How to Make an Activated Charcoal Water Filter
Activated charcoal is one of the most widely used substances to filter water. Used in both drinking water and for aquariums, activated charcoal--also known as activated carbon--is very porous. Because of this property, the filtering material traps impurities in the water and holds them, allowing clean, pure water to pass through. Many commercial water-filtering companies take advantage of this by filling their filters with activated carbon. Now you can make your own water filter at home using activated charcoal. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Glass crock-style pitcher with a spout on the bottom
- Commercial-sized coffee filter
- 2 lb. bag of activated charcoal
Instructions
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Clean and sterilize the glass pitcher using a solution of eight drops of bleach per gallon of water.
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Place the coffee filter on the bottom of the pitcher, making sure that the filter covers the spout.
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Purchase a 2-pound bag of activated charcoal from an aquarium-supply store. Soak the activated charcoal in water for 15 minutes to ensure that the carbon is saturated.
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Fill the pitcher ¾ full of saturated carbon, leaving space at the top as a reservoir for water.
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Fill the pitcher with water. Never fill the pitcher more than ½ full of water at a time. As water pours out of the spout at the bottom, it will trickle through the carbon and filter as it goes.
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Tips & Warnings
Save leftover carbon to change out every three to six months when the activated carbon in your filter is spent. To find a suitable glass crock-style pitcher, look for sun tea pitchers generally sold with picnic items during the summer.
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Comments
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As a hobby I am making a small coconut products processor where no part of the coconut from the tree is wasted.If I make coconut shell charcoal in a kiln, is it the same as activated charcoal? How is coconut fiber made?
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You will have to soak for at least 12 hours to get results.
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@skmg42: No, because it would not be ACTIVATED: this means it has many more pores and thus a greater surface area than regular carbon. You can activate carbon ashes at home by soaking them in sulfuric acid or lye, and then firing them at 300 Fahrenheit for 3 hours or so.
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skmg42
Jul 02, 2010
couldent you use charcoal from a fire? (im trying to do it very simple and the most natuaral way posible with sand and coal) any tips? -
baileyjames
May 28, 2009
I've been looking for info on DIY carbon filters FOREVER, and this answered my questions. The only thing I would add is that you can buy carbon from other places besides an aquarium supply store. I HAD to, otherwise my son wouldn't drink it. He didn't believe it was the same carbon used in water filters (he's wrong, but in the interest of getting him to drink more water, I decided to placate him). Virtually all pitcher style water filters use activated carbon, and to replace my cartridges costs $39 (3 pack). On the other hand, following the instructions in this article, replacing only the carbon (with the highest grade carbon I was able to find) costs $23 for over a year's worth of clean water. And you can be sure most filter companies are not using the greatest carbon - they're using the most cost-effective.I'm really suprised that someone left a low rating on this article. The inst...
