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Orangehat
Gourmet Grower


Registered: 03/10/12
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Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions
#28382815 - 07/02/23 04:27 PM (6 months, 24 days ago) |
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Hey all, it's been a long time since I've been active on here but fortunately that's changing!
I’ve set up a lab and a gourmet grow tent, and I've been researching ways to filter the exhaust. I currently rent a room and am relatively mobile, so I’d like to find a solution that doesn’t require home renovation or rely on nearby windows. The solutions I’ve seen for indoor filtration don’t seem sufficient, either you’re clogging up expensive HEPA filters on a regular basis, or a significant amount of spores are getting through.
My current plan is as follows. I want to hook my exhaust up to a container half full of water. Air is pushed through a submerged 4inch pvc nipple with small holes drilled in it, causing bubbles to break up and allowing spores to ‘stick’ inside the water Effectively making a big, spore catching, bubbler. The water could also be treated with Hydrogen Peroxide, dish soap, or isopropyl to prevent growth. My worry is the amount of air pressure required to push air though water in this way. Is it more efficient to pull air, or push it? Will my cheap inline FAE fan be enough or will I need something beefier?
Anyway I was curious what y’all think of this idea before I go buying material, or if anyone knows of other solutions that may work. I did read something about an n95 mask over the exhaust being enough, but as far as i know spores are still smaller than what n95 can catch
-------------------- "You can eat ANYTHING once"
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deadmandave
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: Orangehat]
#28383062 - 07/02/23 10:25 PM (6 months, 23 days ago) |
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Spores will clog any filter relatively quickly.
I've heard about the bubbler several times but never seen one in action. So maybe try it if you've got no other option.
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SHROOMSISAY01
Mr. Shrooms



Registered: 01/22/17
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: deadmandave]
#28383310 - 07/03/23 08:21 AM (6 months, 23 days ago) |
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I don't think that will work. I thought of this years ago and in the past have even suggested it. The problem I see is that spores are light and will stick to the top of the water so the spores will never actually leave the inside of the duct. It does not matter how deep the duct goes the spores will stop at the top of the water.
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deadmandave
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: SHROOMSISAY01]
#28383316 - 07/03/23 08:26 AM (6 months, 23 days ago) |
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Isn't that good tho? do you think spores on the water surface will get jumbled back into the breathable air?. Perhaps the addition of soap would help keep the spores in or under water. Perhaps a bucket of oil rather than water would prevent spores from ever leaving.
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Orangehat
Gourmet Grower


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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: SHROOMSISAY01] 1
#28384771 - 07/04/23 12:03 PM (6 months, 22 days ago) |
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That's interesting. Makes sense they would be light enough to float. id imagine with high enough air pressure it would push the surface of the water down to the bottom of the pvc but they still may float on the surface. Maybe I could use soap or something to break up surface tension.
and alternative idea i had was to blow spore filled air though a box hooked up to a mister. this has the added complexity of filtering and pumping water back up into the mister. I may take deadmandave's advice and just try it out once im settled. I've heard that excessive cultivation can still clog up home furnace filters so id like to see if there are better routes.
If spores clog up any kind of filter, i might be ok with using cheaper ones. should be less of an issue of om getting rid of 70-80% of spores. I could also set up a redundant system to catch spores the first filters didn't
-------------------- "You can eat ANYTHING once"
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SHROOMSISAY01
Mr. Shrooms



Registered: 01/22/17
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: Orangehat]
#28385527 - 07/05/23 12:42 AM (6 months, 21 days ago) |
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My point being they will never leave the duct unless you have a lot of air pressure and a fan that size will be expensive. I believe the spores will stop up the duct. As I have discussed b4 in other threads if the duct is stopped up the spores will never even travel to the water it would be like blowing in a two-liter bottle the air has to be able to get out of the bottle for anything to travel. This is just how I see it and I could be wrong. I have never tried it because I can see too many problems. Keep me posted if you do try I would be interested in what happens. I really don't think it will do anything because the air won't go past the water again it would be like blowing in a bottle.
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Orangehat
Gourmet Grower


