Carbon filter still smelling

Hello, Newby here. My set up is a room maybe 6x7 ...7 w.w plants 2 1500 watt LED 1 300 w led, one non air cooled 600 watt MH light. The room is built into the garage and I put the carbon filter up on a bucket ( I know it should be higher) with the fan attached directly then the ducting goes out into the garage, I play around other speeds of exhaust, taped all joints. Why would it still smell? Or is it normal?? Thanks for ur time

How big is your fan and how big is your filter?

filters have a rating, how many cubic feet of air per minute they can handle. you want to stay a little below that rating.
http://www.phreshfilter.com/shop/product/phresh-filters
so if you have a filter rated to 750 cfm, you probably don't want to go over 700 ever to make sure the carbon has time to work.

get a Variac, dial in the voltage for the inline, done.

In cases of cheap carbon filters, if they are not filled 100% then you get a gap in the carbon. The air will always go through the path of least resistance, therefore the air will still smell.

and how does the voltage tell you how fast the fan is running?

Roger A. Shrubber said:

and how does the voltage tell you how fast the fan is running?

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It tells you how much power the motor is drawing. Less power = less RPMs the motor is turning the fans.

yeah, i get how the device works....but that doesn't tell you how many cfm the fan is moving, you just know how much power the variac is allowing it to have...and variacs are usually expensive, you can get a router controller that does the same thing for 12 bucks on amazon or ebay, been using one for 3 years now.
you have to know the potential of your fan to begin with. if it runs at 500 cfm wide open, its not going to run at 250 cfm at half power...
http://www.greenheck.com/media/pdf/otherinfo/FanFundamentalsMay2005.pdf
look at table 2

Roger A. Shrubber said:

yeah, i get how the device works....but that doesn't tell you how many cfm the fan is moving, you just know how much power the variac is allowing it to have...and variacs are usually expensive, you can get a router controller that does the same thing for 12 bucks on amazon or ebay, been using one for 3 years now.
you have to know the potential of your fan to begin with. if it runs at 500 cfm wide open, its not going to run at 250 cfm at half power...
http://www.greenheck.com/media/pdf/otherinfo/FanFundamentalsMay2005.pdf
look at table 2

Click to expand...

Why would he need a variac when the information needed should be on the fan somewhere?

a variac is a fancy expensive speed controller...you don't necessarily want your fan running full speed all the time, i drop mine down to about 30% when the lights are off, just enough to keep the RH from climbing, but enough to keep a lite negative pressure so it doesn't make my house stink.
the router controller i have has a switch that turns it from full on to whatever you have the dial set at, so in the morning, i flip the switch to full speed to keep the heat down, then when the lights go off, i flip it the other way and it runs at 30% all night. i could automate it with a pretty simple circuit, but i'm a hands on kind of guy and am home a lot

Roger A. Shrubber said:

a variac is a fancy expensive speed controller...you don't necessarily want your fan running full speed all the time, i drop mine down to about 30% when the lights are off, just enough to keep the RH from climbing, but enough to keep a lite negative pressure so it doesn't make my house stink

Click to expand...

My point is there's no need for a variac when the fan should give the information needed to buy the right filter. You don't want a smaller filter even if you plan on running your fan at lower voltages.

no, you're right about that, the best plan is to buy a fan thats rated just slightly lower than your filter is rated, then you can never over power it.
however, the point of the variac (or router controller) is to be able to adjust it to meet your needs, like i said, theres no point in my fan running at 100% at night when the lights are off, but i don't want to turn it completely off, to control humidity and keep odor from escaping into my house

Sorry if mentioned but are you pushing the air through the filter or pulling it? IMO pulling it through is a lot more effective than pushing it.

And as said find out the CFM rating for the filter and then the CFM rating for the fan. Problem probably lies there somewhere.

n0thing said:

My point is there's no need for a variac when the fan should give the information needed to buy the right filter. You don't want a smaller filter even if you plan on running your fan at lower voltages.

Click to expand...

The variac is to control the fan speed. Its not exact math you just need to do a few calcs to get a close range. Its better to get a fan bigger then tune it down. its a lot less noisy VS a fan running at 100%.

Example: my 6" Inline puts out 460CFM @ 120v. My CAN filter is rated for 420CFM max for exhausting. Smoking a joint inside the tent to test I would have odor come through due to the less than 0.1 sec contact time. Adjusted to ~90v which should be in the ballpark of under 350CFM + bends and duct. Test with a joint and no smell now.

If you cant be bothered to control odor for 50 bucks for proper setups then its not really a problem. I have posted Fan/Carbon/Variac so many times in the last month please check my posts.

DO NOT USE FRICKEN SPEEDSTER/ROUTER CONTROLLERS ON BRUSHLESS/CAPICITOR MOTORS ($12) UNLESS YOU WANT TO BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN.

Roger A. Shrubber said:

a variac is a fancy expensive speed controller...you don't necessarily want your fan running full speed all the time, i drop mine down to about 30% when the lights are off, just enough to keep the RH from climbing, but enough to keep a lite negative pressure so it doesn't make my house stink.
the router controller i have has a switch that turns it from full on to whatever you have the dial set at, so in the morning, i flip the switch to full speed to keep the heat down, then when the lights go off, i flip it the other way and it runs at 30% all night. i could automate it with a pretty simple circuit, but i'm a hands on kind of guy and am home a lot

Click to expand...

