Which placement is better for a carbon filter?

I have seen a very similar thread on here explaining this but I cannot find it. I even tried searching it and googleing it. Is it better (more effective) to push air through a carbon filter or pull air through? When I googled it I found a lot of people saying to pull it, but from the thread I saw on here it explained why pushing is better. Which placement is better?


From my understanding, pushing air through will more evenly distribute the pressure in which it exits. That is why the arrows are evenly thick in the 2nd diagram. Thanks!

i always thought its better to pull?

I dunno lol. It kinda makes sense tho..if you're pulling air through, its going to pull air through the filter closer to the fan...it wont be as evenly distributed. If you push it through there is always positive pressure throughout the whole filter.

drawing on some physics classes, I'd tend to agree, but I do see an awful lot of people sucking through theirs...

do a google search, sucking is WAY more affective. If u suck, u create negative pressure if ur intake is small, this creates a vacum without messin with the blower to much. Pushing however makes positive pressure and forces your blower to work harder. Even beyond that, pulling air is just more affective, its been proven many times.

trust me, do a google search, this is a pretty well documented fact.

WhiteWidower123 said:

do a google search, sucking is WAY more affective. If u suck, u create negative pressure if ur intake is small, this creates a vacum without messin with the blower to much. Pushing however makes positive pressure and forces your blower to work harder. Even beyond that, pulling air is just more affective, its been proven many times.

trust me, do a google search, this is a pretty well documented fact.

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You're right, I also read plenty of times that pushing air through the filter will cause it to wear out faster.

I also read on many sites that A carbon scrubber is used to push air out of. The carbon filter is used to pull air from. These aren't facts but from months of reading, researching, and experimenting, I also agree that pulling from a carbon filter is more effective.

The effect on the fan itself is 100% spot on. Same thing happens in water systems, which I have a lot more experience with.

If you want to push air out of it, then you should look into a carbon scrubber. A Scrubber will need a stronger Fan though, with higher CFM ratings.

pushing air is not a good idea, id really suggest u pull...
pushing air makes ur fan work harder, isnt as affective, and can lead to odor leaks...

pull the air don't push it

If you have the space inside grow area then pull if you don't have the interior space than push..

Sir. Gonzo said:

If you have the space inside grow area then pull if you don't have the interior space than push..

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you can have an external exaughst just as easily as an external intake...

Pull it is. Thanks everyone you really clarified it for me.

travist said:

Pull it is. Thanks everyone you really clarified it for me.

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another thing to consider that i didnt see anyone put is the Outer filter is on the OUTSIDE which means the filter was designed to pull air though becasue if you where to push air though then the outer(first) filter would now be the LAST filter which isnt how it was inteded to be ran.....You want the air to pass through the dust and dirt filter then through the carbon not through the carbon first then through the dust and silt filter that dosent even make sense.......so just by design it tells you how you should be using it..

Aren't we pulling and pushing? Pulling air through the filter to the fan and then pushing from there forward? I have been pulling through the filter and everything is working fine.

Moss Man said:

Aren't we pulling and pushing? Pulling air through the filter to the fan and then pushing from there forward? I have been pulling through the filter and everything is working fine.

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yes but at that point it is already past the filter thus still making what i said still correct....You want to pull air through the filter because for one thats how it was designed to be used thats why the first filter is on the OUTSIDE if they wanted you to push through the filter they would have put the first filter on the INSIDE.......

Moss Man said:

Aren't we pulling and pushing? Pulling air through the filter to the fan and then pushing from there forward? I have been pulling through the filter and everything is working fine.

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yea... but thats not the point at all... if u set the fan up to take air out of the room and "push it out" then its PULLING from the room and pushing out (we dont give a shit about the outside, our grow room is our WORLD, if a fan is taking air out of our world, its pulling, we dont care about outside our walls. if its blowing air into the room, its pushing air in, again, we dont care where it comes from.... think of it in these terms...

Just a quick side note I had noticed from a similar thread. By pushing air through a filter it can move the carbon and make a spot with no carbon and less resistance. Not sure on the science behind the concept just referencing another thread. A question that goes along with this topic is which is better A carbon filter/scrubber which most ppl seem to use or and organic filter such as this 6 Inch Triple Layer Single-Pass Charcoal Fiber Filter..http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/inch-triple-layer-singlepass-charcoal-fiber-filter-p-2365.html
The organic says it uses a monthly cleaning regiment to keep you filter going for years? of use. It also says that you can either push or pull through the filter.
Any advice as I'm in the market for a filter/scrubber to go into my coca cola grow box. I liked the look and size of the organic as i'm running in limited space, but if it is ineffective then it isn't worth it

Don't bogart that joint, my friend,let's roll one just like the other one and pass it on over to me

****Med Patient in NM****

FootClan said:

yes but at that point it is already past the filter thus still making what i said still correct....You want to pull air through the filter because for one thats how it was designed to be used thats why the first filter is on the OUTSIDE if they wanted you to push through the filter they would have put the first filter on the INSIDE.......

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Yeah, after going deeper into the topic this popped up and makes sense 100%. I never knew that the outside layer was a prefilter until then either so now it all makes perfect sense to me.

haha your welcome..........thought this thread was dead.....