Is It Possible to Clean a Carbon Can Filter?

downtimej

Active Member
can you clean a clogged "can" filter by soaking it in lightly soaped water while agitating it and then thoroughly letting it dry?
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
can you clean a clogged "can" filter by soaking it in lightly soaped water while agitating it and then thoroughly letting it dry?
NO. it is not clogged, it is spent. the honeycombing is full.
you can stick it in the automatic washing machine but even that wont help.
in other words the carbon has come to the end of its life. if you wash it there will be one hell of a mushy mess.
it is very cheap to buy on ebay.
 

downtimej

Active Member
o.k., I get all that but this things only 3 weeks old! I tried to figure out how to uncap it, but its riveted together. Am i missing something here?
 

TheTimeKeeper

Well-Known Member
I don't know much about carbon, however during one of my recent researching adventures, I read a *respected* forum member (maybe on another forum) say that they clean their carbon and re-use it 2-3 times, the trick was to used distilled water (ONLY) and throughly wash/agitate/rinse the carbon, dry and place back in filter. Be sure to let us know how it goes if you do this and it does work, would prove some peeps wrong !

You'll need to drill the rivits out and re-rivit when you put it back together, or you could try to screw it back together if you wanted... Be sure to only drill out the rivits that are connecting the flange to the filter (and any following that may prevent you for accessing the carbon), you dont want to drill them all out (i.e. the bottom!)!
 

SCARHOLE

Well-Known Member
I make my own carbon.

Charcoal = carbon.

I burn wood, scoop out a shovel of the coals, remove air to extenguish.
Them pulverize an fill my DIY scurbber.

My diy carbon isnt as strong as the stuff from a fishstore, so I use about twice as much.
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
I don't know much about carbon, however during one of my recent researching adventures, I read a *respected* forum member (maybe on another forum) say that they clean their carbon and re-use it 2-3 times, the trick was to used distilled water (ONLY) and throughly wash/agitate/rinse the carbon, dry and place back in filter. Be sure to let us know how it goes if you do this and it does work, would prove some peeps wrong !

You'll need to drill the rivits out and re-rivit when you put it back together, or you could try to screw it back together if you wanted... Be sure to only drill out the rivits that are connecting the flange to the filter (and any following that may prevent you for accessing the carbon), you dont want to drill them all out (i.e. the bottom!)!
just buy new activated carbon.
Don’t re-use carbon or try to clean it. Recharging carbon requires a specialized high temperature/low oxygen oven that would be prohibitively expensive at this small scale.
carbon is like an electrically charged particle and will attract deposits even without forcing air or water through it in a container.
do not believe what one person on the internet says.
take your filter apart and refill with new.
you can even use duck tape to re attach and seal the removed riveted part.

carbon is not a sponge, you can not fill it with water then squeeze and rinse it clean.

ask the local pet shop for his used aquarium carbon he will laugh his head off.
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
I make my own carbon.

Charcoal = carbon.

I burn wood, scoop out a shovel of the coals, remove air to extenguish.
Them pulverize an fill my DIY scurbber.

My diy carbon isnt as strong as the stuff from a fishstore, so I use about twice as much.
dont you get a smell of burning when it exits the grow area.
 

NoGutsGrower

Well-Known Member
I make my own carbon.

Charcoal = carbon.

I burn wood, scoop out a shovel of the coals, remove air to extenguish.
Them pulverize an fill my DIY scurbber.

My diy carbon isnt as strong as the stuff from a fishstore, so I use about twice as much.
Depending on how well and what you make you carbon with it could be better than the ones at the store. Most filters use pelletized carbon. This type of carbon contains bonding agents, which increases its weight but reduces the actual amount of fixed carbon per gram, which is the real factor behind a filter's adsorption capacity. In simple terms, carbon pellets are glued together. Glue weighs a lot but doesn't filter anything.
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
Depending on how well and what you make you carbon with it could be better than the ones at the store. Most filters use pelletized carbon. This type of carbon contains bonding agents, which increases its weight but reduces the actual amount of fixed carbon per gram, which is the real factor behind a filter's adsorption capacity. In simple terms, carbon pellets are glued together. Glue weighs a lot but doesn't filter anything.
dont listen to anybody on here,
they are glued together for mechanical strength.
dried deposited glue weighsnext to nothing nothing.
i just put 11.5 kg from a box of 15.5kg carbon in to a huge filter, how much glue? very little.
 

NoGutsGrower

Well-Known Member
dont listen to anybody on here,
they are glued together for mechanical strength.
dried deposited glue weighsnext to nothing nothing.
i just put 15.5kg carbon in to a huge filter, how much glue? very little.
don't listen to anyone like you? for mechanical strength? what the hell does its mechanical strength do for you? Smaller particles provide quicker rates of adsorption. Note: Total surface area is determined by degree of activation and pore structure and not particle size. If they are bonded together they have lost surface area, which means you are losing filtering area!
Learn a little before you speak/type!
http://www.carbochem.com/activatedcarbon101.html
http://www.cefic.org/Documents/Other/ACPASpentC_Class1001.pdf
 

NoGutsGrower

Well-Known Member
Extruded activated carbon combines powdered activated carbon with a binder, which are fused together and extruded into a cylindrical shaped activated carbon block with diameters from 0.8 to 130 mm. These are mainly used for gas phase applications because of their low pressure drop, high mechanical strength and low dust content. They have a low pressure drop because the air flows through them much easier because you have lost surface area when binding it together. The low dust content is because of its high mechanical strength. I use Phat filters. which doesn't use pelletized carbon (popped and old one open to check). like I said in the first place binding the carbon causes it to have less fixed carbon per gram.
So who should not be listened to?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
Extruded activated carbon combines powdered activated carbon with a binder, which are fused together and extruded into a cylindrical shaped activated carbon block with diameters from 0.8 to 130 mm. These are mainly used for gas phase applications because of their low pressure drop, high mechanical strength and low dust content. They have a low pressure drop because the air flows through them much easier because you have lost surface area when binding it together. The low dust content is because of its high mechanical strength. I use Phat filters. which doesn't use pelletized carbon (popped and old one open to check). like I said in the first place binding the carbon causes it to have less fixed carbon per gram.
So who should not be listened to?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon
so you recommend to another member to wash their carbon
YOU HAVE NOT GOT A FUCKING CLUE.

to original thread poster

DO NOT WASH YOUR CARBON
RENEW IT.
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
don't listen to anyone like you? For mechanical strength? What the hell does its mechanical strength do for you? Smaller particles provide quicker rates of adsorption. Note: Total surface area is determined by degree of activation and pore structure and not particle size. If they are bonded together they have lost surface area, which means you are losing filtering area!
Learn a little before you speak/type!
http://www.carbochem.com/activatedcarbon101.html
http://www.cefic.org/documents/other/acpaspentc_class1001.pdf

this idiot recommends you was your carbon!!!!!
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE GARBAGE........RENEW THE CARBON.#
bunch of fucking idiots on this site.
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
NO. it is not clogged, it is spent. the honeycombing is full.
you can stick it in the automatic washing machine but even that wont help.
in other words the carbon has come to the end of its life. if you wash it there will be one hell of a mushy mess.
it is very cheap to buy on ebay.

and you get idiots that call me an idiot, sigh.......
 

NoGutsGrower

Well-Known Member
I said that the guy that makes his own could be better than the stuff you buy at the store! So quote me where I said wash it! and not don't renew it! use virgin carbon for best results! LOL!
 
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