Goal: Filter that delicious stink from all enclosures with one fan and one carbon filter. Why: This all started out of necessity because I bought one big tent and one big fan and filter but once I got my tent I realized it was way too big for the room it was going in. So I kept the damn tent (6'x6'x6' its still packed up in the basement) and picked up 2 smaller tents that were 4'x2'x5'. Now I didn't want to spend more money on another filter and I wanted a perpetual grow going so I couldn't use my flower tent as a drying box and needed another location for drying but I also needed to filter out all of the odor from my drying box too. I started thinking about ways to solve this issue and came up with a central scrubber for all of my enclosures. Here is the equipment used - Two 4'x2'x5' Lighthouse Hydro Tents https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0078P341C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 One 440 CFM 6" Inline Fan w/ Carbon Filter (was $157 now $110 son of a bitch)http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZJNW3Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 One 6" Duct Tee Junction http://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-6-in-Round-Tee-T6X6X6/100160351 One 6"x25' Flexible Duct Tubing http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-6-in-x-25-ft-Flexible-Aluminum-Duct-FL0625-4/100252513 Six 6" Worm Clamps (or duct tape) http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-6-in-Galvanized-Steel-Worm-Gear-Clamp-MC6HD/203626509 One Rubbermaid ROUGHNECK 37 Gallon Tote http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-37-Gal-32-2-5-in-x-20-2-5-in-x-18-3-5-in-Hi-Top-Storage-Tote-FG3A00H2MICBL/100347929 One roll of duct tape - You don't need a link for this. It's duct tape! So it ended up saving me money in the end because I don't need to buy more filters for each enclosure and with a big enough fan and filter, you can link more enclosures if needed. Here is a diagram I made while still pondering solutions to my problem. Now that my girl was stinking up my house, even in veg, it was time to put the design into action. Start off with your big ass filter in your big ass tote. Lay it on its side to make sure it fits in your tote. (I didn't lay it on its side in this pic but I did earlier, I swear) I went with a Rubbermaid tote because I was unsure how moisture would affect the wood. I didn't want the wood to absorb the moisture from the humid tent and create a breeding ground for mold. Next, trace your duct and prepare to cut your holes. You will want one on each end. You will run your duct through these holes and connect one end to your filter. You will use the worm clamps to hold the duct to your filter and tee junction and fan etc. You want to make sure you have your duct secured to your filter because we will be sealing the tote and you wont have easy access to it if it falls off. You could always make a box with a hinged door for maintenance but this was low cost and I won't be needing to get into it any time soon. Feed your duct into one end and attach it to your filter. Duct tape the shit out of the hole you cut so it is air tight. This is vital. You don't want allow any air into the box other than way of duct. I taped both sides just to be sure no air would leak. You will connect your fan to this end. You will connect the other end to your tee junction. The tee junction will connect to your enclosures. Put your lid onto the tote and duct tape that as well. You don't want any air leaking into the tote. You will lose suction and the efficiency of your fan pulling air from your tents will drop. I don't have a pic of the lid taped to the tote. I keep my scrub box in my attic so I punched a hole into my ceiling and ran it to my box. You can see the negative pressure on my veg tent and I even have it unzipped! The fan is on the lowest possible setting too. 440 CFM was more than enough for both tents and a drying box. I could add more if needed. Now all that's left is to attach a Rubbermaid tote (my drying box) to my flowering tent on the right via 4" duct using one of the ports on my tent. It will then draw air from my drying box into my flowering tent and then up into the scrub box where the air is cleansed and expelled. Things to consider Make a better box with a hinged, but air tight, door for maintenance. Weather stripping can be used around the door for an air tight seal and a simple hook and loop lock can hold it closed. Another thing you might want to do, you can place your filter on blocks to allow air to encapsulate it completely. Something like this - That's it. Now you can clear the stink out of all of your enclosures with one fan and one filter. My grow room has a light smell of brand new pool toys (that new plastic smell) and fresh water but I miss that skunky smell. If you have any questions about the build just ask and I will try and answer them.
I finished building it last night as well as cutting the hole in my ceiling. (there goes my deposit, nah should be an easy patch job since I kept the circle). But it sucked all of the stink out of my grow room and the entire upstairs floor of my house.
Yeah man. I didn't want to pass the air from tent to tent for a few reasons. I wanted the freshest air to get into all enclosures and humidity going out of one and into the next would be a pain in the ass to control. Heat too. Im pulling the heat from the lights out and I don't want to transfer the heat. This basically acts like each tent has their own fan and filter, they all get fresh air from out side. The summer shouldn't be any different than if it were just a single tent setup. I also have a window AC unit for that room if it gets warm. Yeah the wye would have been more efficient since all air is flowing to the single port. I may switch it up since the only things holding it is a zip tie and a worm clamp. Still have the receipt
Yeah mon. Sometimes you just gotta put it together and see. You're on it though. I love improvements!
Good job on the design man. no smells from the veg or flower eh. what'd ya use to cut the rubbermaid?
No smell at all now. The fan was pulling a decent amount of air even on low so I know it will be able to clean the harvest box air when the time comes. Just bump up the speed controller for the fan. A box cutter sliced it like butter. Super easy to cut a round hole. Just go slow because a slip can slice pretty far into the tote.
If the tote was slightly bigger, I coulda tossed the fan in there too. Line it with sound deadening material for a super quiet air scrubber. Its in my attic so I cant hear it anyway.
I know this thread is super old, but I have a question. I'm thinking if doing samething and was wondering if it would work with 2 different tent sizes? One tent is 2x4x6ft, the other is 4x4x8.
Glad it is working for you, I will comment that a T is definitely a major reduction in efficiency. if you require more flow may I suggest something along this line to replace the t You the mount a box, and mount your fan to the box. In fact you are making a vacuum in the box, and not creating resistance drawing thru the T You can build a wooden version as well.
I am not sure of the proper name it's one I had left over. Any have hvac shop should be able to help you out.
Curious, is the purpose of the Rubbermaid container purely for sound or is it serving another purpose?
It has a purpose. Since the filter only has one end, you suck the air into the container from both tents, then that air goes through the filter and exhausted out
Thanks. That was one of those things that when you said that I went back and completely misunderstood how part of that was setup. It all makes sense now. Thanks!
I made the same setup and it wasn't quite working for me. So I set it up where I am pushing air through the filter instead of sucking air. Much easier to setup and works much better. Basically run a duct from each tent into a wye, right after the wye, have the fan, and from the fan push that air into the carbon filter. No need for the Rubbermaid container.