The Ultimate Odour Control Thread
- Thread starter Arrid
- Start date
captainmorgan
Well-Known Member
In most cases,no. It depends on many things like is it sized properly to the area it's scrubbing,temps,humidity,and other particles in the air like dust. If everything is in the proper range you should get at least 2 years with a quality filter in my opinion. If your drawing in air from a outside source it's always a good idea to add a prefilter to the intake.
The Gator
Well-Known Member
Captain Morgan is absolutely right, there are many things that go into filter life. Most filters will last about 18 months to 2 years depending upon the number of plants, odor type, and carbon density (also if you use a pre-filter or not, dust and particulate can clog your carbon). As you learn more about filtration you will get into Mass Transfer Zones, Static, and Airflow. Those will give you a greater indication of how well your filter will work in your specific environment. Im a filter nut so feel free to ask any other question you may have
thump easy
Well-Known Member
Be carefully the third molecule will tear up you lung tissue very toxic I got 2 of them I don't use anymore.. Every round I buy charcoal n refill my filters tap out the taps n nut n bolt it back together for ever new clean air..
greenmonster19
Well-Known Member
What filter would be best with this fan? http://www.amazon.com/LEDwholesaler..._sim_lg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=01TMH5P0DQX1PNVAV1K8
d0rk2dafullest
Well-Known Member
Scrubber exhaust = No more odor. Use a big enough fan to exhaust your size room. If anything use 2 small ones. there are calculations on what cfm fan to use on the scrubbers as well. I always use an 8inch fan, in combination with a 4 foot. scrubber. seems to do the job. have 2 rooms, 1 is 16'x20'. and the other is 16'x16'. each room has 1 8inch max can fan. and a 4foot scrubber. no smells =) also i have negative pressure in both rooms, so there isnt a smell leaking out. pretty awesome really!
killemsoftly
Well-Known Member
If this has already been addressed I apologize.
I read a post where the gent claimed that a carbon filter could be put in an oven, baked for a while and re-used. Has anyone here had experience with this?
The tek on this is that voc's are heated off and the filter is good to go.
Thank-you. Great thread by the way.
I read a post where the gent claimed that a carbon filter could be put in an oven, baked for a while and re-used. Has anyone here had experience with this?
The tek on this is that voc's are heated off and the filter is good to go.
Thank-you. Great thread by the way.
The Gator
Well-Known Member
The truth about Re Activating carbon… there are several methods used to reactive (remove the trapped volatiles / odors) carbon, All of them are highly engineered processes. The proper method for reactivating carbon from a garden environment would be high temperature oxidation in a specialized industrial reactivation kiln. A reactivation Kiln thermally burns off the trapped volatiles at temperatures reaching 1750°F(960°C) with controlled levels of moisture and very low oxygen levels. The process can be dangerous and requires specially licensed facilities and highly trained operators to ensure environmental compliance and safe operation.
Let me know if you have any more questions and ill do my best to help.
killemsoftly
Well-Known Member
Thank you Gator
Wow. Those temps sound like the process has an inherent risk of spontaneous combustion: 'don't try this at home kids'.
A far cry from turning a kitchen oven on, heating it to 400F, letting the carbon 'bake' for a few hours, then cool and being good to go.
Strange, the guy who made this claim was not a bragger (in the sense of how he came across in his post) and, if I'm remembering this right, seemed to have done it a few times.
Hmm..will have to read up a bit on this one it seems.
As far as carbon is concerned, am i correct in saying there are 2 basic types: extruded pellets vs granulated coco? that's my impression. I could be wrong.
What do you think Gator?
Anyone else care to chime in?
The Gator
Well-Known Member
His method works to break the surface of the weakest bonds, and does not affect the stronger bonds. This surface break also allows the odors that he just trapped to then be realesed into his house again, which could potentially be bad depending upon what the smell is. I have added a link to a very quick overview on the 4 types of bonds and also instructions on how to identify them, very broad but gives a beginning understanding
http://www.ehow.com/how_11415535_can-determine-molecule-higher-boiling-point.html
Coal and coconut shell are the two types most common other include bone and wood based. All types have there advantages and disadvantages based on application. Unlike most common filter manufacturers, We use a custom blend of carbons to best address the molecular cocktail found in the indoor growing environment. Not all odor has the same structure so to effectively remove all of the odors you have to make sure your carbon can adsorb the specific odors.
I hope these answers help you out. If you got any more questions, ask away.
killemsoftly
Well-Known Member
This is a very interesting topic and I didn't think it would be. Life's full of surprises. lol
Wondering,even if the 'spent' carbon is emptied from a filter and baked at 500f the heat is, nevertheless, inadequate for our goals?
