carbon filters, extending there life

bobtokes

Well-Known Member
i'm sure i've read somewhere you can extend the life of carbon filters by putting them in the oven, anyone out there done this
 

stumpjumper

Well-Known Member
I suggested that once due to Scent-Loc clothing advertising that you can reactivate the carbon by heating it up in the dryer.

It might work.. I dunno.
 

ta2drvn

Well-Known Member
Your gonna need a kilm, like poster already said, in order for the catbon to release the contaminates it must be heated up much more than most ovens can do.

I knew someone that took their filters to buddy that did powder coating, he said it smelt like a pot fest when it was done. Not the carbon, thay was good as new, he said he did it every few rounds for a bit.
 

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
i had a friend tell me he used a torch and burned the lint off his filter,just kinda waved it around afterwards to heat the carbon and it worked on reactivating it.
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
AFAIK, reactivating carbon requires very high heat, however sometimes carbon will get 'clogged' when too much moisture is in the air and heating it up can help evaporate the moisture which frees the carbon up to capture contaminates. My filter actually comes with a chart which suggests how often you should dry it based on your humidity levels. I take a hair dryer to mine about every 6 weeks. I have a carbon cloth filter so it's easy.
 

FranJan

Well-Known Member
is there a link that says it needs to get this hot to work? 1650f really?
Google is your friend :).

[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon#Reactivation_and_regeneration[/URL]

For Wiki haters

[url]http://www.desotec.com/EN/overall_service/reactivation[/URL]

I built my own, holds roughly 18 pounds of activated carbon. This April will be 2 years of use without changing it. It's seems to be coming to the end of their life though. Caught a whiff of funk in the hallway, opened the canister up and it was just filled with dust (yeah I'm an idiot for not using a pre-filter, I know) so I had no choice but to rinse and dry the carbon out real quick (hot air gun). I let the humidity drop overnight and by midday the grow was funk free. I really wish I had some easy way to reactivate it, but it's just not that easy for the average Joe/Josephine is what I meant to the OP's question.
 

SpicySativa

Well-Known Member
Yes, you need very high temperatures to actually "reactivate" the carbon. You an get away with lower temps if you can also lower the pressure, but that doesn't really help us here...

If your carbon is losing effectiveness due to excess moisture and not due to breakthrough, sticking it in the oven will likely help a bit.
 

legallyflying

Well-Known Member
I thought it was around 800F. But I also read you hav to treat it with nitrogen and some other gas. Perhaps that was just for the initial activation. I'm just going to buy a mountain air. 3 year warranty :)
 

Bernie420

Well-Known Member
I cooked mine in the oven once when it needed it. To much humidity. Stick it in the oven and tape aluminum foil around the crack as the door won't close. Bake at 150 for three hours. Afterwards mine worked fine and has been since.
 

FranJan

Well-Known Member
Or you can thank our friend @SupraSPL and try this:

http://https://www.rollitup.org/attachments/dsc08920a-jpg.3539720/
"new toy, harbor freight large propane torch $32. It was supposed to save time recharging carbon but it was too much fun to play with so probably took longer"​



https://www.rollitup.org/t/cxb3590-1500w.878136/page-22#post-12057897
"To recharge it I put it in a stainless kettle and let sit next to or on the campfire to drive most of the moisture, then hit it with the torch to drive off more VOCs. The smell that comes off it when you torch it is very strong and sticks to your clothes and skin, may want to wear a mask if you try it. Smells like a magic marker chemical type smell. If you microwave it or bake it indoors you might have a mutiny and or mutation situation."

Seems like it works, it does conform to what OMRI is saying here:

http://www.answers.com/Q/How_can_activated_charcoal_be_cleaned_and_reused
"The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) has produced a paper on Activated Carbon processing which includes the following:
Carbon can be reused if the absorbed substances are removed. This process is known as 'regeneration.' Simply heating the spent carbon at a given temperature for an adequate length of time can regenerate activated carbon to the point where it can be reused for tertiary wastewater treatment (thermal regeneration) (Mine Safety Appliance Corp., 1970). Thermal regeneration inevitably results in the loss of carbon (Battelle, 1970). Also, thermal methods may not be the most efficient, inexpensive, or reliable method, so a number of solvents, acids, and alkalis may be employed to remove the adsorbed substances. These include such things as carbon tetrachloride, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide (Mine Safety Research Corp., 1970). Optimization of the regeneration process depends on the substances absorbed as well as the structure of the activated carbon."

So I guess it works depending if it's the right type of carbon and the molecules we're generating growing MMJ plants can be sufficiently removed at the temps generated by the torch. It may not be as easy as microwaving or baking but sure as shit looks like a lot more fun :)!
 
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