A router controller is the same as the "speedster" controllers sellers like to sell for and even WITH inline fans. it is for brush motors (like routers and drills) and those motors that are just magnetically driven (duct fans etc). These controllers start and stop the motor many times a second to keep your RPM in the range but guess what it does with the rest of that "energy"? Converted to HEAT = FIRE. So dropping down to 30% the controller needs to get rid of 70% excess now. So now you are paying for 100% electricity and flushing 70% down the toilet.

Variac will put out what ever you need, save actual energy, save your fans operating life, reduce noise and potentially save your life, your families lives and your home. Stuff like this is why insurance companies are not on board with home growing! Sellers need to be responsible

kingtitan said:

The variac is to control the fan speed. Its not exact math you just need to do a few calcs to get a close range. Its better to get a fan bigger then tune it down. its a lot less noisy VS a fan running at 100%.

Example: my 6" Inline puts out 460CFM @ 120v. My CAN filter is rated for 420CFM max for exhausting. Smoking a joint inside the tent to test I would have odor come through due to the less than 0.1 sec contact time. Adjusted to ~90v which should be in the ballpark of under 350CFM + bends and duct. Test with a joint and no smell now.

If you cant be bothered to control odor for 50 bucks for proper setups then its not really a problem. I have posted Fan/Carbon/Variac so many times in the last month please check my posts.

DO NOT USE FRICKEN SPEEDSTER/ROUTER CONTROLLERS ON BRUSHLESS/CAPICITOR MOTORS ($12) UNLESS YOU WANT TO BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN.

Click to expand...

I know what a variac is but telling him to buy one is pointless if he's already not running his system efficiently. His problems with odor shows a flaw somewhere and through his post changing his voltages didn't help.

Besides any snubber would work to control your voltages.

n0thing said:

I know what a variac is but telling him to buy one is pointless if he's already not running his system efficiently. His problems with odor shows a flaw somewhere and through his post changing his voltages didn't help.

Besides any snubber would work to control your voltages.

Click to expand...

Correct, as long as voltages are adjusted and not someone or something standing at a switch turning it of an on to get the best CFM LOL

Regardless, he should look at my post to try to troubleshoot where the leak is happening, it could very well be the carbon filter especially if its from china and he cant get any info on it...and also if he can carry the filter in his backpack...

https://www.rollitup.org/t/filter-to-fan.950965/#post-13834604

kingtitan said:

A router controller is the same as the "speedster" controllers sellers like to sell for and even WITH inline fans. it is for brush motors (like routers and drills) and those motors that are just magnetically driven (duct fans etc). These controllers start and stop the motor many times a second to keep your RPM in the range but guess what it does with the rest of that "energy"? Converted to HEAT = FIRE. So dropping down to 30% the controller needs to get rid of 70% excess now. So now you are paying for 100% electricity and flushing 70% down the toilet.

Variac will put out what ever you need, save actual energy, save your fans operating life, reduce noise and potentially save your life, your families lives and your home. Stuff like this is why insurance companies are not on board with home growing! Sellers need to be responsible

Click to expand...

I have been using hydro farm and speedster controllers with active air inline 4" and 6" fans for almost 4 years continuously now.

No hot fans or controllers. In fact the little analog light timer for my t-5 lamps on the power strip is slightly warmer than the hydro farm speed controller next to it.

If they were so dangerous the companies selling them would have liability issues. I have never heard of a case. Not that that means there never was one.

MichiganMedGrower said:

I have been using hydro farm and speedster controllers with active air inline 4" and 6" fans for almost 4 years continuously now.

No hot fans or controllers. In fact the little analog light timer for my t-5 lamps on the power strip is slightly warmer than the hydro farm speed controller next to it.

If they were so dangerous the companies selling them would have liability issues. I have never heard of a case. Not that that means there never was one.

Click to expand...

That controller if its is ETL certified will say either on the back with a sticker or the wording directly molded on the plastic that says for use with brush motors only. Google images you can see these things melt.

Honestly people can do what ever they want, ill always give best practice advice.I am not the gambling type and I take no risks, I have nothing to gain, I am not selling anything just giving knowledge =). stay safe and stay high.

Roger A. Shrubber said:

yeah, i get how the device works....but that doesn't tell you how many cfm the fan is moving, you just know how much power the variac is allowing it to have...and variacs are usually expensive, you can get a router controller that does the same thing for 12 bucks on amazon or ebay, been using one for 3 years now.
you have to know the potential of your fan to begin with. if it runs at 500 cfm wide open, its not going to run at 250 cfm at half power...
http://www.greenheck.com/media/pdf/otherinfo/FanFundamentalsMay2005.pdf
look at table 2

Click to expand...

There is a difference. A variac is better for brushless motors. Cheap controllers actually start and stop the motor repeatedly. It can cause more noise and shorten fan life.

A variac controls voltage. Most inline fan manufacturers say not to use the cheap controllers.

They still work but not ideal.

vancouver1234 said:

Hello, Newby here. My set up is a room maybe 6x7 ...7 w.w plants 2 1500 watt LED 1 300 w led, one non air cooled 600 watt MH light. The room is built into the garage and I put the carbon filter up on a bucket ( I know it should be higher) with the fan attached directly then the ducting goes out into the garage, I play around other speeds of exhaust, taped all joints. Why would it still smell? Or is it normal?? Thanks for ur time

Click to expand...

Humidity causes problems with filters.

I would also suggest to oversize the filter. I run a 8 inch filter on a 4 inch fan.