Carbon Filter Setup Suggestions On My Cabinet Grow!

[jcal03s]

Hey guys! First post on here but not my first rodeo with growing. Still a bit of a noob, but they say third time's a charm right? Here's the current setup.

Two intake fans running slightly less CFM than the output. I realize now I could have done passive intake and probably would have been fine

This will the my second time using this cabinet, but previously it was in more of an open air environment. Where ONA products did just fine masking the smell. I fear now though that things are gonna get pretty dank in here real quick, and I'm going to have to do a carbon filter retrofit soon.

It might be possible to fabricate something above the LED light prior to the output fans but there's also room for making something happen behind them.

There's also a window behind the sheet that I could duct out of with no problem.

I'm kind of torn on which route to take. Should I buy a manufactured filter, or make my own? Any suggestions would be more than welcomed!

I have a good feeling about this one and the ladies are looking very happy thus far
And yes, the heat in my house is 1000 years old lol

 

[JuanCarlos]

Carbon filters aren't that much, so I would buy one. What size are those two holes in the back? personally I would probably plug one of them, use the other as the exhaust, possibly enlarge it to 4" or 6" and just run ducting>fan>carbon filter venting to the room.

 

[jcal03s]

Carbon filters aren't that much, so I would buy one. What size are those two holes in the back? personally I would probably plug one of them, use the other as the exhaust, possibly enlarge it to 4" or 6" and just run ducting>fan>carbon filter venting to the room.

Thanks for the response man! Holes are just under 5" (because of the fan size being in mm). I really like the idea of plugging one up. You think venting right to the room would be better than ducting out the window? Also, if you have any suggestions on what brand of a filter to buy that would be fantastic.

 

[JuanCarlos]

Thanks for the response man! Holes are just under 5" (because of the fan size being in mm). I really like the idea of plugging one up. You think venting right to the room would be better than ducting out the window? Also, if you have any suggestions on what brand of a filter to buy that would be fantastic.

Ok, a 6" duct fan can be bought for $25 shipped from Amazon, then get a router speed controller for another $20. Cut your hole to 6" and use a flange from a local hardware store to attach 6" ducting. Carbon filters? Phresh and Rhino are two that come to mind. You could duct it to the room or out the window, that's up to you.

 

[jcal03s]

Ok, a 6" duct fan can be bought for $25 shipped from Amazon, then get a router speed controller for another $20. Cut your hole to 6" and use a flange from a local hardware store to attach 6" ducting. Carbon filters? Phresh and Rhino are two that come to mind. You could duct it to the room or out the window, that's up to you.

I'd really like to avoid cutting at this point, just because of the location and where I'm at in the grow. I may just flange a 6" duct on to the 5" hole. VenTech makes a nice 6" inline fan and controller that I can use, and it seems like Phresh has the best product reviews as far as filters go. Is this one too big for my application? Also wondering if I can send less CFM than it's rated for through it with no problems.

 

[JuanCarlos]

Ok, here is my advice. For no cutting, get a 6" to 5" duct reducer. That will put less resistance on your fan as well. That carbon filter is not too big, you can always put less CFM through a carbon filter, never put more. I am not sure which Ventech setup you are speaking about, but their $25 duct fan would be plenty for your grow. Unless you put the carbon filter inside the cabinet or outside the window I don't know how you would go about venting outside.

 

[jcal03s]

Ok, here is my advice. For no cutting, get a 6" to 5" duct reducer. That will put less resistance on your fan as well. That carbon filter is not too big, you can always put less CFM through a carbon filter, never put more. I am not sure which Ventech setup you are speaking about, but their $25 duct fan would be plenty for your grow. Unless you put the carbon filter inside the cabinet or outside the window I don't know how you would go about venting outside.

I might put the filter inside the cabinet, although I've heard "pulling" through the filter, rather than "pushing" through it also puts more strain on the fan. Good call on the duct reducer, I'll definitely be doing that. I'm assuming this is the fan you're talking about. With a controller, which appears to be compatible.

 

[JuanCarlos]

I might put the filter inside the cabinet, although I've heard "pulling" through the filter, rather than "pushing" through it also puts more strain on the fan. Good call on the duct reducer, I'll definitely be doing that. I'm assuming this is the fan you're talking about. With this controller, which appears to be compatible.

Yep, that's what I am talking about. Those two should get the job done just fine for your size cabinet. I think with the little bit of space you have in the cabinet and all that space you have behind it, I would be tempted to go ducting>fan>carbon filter and just slap the fan and filter behind/on top of the cabinet. You are using LED so you won't have that much heat coming out and it keeps everything inside the house for maximum stealth.

 

[jcal03s]

Yep, that's what I am talking about. Those two should get the job done just fine for your size cabinet. I think with the little bit of space you have in the cabinet and all that space you have behind it, I would be tempted to go ducting>fan>carbon filter and just slap the fan and filter behind/on top of the cabinet. You are using LED so you won't have that much heat coming out and it keeps everything inside the house for maximum stealth.

