Hi folks, this was originally posted in my diary but I thought I better show the method I used. The Filter in a Box is something I have done before when needing to extract from 2 areas but only having one fan/filter. I used it in this case to save space in my tent and reduce noise.

So here's how I did it

Gathered as many useful materials as could. Boxes, tubs, duct tape, parcel tape, electrical tape, bubblewrap, cardboard, ducting, jubilee clips, string, bungees, stanley knife, scalpels, scissors, alcohol.

First step, drink the alcohol and smoke till you cant think straight ... stare blankly at all the assembled bits and pieces

After a lot of muttering and swearing and not doing much other than stack boxes in various combinations, ask Mrs. Sparkle (who is sober) what she thinks (go have a ) and then hijack her much more efficient 2-box design as your own and send her away




Start cutting some holes and half the flaps off each box so that they can be 'married' together neatly later on...

Check the height of the CF within the box and find a way (or ask Mrs. Sparkle ermm.gif) to shim it all up so that its snug and stable within the box (the cardboard 'shims' and the plastic tubs were her idea



Check the position of your fan in the box it'll be housed in (the box it came in in this case). My design required the bottom 'neck' of the fan to protrude from the bottom of the fan box so that it would fit into the neck of the CF protruding from the top of the filter box....

Check everything will fit snugly and then realise the flaws in Mrs. Sparkles design of course you cant tape insulation into a box from the inside, neither can u tape it up from the inside, neither can you seal properly around the fan/filter junction while the fan box is in place

... have a and a coffee and try to sober up enough to think

.. Cut the fan box and flatten it out, that way you can connect the fan to the filter neck securely before sealing up the fan box.

The filter box, almost ready to 'receive' the fan box...

After reading up on Leepy, randalizer's and Amnesia's insulated fan boxes I realised I had to make allowances for the temp controls of my fan being exposed so they could be used. I found a small plastic tub, cut a lid/door/flap in it and mounted it over the control panel

... Once the fan is connected to the filter and the holes are cut in the fan box for the control panel, tape it up and start packing it out with bubblewrap. Of course expanding acoustic foam is better but this is all i had. Plus if I ever need to get at the fan again it should prove easier than hacking off a layer of hardened acoustic sealant (having said that bubblewrap really isn't very good )





oh yeah, remember that the section of ducting leading into the filter box, and the section of ducting leading out of the fan box need securing and sealing preferably from the inside so u might have to do this before u seal up the two boxes. I had to at least fit a small section of duct to the filter box before installation because theres no room to work in my growroom





...

That's it!.... oh yeah make sure you run out of duct tape just before the vital installation point. This means you'll have loads of fun scavenging for suitable tape to connect the sections of duct I used clingfilm at this point to extra seal the taped duct joints before sealing them all again under a tight layer of electrical tape... looks but works









It looks utter crap I know but.... it works! the noise reduction is not total, but considerable and well worth doing I think. Better materials would mean the filter box could be insulated much better as this is now the only thing making discernible noise (the whooshing through the CF) I just didnt have the right adhesive to securely stick bubblewrap or insulation to the inside of the filterbox. I wouldve tried tape but my fear was it could come loose and be sucked onto the filter and smother it . I might end up lagging the filterbox with something insulative at some point to improve the sound dampening.

Hope if nothing else I've been a source of amusement I know I had fun making it

As you know i've already done my fan in a box with acoustic foam mod,Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment
If anyone wants to do it with the acoustic foam see here.Ruck Temperature Controlled Fans i explain it the best way i can at the bottom of page 1.
I might steal your idea though with the "filter in a box" as the only noise i have now is the filter noise!

This might be a stupid question but would'nt sealing your carbon filter in a cardboard box defeat it's purpose? how would it suck the heat out of your room if it's sealed in a box?? or have I missed something

You would not be able to put any insulation inside the filter box because as you say how would it suck the air in etc?..
I like the idea of just putting the filter in a box with a hole in the side with ducting to draw the air in,i suppose you could just have a hole in the box without the ducting.I was wondering though would even doing this restrict the airflow as normally the filter sucks in air all around?

The filter box in the pic has been shrink wrapped with black plastic though, this alone will stop any air entering the box causing heat problems and smell problems as far as I can see. I would have thoght anything wrapped around a carbon filter will defeat it's object appart from that white gauze.

If you look at the picture though there is ducting coming out of the side of the box to draw the air in.I would imagine the only thing in the box is the filter standing on it's end.

Feel free mate!, just let me know how you get on and if you have any better results in reducing the noise of air passing through the CF



Yeah mate you have missed something its the 5" hole ducting air from the grow area into the filter box, check out the original design in the first post.



You could, I think if I had strong artists/photographers spray adhesive I couldve glued insulation to the inside of the filter box (altho maybe the solvents would melt the bubblewrap ) but kingspan or some other rigid insulation board would work. Failing that you could sandwich insulation (an inner and outer box) or even as I'm planning, lag/insulate that outside of the filter box



I'm not sure how that would work amnesia fella, unless the hole in the filter box connected seamlessly (and airtight) to the 'out' vent of ur tent/grow



I dont know about the modification you just siggested but in my design the airflow 'around' the filter is adequate. The fan pulls the air through the filter... the air is drawn out of the tent at the top and sucked into the filter box through a 5" hole the same as the ducting... then there is a big airspace around all sides of the filter.. through which the air is drawn up into the fan and out into the big wide world (in theory.. my theory, which could be just total bonkers rambling )



Yes.. no air enters the filter box.. EXCEPT through the 5" hole in the back connected to the ducting from the grow



Nope Although I concede that the extra ducting etc may have slightly reduce the efficiency of my fan due to the extra distance the air travels (now using 5m of acoustic duct rather than 2.5m as before) the fact is temps are more manageable in my tent now, and in fact theres more air volume in there now that the fan and filter arent taking up room, and adding heat (from the running of the fan). The tent is also safer as it's no longer top heavy from carrying all that extra weight.



There is nothing wrapped around the filter except the white gauze 'sock' all thats changed is that its sitting in a chamber and drawing the air from the grow through a duct rather than sitting in the top of the grow ( the extract duct in my grow is still at the very top of the tent) In fact i might even extend the life of the CF because its now no longer subject to the heat and humidity changes of the top of the tent, plus all that passes through it now is air from the gro that has passed through a length of duct with 2 bends in it. My CF might even receive less dust and other undesirable muck that it might have come into contact with in the grow tent (I recall how dirty my CF sleeve's have gotten in the past when mounted in the top of the grow area)



P.S. as far as this is concerned "If you look at the picture though there is ducting coming out of the side of the box to draw the air in.I would imagine the only thing in the box is the filter standing on it's end" yes amnesia m8, ur spot on there.

What i mean is leave my filter inside the growroom with the filter in the box and just a bit of ducting on the side to draw the air in.
All i would need to do is get a box for the filter and tape it around the filters neck making sure the filter is central in the box and hang it back up.

Ah I see what you mean now m8 good luck with that too.. My original idea was to do basically what you had done + the filter box, all mounted in the tent. When I worked it out (in my little 1 m2 tent) there was just no way it would fit and I didnt want to add to the weight any more than I already had. So the whole design had to be translated to an 'outside' box.

I also looked at the idea of an insulated, open-ended 'silencer' for the CF just to muffle the whoosh a little.. but again space limitations prevented this

Just a couple more pictures to show how its rigged up a bit better










...The fan pulls the air through the CF and pushes it out of the duct in the top of the fan box and then out


Hope thats a bit clearer