Carbon filters... How good are they??

T

TJames

Active Member
Rhino seems a bit of a markting racket. Probably a good filter, but at the end of the day another Chinese product. The fancy RC412 carbon is simply coal carbon. Not as efficient as coconut, and certainly nothing special about Australian coal. NASA doesn't use coal carbon in scrubbers. Coconut was used for decades.

This is why I advocate building our own. Raw materials are readily available.
 
Hettyman

Hettyman

Well-Known Member
I might give that a go, but figured that by the time I have sourced and bought all the bits i need, and constructed it (and risks making a mess of it)... it would probably work out easier to buy a Rhino for £50, as most ppl on here rave about them. Couple of months before flowering though, so i'll see what I decide to do.
 
T

TJames

Active Member
I can certainly understand. Personally I'd rather build rather than buy if I think I can build as good or better. The premium carbon is readily available and the internet full of DIY guides
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
TJames said:
Rhino seems a bit of a markting racket. Probably a good filter, but at the end of the day another Chinese product. The fancy RC412 carbon is simply coal carbon. Not as efficient as coconut, and certainly nothing special about Australian coal. NASA doesn't use coal carbon in scrubbers. Coconut was used for decades.

This is why I advocate building our own. Raw materials are readily available.
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Maybe... However building one to competition standard and filling the thing with enough of the correct grade charcoal/coconut, is a task in its self, why bother when you can buy one from a company that has been making them for over 8 years and has a lot of good REP :) If your confident making one - thats as good as, or better than RHINO then you should work for a Filter company or start your own lol :) I'd hate to build one, spend money and put time and effort into it only to find its whack and you can still smell the FUNK :( So I like many others will tell you do it propperly and its peace of mind knowing the smell wont give you away! - STELTHY :leaf:
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
Oh and NASA is broke lol, One of the reasons they used coconut in their filters is because its lighter - weight wise and the size of the filters were huge.. we need something a fraction of the size and weight isn't really an issue.. I'am all up for trying new things but if I have a Carbon filter that already works perfectly..Iam not going to change it, even if NASA says its rocks! lol - STELTHY :leaf:
 
T

TJames

Active Member
stelthy said:
Maybe... However building one to competition standard and filling the thing with enough of the correct grade charcoal/coconut, is a task in its self,
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. Not such a task. The data on carbon adsorption rates is online, and coal (which every filter that I've looked at used) is not as good as coconut. Also, most companies also use a water filtration size particle. Too small for optimal vapor (air) filtration.

Also I don't buy Chinese
 
T

TJames

Active Member
stelthy said:
One of the reasons they used coconut in their filters is because its lighter
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They used coconut because of the performance. Both weigh 0.48g / cc

Assuming the same size particles, Coconut is 10% higher performance than coal.
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
Hettyman said:
Thanks again. Looks like i'll be getting a rhino after all then, I've got a few weeks before flower stage to save up, and the seedlings are currently in an inside grow using 2x22w CFL blue bulbs with an ordinary desk fan to circulate the air.

The outside room was built by a previous owner and has it's own fuse box and 6 x double plug sockets. Seemed rude not to take advantage of it!! The building itself is timber but was used as a workshop for repairing antique watches and is boarded out like any room in a house, and has 3" of foam board insulation all round.

I've seperated a section about 3'6" by 8', and only now plan for a small grow at one end, which i might seperate using foam insulation board on 2 sides. Currently the inner room is made up of spare chipboard, with an external layer made of swimming pool cover, which absorbs heat and doesn't let it back out. I will be using a 125w CFL to grow flower 4 plants, 2 harvested every month. I also have some home made reflectors using cooking trays that I bought for 50p each (60cent), with each having 2 x 20watt cfl's pushing out about 1450 lumens each, to even the light out.

There is currently a 4" whole cut in the outside of the building, with tight cloth bug screen, on my first grow from cuttings this seemed to help keep the air a little fresher and cooler, but obviously not much.

Oh and due to regular hoovering, disinfecting all surfaces, and leaving shoes outside, combined with every join on every wall, ceiling and window being sealed with silicone, I managed to have a grow bug free :lol:
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In a potential grow-space of this size you'll need more light especially if you want to flower 4 plants... You can do this cheaply though I'd recommend 200w - 400w of light whether it be LED, CFL, or HID.... its not essential but you will get better light coverage if you either A) Paint the walls matt white, B) Put up white plastic sheeting or C) hang MYLAR..

Its great the room will be free from bugs etc.. and if you choose a good filter the smell wont be an issue, what are the ambient temps of the room during the day and night with and without the lights on?

Are you settled for a soil grow or if you could do it cheaply would you consider a variation of Hydro instead? only Hydro grown plants grow a lot bigger a lot quicker :) and its very simple to do :)

What are your thoughts - STELTHY :leaf:
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
TJames said:
They used coconut because of the performance. Both weigh 0.48g / cc
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Is there any proof etc that Coconut offers a better performance... does it clear the smell better? If thats possible? do they last longer? and how much are they? I may buy one just to test it so I can offer my own opinion.. What is a good make of Coconut Filter?

