The smell issue is very dependant on the strain you are growing. I am growing White Castle(White Widow x Ice) and Purple Haze. Both I am sure are going to stink up the place.
I have been growing weed off n on sense 2005 all in dirt... Been growing hydro for 5 months, and really taking it more serious the last few months... Although I never let anyone into my house that didn't need to be, and I only used oscillating fans, and didn't do anything about the smell other than auto timer air freshener... So I do know how strong the buds can smell, and I have a plant 5 weeks into flower right now... This will be my 8th successful harvest.
Well that is great. To each his own. If you are certain that the smell is not an issue then you do not need a carbon scrubber. I, however, cannot take that risk because of where I live. I cannot have any smell coming from my box.
Great DIY! Thanks for this! What carbon did you end up going with? Would you recommend getting a few bags of this: ACTIVATED CARBON AIR SCRUBBER 10LBS CTC60 CHARCOAL - eBay (item 220530807193 end time Feb-21-10 13:11:10 PST) You posted that a bit back in your grow journal, just wanted to make sure you haven't found a better source as of yet. It looks like you can get a break on shipping if your order a few at a time, which seems like it should last about 2 runs if you got 30lbs, yeah?
Well from my understanding you can reactivate the carbon. And yes that is the carbon I would suggest. It is actually made for air filtration and now that I look back on it I should have gotten it. That alone may cost me in the end. I may be forced to buy a can filter if this one cannot control the smell. I will still work on ways to improve it and make it cost effective to make your own but for my safety and those living here I need it 100% smell proof.
Thanks for the info on the scrubber. I modified mine to be a bit simpler. I took 2, 4" to 6" adapters with a cap on the end of one of the 6" ends. My screen went on the inside of the 4" hole which I then covered with the nylon. I then took the other screen and went on the outside of the 6" adapter, covered it with the nylon and then cheese cloth. I drilled a hole on the inside lip to insert my carbon. This thing is the shit. Can't smell a thing. I did install a 6" inline fan that was so strong it sucked in my grow tent. I went to the Depot of Home and got a lamp dimmer with a slider to control the rpm of the fan and works great Thanks again for the basic idea.
Used many of your ideas to build my own as well. Thanks! My original design was a "packed tube" design. Basicly a tube full of carbon with a screen on either end and a blower pulling through. Worked but flow was an issue if larger pieces of carbon weren't used. But a real K.I.S.S. design.
No problem man. Sounds like it could work rather well. My only problem with that is you can only run 2" maybe 3" max of carbon in a 6" tube(I'm assuming that is what you have.) With that it will not last as long because there isn't as much surface area. And it wont work that well with stronger odors. But with a design similar to mine there is more carbon surface area and it will last longer and filter out stronger smells better. Good looking filter Shank. How is that working with it pulling air? I have mine set-up to push through the filter. I am going to be redoing the filter here in the next week or so. My attic is starting to smell more now. It has had a faint smell for a while but it is starting to get stronger as I am almost 2 weeks into 12/12. And it is only going to get worse. I will be sure to update this as soon as I am done with it.
Yep that was the problem. Easy to change... but too frequently needed. So I looked around for better ideas.
Just an update guys, I am now about 2-3 weeks from harvest and this filter has controlled all the smell. I will be putting the correct carbon in it next time so it won't restrict the airflow but it did successfully control the smell for 1 grow.
Hey love that filter. Been looking for a good guide to use in my system and yours looks great. Does it work well? Can you offer a way to modify the filter to be installed in-line rather than at the end of the line? OKay I have some advice. Put the fan at the end of the line and have it blowing freely into the attic ... that way it's pulling the air from the grow through the filter rather than pushing. You'll get more efficiency out of your fan and it will put less strain on it. That fan is meant to pull air anyways.
I am actually using a bought filter now. I did not pack this one good enough. With the right carbon and a better end cap this filter would work wonderfully. Pulling through the filter also required it to be inside your grow room.... I do not have the room inside my grow to do this so I am pushing through it. My fan does rather well and I dont even have it turned up halfway.
If you are looking for NEW activated carbon for VERY cheap, you should check out this site. Way cheaper than amazon and e-bay. free s&h...link: My Products
what happened to the pics?, i wud love to try this but really need visuals as well as written instrutions cheers