Ebay Bulk Activated Carbon

[Bumble Buddy]

Hmm, I haven't had to wash my carbon; I think it was made from coconuts, it did have a fair amount of dust but packing the Sun
Scrubber seemed to lock the dust down for the most part. Maybe it would be a good idea to blow out the initial dust outside before installing the filter. No dust at all blows out of my filters after they are installed, a little would probably come out if they were jostled, but no biggie. I actually wanted the dust in there because it has a proportionally huge surface area.

 

[Tarbosh]

I am supposed to wash the carbon?

doesnt that take away from its affects? didnt I read a post by you freezer boy - "I accidentally washed my carbon, what to do?"

I mean not trying to hate here..... but just not clear on the best approach..... do I wash..... do I get a finer filter? if so any recommendations?

 

[Seneca]

The carbon from Ebay seller - Carbon-Eze is virtually dust free out of the bag and very effective at odor control. Plus, you get a polyester fine mesh you can use for layers of your filter.

I tried a couple of aquarium style carbons to save a couple of dollars and washing didn't make much if any difference in the carbon dust. I washed one brand of aquarium carbon 2x and ended up trashing it since it was soo messy.

Highly recommended...

http://stores.ebay.com/Carbon-Eze

 

[Bumble Buddy]

Tarbosh, you shouldn't have carbon dust coming out of the filter, makes me wonder because I have had no problems with fairly dusty carbon... is your DIY hepa filter of the Sun Scrubber type? I used pantyhose on one that I build and some "tuille" netting fabric (larger holes than the pantyhose) and have had no problems.

When packing the filter with carbon I like to agitate and vibrate it all around for a while, making sure it is all compacted well, maybe this helps to hold the dust in place...

Regardless, even if there is some carbon dust coming off your filter, the filter itself should take care if the situation pronto... one modificaton of the Sun Scrubber I consider essential is to wrap the outside with a piece of HEPA or MERV type furnace/air filter material cut from the cardboard frame. I built one to sit next to my computer/smoking area and it has drastically reduced the amount of dust floating around the room, cheap to build and kicks ass over any commercial desk type air filter I've ever seen.

 

[TheShroomDude]

I do not think that washing carbon hurts it. I do not see how it could, the kind most people use is for fish aquarium's. When I replace the carbon in my filters in my aquarium i wash it first to get the dust off.
Just my 2 cents...

 

[I2KanGrow]

The carbon from Ebay seller - Carbon-Eze is virtually dust free out of the bag and very effective at odor control. Plus, you get a polyester fine mesh you can use for layers of your filter.

I tried a couple of aquarium style carbons to save a couple of dollars and washing didn't make much if any difference in the carbon dust. I washed one brand of aquarium carbon 2x and ended up trashing it since it was soo messy.

Highly recommended...

http://stores.ebay.com/Carbon-Eze

I'll second that - I've been very happy with this carbon - no wash/ no dust.

 

[FreezerBoy]

washing the carbon wont do the same thing as it being exposed to a bunch of humidity? might i ask why?

After you wash it, you dry it. Carbon doesn't absorb, it adsorbs (like flypaper). Once the surface is dry, it's good to go. I've never seen carbon that didn't require washing but, I've never looked for pre-washed carbon.

didnt I read a post by you freezer boy - "I accidentally washed my carbon, what to do?"

If I did, it was a joke that's gone horribly wrong. Along the lines of my, "Po' Freezer's got too damn much weed". Could it have been "I just washed my carbon and can't do anything with it?"

It's quite possible I said something and said it stupidly. So, all jokes aside, carbon needs to be washed. By which I mean rinsed heavily, no soap

 

[Tarbosh]

I want to build a scrubber that will clean the air in the room around the cab since the cab is co2 controlled

is that possible... ive seen ones with a rubbermaid and a dayton just sucking air through the rubbermaid with a layer of activated carbon on top.......

I mean is it worth it to go through all this..... or should I just spring for the vaportek?

 

[Bumble Buddy]

I want to build a scrubber that will clean the air in the room around the cab since the cab is co2 controlled

is that possible... ive seen ones with a rubbermaid and a dayton just sucking air through the rubbermaid with a layer of activated carbon on top.......

I mean is it worth it to go through all this..... or should I just spring for the vaportek?

Definitely (IMO!) build a Sun Scrubber. Here is one I built for my flower room, 6" inner core, 8" outer core, 16" long, running on ~110 CFM fan:


This is a desktop model I build for room smoke odor control and dust reduction:

its got an adjustable 3 to 12 volt, 500 mA DC power supply, 4" inner core, 6" outer core, and 2- 81mm computer fans are stacked inline (for greater ability to pull through the filter). Used baling wire to secure the tuille fabric (some is visible sticking out) and the filter material. The dust visible on the fan was there before I built it, scavenged it from an old computer :smile: It only uses ~2 to 5 watts and works great to suck up dust, kill all the aromas from open jars, plants being trimmed, and copious bong hits

 

[Asil]

Spec's for scrubber carbon.

