Yet Another DIY Carbon Air Scrubber/Filter

lowryder666

Active Member
Cool design!!!.
Just to improve on your idea slightly I would suggest that each joint be sealed with something like [say] silicone gel prior to screwing. Not all wood is flat nor can be cut 100% evenly so.... just to block the gaps. You wouldn't want, for example, to be sucking smelly air into the "fan chamber" through the joint along the fan chamber and expelling this unfiltered air. Sounds like your's was soundly constructed though, no gaps anywhere :-)
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
Cool design!!!.
Just to improve on your idea slightly I would suggest that each joint be sealed with something like [say] silicone gel prior to screwing. Not all wood is flat nor can be cut 100% evenly so.... just to block the gaps. You wouldn't want, for example, to be sucking smelly air into the "fan chamber" through the joint along the fan chamber and expelling this unfiltered air. Sounds like your's was soundly constructed though, no gaps anywhere :-)

Thanks. It took longer to plan and get the parts together than it took to make the thing from scratch. You're right about the caulking. I thought of that too but wanted the ability to disassemble without any problems from caulked joints. So I used lots of screws instead (I would have probably used lots of screws anyway along with caulking had I used some :cool:). Cheers
 

Hulk Nugs

Well-Known Member
Hey Quick haha tracking you down man shit, this is the only way i can drop a line to you, i guess you dont do messages........anyways was trying to put the DIY Controller together had some question wondering if you could help out ??
 

Troglart

Well-Known Member
i had a question about this, is it better to build a filter with the air being sucked through the carbon filter, or pushed through it, because yours has it set up being sucked through the filted and mines set up to push through
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
sounds like a winner. how often do you think you will need to switch out the charcole ?

Hi OS, I'm guessing twice a year if you're running it full time. I haven't changed it yet though and it;s like a year + now and it still smells fine on the output side.
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
i had a question about this, is it better to build a filter with the air being sucked through the carbon filter, or pushed through it, because yours has it set up being sucked through the filted and mines set up to push through
I could have designed it the other way but I figured that my fan would only be pulling clean air though itself helping to keep it clean and I would only have to clean the intake from the outside front of the unit. If I had configured the fan first then the filter, I would have to take the thing apart to clean the filter intake which would be located inside the unit. There's often more than one way to do things. Hope that helps.
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
Hey Quick haha tracking you down man shit, this is the only way i can drop a line to you, i guess you dont do messages........anyways was trying to put the DIY Controller together had some question wondering if you could help out ??

Hey Hulk Nuts,

I've never put one together myself. I was looking for more direction from the thrads author but he never answered my question for diections on how to hook up to controller. I don't know where to begin. I just saw you question to me. No I don't check my messages. sorry for the the delay.
 

Troglart

Well-Known Member
I could have designed it the other way but I figured that my fan would only be pulling clean air though itself helping to keep it clean and I would only have to clean the intake from the outside front of the unit. If I had configured the fan first then the filter, I would have to take the thing apart to clean the filter intake which would be located inside the unit. There's often more than one way to do things. Hope that helps.
well in my eyes, air being sucked thru the filter makes it possible for any air leaks with flowering smells to be sucked thru also (not saying u got any) and pushed out of ur exhaust, with mine, if my filter doesnt cover the entire exit hole for my exhaust fan then it will also leak smells, that past im not too concerned about though becase i can build a good enough DIY filter to block enough odor of raw weed to say to the only person to smell it, my sister, that its my stash of good bud that i just opened the jar and smoked. What im more concerned about it the fan power if you are sucking it through the filter to the fan, or pushing air through the filter.. like if it loses cfm through positioning of the filter
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
well in my eyes, air being sucked thru the filter makes it possible for any air leaks with flowering smells to be sucked thru also (not saying u got any) and pushed out of ur exhaust, with mine, if my filter doesnt cover the entire exit hole for my exhaust fan then it will also leak smells, that past im not too concerned about though becase i can build a good enough DIY filter to block enough odor of raw weed to say to the only person to smell it, my sister, that its my stash of good bud that i just opened the jar and smoked. What im more concerned about it the fan power if you are sucking it through the filter to the fan, or pushing air through the filter.. like if it loses cfm through positioning of the filter
Any unit has to be tight to be effective and avoid problems such as you mentioned. Mine could be tighter with some chaulking and a couple of more screws I suppose but for the present it's good enough as is.

I built a large air intake and pathway (6x6 in inches approx) so at not to restrict air flow through the charcoal. The pathway then narrows to a 1.5x4.5 inch opening where the air enters the blower chamber. The air is then exhausted by the blower through a 2 in. diameter opening out the back of the blower and through an exhaust opening out the box. Also the exhausted air flow is not impeded by ducting that's too narrow. So when the blower is in operation I believe it's not starving for air nor choking when exhausting.

I'm no expert and used guess work when deciding the dimensions for my design so I can't say that the air flow through my filter is perfect and that it doesn't affect CFM input/output but I tried to make allowance for this factor and it appears to do the job I designed it for. Hope this helps you in your design.
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
Here's some pics of my filter in action so to speak. I added some 3 inch ducting which is connected to a flange that's mounted on the exhaust end of the filter unit. The filter is located up top in my cabinet where it draws in the hotest air. I ran the ducting down to the floor of the cabinet to exhaust the hot air there so as to heat the grow room in the colder months.

The temps are averaging around 80 degrees fahrenheit because the air is not being exhausted outside the cabinet. There is some exchange with room air as I keep the doors open a bit to help moderate temps which can go above 80 degrees if the doors are shut. I shut the doors during the dark period which causes temps to hover around 72 degrees. Heat is generated using a ceramic reptile lamp which runs 24/7.

:peace:
 

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Troglart

Well-Known Member
nice! i have a question(NOOB) can i keep the carban filter inside the grow room or does it have to be outside?
yes, as long as there is room for it in the grow room, and its completely airtight except for the air going into the exhaust fan and the cleaned air coming out of the other side
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
nice! i have a question(NOOB) can i keep the carban filter inside the grow room or does it have to be outside?

Thanks! Troglart's correct. It could be outside too depending on your needs. I configured mine for use inside my grow box to remove plant odor.
 

MoN3yb4Gs

Well-Known Member
I want to come back to this. I like this design. I think I could use it very effectively in my situation.

Nice one Quickset~!
 
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