Ok, so i have a 3x5x4 box. i had three 4 inch inline fans for exhaust. on the end of each one i had one of these scrubbers.... http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-roo...cheap-easy-efficient-diy-carbon-scrubber.html i know 3 scrubbers is overkill but i had odor problems at first and my room mate complained so i decided overkill was better than underkill. anyway, my box keeps hitting dangerously high temps (upper 80's and as high as 90). anyway, i discovered that there is barely any air being pushed out of the exhaust fans due to the carbon pellets at the end. I tried taking out all the pellets except just enough to cover the screen and that didn't help. so i decided to buy an 8 inch duct fan that pushes out over 400 cfm. i wired it and it was strong as hell. then i added the scrubber to it and the fan barely spun. apparently the air is hitting the carbon and pushing back and the air is actually being pushed out of the fan backwards and the air being pushed through the filter is about as strong as the 4 inch fans. so.... any suggestions? especially suggestions that will allow me to use existing fans and not have to cut or plug holes in my box? i HAVE to get more air pushed through my box. how does the carbon mat compare to the pellets if i cut that to fit? thanks in advance for your help guys
Maybe you should replace the pebbles? Or if you trying to eliminate smell do the same scrubber but instead put a scented filter made out of something like a simple air filter in the end as a replacement to the pebbles? Just my input. I'm new to growing though. Hope it helped
replacing pebbles wont help unless i can find some that are larger and let more air through. that may be a possibility.... i dont want to use a scented filter since they tend to morph with the pot smell and produce a terribly nauseous odor. i tried plug ins before i finished my scrubber and the smell was sickening. in addition to the 3 scrubbers i have 2 odor neutralizing machines. i will admit these work amazingly well but not well enough to do away with the scrubber. they are in place to pick up what the scrubbers miss. its looking like the chicken wire filters with the matt wrap are getting a decent amount of sucess. i may have to try that. thanks for your input though. good luck wiht your own grow. i'm by no means an expert but have made a massive amount of mistakes, if you have any questions let me know, maybe i can help out. anyone else want to chime in?
If you have a good fan and enough RH, upper 80's and even 90-95 is not too hot to grow. I had a very successful first grow many years ago with temperatures that often hit 100. The key is to dial everything else in so problems do not compound. I'm not sure what to say about the carbon scrubber. If you built it to spec, it should work perfectly. All of the carbon scrubbers I've built restrict airflow minimally, so I have no experience with which to advise you. Do you have a picture of your complete setup? Wouldn't hurt to take a look, I suppose.
thanks for the reply. i didn't know high temps were ok under certain conditions. is the most important factor humidity? its just frustrating since i'm using a 250W hps and 4 cfl's and cant control my temps when others are using 1000W systems and have no problems. i'm on my lunch break now so i'll go snap a few pics bu i wont be able to upload them until sometime after work. i'd appreciate any feedback you can give me. this is my first grow after all so i'm completely open to suggestions
The most important factor is constant exchange of fresh oxygen. The more CO2, the better. Is your hood air cooled? Is your 400 CFM properly exhausting air through your scrubber first, then hood, then out the cabinet?
My plants are in the last couple weeks of flower and are constantly at around 88F. Not I deal but they still look great. My speed controller went out last night and they went hours in 96F conditions. Opening my grow area it felt like an oven but they still looked great and showed no signs of stress.