Din't mean to piss ya off, just friendly banter man! But I stick to what I say... I'am 200% happy with the performance of the RHINO filters, I dont care if one handed blind monkeys make them lol, as long as they are the quality they are - I wont be changing any time soon.. However saying that I will test a coconut filter if you can point out a good one that you would recommend?

I take it your using a Coconut filter... how is it? - STELTHY :leaf:
 
T

TJames

Active Member
Iodine Number
  • most fundamental parameter used to characterize activated carbon performance
  • measure of activity level (higher number indicates higher degree of activation)
Coal = I# 1000
Coconut = I# 1100

I have yet to find a filter maker that uses coconut, due to the cost. I'm sure there are expensive filters for labs, but again, if we know the correct screen size (4x6), you can simply buy it online in bulk. Build and re-fill for years. They work amazingly well, I found.

Cost is maybe $15 a filter. Maybe $20. I have built many

Also, sorry that I'm being a dick
 
Hettyman

Hettyman

Well-Known Member
Stelthy - thanks for the endless advice. Just to clear a few things, the light in the picture is simply the single 20w bulb I left in there while I was doing some bits, and I have about 200w of CFL. However I also have a ballast and 600w HPS bulb which I bought on ebay and haven't tried yet. If I can keep the heat down with an extractor then I may use it (don't want the heat from it making my out building glow to the choppers)

Oh and I already bought a big tub of matt white and thats my next job, which will have to do untill I can afford something better. Finally the grow room will only 3'6" x 3'6" soon. That seem big enough for 4 plants??

Finally my first posted pics of my babies, they only arrive as seeds a week ago... already a couple of inches.
 

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Hettyman

Hettyman

Well-Known Member
Stelthy - I've been running a Max/Min thermometer in there for weeks, and on the hottest days its 27 deg C, and drops to 14 degrees on the coldest nights. When I was running 200w CFL on my test run with clones, It reached up to33 degrees. All the plants survived and showed no signs of heat stress, but this combined with the lack on air flow may have been what accounted for my very poor yeilds (also i think i put them in to flower too soon, only 12" tall, but that was just to make space in the veg room.
As far as Hydro goes, i've considered it, but figured I'd get a firm footing with soil first and then with experience and money (seriously on the bread line right now)

Everyone else - Thanks also, I have read all your comments and taken note... this is my first time really posting on here, great response, and well thanks again :)
 
stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
Hettyman said:
Stelthy - thanks for the endless advice. Just to clear a few things, the light in the picture is simply the single 20w bulb I left in there while I was doing some bits, and I have about 200w of CFL. However I also have a ballast and 600w HPS bulb which I bought on ebay and haven't tried yet. If I can keep the heat down with an extractor then I may use it (don't want the heat from it making my out building glow to the choppers)

Oh and I already bought a big tub of matt white and thats my next job, which will have to do untill I can afford something better. Finally the grow room will only 3'6" x 3'6" soon. That seem big enough for 4 plants??


Yeah man use the 600 :) I can help you on-line get that setup running near cool .. or ay least so the ambient temp of the room is no more than 28oC tops :)
Also you can get a chopper stopper plastic sheeting, that's stops the heat Sig and infra red footprint from bring detected by Helicopters and police cams :) - STELTHY :leaf:
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stelthy

stelthy

Well-Known Member
TJames said:
chopper stopper plastic sheeting? There is such a thing?
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Yeah... it has a propper name... I think its called Visculin? I think.. when I next go to my hydro shop I'll get the details for you... I have covered my Cab in it... all except the doors at the front :) The guy in the shop showed me it being tested... He put a 600W HPS in a reflector and elevated it... the covered the lamp+reflector in the sheeting sealed it with ducktape then stood at the other end of the room and aimed a FLIR Police issue infra-red heat seeking gun at it....Result you couldnt tell the difference between the wrapped lamp and an empty grow tent 8 meters apart... So I bought a load of it and covered my cab for extra protection :) - STELTHY :leaf:
 
Hettyman

Hettyman

Well-Known Member
Right from what I have been reading and been told i have decided to make my grow room 3' x 2'6" (100cmx75cm) and approx 6ft tall. Insulate it a bit more, paying particular attention to the roof, and run a 4" fan and rhino filter through the already cut whole (keeping the ducting in straight line and filter right next to fan unit to minimise loss).

I plan to have 6 plants, in rotation to hopefully crop 2 every 3 weeks or so (have seperate indoor setup for vegging) My mate who I bought the 125w CFl set up off grew 6 plants at once, about 4 foot tall, and judging from his descriptoin he got about half oz from each one. The 2700k bulb he (and now I) used is rated at 8100 lumens, but I will be using an additional 3 reflectors using several lower wattage bulbs with 2900 lumens per unit...taking me up to a grand total just under 17,000 lumens.... surely that'll do it??

I may opt for the 600watt HPS at a later date, but I wanna run this 200w CFL set up for a few months first, so I feel more confident with the out buildings electrics...they seem fine, but I didn't fit them, so you never know
 
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