I bought a carbon filter that is supposed to be good for my fan. The fan is doing 285 m3/h and the filter is for 310 m3/h. The filter is a bit more than a month old... The problem is you can still smell it outside of the grow room... I have only 3 plants flowering atm but the smell is noticeable. Does anyone have any suggestions? This is a picture of the setup, the fan is not just standing in the air, it's screwed in with 4 screws:
what size line are you using? looks like 4 inch? in any case it would seem you have a filter that is under sized for "real" odor issues. rule of thumb on these things, air flow calculations are fine, then add 30% to the filter size no matter what the manufacturer says. i use a corona ozonator 10" along with a 12"x42" mountain fresh carbon filter attached to a 500cfm fan. without the ozone the carbon filter will last 2 years or so, with it i can get about 5 years out of this setup, but my point is it takes a large filter to keep up with bud. i would, if possible, triple or quadruple the size of that filter.
The flexible tube is 5 inch (as is the filter and the fan) but the thing is that the exit hole of the room is 4 inch so it's not going all out as it could. The filter is already working on at least 30% less load as it's supposed because of the smaller opening on the room. Too bad when I asked 2 months ago everyone said it's ok (I linked this filter and fan on this site), and the store also said it's ok that filter for that fan. I guess the next time I'll order a much bigger fiter...
Try wrapping the entire length of your tubing with duct tape etc. Pay extra attention to the connection points. Some people prefer gorilla tape, but I prefer the aluminum type because it isn't affected by heat or humidity. You would be surprised how much stink can come through gaps, especially the length between the filter and fan.
reducing the exhaust will reduce flow, which actually aids your filter, not make it worse. it also is harder on the fan. carbon filters are a tough area to match, since not all filters are of equal quality. this is why i always recommend over sizing the fan and filter. in this way you're enhancing it's design threshold, instead of reducing it and also you can always use it on a bigger grow later on. like Dude3.0 said above, check everything for leaks since bud is very potent it''s important to eliminate leaks in the grow. sorry about the poor advise you received.
What dude3.0 said! That and Id like to add, that not all carbon filters are created equal. I bought one from htg, and then another from amazon to save some money. They were basically worthless. Cann and fresh are two names that are worth every penny.
I have to agree with ubersoldat. I also bought an HTG filter and it worked for a month or two. After that it was pretty much worthless. It couldn't even keep the smell down while my plants were vegging. If your filter is not made by Can or Phresh, then that is the reason why it does not work. My Phresh Filter costed over $140, but it has been working nonstop for two years now with zero smell.
+1 for the HTG and cheapo filters being junk. If stealth is important, spend the money on the good stuff.