Ordered all he necessary components today and will be doing an install on Friday. Thanks for the replies! Always helpful to get a fresh perspective.

 

[JuanCarlos]

Ordered all he necessary components today and will be doing an install on Friday. Thanks for the replies! Always helpful to get a fresh perspective.

No worries man, I really enjoy the cab setup/venting design. Wish more people would have chimed in because it's always good to get someone elses perspective.

 

[DeanB]

Personally, I would move the electrical cluster either higher or to the outside of the cabinet. They look like they would get in the way after awhile and there would be no little lights on in the dark.

 

[Emilya Green]

To keep smell from leaking out of your cabinet, you will need to keep a negative pressure inside, so whatever pressure that a fan/filter combination can achieve, your input should be slightly less. You always want to pull dirty air through the filter and out, and the most efficient way to do this is to mount your fan right on top of the filter and then push the cleansed air out of your cabinet. Fan life should not be as much of a factor to you as efficiency. A fan/filter combination should fit up there in a corner above the LED just fine, and up there it also will take out heat that collects at the top, making this fan/filter accomplish two jobs at once. I would shy away from the cheap inline fans, and actually get a good 400cfm fan that can handle this job without stress and that has a warranty. Personally I like the Vortex fans with their 10 year warranty and the Max Pro Series that are recommended by Can-Filters and I use both in my tents.

 

[jcal03s]

Personally, I would move the electrical cluster either higher or to the outside of the cabinet. They look like they would get in the way after awhile and there would be no little lights on in the dark.

Yeah I was considering moving it up for those reasons exactly. There isn't actually any lights on the whole strip which is really nice

 

[jcal03s]

To keep smell from leaking out of your cabinet, you will need to keep a negative pressure inside, so whatever pressure that a fan/filter combination can achieve, your input should be slightly less. You always want to pull dirty air through the filter and out, and the most efficient way to do this is to mount your fan right on top of the filter and then push the cleansed air out of your cabinet. Fan life should not be as much of a factor to you as efficiency. A fan/filter combination should fit up there in a corner above the LED just fine, and up there it also will take out heat that collects at the top, making this fan/filter accomplish two jobs at once. I would shy away from the cheap inline fans, and actually get a good 400cfm fan that can handle this job without stress and that has a warranty. Personally I like the Vortex fans with their 10 year warranty and the Max Pro Series that are recommended by Can-Filters and I use both in my tents.

Yes, negative pressure was already achieved with the current fan setup, and it will remain that way with the new setup as well. I think 400 CFM would be a little overkill for the specs of the cabinet, I can easily change out the air x3 every minute with 240CFM. Heat really isn't much of an issue either with the LED. My temps stay between 75-80 almost always. A little high for veg, but not detrimental. I have heard that it's better to push the air through the filter rather than what you suggested, but you're obviously much more experienced. Keeping the fan inside the cabinet would also reduce the noise too, which would be nice.

 

[Emilya Green]

The nice thing about these Max-Fans is that they can include a 3 speed switch, making them perfect for a small area and upgradable if you increase your growing space some day. As far as pushing vs pulling, logically, would it be more efficient to use the power of the fan to pull from the entire surface area of the filter, or from the 6" opening at the end of some ducting? More air flows by pulling, and with the added advantage that if any leaks develop in the system, the leaks are outputting filtered air. When you push, any leaks are leaking dirty air.

 

[jcal03s]

The Max-Fans do look really nice. Sadly though I already purchased the fan and controller I linked earlier. They should work fine with the enclosure I'm working with now. The logic with using the full surface area of the filter and the air leaks makes a lot of sense. Will pulling through the filter at a lower CFM than it's rated for put stress on the fan though? Or is the filter rated UP TO a certain CFM?

 

[Emilya Green]

The Max-Fans do look really nice. Sadly though I already purchased the fan and controller I linked earlier. They should work fine with the enclosure I'm working with now. The logic with using the full surface area of the filter and the air leaks makes a lot of sense. Will pulling through the filter at a lower CFM than it's rated for put stress on the fan though? Or is the filter rated UP TO a certain CFM?

no clue, but i would rely on the fact that the fan is pretty reliable... you will go through many years of filters before you wear out one of these fans.

 

[jcal03s]

The Phresh filter just came in the mail after work today, and I'm kind of shocked at how large the outer diameter is! It's freakin heavy too! Amazon did a fine job of not providing the correct dimensions. Are all 6" filters going to be this big? Should I return this and get a different one that is lighter and fits better? I don't even know how I would mount this thing. I'd have to fab a metal cross piece and bolt it on to the cab to handle the weight. Any suggestions are welcome lol. Pictured below next to the ladies for scale.

 

[Emilya Green]

see what you can do... when they really start stinking, you will appreciate having this much carbon. You should see the huge filters that I use!

 

[jcal03s]

lol ok, I'll give it my best shot. Going to have to seriously reorganize things in there! Didn't come with a prefilter like it said it would. Will I need one?