didn't suck in, is because the tent wasn't in negative pressure
 
The whole idea with a "carbon extraction fan" is that you are putting the entire room on a vacuum, or scrubbing whatever room its in, and pushing that through the filter. If you have two fans in one room, and the exhaust filter isn't pulling as fast as the intake it will not scrub;
your odor will leak out of your house. The solution is to increase exhaust or decrease intake, or possibly an issue with the carbon restricting the exhaust filter

lets see the exact configuration?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top