3/29/10

E-mail -- Ozone, Odor Control, Plants and YOU

Hi, I have a 10 x 10 room and was wondering if it would be safe to use the C.A.P. OZN-Jr Ozone Generator in the same room as my plants. I have heard terrible things about ozone and plants being in the same room. Thanks

Hello,
You have heard correct sir! Ozone is three molecules of oxygen bound together and in your grow room or house is terrible. It is GOOD up in the stratosphere where it absorbs UV rays protecting us from skin cancer but the stratosphere is between 10 km (6 miles) and 50 km (31 miles) altitude above the earth. Ozone is bad down here in the part of the atmosphere where we breath. (Called the troposphere). OZONE DAMAGES LUNG TISSUE AND DAMAGES PLANT TISSUE!!! Do not use an OZONE generator for your health first, and oxygen/ ozone is never limiting for plants.

Good Growing,
Dr. E.R. Myers

Blog follow up:

I am glad to answer this E-mail. I have gotten some E-mails where people said things like, “I know you can’t say any thing bad about HTGsupply.com but…” I tell them all the same thing, I don’t need to lie or stretch the truth when it comes to the products from HTGSupply.com I have used. And here is proof I won’t;  I don’t recommend you buy an ozone generator from any grow store including HTGSupply.com. They are bad for your plants and YOU!

This means all those other manufacturers who claim there are BENEFITS to your plants by using the ozone generators are ignorant or lying. Furthermore, this means that all the growers that say they are helping to fill the hole in the ozone layer by using them....are just plain misinformed. (And don’t know where the holes in the stratosphere are) Ozone is harmful to your lung tissue if you breath it and to plant tissue.
OZONE GENERATORS I am told are sold/marketed for odor control. I am also told they are very popular items which may be why so many grow stores have them?
A friend of mine once used one inside her garden area and it burned the leaves, mostly the ones right under the unit. So she placed it outside the grow area after that. The science (I use that word loosely) is that the "ozone" molecule attaches to the odor particle and makes it fall from the air. Burning coal might also mask smell but I sure would not do that I my house.
If you are worried about smell use a CARBON FILTER! It actually REMOVES the odor by filtering the air through carbon - no harmful side effects like ozone, no covering odors up (or attempting too) like the aerosols or gels. As a plus, you get air flow for your plants.  When using a carbon filter you also gain the benefits of trapping particulates other than odor that can include: pollen, mold and mildew spores, even small flying insects.  There is no down side to using a carbon filter.   Carbon Filters RULE!   (See more on carbon filters on my next post)

Ok, everything has a drawback.  The drawbacks are that the air moving through the High Velocity (HV) fans can be a little noisy. I have had people ask, “What is that humming?” when they came to my house. Enter two products, the Duct Muffler and the Speed Controller. The Speed Controller which I use turns down the speed of the fan, making it quieter but also taking away some of the airflow. If the odor is noticeable turn it up, if it is too loud turn it down. There are a few reasons why I like the speed controller. For one, the less air that goes through the carbon filter the longer it will last. This is a great way to conserve your carbon filter so you get the most for your money. All carbon filters will need to be replaced, depending on how much you use it. The fan and duct will last but you will always need to replace the filter. A speed controller can add a year or more to the life of a filter. That my friends is an awesome investment if you can use your fan at less than MAX. If not it is not worth a penny to you. I am able to run my fan on medium most of the time. I actually run it on low when the plants are young with some medium and high days…

Another reason I like the speed controller is I like to switch it from low to medium to high for hours at a time to mimic how wind patterns change. Sometimes I put the fan on high and direct my flexible duct at the plants for a whole dark cycle. You don’t want to stress your plants with high wind 24/7 but if you put the fan on high and direct the duct at your plants a few hours a day it will keep your plants from stretching if you are using an HPS (like me).

The other option is a Duct Muffler that works sort of like a silencer on a gun. It is a piece of ducting that goes onto the end of the HV Fan (like a gun silencer) and has special shaped foam inside it that muffles the hum or "whoosh" sound of the air. Many other grow stores duct muffler adds claim they do not restrict the airflow - which is, of course, total bull****. Even putting the air through a plain duct restricts air flow so unless you have your fan blowing straight out into the atmosphere, there will be some air restriction. One thing I should mention is that the duct mufflers (from HTGSupply.com) have acoustical foam inside of it and I know it really helps muffle the sound by the HV Fan with a minimum air restriction.
If you look around I think you will see that the CARBON FILTERS, HIGH VELOCITY FANS, DUCT MUFFLERS and SPEED CONTROLLERS from HTGSupply.com  are the best technology and are the BEST PRICES on these items.

Good Growing,
Dr. E. R. Myers

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