Climate & Ventilation — Ventilation Parts

This is the box that decides whether your build actually seals. Extraction that pulls air in past a badly tightened joint takes that much less out of your tent, and odour escapes at those same places. These are the cheapest parts in the installation and they decide what the expensive ones are worth.

Joining

Flanges put a fan or filter onto your ducting. The metal flange runs from Ø100 to Ø250 including 150 mm, the PVC version covers the same range without 150, and the Can-Filters plastic flange comes in Ø100 and Ø125. Alongside them sit push-fit couplers, male as an external coupling for ducting and female as an internal coupling for metal parts. The Can-Fan Fast Clamps in Ø100, Ø125 and Ø250 do the same without tools.

Clamping and decoupling

The worm hose clamps cover 60 to 165 and 60 to 270 mm, together the whole range here. The Secret Jardin Rubber Ducts are the opposite of a clamp: short rubber sleeves in Ø100, Ø125, Ø150 to 160 and Ø250 mm that separate the fan from the rest of your run, so vibration does not carry into your frame. More on that under silencers.

Directing and reducing

The T-piece, the Y-piece and the 90 degree metal bend come in Ø100 to Ø250. The reducer comes in eight combinations, from 125 to 100 up to 250 to 200, plus the separate Ø315 to 250 mm for anyone still running that size. Buy it along with the fan, not once you discover you need it.

What happens when the fan is off

Extraction gets calculated on what it does while running; the hours it stands still go unconsidered. In those hours air flows back through your duct, taking odour the wrong way. The back draught shutter comes in Ø100 to Ø250 and passes air one way only: the blades are pushed open by the airflow and drop shut when it stops.

Air in, light out

A passive inlet has to do two contradictory things at once: pass air and block light. A hole does the first well and the second not at all, which is where home-made inlets go wrong. The G-Tools air inlet is a tube section through a 70 mm hole with a cover that closes it off on the inside.

Frequently asked questions

Which flange size do I need?
The same as your fan and your filter. If that size does not line up, use a reducer rather than a flange one size larger, because a flange has to seal.

Why is 150 mm missing from some ranges?
Because the ranges do not run in step. The metal flange has 150 mm; the PVC flange, T-piece, Y-piece, bend and back draught shutter do not. If you work at 150, check each part for your size.

Do I need a back draught shutter?
If your extraction switches off and you share the space with a home, yes. Without one, air runs back as soon as the fan stops.