Spec's for scrubber carbon.

I called these guys http://www.generalcarbon.pth4.com/?...pc&utm_campaign=Google+General Carbon&sissr=1 this A.M., because of all the different carbons on ebay. Talked to one of the sales guys. He stated that the 4mm pellets are prefect for air filtration. the specs for good carbon are this:
Specifications:
Particle Size - (Diameter),mm: 4.0
(Length), mm: 6.0
Mean Particle Diameter, mm: 4.7
CCI4 Activity, %: 60(min)
Iodine No., mg/g: 900(min)
Surface Area, m2/g: 900(min)
Hardness, %: 95(min)
Moisture, % (as packaged): 3(max)
Typical Density, lbs./cu.ft.: 28-32
g/cc: 0.44-0.52

I told him it was for scrubbing air and he said that is what they use in making there air purifiers. And just for future reference their price is $1.75 a pound in 55# bags. +shipping. Which is about $30 bucks from east coast to midwest.

 

[purpledomgoddes]

Pelletized Activated Carbon and Activated Alumina with Potassium Permanganate...

^this is what is generally used in the air purification/odor control industries.

Adsorption
This is the physical process of binding gas molecules to a large surface or pores of an adsorbent medium. Activated carbon is the most common media used for adsorption and is produced by heating carbonaceous substances (containing carbon and derived from organic substances such as bituminous coal, wood or coconut shell) to form a carbonized char, then activating (oxidizing) with gases such as steam and carbon dioxide to form pores and creating a highly porous adsorbent material. Zeolites are another type of adsorbent and are a class of naturally occurring minerals derived from volcanic ash. Zeolites can also be reproduced synthetically because of their consistent and predictable porous structure. Adsorption technology is recommended for gas and odor control.

The effectiveness of odor removing media is related to the amount and type of gasses present in the air, the quantity, type and depth of the adsorbent material and the velocity of the air traveling through the media. The location of the odor adsorbing media relative to the particle filtration media is also important. If the odor adsorbing media is placed first, then particles in the air will cover the porous structure of the odor adsorbing media and reduce its effectiveness at trapping odors. By placing the high efficiency particle filter media first, particles in the air are captured before the air reaches the odor adsorbing media and allows the porous structure of the odor adsorbing media to have maximum effectiveness at capturing gasses. Air cleaning devices with carbon powder impregnated on mesh filters do not have the depth and quantity of gas adsorbing media to provide significant odor removing performance for a substantial time period. Room conditions such as air temperature and humidity also effect the capacity of adsorbents to remove odors.

Benefits:

Activated carbon has incredible porosity and a large and a highly active surface area. One pound of activated carbon has the surface area equal to 125 acres. Activated carbon is best suited to remove compounds with high molecular weight such as volatile organic compounds (V.O.C.'s) like benzene, toulene and xylene.
*

One pound of Zeolite can have 20 to 30 acres of surface area. These minerals are effective at removing V.O.C.'s and ammonia compound odors such as pet odors from urine. Like carbon, gasses are trapped in the voids of the porous Zeolite structure.

Chemisorption
Chemisorbents work through a two step process, first physically binding gasses to a carrier media then, through an oxidative process, the trapped gas molecules are chemically broken down. The common carrier media is activated alumina, which is made by treating aluminum ore so it becomes porous and highly adsorptive. Another carrier media for chemisorption is activated carbon. A binder such as activated alumina is impregnated with Potassium Permanganate to create a chemically active media. Potassium Permanganate is a dark purple substance that is a powerful oxidizing agent. Use of chemisorption for gas and odor control is recommended.

Pelletized Activated Carbon and Activated Alumina with Potassium Permanganate

Benefits:

*These odor control substances are best for the removal of high molecular weight gasses such as formaldehyde, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.

*This non-toxic media first physically traps selected gas molecules and then chemically destroys them through a process called oxidation. This oxidation process is media based and no oxygen or ozone is generated.

*Since there is a chemical process involved to break down the odor and gasses, there is no re-emission possible for the gaseous pollutants.

http://www.healthgoods.com/Shopping/Indoor_Air_Quality_Products/Air_Cleaner_Technology.htm

hope this helps. enjoy your garden!

 

[tree d]

If you are rinsing it in municipal tap water then the carbon is definitely 'adsorbing' some chlorine and other contaminents-- thats why they use it in multi stage H2O filtration.

I don't think that it would be reducing the effectiveness of the carbon by much, but for purists and those with OCD: know that it will most definitely be in contact with adsorb-able material in the tap water thus at least partially using up surface area that could be used to trap skunkyness!

I found the carbon that I purchased from carbon-eze to be virtually dust free (unlike the cheap pet store crap) and I opted to skip the rinse. The only thing that I experienced was the time saved by not having to wait for it to dry.