Controlling smell during initial dry

Finostofind

New member
A basement closet proved perfect as far as temp/RH last fall. I did not anticipate and plan for the level of stank though, and that was a liability. Thinking of building a box to hang my branches in that would be outfitted with a couple computer fans to keep air moving and scrubbed by a small DIY charcoal filter. What do you folks do?

Thx
Ftf
 
I live with the smell, which I like. It is legal here though, so I have no worries about that. When I was growing some years ago in Southern Oregon, I masked the smell with garlic which I also cured in the late summer/early fall.
 
Thanks folks.

Have to look into that "Neutralizer". Tis a bit expensive but so is the alternative! Or, I can take up garlic farming. :D

Ftf
 
I have a separate chamber that has all the equipment to be a flowering room, sans the light.

So standard filter+extraction fan combo, pond liner on the floor etc. etc.

Just left out the light and hung up some strings from wall to wall. Voila, my dry chamber :D

If I ever have the need, all I would have to do to make it a veg or flower chamber is hang up a light.


If you don't have that luxury...

Basically it's the same as grow and veg, really no adequate substitute for a filter+fan combo.
If you can't have a dedicated filter+fan combo, then you are back to what is always the method:
Things like Ona gel, stronger smells in general to mask the weed smell.
A common diy hack/method seems to be an extraction filter and inside the ducting you make a mesh of these pads people use in their dryers. So you let the air flow through that.
 
Weigh the price of a fan/filter combo vs just 1 night n jail much less a few years worth.

YJ

ps even a kitty liter filter is better than nothing
 
Another method that works well and can be cheaper than another carbon filter is the use of ozone. Place the ozone generator/UVC tube inline with your exhaust ducting and vent into an intermediate area like another room or ceiling space the ozone works to oxidize and neutralize the smell. It quite literally removes the airs ability to carry odours. Ozone requires sufficient contact time with the air to be treated. Theory says about 2 seconds minimum. i have found it's efficacy to be greatly increased the longer this time can be extended hence venting into another space before exhausting outside. Even a large cardboard box or several metres of extra ducting can be used to achieve this.
Ozone generating tubes can be bought for low cost and can be run on an equivalent fluorescent light ballast. I would consider a 20watt tube a minimum. They are used in hot tubs to sterilize the water as well as disinfection of air in hospitals and public places.
Depending on your home if you have a chimney/flue that exhausts well above roof height this can be useful if no other options are available to you. Just placing the odiferous air high above people's olfactory sensor works well too.
 
What always stopped me from using Ozone:
There are many materials (including quite a few plastics) that are negatively affected by ozone.

They can become brittle and simply fall apart after extended exposure.

Since every room I could have used an Ozone generator in included such materials (certain metals and plastics), I always shied away from it.

Check those materials (that are negatively affected) carefully before using Ozone!
 
Thanks for raising that point Broseidon, generally if you were using multiple layers of odour control and had a generator in your room to reduce at the source the concentrations inside of the room would be relatively low. You should barely be able to detect its presence. However inside of the exhaust ducting or your mixing room/chamber where your secondary generator would be damage is very likely.
 
yeah, I figured inside ducting, an ozone genny would be least likely to do harm.
At least it would be easiest to make sure the ozone only comes in contact with materials it doesn't negatively affect/dissolve over time.

The problem then is to give the ozone enough time to react with the air and scrub it from smells.
That's why most people would use a secondary room/chamber where the ozone would have time to react with the air. But that secondary room would have to be especially outfitted to make sure nothing in there is negatively affected by ozone. There is too much generic stuff that is used everywhere (like certain plastics) that would be affected by the ozone. In my potential lung room, I have my heating system which is comprised of both metals and plastics that would be negatively affected by the ozone. So a no go for me.


The challenge with the in-line, ozone in the ducting system would be to give the ozone enough time to mix/react with the airflow which would likely require a quite long ducting canal.
In my situation it was not possible because my ducting runs very short distances. The longest between a fan and the exhaust port would be maybe a meter or two. Which is probably not enough time for the ozone to mix.
I would think running five meters or more would be desirable for the ozone to have the right effect.

So if you can get a long enough exhaust duct, an inline ozone genny would certainly be top notch.
Or if you can get a lung room that doesn't include any materials negatively affected by ozone.
 
Hadn't considered ozone but tip of the hat for that one. Although, it is something I've not worked through before.

Space is a bit challenging for me in my current situation.

I will probably go to the drawing board and see what I can do with something tried and true. Have a 10" vortex and a speed controller sitting around that I could probably set up in a small space for my initial 7days of dry. A 6ft vertical cabinet inside a closet might be in order. This is something I know how to do and I know it will work. As Yellowjacket pointed out, the investment of doing it right the first time has more than appropriate ROI.

Thanks folks!
Dave
 
Carbon scrubbers do get rid of odor and they filter out dust and other crap so they serve more than one purpose.
It's not only the fuss you have to worry about but pirates also.
I run my exhaust into another room for heat and odors are gone.
I choose more floral sweet phenotypes over skunk ones and so far the sweeter ones have been the ones I would have chosen anyway for trichome production.
 
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