You can extend the life of a carbon filter by taking it outside, removing the pre-filter, putting your centrifugal fan on the top so it blows thru the carbon, and let it go for an hour or so. When I do it, a gray/beige superfine dust forms on the outside of the grill. This is only a small portion of the dust that's coming out of it [though you can't really see it much]. I let it blow, wiping it with damp paper towels every few minutes till not much dust keeps forming. Caution: I almost got my turned-up shirt cuff sucked into the 6" Vortex fan. Could have been a disaster as powerful as those things are. Put wire or something over the intake of the fan. Good luck. -granger
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Extend the Life of Your Carbon Filter
- Thread starter Granger2
- Start date
1
187020
Ever wrassle with an 8 inch or better?
Ever wrassle with an 8 inch or better?
Sounds fuckin peace homie
Ever wrassle with an 8 inch or better?
Sounds fuckin peace homie
I'm not seeing how this does anything.
All you are doing is reversing air direction through your scrubber... and with no prefilter on the inside...your seeing some carbon dust from having taken it down and lugging it around.
If your worried about dust why not just change your pre-filter?
Once the carbon has absorbed a certain amount of odor/moisture its full and needs replaced. You can push or pull all you want through it and its not going to do a thing.
If you want to squeeze some extra life out of your filter take it down and roll it around back and forth. You could perhaps expose/ change some contact time with non-spent carbon to go a little longer on it, but thats about it.
All you are doing is reversing air direction through your scrubber... and with no prefilter on the inside...your seeing some carbon dust from having taken it down and lugging it around.
If your worried about dust why not just change your pre-filter?
Once the carbon has absorbed a certain amount of odor/moisture its full and needs replaced. You can push or pull all you want through it and its not going to do a thing.
If you want to squeeze some extra life out of your filter take it down and roll it around back and forth. You could perhaps expose/ change some contact time with non-spent carbon to go a little longer on it, but thats about it.
If your going to buy replacement carbon (I no longer do as I cannot find it cheaper w/ shipping then the filters new)...
... Be sure to really pack or settle the carbon in. Maybe drive around with your filter upright in the back of a pickup down a gravel/bumpy road.
Otherwise you'll never achieve the tight settled carbon that you get from a new can filter which are vibrated down an assembly line to fill them nicely.
If you replace carbon and its not fully/packed settled - stink can escape in those looser areas and you just in general wont get as good as contact / even airflow as you will with a CanFilter.
Unless we are talking micro/budget cabinets save your money elsewhere in my opinion. Its just a messy hassle, but if you do ....WHERE A MASK! I spent weeks blowing back dust out of my nose after trying to do a DIY scrubber in my newbie days.
... Be sure to really pack or settle the carbon in. Maybe drive around with your filter upright in the back of a pickup down a gravel/bumpy road.
Otherwise you'll never achieve the tight settled carbon that you get from a new can filter which are vibrated down an assembly line to fill them nicely.
If you replace carbon and its not fully/packed settled - stink can escape in those looser areas and you just in general wont get as good as contact / even airflow as you will with a CanFilter.
Unless we are talking micro/budget cabinets save your money elsewhere in my opinion. Its just a messy hassle, but if you do ....WHERE A MASK! I spent weeks blowing back dust out of my nose after trying to do a DIY scrubber in my newbie days.
This is the cheapest I have found. I have Aquariums as well so buying bulk carbon is cheaper for me..
I have done a lot of test to se what method extends the life of the carbon.. The best method I found was a RO/DI wash. I took out the carbon and washed it it a bucket until the water was clear. I then dried it and replaced 1/4 of the carbon then I used a palm sander to vibrate the carbon. Add another 1/4 of the carbon and continue the process until refiled.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Activated-Carbon-13-Charcoal-Air-Water-Odor-Filtration-/310380878743?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC2.CLS%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D5%26pmod%3D310373413121%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7051130756904635802
I have done a lot of test to se what method extends the life of the carbon.. The best method I found was a RO/DI wash. I took out the carbon and washed it it a bucket until the water was clear. I then dried it and replaced 1/4 of the carbon then I used a palm sander to vibrate the carbon. Add another 1/4 of the carbon and continue the process until refiled.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Activated-Carbon-13-Charcoal-Air-Water-Odor-Filtration-/310380878743?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC2.CLS%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D5%26pmod%3D310373413121%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7051130756904635802
Thats not badly priced hammerhead... I'm unsure of what we used to pay back when we were refilling, but I know that they raised their prices to make it no longer worth it.
Maybe I'm not the most frugal dude.. but even that ebay link doesn't entice me to do it.
If doing a fresh refill in a Can Filter 66 I'd need 31lbs of carbon. The ebay product is for 13# and runs you $54 delivered. I'd need 2 boxes = $108. I guess that is about half of retail on a new 66, but with so many shops popping up I'm able to get them locally for 20% off - around $155. I guess one has to ask themselves if all that work is worth it for $47.
