moving into apartment - need advice on ventilation

hey folks,

New to this board and need some advice, shortly i'll be moving into an apartment and planning on having a small closet setup, I've got everything I need, my only concern is going to be the smell, i'm not sure the exact measurements of the closet but have seen it and could easily fit 10-15 plants. I was wondering if I could use this exhaust fan to shoot the air out from the closet through a carbon scrubber

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Nutone-696N-50-CF...QQcmdZViewItem

I haven't come up with exactly how I want to install the fan into the closet but I had an idea of putting together a small wooden box just to install the fan into and running a tube from the exhaust duct attaching it to the carbon scrubber which would then either run back into the room, or out of the window(just to be extra safe). From what I understand I shouldn't have to worry about the air coming out of the carbon scrubber, if made properly it should filter out almost all the odor, correct?

Not new to growing indoors but didn't have to worry about stench as I grew in a house out in the country, so carbon scrubbers and other types of filtering i'm somewhat new to, I never had to research.

I've attached pix of the setups of the apartment, not sure which one it will be as it depends on which will be available once i'm able to move, but the bedroom closets are the same size.

Feel free to rip my idea apart if you don't think it'd work, I want to make sure it's as stealthy as can be. All comments/ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
bears

That 50 CFM fart fan is not really going to help a lot - I wouldn't even bother with it. I use a 110CFM fart fan in a 59x15x30 cabinet, and its barely adequate. Plus they are really loud unless you spend a bunch of money for a quiet one.


A 4-inch hose coming from the closet out the window is not going to be very stealthy ;). Are you on the top floor? The bathroom has to be ventilated since there is no window in there - any chance you could use that ductwork for the end result? ie cut a hole in the closet wall into the bathroom, then install a vent register or something so it looked clean?

What type and how many watts of lights are you planning to run? 10-15 plants seems a little ambitious and will definitely need some form of odor control

what type of fan would you suggest I use? I wouldn't be depending on the fan to dispose of the smell itself, i'd be leaning on the carbon scrubber to get the job done, just using the fan to shoot the air into the carbon scrubber to filter out the air. A hose running from the closet through the window I admit wouldn't be very stealthy, but this isn't for sure what I was planning on doing, i was just brain storming as to what I could do. Would it be a better idea if I put together a cabinet placed beside the window? I don't have to hide anything in the bedroom(thats where its going to be taking place), my only concern is the smell. For the lights, I have 5 400's and a 1000, but obviously not going to use them all lol, I haven't really decided as to what i'm going to use, all depends on how my setup ends up coming together. If anyone has any thoughts as to what I could do, feel free to post. If anyone has any ideas, let me know, as my mind isn't made up on what i'm going to do, right now i'm just brain storming more than anything.

thanks,
bears

and also, 15 plants is pushing it space wise, I really think i'm only doing around 9-10 being the closet isn't huge

bears

Well... you could lower the ceiling in the closet - seal it off and vent it up out of the grow area...

Basically put up a false ceiling a couple of feet below the real one, making the closet a little shorter, but 2 individual sections - Then hang your lights and such from it, and vent out above that to exhaust the heat/smell.. I've had to do similar when dealing with vaulted ceilings

You can get a really powerful, quiet fan, and connect it between the carbon filter and the light, so it pulls through the filter - I'd recommend a cool tube style - then the light is being cooled with the de-stinkified air and you can route it all out through one exhaust hole and you have warm non stinky air

yea man i see where you're going with this,

how about:

this for intake?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Dayton-Blower-265...QQcmdZViewItem

and this for exhaust

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Vortex-4-Inline-F...QQcmdZViewItem

willing to spend cash to keep stealth

i'm assuming i'd need to pick up 4" ducting for this setup

do you think i would be better off putting together a cabinet? just seems like less of a hastle to me, what do you think?

thanks for your input i really appreciate it,:D

bears

Word of advice from someone who grew their 1st grow in a similar sized apartment: your closet is not going to be your best bet. I grew in a full sized walk in closet in soil in fairly large sized pots. I put a base board down for water and dirt spills and used the back clothes hanging dowel to hang the 400w HPS from with chains. I also used the other portion of the closet as my closet so it still had my clothes in it.

So it was my first grow, a good experience but I have to tell you, the venthilation issue was a major problem and my yield was crap. So if you can, I would recommend something along the lines of what you were thinking and make a custom box and vent it out the window. If you are really set on the closet I would recommend the same -- build a grow box and vent it out of the closet. The humidity and heat are what fried my plants during flowering causing the resin glands to rupture. Also --don't put a hole in the ceiling .. bad idea.

thanks for the reply, and I think thats what i'm going to do, build some sort of box

This is what i'm thinking, building a 4'x4'x7' box sealed with silicone + screws, covering the inside of the box with penguin paper, put an exhaust fan at the top pushing the air through a carbon scrubber and adding a passive intake hole about 4"-6" round very close to the bottom for fresh air, sound alright?

just wondering about a few things, can I use just about any type of wood? I want to spend the least I have to, but if needed, i'll spend the money. I was thinking about using around 180-190 CFM exhaust fan(has to be powerful enough to run through the scrubber) does this sound efficient? and should I use an intake fan or should the hole be enough? Anything else anyone can recommend me doing? thanks in advance for replies, i appreciate it:thumbsup:

bears

ah shoot, i forgot to add i'm planning on running a 400w setup, I have a few 1000w bulbs but i'm assuming it'd be too powerful

beas

check out the rubbermaid container box thread, I just red it and am thinking of pulling mine out of the closet to but in this type of box. reely cool. chk it out.

Have your exhaust fan pulling the air through the scrubber, not pushing it through.

I would simply get a high capacity can fan and vent with no scrubber directly into the sewer. yep the sewer. I've been venting that way for years now... untracable, cheap, and highly effective

A couple of those floorplans show a solid square in the closets. That could very well be a ducting route to the roof.. That'd be sweet if you could just Y into an exhaust duct.