Don't worry Gator, I will take a look through those links, they look quite helpful.
For now, if you have a bit of time,I just thought I'd take a stab and see if it could be simplified for any and all organic chemistry bone-heads (myselff included lol). I was also wondering what micron range we are talking about here. I used to know a bit of the typical ones like mold, animal dander, etc. Any chance of a brief summary here?
killemsoftly
Well-Known Member
Just one more question: how does anything on that website have to do with whether or not a VOC - range of none to all - is baked off at 500f or 1200f? It's general science and not really something the averaged guy is going to be able to may sense of and use to answer a specific question imvho.
Sure, science is great. I'll trim my question down to: Can carbon from a filter (Can 33-i believe it's extruded but not the size range) be laid out on a cookie tray, be baked at 500-550 F (typical oven) and achieve any result?
Sure, science is great. I'll trim my question down to: Can carbon from a filter (Can 33-i believe it's extruded but not the size range) be laid out on a cookie tray, be baked at 500-550 F (typical oven) and achieve any result?
The Gator
Well-Known Member
We are dealing with pores that are less than .1 micron in opening size. You can measure the distance of the actual carbon particles in .1 micron and not even get to the pores. Mold and Animal dander are 100 times the size of these pores, this is why pre-filters are so important. If mold or animal dander gets adsorbed onto the carbon, closing a pore, then you have effectively removed odor capture potential. I have included a picture from http://www.h2odistributors.com/chart-particle-sizes.asp that is a great chart of different particle sizes with their micron sizes.
That being said the micro-pores and macro-pores we are dealing with have a unique way of capturing material. I have included a picture of how a micro-pore adsorbs odor and other particulates. In the picture you will notice a large teal area that is representative of a dust particle in size relation. Anything above the dashed line is representative of a macro-pore and then below is a micro-pore. The materials inside the micro-pore are odor molecules and other materials adsorbed. You will notice that some pore paths have been blocked by large materials, this prevents more materials from coming into the empty space and being adsorbed. That dust particle that is represented by the teal space would completely block off that pore when attached, Pre-Filters are very important to help keep particulates out of your pores.
I know I went into a little more detail but it kind of went along with the micron question
I was going for a general science answer with that website. Determining VOC’s captured and the range that they become burned off is a complicated process. I used that website as a quick reference guide to give a broad overview that it can be done, and some general steps needed to be taken.
Im going to answer two questions here since they are similar.
Yes, it will achieve a result, but not a significant one. You will notice that your filter responds better over a few days, and this is for a two reasons. You might have burned off some small particulates that have blocked molecular pores (These would be things like dust, if you don’t use a pre-filter). You have also have been able to crack the open the loosest connections of molecules and allow a little more life. So yes you can get a result, but the life of this result is short. Depending upon the heat, humidity, number of plants, you may get a day or two at most and then your filter will be completely spent.
Attachments
redzi
Well-Known Member
Ona smells just like the commercial stuff they put in gas station bathrooms. I love my carbon filter (Active Air) but you cant really have a conversation in the same room without yelling. It is a basic entry level system with a 13 by 12 inch filter and the blower running $200. I have heard that there are filter canisters that you don't have to run the volume of air as with the Active... but it can be expensive and may not last as long because all it is basically made of is carbon impregnated fabric (the DIY above for $30 uses this...I have seen sheets of the stuff for $40 at HomeDepot). If you go DIY take a look at the filter grade carbon that can be found at Ebay...I had no luck trying to make a smaller filter with the stuff they sell at Petco. If anyone has found carbon sheets that work and are reasonable on Ebay or Amazon give it a plug.
The Gator
Well-Known Member
We have a filter that requires less air because of not having a metal mesh. We use bonded activated carbon media and get 100% air contact with the media. If you have any questions please let me know, our website has some great information as well.
hyroot
Well-Known Member
what if you are in the desert and its 110 degrees in the daytime and 80 at night everyday and the filter sat in the trunk of the car for 3 days parked under the sun... or it sits outside.. Very low humidity. for baking carbon.
or how would you go about replacing carbon
The Gator
Well-Known Member
Sadly the desert heat is not enough. We are talking 1750 degrees Fahrenheit in a drum kiln that has a small amount of air in it, and then periodic bursts of 3 to 5 pounds of steam a minute.
You can go about replacing carbon in some filters, you just need to open it and remove the old carbon. Here is the kicker, not all replacement carbon is created equal. Make sure that the carbon you buy is geared for Hydroponic odor removal. We do sell replacement carbon on our site, and many stores carry it or have it on their sites.
hyroot
Well-Known Member
i had a kiln 10 years ago when I used to blow glass. sold it for 1/4 of what I paid for it.