Weird smell

Ta2d1031

New Member
Hi, I have a vortec s8 inline fan drawing through an 8x24 Phresh inline carbon filter. When it's turned on it makes my room smell like a wet dog. Any advice
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
Filter is brand new out of the box , RH IS 40% AS soon as I turned on it stunk

Could be a "new filter" smell, could be something growing in the filter (you have no idea how it was stored before you got it, I no idea how long you've had it before opening the box, so many variables), could be something in the ducting.

Take the filter off, run the fan, see if there's any smell. If not, then look closer at your filter as that's the source of the niff. It might just need a while with air blowing through it to clear it, might be a bad filter, can't tell without physically getting a whiff myself as even the interwebz doesn't have smell-o-vision yet (thankfully, or the number of fart videos that would appear on YouTube would make things reach "toxic" level).
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Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
if it seems like its coming out of the filter, you can bake them. as long as your filter isn't bigger than your oven, stick it in there at about 300 for a couple of hours. it'll probably make your kitchen stink for a little while, but air it out. anything growing in your filter will be gone, and the smell should follow soon after
 

Bernie420

Well-Known Member
if it seems like its coming out of the filter, you can bake them. as long as your filter isn't bigger than your oven, stick it in there at about 300 for a couple of hours. it'll probably make your kitchen stink for a little while, but air it out. anything growing in your filter will be gone, and the smell should follow soon after
300 might be to high. 150 would be better if you try this. This does dry out a wet filter but you need to do it slow. And if you do keep an eye on it rotate the filter. I used aluminum foil taped around the door opening as mine was a bit to big to fit in the oven to keep the heat in. It can catch fire from the heat as it is just charcoal and from first hand experience you dont want that to happen as they are a bitch to put out. Better have a fire plan if you do this


To the op you dont have a wet filter just new filter smell. Thats how you know its working if you dont like it and are not exhausting by your grow dryer sheets help get rid of the carbon filter smell or a glade air freshener.
 
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Ta2d1031

New Member
Could be a "new filter" smell, could be something growing in the filter (you have no idea how it was stored before you got it, I no idea how long you've had it before opening the box, so many variables), could be something in the ducting.

Take the filter off, run the fan, see if there's any smell. If not, then look closer at your filter as that's the source of the niff. It might just need a while with air blowing through it to clear it, might be a bad filter, can't tell without physically getting a whiff myself as even the interwebz doesn't have smell-o-vision yet (thankfully, or the number of fart videos that would appear on YouTube would make things reach "toxic" level).
.
Lol true. Thanks
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
How are you smelling it if your pulling air thur it is my question. If setup correctly you shouldn't smell it unless your not venting outside.
Something fermenting in the filter itself, especially where the filter joins the fan/ducting?

You're then pulling air over the nasty bit and, voila, everything's sent out in glorious pong-o-rama.

Had something similar when someone stored airco filters in a "less than suitable environment", the cardboard boxes were rotten with damp and he stuck the filter in despite the warnings he was given.

It didn't stay in for long.

You can also be looking simply at "storage time", just because it's fresh out of the box doesn't mean it's actually "fresh" and most do have some sort of shelf life as they can take in moisture from the air. Go beyond that limit, stinky time.

So many variables, but mostly when I've seen the stink in airco with new filters it clears in a couple of days of operation as things get killed off by the air movement. Sometimes, however, it doesn't and the only option is to get a new filter.
 

Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
Something fermenting in the filter itself, especially where the filter joins the fan/ducting?

You're then pulling air over the nasty bit and, voila, everything's sent out in glorious pong-o-rama.

Had something similar when someone stored airco filters in a "less than suitable environment", the cardboard boxes were rotten with damp and he stuck the filter in despite the warnings he was given.

It didn't stay in for long.

You can also be looking simply at "storage time", just because it's fresh out of the box doesn't mean it's actually "fresh" and most do have some sort of shelf life as they can take in moisture from the air. Go beyond that limit, stinky time.

So many variables, but mostly when I've seen the stink in airco with new filters it clears in a couple of days of operation as things get killed off by the air movement. Sometimes, however, it doesn't and the only option is to get a new filter.
I never seen where he said he stored it. He said it’s brand new. Plus if he smelled it as soon as he turned it on sounds like he’s pushing air through the filter.
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
I never seen where he said he stored it. He said it’s brand new. Plus if he smelled it as soon as he turned it on sounds like he’s pushing air through the filter.

Neither did I, I gave an example of how it can happen. He just said it was fresh out of the box and, as I said earlier, we don't know how it was stored or whatever before he bought it, or how long he's had it, and so on.

And pulling it through means that anything in the filter/fan set up doesn't get pulled through the filter so anything from where the filter joins onto the fan/ducting is, effectively, unfiltered. That's why I say run things without the filter and if there's still a niff then it's not the filter that's the problem, there could be something else lurking in the system, especially with flexi-duct if the fan hasn't been running for a while and has allowed condensation to settle.

Without being able to physically get up close and personal with the setup, it's all guess work but things can be eliminated as the cause.
 
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