Cheap And Easy Home Made Carbon Filter For Pc Fans

Discussion in 'Do It Yourself' started by GoldGrower, May 29, 2013.

  1. #1 GoldGrower, May 29, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: May 29, 2013
    I'm going to show you how to easily make a carbon filter to use with a pc fan with very little cost.
    this is not the best filter, it won't handle large grows but it certainly works perfectly well for very small grows.

    first off, here is a 120mm pc fan that is in the top of a micro grow box

    [​IMG]

    you will need a couple of square plant pots that fit over your pc fan

    cut the first one down quite short like this

    [​IMG]

    and then the next one quite a bit taller

    [​IMG]

    place the short one over the fan. I cut a small notch out of the rim for the wires to go through

    [​IMG]

    next drape a piece of netting over the pot. I used window fly screen that I had knocking about

    [​IMG]

    place the larger pot over the small one trapping the netting between

    [​IMG]

    staple the pots together all the way around to stop the netting slipping out

    [​IMG]

    you need some activated filter carbon. this stuff as you can see is for fish tank filters. this box is more than enough for this and costs about £1-2

    [​IMG]

    pour it on the screen, you want quite a thin layer otherwise the fan will struggle to push it through

    [​IMG]

    and that's it. I recommend you using an intake fan with your exhaust as a filter puts load on the fan and an intake will help it out

    its easy to change the carbon, you just tip it out and pour some new carbon in. it will need to be changed every few weeks.


    if it's not fully getting rid of all the smell you can upgrade it with another fan, this will allow you to use more carbon in it.

    cut another pot the same as the other two, the height of the pot will need cutting in between the other sizes. but it doesn't have to be exact.

    [​IMG]

    slip this one on top of the others

    [​IMG]

    and then push the new fan in the top

    [​IMG]

    if you can see light through the filter then you probably could do with putting a little more in

    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 2
  2. I like. Very nice and cheap :p Good job
     
  3. thanks mate, I'm quite surprised how good it works
     
  4. Nice!!! Will be building something close to this, must customize for my needs but your post is the sticky!!!!
     
  5. great post!
     
  6. A couple of  issues.  The fans aren't designed for pressure drop and can burn out or won't be pushing air.  That's the wrong kind of carbon for an air filter - there's carbons for liquid and gases.  Where's the prefilter?  You need a cloth or something so you don't coat the carbon in dust and crap (but then the fans will push even less air). 
     
    • Like Like x 1
  7. I don't see your point at all. The opening line states it's not good for large grows. The idea of this is for micro grows that use pc fans for ventilation.

    What do you mean the fans aren't designed for pressure drop? They are designed to cool small spaces. They are universally used for small grow boxes. Check out the micro grow section. There is a shit ton of growers using them

    They won't burn out. How could they burn out? I take it you have never opened them up, there is nothing to burn out. They are brushless.

    That is activated carbon, it's the correct type. In fact as I have already stated it works very well. As you can see by the photos, I have actually tried it so have witnessed the results.

    There is no pre filter, it does not need one because the carbon is re-newed every couple of weeks. It has been designed this way.

    I'm not trying to sell this to you mate. I am just showing how it can be done with minimum effort and cost. it works as explained. If you believe you can improve on the idea be my guest and show us. But your negative points make no sense
     
    • Like Like x 3
  8. thanks! im trying this out.Im starting to have some problems with smell. some days its barely there,while on other days its like...wow.
     
  9. It's amazing how much stink even just a single small plant can throw out
     
  10. Hi,
    This nutone exhaust fan seems to be good according to its functions and is advantegous to use.
     
  11. Gold every time you write, its like hitting the pay dirt!  Great stuff!
     
  12. how do you get the power to turn it on? do you have pics for that?
     
  13. Great idea, i have a load of old pc fans and will deff do this when they start to smell! Buffalo - Pull an old computer PSU and wire them up to that. Or grab any 12v mains adapter plug, strip the wires and wind them onto the fan wires. Or strip the fan wires and duct tape them to a 12v car battery.

    Sililarly i bought a load of light fittings from ebay for £2 each, ive been cutting up old extention cables and kettle leads and wiring them together, its amazing how easy it is to save a lot of money if you DIY :)

    Sent from my GT-S6810P using Grasscity Forum mobile app
     
  14. Nice job Gold!!
     
  15. Hey gold grower does this have two fans or just one sorry a little confused
     
  16. How are you getting power to that fan? I tried taking the fan out of my old PC, but it seems it's connected to the circuit board.
     
  17.  
    Sorry, that's a good question, I've covered that in a previous tutorial. Click this link to view it http://forum.grasscity.com/do-yourself/1185261-how-wire-up-pc-fans.html
     
     
    The initial design shows how to use just one (pushing) , but it  then shows that you can add another one (pulling) 
     
     
    Have a look here http://forum.grasscity.com/do-yourself/1185261-how-wire-up-pc-fans.html
     
    .
     
  18. Gold - Very nice economical setup - perfect for the very small cabinet grow I'm current building!  1 question for you, i realize the pots are square and cut to 4.7" (120mm), but i'm trying to easily locate that size pot and not sure where you picked yours up...Care to enlighten me as to where I might find a few of these things?
     
  19. I bought mine from eBay about 10 years ago. They just happened to fit the fans I had. Are your fans 120mm too ? 
     
  20. I know this is an old thread, but i was looking to make a filter and i found this one.
     
    Got to say i made one the same and it works a treat...
     
    I am growing an autoflower and it was starting to pong a bit but this has sorted out my problem...[​IMG]
     

Share This Page