DIY DIY Micro Carbon Filter

[Dr Fluff]

Hi and welcome to my first tutorial on the Autoflower Net.

I recently decided to build a micro grow cab from an old PC case I had lying around and needed to find a solution on how to filter the funky smell.

So I set to it to build a Micro Carbon Filter.

This is not my first filter build but it is the smallest.

So lets start with the parts I used to build it.

1. Top Left - Activated Carbon Granules
2. Top Middle - PC Case Flexible Exhaust Duct With Flange.
3. Top Right - Mesh Pencil holder
4. Bottom Left - Tights
5. Center - DIY Central Tube made from Perforated Stainless Steel Sheet
6. Bottom Right - Perforated Stainless Steel sheet
7. Bottom Center - Trimmed to fit Rubber Bong Foot & Packing Foam Disk (Both With Centers Removed)

Method

1. I started by cutting the "perforated stainless steel" to the length of the the "mesh pencil holder". The "perforated stainless steel sheet" was purchased form a local store and it's original used was as BBQ cooking screen. I used some heavy duty kitchen scissors to cut the steel shett
2. I then roll it around broom handle and secured it with some short screws. I then took a thin strip of duct tape and secured it around the the top of the tube being careful not to cover too much of the perforations. I repeated this on the bottom of the tub and also covered over the bottom opening of the tube.

Once the central perforated tube was completed, it was time to add some Stocking/Tights/Hose to stop the carbon dust passing through when the air was passing through.

I cut two pieces (the two bottoms of the legs) and inserted one inside the other to give me a double thickness.

I now inserted the the perforated tube in side the double thickness tights and tied a lose knot to keep it in place. Be sure to make it a very lose knot as we will want to untie it later.

Time for the second pair of tights, here the same process as before was performed, cutting off the bottom of the two legs and inserting one in to the other.

I also inserted the tube in to the packing foam ring, which would help centralize the perforated tube when inserted in the mesh pencil holder.

Time for the first part of the assembly

1. First I put the double thickness of tights inside the pencil case. The foot part at the bottom of the mesh pencil holder and the top of the cut tights over the top of the mesh pencil holder.
2. I then inserted the perforated tube and the foam packing ring inside the tight lined mesh pencil holder.
3. The space between the outter tights dust barrier and the inner tights dust barrier (around the perforated tube) is where the carbon granules will go.

Fill the space between the two layers of tights with carbon granules (this is messy and dusty so do it somewhere where it doesn't matter if you make a mess!!)
You will want to tap the mesh pencil holder on the table repeatedly to settle the carbon, thus ensuring there are as few gaps between your carbon granules.The better packed your carbon granules the better your filter will work! I even tamped it down a little more with a piece of wood.
Remember to leave a little space at the top for the plug (in this case the upcycled rubber bong foot).
Once all the compacting of the carbon is satisfactory, it is time to untie the perforated tube tights and pull them over the outside of the mesh pencil case.

 

[Dr Fluff]

Arty's DIY Micro Carbon Filter Tutorial pt 2

Ta da!

It is now time to insert the bung (Hollowed out rubber bong foot)

Now it it is time to secure the tights and bung (rubber bong foot) with duct tape.
Because duct tape is a cloth based tap it tears very nicely.
I take the end and tear the desired width of tape I require and tear it along the length of the roll (see above).
And wrap it around the very top of the mesh pencil holder, thus securing the tights.
Then make sure the bung (rubber bong foot) down as hard as possible so there is no play or movement of carbon granules.
The carbon granules need to be this tight because otherwise air will pass through the gaps and not get filtered!!!
Once the bung is fitted satisfactorily It is taped in place (using extra packing material if needed to keep it tight in place).



The hard part is now over all there is left to do is put the filter in the in the "PC Case Flexible Exhaust Duct With Flange" .
Then the filter is duct taped so there are no air gaps between the filter and the flexible duct with flange.
Now the filter is read to be installed.

The next two pictures are of the finished filter pre-insertion to the ducting.

The next three picture show the flexible ducting with flange for reference.

The conical part of the the flexible ducting with flange was trimmed off as It wasn't serving any purpose.
The flexible part of the ducting (which is concetina'ed up) was wrapped in duct tape as there was no need for it to be flexible.
I only wanted it to hold the filter and make it possible to affix it to the cab.


Finished filter with fixing flange, showing internal air pathway.

External view of filter with fixing flange

Filter installed in the unfinished cab and also showing the air intake fan at the bottom.

Filter installed and a view of the exhaust fan.

The cab nearing completion showing the filter and the intake fan and the exhaust fan.

I needed to be thrifty and creative to over come the obstacles that presented themselves to me when building the filter and other parts of this cab build.

I have shown you how I over came it but it is not an exact science and I had to use my wits to assemble it.

Some of the parts you may be able to find, this is where you need to be creative.

By searching the internet, searching thrift stores of looking through you old junk it is amazing what you can find.

Necessity is the mother of invention, start with an idea and go from there , you never know what is possible until you try.

I had lots of fun making this filter, I hope you do too with ant DIY projects you undertake.

I hope you have enjoyed this DIY tutorial and please ask away if there is anything you want to know.

Thanks for dropping by and all the best

Arty

 

[mohawk warrior]

Heheheheh just what I needed you rock arty

 

[CrimsonGhost]

Looks very nice - seen similar designs, but none specifically designed for micro-grows.

Arty - you mentioned in your OP that you've built DIY filters before. I'm planning my first grow now and definitely need to save some $$.Do these DIY rigs really do the trick? If so, I have a couple other questions - would you mind if I PM'd you with them? Don't want to clutter up your thread.

 

[nhdtjq]

Great - small but effective for a cool room. If you cant find perforated sheeting like that you can use fiberglass mesh for home baking - its sturdy and has smaller holes.

 

[briman]

Great tutorial arty!! you are a DIY wizzard!

 

[briman]

@arty zan I had to report your tutorial and let all the staff see it! Incredible build!

 

[Dr Fluff]

Looks very nice - seen similar designs, but none specifically designed for micro-grows.

Arty - you mentioned in your OP that you've built DIY filters before. I'm planning my first grow now and definitely need to save some $$.Do these DIY rigs really do the trick? If so, I have a couple other questions - would you mind if I PM'd you with them? Don't want to clutter up your thread.

Hi Crimson

This is a thread about DIY Filter any questions you have would be great here.
Posting your questions here means other member with the same kind of question will benefit too!

 

[IndicaIVoz]

Thats awesome dude! and especially helpful to some, as you can't buy stealth carbon filters i believe the smallest is 4"?

 

[Dr Fluff]

Great - small but effective for a cool room. If you cant find perforated sheeting like that you can use fiberglass mesh for home baking - its sturdy and has smaller holes.

I haven't come across Fiberglass mesh for baking buy if it is sturdy sound like it would be ok.
If the holes are smaller there would need to be a lot of them so to allow proper air flow.
Having a sturdy material to build it with is important as you need to make sure the body doesn't flex or deform, as it will be packed with carbon granules.
Any flexing/deformation may mean the carbon doesn't stay correctly packed which could mean improper air scrubbing.
Preforated metal sheet can be easily found on ebay.
For everyday grows in 3' x 3' spaces etc, I just buy off the shelf, for more specialized spaces where buying off the shelf isn't an option, this is when I would build a filter.