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Carbon Filter Lifespan

NickyChicks

NickyChicks

New member
I've been using a carbon filter on my exhaust for my tent for about 3 months. While I was outside today, I noticed the smell was so inconspicuous. Is 3 months about how long the filters last?
 
I guess that depends on how much you grow. I see we have the same filter and I am on my third grow with it but I only grow 2 plants at a time.
 
Texasbob Good point, I have 8 plants in 5 gal buckets and 2 in solo cups. It's a full tent lol. I was hoping to have it last the whole grow and then some but maybe that won't be the case.
 
My smells the back yard up if I leave the door open for the grow box, just does not pull enough air in. Going to a 8 inch next year and a little better design. But to your question, mine has been in place for a year and still clears the smell well.
 
RagWeedDWC interesting, what brand filter are you currently using? My filter is still somewhat clearing the odor it's just an unusual smell, hard to describe. It smells like bud as much as it doesn't smell anything like bud. It's not overwhelming, but where I'm venting is close to my property line and I'm sure this is potential for my neighbors to get a whiff. I was thinking about just sticking a box of dryer sheets in there for the time being until I get a new filter, a nice floral scent lol. Maybe I can hold out through to the end of the month, hoping to harvest the last week of April but we'll see what my plants say. My neighbors could be stoners too idk them too well , they seem cool enough but I'd hate to be wrong.
 
Air flow, hours of operation, and how much physical crap is being filtered out of the air will all be determining factors. I have seen mine last 2 years before any issues occurred with smell. Your environment will be the biggest influence.
 
For my first grow and start of second i had tried 2 different 4" combos and neither were up to the task. Ok during veg but once flowering started...ahhh no. Halfway thru last grow i bought a 6" fusion breath fan and opted for the freakin massive extra large filter..lol. I'm starting to think that having a filter, with a higher CFM rating than the fan itself, is why its working so good(i cant overload the filter even on full blast). Im in my basement about 15' from 4 plants ripe for harvest and i cant smell um. I run my fan/filter outside of my tent just to be clear...no room inside.
 

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interesting question, and made me think about my setup.

my new (few months in) tent has an extractor fan rated for 870m3/hr, the carbon filter is rated for 1080m3/hr.
so far, no smells and i've completed 4 grows so far.
 
Sounds like that's the way to go, larger filter. I got my fan and filter in a package deal. Vivosun makes some decent stuff but a lot of it is inexpensive which makes me wonder if it's quality + environment. I'm sure both are factors.
 
Well for now I put a box of dryer sheets with a bunch of pinholes in it right into the ductwork. Nostalgic feeling, brings me back to being a teen smoking pot with my buddy and blowing it through a toilet paper roll stuffed with dryer sheets to mask the smell 😂. Hopefully I can make it work until harvest. I'll probably buy a new filter before flowering of my next grow unless it really starts to smell before then.
 
Update.... Ended up buying an 8" filter rated for 710cfm definitely overkill for my setup. Still have some smell outside, not terrible but the box of dryer sheets at the end of the exhaust basically sitting in the window helps disguise it a little. I'm thinking the issue is my setup. The air flows through the filter and that air passes through the light hood, through the fan and then out the vent hose. I thinking the fan is sucking unfiltered air through the light hood because is not air tight by any means and I have a full 4x4 tent. I think if I had an inline filter between the light and fan I could resolve this. However I just ordered all the components to build (2) 2x4 LED strip fixtures and my filter will end up being directly attached to the fan when I start using that light because I won't need to cool the light via the exhaust fan.
 
Sounds like that may be the issue - air suction after the filter, before the fan.

have you a picture of how it fits together?

i show you my exhaust setup as example:
extract fan - Copy.jpg


could you use heat resistant tape (or something else heat resistant) to try seal the air gaps between light & hood?
 
I run separate lines for my filter exhaust and my hood exhaust. Only time I kinda catch a hint of smell is at the way end of flowering a stinky strain. The average smellers don’t catch a hint with the separate exhaust set up.
 
I solved this by first mounting the carbon filter on the exhaust side of my grow box and put a small screen filter at the front. The fan sucks all the air out, and pushes it thru the filter instead of pulling. I would send a pick but its boxed in above my grow space, will when I rebuild next year. I will add a second one at the begging next year also.
 
At this point so close to harvest and the smell is quite faint, I'm not overly concerned. I don't want to risk possibly damaging my plants in the process of trying to seal the light. Given I get all of my parts, I should have my new lights running next month.
 

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