ilovebetty
New member
what is in a carbon filter? i ask because i have a bunch of coal in my coal bin- can i use it or do i pay the 12.95 for refills?
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a stoopid carbon question
- Thread starter ilovebetty
- Start date
G
Guest
Activated carbon.
It's carbon treated in a particular manner (either chemically or pressure & heat) to vastly increase it's surface area, which allows it to absorb impurities and odors so well.
Sorry, your coal won't cut it.
It's carbon treated in a particular manner (either chemically or pressure & heat) to vastly increase it's surface area, which allows it to absorb impurities and odors so well.
Sorry, your coal won't cut it.
ilovebetty
New member
thanks.
It has to be "activated", which means that the carbon has been in a reaction of some sort to create millions and millions of tiny pores. These pores increases the surface area of the carbon and thus can absorb particles to a molecular level. I believe there are two types of reactions used to activate carbon; steam pressure and chemical acid.
So dont go and use the coal in your coal bin, it probably wont do you any good. Hell, i can make my own carbon by heating sugar, but that wont do me any good either.
So dont go and use the coal in your coal bin, it probably wont do you any good. Hell, i can make my own carbon by heating sugar, but that wont do me any good either.
another stupid carbon question 
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i just got this big ass bag of 4mm pellet coal based activated carbon to refill my filter
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do i need to rinse and dry or shake this shit outside or what to get the powder residue off?
thanks in advance, im not too bright
...i just got this big ass bag of 4mm pellet coal based activated carbon to refill my filter
...do i need to rinse and dry or shake this shit outside or what to get the powder residue off?
thanks in advance, im not too bright
Last edited:
G
Guest
its a good idea to do that so you don't spray it all over when you first turn on the fan for it. some people just do it outside, or hook up a vacuum cleaner tube to the inlet/outlet for the filter. washing the carbon is a pain in the ass in my opinion, but thats up to the user i guess
anyone else?
Personally, I wouldn't wash it unless you plan on drying it all in the oven. Humidity from normal use (along with odor molecules) eventually leads to clogging of the microscopic pores in the carbon - which results in the carbon not being able to do it's job since the pores that could trap odor molecules are already blocked by moisture.
If you're worried about the dust, just snag a chunk of window screen and shake the carbon over it (like a sifter box) so that the tiny particles will fall through...thereby leaving you with the larger particles and less mess. Just make sure to do it outside since there's gonna be a layer of carbon dust everywhere :wink:
The last scrubber I built I didn't do anything to the carbon for cleaning...there was some dust when filling it, but after that it never had any dust fall out of it.
If you're worried about the dust, just snag a chunk of window screen and shake the carbon over it (like a sifter box) so that the tiny particles will fall through...thereby leaving you with the larger particles and less mess. Just make sure to do it outside since there's gonna be a layer of carbon dust everywhere :wink:
The last scrubber I built I didn't do anything to the carbon for cleaning...there was some dust when filling it, but after that it never had any dust fall out of it.
i think i may just start askin you before i come on here and embarass myself my last one was a DIY and when i filled it i made a friggin mess in the kitchen, this time i will venture out into the yard. thanks guys!
lol...no worries bro. You have nothing to be embarrassed about - I've seen your plants
