# carbon filter - must vent out??



## highstandards (Nov 12, 2009)

do you have to vent a carbon scrubber outside of your room? 

I want to set up another CGE (cosed growing environment) using a fan blowing air through the lights and an ac to control any other heat issues. 

I also want to run a carbon filter. I would just use it on the exhaust from the lights, but the lights are going to have a closed ventilation system, taking fresh air form outside then dumping back to the outside. 

Can I just set the carbon scrubber up in my room with both intake and exhaust being contained? Like a "scubber"?

I thought this was fine, but when I started looking at filters, I noticed some say "recirculating" and some do not. 

Do I need to get a specific type of carbon filter to recirculate the air within my room?

Will this create any problems?

It is a 12x12 room and i want it ZERO smell. How big of a filter do I need? I like overkill... especially when it comes to preventing that smell.

thanks guys!


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## tokinman (Nov 12, 2009)

> It is a 12x12 room and i want it ZERO smell.


let me know when you figure out what works. i have NEVER seen anything get the smell to 0. i would say on a scale from 1-10 1 being 100% no smell, the best i have seen is about a 3(that is using a carbon filter and inline fan rated for 454cfm and the room is about 216 cf). then again, it depends on the strain.. some strains don't stink too bad.. others smell like you killed a family of skunks when you get a few feet from the house lol.


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## natrone23 (Nov 12, 2009)

Yeah just leave it freestanding in the room, it will continusly scrub the smell.

get a vortex and a carbon filter i don't know the exact size but you know one of those like 4ft tall ones the BIG boys


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## highstandards (Nov 12, 2009)

natrone23 said:


> Yeah just leave it freestanding in the room, it will continusly scrub the smell.
> 
> get a vortex and a carbon filter i don't know the exact size but you know one of those like 4ft tall ones the BIG boys


thanks! Ive got a 850cfm centrifugal fan that I would like to push through the filter with in my room as a scrubber as long as someone experienced can confirm that this will work for my purposes. 

with a sealed room, 850 cfm and a large carbon filter continuously scrubbing the air, it should be pretty low on the smell-o-meter especially being a sealed environment, im hoping.

Where to order one of those big boys? and which one is best?


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## damnbigbudz (Nov 12, 2009)

will someone explain this whole scrubbing thing to me. I have a 1000watt HPS in a 4x8x7 tent with a carbon filter. Sorry for jacking you thread  ill +rep you though


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## dgk4life (Nov 12, 2009)

dont need to vent it out u can just use it to recirculate the air.. i use my carbon scrubber wit a 6 inch vortex fan.. it totally exchanges and expells the air in my room 2x a min .. also i use a passive air intake sytem good luck wit yours


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## highstandards (Nov 12, 2009)

dgk4life said:


> dont need to vent it out u can just use it to recirculate the air.. i use my carbon scrubber wit a 6 inch vortex fan.. it totally exchanges and expells the air in my room 2x a min .. also i use a passive air intake sytem good luck wit yours


how does it work for killing smell? I would use a passive intake also, but I want to run co2


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## highstandards (Nov 12, 2009)

baiscally scrubbing is just running the air in your tent through the carbon filter over and over again, "scrubbing it" without ever venting it out of the room

also, what is a good place to order an extra large filter from?


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## dgk4life (Nov 12, 2009)

if u run co2 then u would not want to vent out or have passive intake.. co2 i believe requires a sealed room.. which brings up another problem of heat


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## dgk4life (Nov 12, 2009)

this is how my room is set up


air comes in from vents----gets drawn across grow room taking hot air wit it--- through prefilter into carbon ----- up through fan --expelled out ducting into other area

this provides me wit a smell free environment as well as keeping my temps down


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## highstandards (Nov 12, 2009)

dgk4life said:


> this is how my room is set up
> 
> 
> air comes in from vents----gets drawn across grow room taking hot air wit it--- through prefilter into carbon ----- up through fan --expelled out ducting into other area
> ...


yea, I had to make a choice: 

use passive intake with fan on lights to cool lights and vent carbon filter out and create vacuum to suck new air in through passive intake

or

go sealed and use co2 and use wall ac to cool room and use carbon filter to scrub only

Im gonna go sealed. How big of a filter and how many cfm would you recommend?

Im going to vent the light separately

thanks man!


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## dgk4life (Nov 12, 2009)

depends on size of your room figure out the cubic feet first


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## highstandards (Nov 12, 2009)

dgk4life said:


> depends on size of your room figure out the cubic feet first


it's going to be 12x12x10.5 = 1512cf

so with my 850 cfm fan it would scrub the air every 2 minutes. id this enough?


