How long does a carbon filter last?

Pinktiger777

Pinktiger777

Well-Known Member
I’ve been switching them out in my big tent once a year, which means a new one for my next grow. But this time it failed to last that long. My grow is so strong the smell gets through somewhat. It’s been a nightmare because I’ve had workmen here doing a few things. Don’t want this problem. So, is it my filter, or do I need a second filter? Thanks for any advice.
 
Yes, you'll need a new filter. I remove mine when odor control is not a necessity, and put it into the oven for a few hours at 250°F to dry it out. It's then sealed in a plastic bag. It's lasted for a year and a half of use over the past three years.
 
Thanks, @Old Salt . I wondered about adding a second filter, also, with the new one. How does one hook up two filters?
 
The easiest way is probably one in the tent at the fan intake, and a second out of the tent at the exhaust.
 
I get about a year of heavy use out of my two big 3' can filters. After that I have learned how to empty the carbon out, clean it and reactivate it, and then pack it back into the filter canister. I have been using these same filters for about 5 years now and have only had to buy a little extra carbon to add back in after the cleaning process loses 5% or so. By having two of them, I can always have fresh clean carbon in the one not currently in service.
When I have a particularly stinky run, I have found that in addition to the filter installed in the top of the tent scrubbing the air coming out, that I can sit a second filter in the middle of the room with a fan on top of it as a secondary filtering system in the room. This effectively stops the stink and you never would be able to tell that I had a large stinky grow op going in the basement.
 
What’s your cleaning process Emilya? I boiled a bunch of used carbon a couple years back - haven’t gotten around to trying it yet.
 
Weaselcracker said:
What’s your cleaning process Emilya? I boiled a bunch of used carbon a couple years back - haven’t gotten around to trying it yet.
Click to expand...
I fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/3 full of dirty carbon pellets and then attack it with the garden hose. It takes a lot of water, but eventually the carbon will stop fizzing and bubbling and throwing off ugly yellow smoke... just keep adding water and stirring with a big stick.
It takes me 3 rounds of this with the bucket to get all of the carbon washed. I do this on the driveway and when the neighbors are not home to wonder what in the world I am doing. After all of the carbon has been washed, it needs to be re-activated. This takes heat. I could use the oven but my life partner has trouble with that, so I use the outside gas BBQ grill to heat the carbon up to about 500° for 10 minutes or so. You want to get the carbon hot enough to re-open the pores, but you want to stop just before the edges start turning to ash. You will lose a little of the carbon weight in these two processes, so purchase about 10% extra carbon to throw back in at the end.
It takes forever for the carbon to cool down, so be patient, but eventually you want to carefully pack it all back in the canister. Go slowly with this, shaking and rotating and rattling the canister as you add the carbon so you can be assured not having air pockets. Run the newly cleaned filter for 5 minutes while shaking it a bit to blow out the powder that you created, and you are good to go for another year.
 
Is the odor coming out of your grow space because the carbon filter is pooched... or because you are moving more air through it than it is rated for? Any leaks in the duct work? Are you just trying to remove the odor with that setup, or are you also using the same one to remove the heat from the grow? If the latter, that'll shorten the life of a carbon filter (especially if that hot air is humid).
 
Emilya said:
I fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/3 full of dirty carbon pellets and then attack it with the garden hose. It takes a lot of water, but eventually the carbon will stop fizzing and bubbling and throwing off ugly yellow smoke... just keep adding water and stirring with a big stick.
It takes me 3 rounds of this with the bucket to get all of the carbon washed. I do this on the driveway and when the neighbors are not home to wonder what in the world I am doing. After all of the carbon has been washed, it needs to be re-activated. This takes heat. I could use the oven but my life partner has trouble with that, so I use the outside gas BBQ grill to heat the carbon up to about 500° for 10 minutes or so. You want to get the carbon hot enough to re-open the pores, but you want to stop just before the edges start turning to ash. You will lose a little of the carbon weight in these two processes, so purchase about 10% extra carbon to throw back in at the end.
It takes forever for the carbon to cool down, so be patient, but eventually you want to carefully pack it all back in the canister. Go slowly with this, shaking and rotating and rattling the canister as you add the carbon so you can be assured not having air pockets. Run the newly cleaned filter for 5 minutes while shaking it a bit to blow out the powder that you created, and you are good to go for another year.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks. I boiled mine for an hour or two on a large cauldron over a fire. The fumes coming out of it were nasty. I’ve repacked my filter with new pellets a couple times but haven’t gotten around to using any of the boiled stuff yet. Sounds like I should probably bake it first too :)
 
Hay fellow growers, I haven’t seen this mentioned before, but when I smell pot growing I just reverse the ends of my carbon filter and it usually lasts twice as long, along with washing out the prefilter sock.
 
Lol I’ve got a new one coming. What do I do with the old ones? There’s a dumpster behind the city police office. We dump it there in the middle of the night after wiping it down.
 
TorturedSoul said:
Is the odor coming out of your grow space because the carbon filter is pooched... or because you are moving more air through it than it is rated for? Any leaks in the duct work? Are you just trying to remove the odor with that setup, or are you also using the same one to remove the heat from the grow? If the latter, that'll shorten the life of a carbon filter (especially if that hot air is humid).
Click to expand...
I have a 6inch fan 440 cfm for a 2 x 2 x 6 ft tent.
 
I use leds and tent temperature stays about 71F. Water temp 68.
 
Emilya said:
I get about a year of heavy use out of my two big 3' can filters. After that I have learned how to empty the carbon out, clean it and reactivate it, and then pack it back into the filter canister. I have been using these same filters for about 5 years now and have only had to buy a little extra carbon to add back in after the cleaning process loses 5% or so. By having two of them, I can always have fresh clean carbon in the one not currently in service.
When I have a particularly stinky run, I have found that in addition to the filter installed in the top of the tent scrubbing the air coming out, that I can sit a second filter in the middle of the room with a fan on top of it as a secondary filtering system in the room. This effectively stops the stink and you never would be able to tell that I had a large stinky grow op going in the basement.
Click to expand...
You are so crafty! But it sounds like a lot of work. So I buy new. I’m lazy.
 

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