Quick question.. when doing as you describe and only replacing 1/4 of the carbon. Do you mean that you add 1/4 new carbon to the cleaned carbon.. or your just adding 1/4 at a time of the cleaned carbon. How much NEW carbon is going into your filter.. and how long does that last until you need to clean and/or refill again?
Or was the cleaning the carbon part a totally different discussion then refilling with new carbon?
Maybe I'm not the most frugal dude.. but even that ebay link doesn't entice me to do it.
If doing a fresh refill in a Can Filter 66 I'd need 31lbs of carbon. The ebay product is for 13# and runs you $54 delivered. I'd need 2 boxes = $108. I guess that is about half of retail on a new 66, but with so many shops popping up I'm able to get them locally for 20% off - around $155. I guess one has to ask themselves if all that work is worth it for $47.
Quick question.. when doing as you describe and only replacing 1/4 of the carbon. Do you mean that you add 1/4 new carbon to the cleaned carbon.. or your just adding 1/4 at a time of the cleaned carbon. How much NEW carbon is going into your filter.. and how long does that last until you need to clean and/or refill again?
Or was the cleaning the carbon part a totally different discussion then refilling with new carbon?
I would add 1/4 of the washed carbon then vibrate to settle the carbon continue to add 1/4 of the washed carbon and vibrate until refiled. I get an extra year use when I wash. I have only tested this after 1 wash and then replaced with new carbon..
your absolutely correct that refilling is no longer cost effective..I still wash but after that I buy a new one.. I still buy bulk carbon but its for my Aquariums
your absolutely correct that refilling is no longer cost effective..I still wash but after that I buy a new one.. I still buy bulk carbon but its for my Aquariums
Flower Farmer said: Once the carbon has absorbed a certain amount of odor/moisture its full and needs replaced. You can push or pull all you want through it and its not going to do a thing.
How do you explain the Gray/beige fine dust that is coming out of the filter? Carbon is black. If you would rather refill your filter, go ahead.
This method is for forestalling the day you have to replace or refill the filter. If dust is sucked into a filter and contributes to its ineffectiveness, blowing part of it out of the carbon will give it more useful life.
FlowerFarmer said:
If your worried about dust why not just change your pre-filter?
I do clean and replace my pre-filter from time to time. I'm trying to remove some of the dust that, as everyone knows, gets by the pre-filter.
This is something I do because I think it extends the life of my filters. I'm not trying to force anyone to do this. -granger
How do you explain the Gray/beige fine dust that is coming out of the filter? Carbon is black. If you would rather refill your filter, go ahead.
This method is for forestalling the day you have to replace or refill the filter. If dust is sucked into a filter and contributes to its ineffectiveness, blowing part of it out of the carbon will give it more useful life.
FlowerFarmer said:
If your worried about dust why not just change your pre-filter?
I do clean and replace my pre-filter from time to time. I'm trying to remove some of the dust that, as everyone knows, gets by the pre-filter.
This is something I do because I think it extends the life of my filters. I'm not trying to force anyone to do this. -granger
My apologies if my original post came off rude.. not my intentions or how it was in my head as I typed it.
Being the #1 most important item of my garden (non-med state) I changed my filters yearly. Its my freedom after all.
I save enough elsewhere in the garden by not buying expensive additives, accessories, etc to just pay the filter bill like I do the electric bill.
I only hopped in here and posted the contrary just because I'd hate to see new growers start doing these little tricks and tips to extend their filters meanwhile there garden starts to stink.. Its sometimes hard to smell it ourselves. I guess in med states it may be more lax, but I cannot rely on catching a whiff to determine that my filter needs changed.. at that point it may be too late for me.
Which brings up a good question.. for all those growers that dont change their filters on a set schedule how do you determine when it might be a good time to replace it? Do you just let it smack you in the face when you come home from being out? I've been there before.. and its not a good feeling at ALL!
Stay safe all...
Being the #1 most important item of my garden (non-med state) I changed my filters yearly. Its my freedom after all.
I save enough elsewhere in the garden by not buying expensive additives, accessories, etc to just pay the filter bill like I do the electric bill.
I only hopped in here and posted the contrary just because I'd hate to see new growers start doing these little tricks and tips to extend their filters meanwhile there garden starts to stink.. Its sometimes hard to smell it ourselves. I guess in med states it may be more lax, but I cannot rely on catching a whiff to determine that my filter needs changed.. at that point it may be too late for me.
Which brings up a good question.. for all those growers that dont change their filters on a set schedule how do you determine when it might be a good time to replace it? Do you just let it smack you in the face when you come home from being out? I've been there before.. and its not a good feeling at ALL!
Stay safe all...
