I have a 4 inch inline fan with 4 inch carbon scrubber. I had two plants in the tent. Due to the smell I harvested one plant early in hopes that I could 1/2 the smell from the tent. The plants have been flowering since october first. My questions are as it gets older and flowers does it get louder, in smell? I have had the carbon filter since around july. High Tech Garden Supply This is what I have. http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=54611 that is the tent. Is it possible the carbon filter is going out? The humidity where it operates is never above 50% humidity. It was at the end of last week when it started smelling in the house. I even went back and duct taped again the ducting. I am almost at a place where I might to harvest the second plant too soon in order to keep order around here. Any thoughts appreciated.
Carbon scrubbers last anywhere from 6months to 2 years, depending on the size of the scrubber. make sure that there are no other leaks within the tent and also make sure there is negative pressure within the tent to make sure the scrubber is working properly.
There is a lot of negative pressure, so much so that the tent sucks in, almost like a void on the inside. Does shaking have any effect on the scrubber? Sampled the first plant, althought it probly had 2 weeks left in it, i had to do something. on a good note, that shit is skankolisious.
Sealing duct work. If its not the scrubber, i would have to assume its a leak in the duct tape. I tried duct taping the best i could the way the bends are and the stickyness of the tape, i can be a real pain in the ass.
its probably a leak somewhere in your ducting then if you have that much negative pressure. theres a kind of tape that is extremely sticky and almost acts like a weld between joints of duct work. ask your local hydro shop to help with what they would recommend with sealing up leaks. usually duct tape will work really well though.
I have admitted this was my first time. The inline fan that I am using is on the inside of the tent. after great frustration with the fan and carbon scrubber not really helping, im wondering if it should be on the outside of the tent. the 4 inch inline fan seems to be drawing air into itself, since its on the inside hooked up to the carbon filter, its completely bypassing the carbon scrubber. so my question is instead of having it liek this: scrubber - ducting - infline fan -> ducting | everying is blow out outside tent. and going to: scrubber - ducting - outside tent inline flan that pulls it out.. Do most people put their inline fans outside the tent. I dont know why i didnt stop to think but i can feel the 4 inch fan drawing air through where it was put together. I need some advice even if its obvious, im about to cut down my second plant because for some reason either my scrubber isnt working, or whats more than likely im a retard.
A good carbon scrubber can last you 6 years and longer, even 2 years is short-decent for something cheap or home made. I would say something isn't right in your exhaust/circulation and it's managing to leak air and odor before it has a chance to pass through the carbon, or the carbon itself was very cheap and is already spent. If the room isn't sealed well or the filter hooked up improperly, it will have only a limited effect.
my setup from the inside of the tent: on the end is the carbon scrubber, the ducting to the 4 inch inline fan. and then blown out the back of the tent. if the fan is drawing air into it, through the cracks where it was screwed together, i guess, not being air tight, should that fan go on the outside of the tent?
To put it fairly simple... what you want, is a stronger fan, pulling more air out through the carbon/filter, than whatever force you have pushing air in, which can be lesser fans or passive intake. The best rooms for both environment and stealth, are solid and sealed well, except for strategically placed intake and exhaust outlets.. anything less, and you usually end up with some degree of instability in the environment, and some amount of odor escaping during the 'smellier' durations of the grow.
Thanks for your information. The cfm on the fan is plenty for the size tent that I have. I have to agree that indeed the great strains produce a smell that carbon cannot clean, however being my first grow, i dont think i thought about my setup and here i am nearing harvest. with the recent finding that the 4 inch inline fan of 170cfm, the simple fact that on the fan itself, before it throws the air back into the room, the fan is drawing not only air from the carbon filter but also from the fan itself, bypassing the carbon filter all together. this could be the reason why it seems as though my carbon filter isnt working, some of the air in the tent is bypassing it a great speed.
meaning the inline fan isnt airtight itself. is this common? do most people put the fan that draws air through their scrubber on the outside of a growtent?
The best thing you can do, if it's for whatever reason impossible to solve your odor problem with the carbon by sealing off your room/tent, is get a simple air purification system. I have an ozone/ion machine which completely removes all traces of odor pollution (as well as killing airborne and surface dwelling 'baddies' that are harmful to both us and our plants). I've used it successfully to grow in a high security apartment building without the assistance of carbon, it never left a trace of odor, although I admittedly should have used both systems at the time to cover all my bases. They're usually less than $100 these days and are equipped with adjustable timers, so you can judge the duration it needs to operate for your specific situation.
I'm not sure where the leak is that you're mentioning, but in your mind you should picture your grow space as a contained area, and literally the only air that ever escapes it, should be passing through the carbon.. if this isn't happening, if air is leaking outside that chamber from anywhere else, besides directly through the carbon, then it's a huge waste of your filter because it's likely cleaning the air that does pass through it very well, but it can't be expected the reach the air that is leaking outside the chamber in other ways... so if the carbon is running and trapping odor fine, but your odor is leaking elsewhere, it's like you're running the life of your carbon for nothing. Some photos or a diagram of your system/set-up may help the more industrial members of the site, guide you towards correcting whatever leak it is you have
I dont have the camera right now but i drew a crappy picture. Id like to know more bout the ozone/ion. Would I put it in the tent? Is it ok for the plant? I hope my picture isnt more confusing.