I built that same one (if it’s the same one I think you’re referring to). I built one back in 2003 and another last year. Here’s the tutorial:
Material Needed
Yet another addition to the family of DIY carbon filter designs.
I modeled this after the expensive professional filter and after a thread on IC I don’t know from who but it didn’t have any pics. It’s very simple and easy to build. The only tools required are a screw driver and some wire cutters or snips of some kind.
All the materials were just under $70, here’s the rundown: last time i checked ebay were selling them for 125+ shipping. The carbon is what really gets you the pet store charges an arm and a leg…But with proper planning you can purchase 25 gallons of that shit off ebay for 30 bucks…I would of but i was in a tight squeeze and needed to get the smell out asap
Hardware cloth AKA rat wire~ $10 (the steel, not the plastic. in the fencing section of True Value or any hardware store)
6" & 8" duct caps ~ $4 (one each)
6" duct collar ~ $2
6" x 8" duct reducer ~ $7
Hose clamps ~ $6 (two 6" clamps and four 4" clamps)
6 7oz jars of Activated Carbon ~ $40 (from the pet store)
Small package of Poly-fill ~ $1.50 (from wal-mart)
Two packages(or two-pair) Extra Queen size black panty hose ~ $2
Extras you might want to pick up or have laying around:
Twist Ties
Scissors
Duct-Tape/Alumina Ducting tape
Round that all up to $70
I cut my hard ware cloth 2 FT wide and 17 inches Tall because of my fan moves 265 cmf’s you can make it bigger or smaller
Ok. First to build the “core”, get the hardware cloth out and wrap it around the 6" cap (for sizing, I suppose you could measure instead), and snip. Leave a few inches to overlap to strengthen the seem.
Be sure to snip so as to not leave a row of points, that will undoubtedly poke the shit out of you, not to mention it’ll rip the panty hose.
Once the HC is snipped and wrapped around the cap, use a 6" hose clamp to clamp it down.
Do the exact same thing on the other end but using the 6" collar - put the crimped end of the collar inside the core, leaving the tabbed end outward.
Cut the legs off a pair of panty hose and stretch each one over the capped ind of the core, stretching them and covering the entire core with two layers.
So that’s the core, it’s finished. Oh yeah, I added a twist ties in the middle of the core for additonal structural integrity, though it’s not necessary.
Next, take the collar-end of the core and set it into the 6" x 8" reducer as shown. Flip it over and tape the collar to the inside of the reducer. I used aluminum tape, but a good quality duct tape should do just as well.
Fill in the space between the collar and the core with Poly-fill (batting or anyting of that noture will work just as well).
Once you have that done, it’s time to fix the HC to the 8" reducer.
Place the 8" cap in the opposite end of the HC for spacing and structure.
Form the HC around the reducer, just as it was done with the 6", and clamp it down using two 4" hose clamp together-running into each other. I couldn’t find 8" hose clamps, so I put two 4" together.
Now take the panty-part of the hose, the waste band and whatnot, and stretch it over the outside of the HC. Repeat with the other pair, so you have two layers.
Now for the exciting part, fill it in with the carbon You may need to hold the core at first to keep the spacing even. This will give you a continuous 1" layer of carbon. Perfect.
Leave an inch or two of space and fill in with the Poly-fill.
Now replace the 8" end-cap, clamp it down, and you’re done
To refill, simply loosen the clamp on the 8" end cap, remove the cap, dump the carbon, re-fill, replace cap.
Now I had to hurry up and hook this thing up so its not the best job but it works!!! Like A champ Also i wrapped some batting around with twist ties:rasta: :rasta: :rasta: :rasta: :rasta: :rasta:
The differences between this one and the ones I built are size and amount (and source) of carbon. Mine is about 4 feet tall and I used about 30 pounds of carbon, sourced from ebay. The only reason I built the new one is because I gave away my old one. I had enough carbon material to fill it twice, so after a couple of years, I’d change out the carbon and “wash” the old carbon. Works like a champ.
