So as promised here is the build log of my DIY Carbon filter/extractor for my pc case grow box build. Links to both are at the bottom of this post
Reason for the build, is I needed a carbon filter (obviously) but due to my limited space needed a bespoke filter/extractor, and I have seen a few examples of these all over the web and my thought is surely activated carbon pellets 'should' provide more effective scrubbing and last longer than the cooker hood filter route. Anyway enough talking here is my guide/build log
Parts needed;
3 x 120mm pc fans
Fine steel mesh
Aluminium tape
Carbon pellets
LED driver (power dependant on number of fans used)
wire (to wire everything together)
Mounting hardware bolt/threaded rod (150mm-ish long threaded bolt 5mm diameter and matching nuts to tighten everything together)
Heatshrink tubing
fan cover/grill
garden wire (the thicker version of the stuff we use for training our ladies )
Tools;
Drill
Drill bits to drill out the fan mounting holes (size will be dependant on mounting hardware)
Dremel or similar to remove the 'guts' of the fans (I used a hacksaw blade btw)
scissors/knife
Fans;
I found a steal on the popular auction site and managed to grab myself 3 Artic F12 fans delivered for ?10 plus I already had one from a previous project with cost maybe ?7 brand new.
the fans arrived and 2 of the 3 fans were screwed (the listing did say used but didnt say broken ) good thing I only wanted them for the shell/casing
Mounting hardware;
Remove these from 2 of the 3 fans;
And your left with these;
Measure your steel mesh against your fan casing and cut out 2 screens;
Drill out mounting holes to match bolt/threaded rod diameter, in my situation i had to use a 5mm drill bit. You might want to wiggle the drill a bit once you are through as it makes the hole slightly larger than 5mm and the bolt goes through easier. I have found hss bits work well with the plastic but be careful its easy to split the plastic. Faster speeds seemed to work better than slower speeds and I think makes splitting less likely.
Make holes in the corners of your cut-to-size steel mesh, make sure to line the sheets up with the casing first! and feed the bolt/rod through the screen and into the fan casing.
mount the second casing onto the bolts and push it right upto the first casing, and the wrap all the casing in aluminium tape but leave the mesh uncovered.
Now I dont have anymore progress pictures im sorry I kinda zoned out to get it finished so i could go to bed haha, so I will try my best to explain the rest of the process.
Pour the carbon pellets into the casing sandwich
Then place the second mesh over the bolts and sandwich the carbon in the middle of everything, then tape it all down again, then you want to put the fan guard sat on top of the mesh - this stops the mesh bulging out when tipped (pro-tip put a fan guard on both sides of the mesh otherwise you have to ghetto-rig some garden wire to hold the mesh in place and stop bulging.)
Put the 3rd remaining intact/working fan over the bolts and screw the nuts down, dont tighten all the way you need a little clearance for the blades to spin. also check fan direction as this will determine if you are pushing or pulling air - personally im going to pull air through filter
For mounting I cut a piece of carboard to the side of the pc case front panel and cut a hole the size of the filter in the middle, wrapped it in alu tape and used zip ties to mount it in the case (the final mounted pictures will explain more)
For the driver i chose an 'IP67' model if its not really rated well....at least i tried, but seriously if you try any of this yourself please buy quality parts, I have cheaped out of pretty much everything but im comfortable with my build and should anything bad happen well its my fault. I dont condone anyone trying any of this but I would like to see your builds
Now find a suitable spot for your driver, mine is inside the case;
Once you have determined the driver location, route all your cables, make sure you have enough cable, extend as needed, positive to positive negative to negative, I wont go into the wiring too much as if you reading this I would assume you have a decent enough electrical wiring experience/understanding to know what to do...But anyway I chose a constant 12v driver with 1.25A current, my fans need 12v 0.35A each and im currently running 2 one for this extractor build and another for air circulation inside the case, so if needed I can add at least 1 more fan (possibly to add onto the front of this extractor, kinda a push-pull setup)
Wire everything up and boom a diy carbon filter is born
Thanks for reading, any questions fire away. Look forward to your thoughts bros
Pc case build here;
https://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-foru...D-strips-3500K
Light build;
https://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-foru...B-series-gen-2
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