Ventilation problem with carbon filter

[bulletxs]

This is my first grow. I bought this 4 inch 203 CFM inline fan with speed controller and 4" carbon filter off of amazon. Its been used a total of 12 days now. The first week it worked completely normal, after a week I noticed my tent walls weren't pulled inwards at all like it was during the first week and the exhaust out of the ducting was very faint. Adjusting the speed controller didn't change much in terms of exhausting any more air. The problem seems to be the white cloth filter that goes over my carbon filter. When I pull it back an inch or two exposing the bare carbon filter without the cloth air flows freely out of the exhaust much easier and the closed tent visibly changes with the walls sucked in just a bit. The cloth isn't wet but maybe very slightly damp which would make sense on clogging air flow. Would 60% RH cause my cloth to dampen which in turn clogs my air flow? Temps range from 68F lights off vs 74F lights on with a 60% RH. I lowered my humidifier down to 50% in case that is the issue causing the air filter to clog, idk? For the time being should i take the cloth off of the filter and let it dry out as much as possible?

The close up pic of the carbon filter is showing when the cloth filter is pulled back a bit air is exhausted no problem but when its completely covered almost no air is exhausted.

 

[Beachwalker]

This is my first grow. I bought this 4 inch 203 CFM inline fan with speed controller and 4" carbon filter off of amazon. Its been used a total of 12 days now. The first week it worked completely normal, after a week I noticed my tent walls weren't pulled inwards at all like it was during the first week and the exhaust out of the ducting was very faint. Adjusting the speed controller didn't change much in terms of exhausting any more air. The problem seems to be the white cloth filter that goes over my carbon filter. When I pull it back an inch or two exposing the bare carbon filter without the cloth air flows freely out of the exhaust much easier and the closed tent visibly changes with the walls sucked in just a bit. The cloth isn't wet but maybe very slightly damp which would make sense on clogging air flow. Would 60% RH cause my cloth to dampen which in turn clogs my air flow? Temps range from 68F lights off vs 74F lights on with a 60% RH. I lowered my humidifier down to 50% in case that is the issue causing the air filter to clog, idk? For the time being should i take the cloth off of the filter and let it dry out as much as possible?

The close up pic of the carbon filter is showing when the cloth filter is pulled back a bit air is exhausted no problem but when its completely covered almost no air is exhausted.

I don't know what you have going on but I do have a suggestion; when I have questions about my vent or filter system I light a fat joint, turn fan up all the way and then I smoked a joint right next to it and look for any possible leaks all along the length of it from the filter back, before I make any adjustments, hope this helps! good luck?

 

[bulletxs]

Figured out the problem. I’m using tap water in my humidifier which creates a “white dust” like powder. If you zoom in on my tent pic on top of the fans of the led the white dust can be seen. This has clogged my pre filter. Will be switching to distilled water for the humidifier and cleaning the pre filter to get things back to normal.