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## dgk4life (Nov 12, 2009)

no u want to scrub the air at least once a minute


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## highstandards (Nov 12, 2009)

dgk4life said:


> no u want to scrub the air at least once a minute


got it, thanks man!


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## dgk4life (Nov 12, 2009)

no prob +rep is cool too


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## TCurtiss (Nov 12, 2009)

I am growing out of a fridge in my garage

My brother is my test subject, he does not smoke and it passed his test - no odor

I have a 165 cfm fan pulling the air through the filter


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## damnbigbudz (Nov 12, 2009)

ok but how do you get the air from the carbon filter back into the fan? do I have to put it in a box? I made a picture so you guys could see if I have it right. because I would love to be able to seal my tent up (is that even possible?) and use co2. also does this lower the life of the filter?


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## dgk4life (Nov 12, 2009)

u can seal up your tent as long as temp aint an issue


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## damnbigbudz (Nov 13, 2009)

dgk4life said:


> u can seal up your tent as long as temp aint an issue


gotcha, so When you seal it you cant even have a window air conditioner pumping air in?


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## super2200 (Nov 13, 2009)

damnbigbudz said:


> gotcha, so When you seal it you cant even have a window air conditioner pumping air in?


If you "pump" air in I believe this would cause a positive air flow and would push the smell out instead of being passive and pull air in. Its better to force the air out than force the air in. someone may explain in more detail, I am just starting my morning buzz after calling out today so Im a bit hazy


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## highstandards (Nov 13, 2009)

damnbigbudz said:


> gotcha, so When you seal it you cant even have a window air conditioner pumping air in?


the window ac units dont bring outside air in, they just recirculate the air in the room. The only remove heat from the room.

If you go sealed, you'll most likely need a window ac to keep things cool since there is no cool fresh air being allowed in the environment


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## MacGuyver4.2.0 (Nov 13, 2009)

damnbigbudz said:


> gotcha, so When you seal it you cant even have a window air conditioner pumping air in?


 
OK... a few things to consider here:

The purpose of using CO2 with your inside grow is to elevate the CO2 level ABOVE that of normal atmospheric levels- which is approx 387ppm. ( IF you start pumping in more OUTSIDE air you are only diluting the CO2 level you were trying to build up. 
And yes, with CO2 you def need a very tightly sealed room with NO exhaust running or you just waste your money. What you need for a selaed CO2 fed room is cooled light hoods that either have really cold air from outside or your A/C source. You can then exhaust that air out thru a separate vent so you don't pull any air out of your sealed grow room area. 

Also, if you go the CO2 route, you REALLY need the room sealed. Were talking Silicone caulk along all wall joints, cracks, etc. CO2 is heavier than O2 and it will sink to the floor (more on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide)

If you have selaed your room correctly, you will need a CO2 controller to maintain and purge the room as well. If you were to walk into a highly CO2 enriched room (think 10-20,000ppm) the O2 level has dropped enough to possibly render you unconscious and kill you. 

Also, with a CO2 enriched room the plants can endure a higher ambient temperature for longer periods of time.

Summary:

1. Room has to be SEALED correctly
2. You have to have CO2 Gas, NOT liquid!
3. You need a good quality CO2 controller
4. CO2 controller controls the CO2 level (enrich)and then controls the exhaust (purge) cycle.

Unless you follow rules 1-4 don't bother with CO2 as you're only wasting money. 

Hope this clarified a few things for you, Good luck on your grow!


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## mindatlarge (May 13, 2010)

I would go to your local grow store and consult with the staff there. Chop it up; you'll find what you need. If you order online for these grow room supplies, you get ripped off, straight up. At least 50-100 dollars more than my connect...


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## R2F (May 13, 2010)

The best option I've found for cooling a sealed room is using a Split AC.
Think of your big house AC, but instead you have a 1.5 ton compressor, 2 tubes from the compressor to the fan unit inside, and the blower on the inside of the room. This way all heat from the compressor stays outside the house or outside the garage. Also, once you have it set up, any regular air conditioning guy can service it without going anywhere near your grow.

Heat from lights is handled by having your air intake coming from outside the room, seal the ducting at the wall or roof, then your can fan which is pulling air through all your sealed reflector enclosures and vented again through the duct that exits through the roof. This way the light's environment is separate from your plants' environment and you can maintain 1100-1300ppm CO2.

I go through about 1 20lbs bottle of CO2 per month. It saves a ton of money to spend the time and energy from the get go making sure your room is essentially a sealed clean-room.


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