Registered: 03/10/12
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: SHROOMSISAY01]
#28385861 - 07/05/23 11:27 AM (6 months, 21 days ago) |
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Right, i see what you're saying with them getting caught in the duct. If i don't have enough pressure to actually force air through the water causing it to bubble then like you say there won't be anywhere for spores to go, Not to mention ones that are sticking to the sides.
I wonder if i could test efficency using clean Petris, holding them in the exhaust flow for the same amount of time with different filtration systems in place and seeing how much growth i get. ofc im sure to get other things growing to as I'm using a negative pressure system.
-------------------- "You can eat ANYTHING once"
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deadmandave
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: Orangehat]
#28385931 - 07/05/23 12:38 PM (6 months, 21 days ago) |
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Use a black cloth for 24 hrs over the air exit to view how many spores are getting out.
The other issue is CO2. Venting outside pushes the co2 outside. Venting next to the fc is almost pointless.
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SHROOMSISAY01
Mr. Shrooms



Registered: 01/22/17
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Loc: Virginia, USA
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: deadmandave]
#28386047 - 07/05/23 02:52 PM (6 months, 21 days ago) |
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My question is how do you not have a window in the room? Or is it going in a closet or something like that?
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SHROOMSISAY01
Mr. Shrooms



Registered: 01/22/17
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: SHROOMSISAY01]
#28386070 - 07/05/23 03:18 PM (6 months, 21 days ago) |
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Ok after thinking about it here is what I would try. I would use something like 4" PVC and run the duct to about an 1/8 above the water. Hopefully, any spores will come out the duct with enough force to hit the water and stick. I would leave about 1" around the incoming duct and put some kind of cloth around the hole for the air to escape and then you can check the cloth to see if the spores are actually being trapped by the water or if they are still trying to escape with the air. Another solution I could see working is if you bought a washable filter and a water pump and have the pump supply water to the top of the filter place the filter vertically then hopefully the water would wash off any spores hitting the filter. I am assuming the spores will float so if you divide the water supply with some kind of filter (a cloth shirt) only the top of the shirt would have spores and the pump would be able to get fresh clean water to wash the filter.
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Orangehat
Gourmet Grower


Registered: 03/10/12
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: SHROOMSISAY01]
#28403713 - 07/22/23 09:51 AM (6 months, 4 days ago) |
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Quote:
SHROOMSISAY01 said: My question is how do you not have a window in the room? Or is it going in a closet or something like that?
that's a really good idea as a check! I do have a window nearby, but it's right near the entryway and aside from the issue of spores going straight inside, my roommate doesnt want people to see the window doctored up like that
Quote:
SHROOMSISAY01 said: Ok after thinking about it here is what I would try. I would use something like 4" PVC and run the duct to about an 1/8 above the water. Hopefully, any spores will come out the duct with enough force to hit the water and stick. I would leave about 1" around the incoming duct and put some kind of cloth around the hole for the air to escape and then you can check the cloth to see if the spores are actually being trapped by the water or if they are still trying to escape with the air. Another solution I could see working is if you bought a washable filter and a water pump and have the pump supply water to the top of the filter place the filter vertically then hopefully the water would wash off any spores hitting the filter. I am assuming the spores will float so if you divide the water supply with some kind of filter (a cloth shirt) only the top of the shirt would have spores and the pump would be able to get fresh clean water to wash the filter.
I see what you're saying, use the surface of the water to try to get spores to stick. I also considered something along the lines of what you're saying with a water flow through a filter to continuously clean, but nothing that easy. Im going to move again in a month so I'll play with this again once the flushes are over and im not wasting blocks
-------------------- "You can eat ANYTHING once"
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Harry Manbach
Lock the door,Kill the light


Registered: 09/04/20
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Re: Indoor windowless spore exhaust solutions [Re: Orangehat]
#28403740 - 07/22/23 10:28 AM (6 months, 4 days ago) |
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Just drill a 4 inch hole through the wall and install a dryer vent fixture on the outside, no one's the wiser.
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