haha! wow you're gonna be dissapointed when you see my box. i am pulling in plenty of fresh air. i have placed the intake and outtakes so they run over the hood, not sure if thats what you mean by hood cooled or not. the exhause is pulling straight out of the cabinet and into teh scrubbers. i took some pics and i'm working on posting them now. let me know what you think and what i can do to increase the effeciency without having to mod my box too much more thats good. my plants are hovering around low 80's most the time cause i leave the doors cracked, but when its sealed it hits 90. so far my plant looks healthy but i'm worried since i just started flowering
here you can see the main chamber. on one side i have 3 intake fans. on the other i have 3 exhaust fans. i used projector fans because they were pushing more air than my 4 inch inline fans. but at the top you can see the 8 inch fan, that is only running at about 1/4 speed due to the scrubber constrictions. here are are the scrubbers http://img218.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=41576_IMG_0076_123_244lo.jpg&loc=loc244 here's the cfl's and teh plant. she looks lonely in there all alone doesn't she? (no worries, i just started germinating 4 more (trainwreck, G13 and super skunk) http://img252.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=41579_IMG_0077_123_450lo.JPG here's my hps http://img28.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=41583_IMG_0078_123_938lo.JPG two of the 3 intake fans http://img140.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=41591_IMG_0079_123_925lo.JPG 3rd intake fan (projector fan taken from a projector at work) http://img164.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=41595_IMG_0080_123_757lo.JPG here are my exhaust fans. http://img156.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=41603_IMG_0081_123_990lo.jpg
Here are your problems bro. Those types of fans are loud but do move air when no loads are added but any load will make them work like shit,real centrifical can type fans wont bog down 1/10th what they will. Using pelletized carbon is key to free air movement in DIY filters IMO. Your fixture being vented in and out and sealed would be a HUGE help as well. Unfortuanetly your just not exchanging enough air to keep temps down. Try two of those fans inline or three with a passive intake and see but IMO your going to need to get some good fans or one decent one to load a CF especially a poor flowing DIY one like that. GL OCI
i wondered why the centrifugal fans were so much more expensive..... apparently there is a reason. Thanks for the feedback. i guess i need to get my hands on a better fan. oh well, thanks again! how do the centrifugal fans work? any specific ones you suggest, preferably 8 or 4 inches so i can use the existing holes in the box.
They actually compress air and can be used to push or pull with great results,they come in 4",6" and 8" and i use Vortex brand. 4"=168 cfm @$130 6"=460cfm@?? 8"=747cfm@$200 Get a real CF for best results.
You can use the 4"High output or the 6" with the 33 filter. The filters are kinda heavy so it's gonna cost in shipping -or price if the shippings free- V V V -This seller also has the 6"HighOutput Canfan for $176.00 free shipping. I jumped on 2 of them because thats cheap as hell. CAN-FAN 4 INCH HO 178 CFM INLINE FAN FREE SHIPPING - eBay (item 130013898032 end time Jun-19-09 07:29:41 PDT) CAN-FILTER 33 200CFM HYDROPONIC ODOR CONTROL FREE SHIP - eBay (item 110363106987 end time Jun-10-09 09:40:18 PDT) CF Group :: Canfan, Canfilter CF Group :: Canfan, Canfilter
I use a can 50 which uses 46 lbs of carbon with a vortex HO 8" fan with a speed controller in a 4x8x7 tent. Paid $190 for the fan locally Paid $150 for the CF Both were price matched at a local hydro shop,they have MASSIVE mark up so they can do what they want, Find one which will deal and stay with them.
first i would recommend fixing the air leaks especially in the door seal this will make a world of difference. This can be done using a modified refrigerator door gasket or a role of flat magnetic strip stapled or glued on the outer edge of the door and on the box where the door meets. this method works awesome for a 100% leak free seal. then remove the current fans and seal there holes , then create a passive air intake on that side of the cab. this can be achieved buy drilling some hole along the bottom and inserting several down turned pvc pipe elbows. also you could cut a lot of your heat buy getting that light ballast out of the box there are plenty of techs online for a diy remote ballast. if you do go that rought than why stop there why not make your self a cool tube, there are also alot of diy cool tube techs. making a cool tube is fairly easy the most important part is the tube wich is made from a pyrex glass bread baking tube can be found on flebay for like 10bucks. next conec the cool tube on one end using dryer vent duct then out to the vortex fan and then out to the scrubber. i have also herd very good things about using the carbon scrubber in combonation with a air sponge or simmilar thing. happy growing homie