JAYAR
Found in Anarchy
sup everyone quick question.. does a phresh carbon air filter go bad with moisture? I've had it stored I my garage in a cloth bag for about 3 months. Will it still work? it was only used for 1 grow about 3 months total.
Live Stoner Chat carbon filter question
- Thread starter JAYAR
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Hey JAYAR, saw this had gone unanswered so I thought I'd chime in! To answer your question, no, the carbon will not go bad from moisture. Remember, this is the same kind of activated carbon that you would use in an aquarium (it can get wet.) There are generally two types of activated carbon, Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) and Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC.) The PAC is typically used in in-line systems for gas and liquid lines; while the GAC (with its much larger surface area) is typically used in fixed filters.
The thing you would worry most about from the moisture is whether it has caused any corrosion to the metal housing of the filter. I accidentally let my 6" carbon scrubber sit vertically on my grow room floor space and it got wet; after a the grow I pulled it out and saw I had rust on the bottom rim. :No:
Activated carbon (whether it's powdered or granulated) works by trapping the odor causing molecules in tiny micro pores that are created during the carbon activation process (generally using intense heat.) As the valleys, cracks, and pores of the carbon fill up over time, they become less effective. They aren't just pulling odors from your cannabis plants, they will trap a variety of molecules in them. They will also trap larger molecules (like dust, pollen, dirt, etc.) These coat the carbon and also cause them to be less effective. This is why it's important to keep that sleeve (which is the scrubber filter) on the scrubber; it traps those big molecules, letting the smaller (odor causing) ones through.
One grow shouldn't have diminished the absorbing powers of the activated carbon in your filter; but again; it depends greatly on the conditions of your garage and how much exposure it's had out there (and if it's been covered in a cloth bag, I'm sure you're alright.) Not sure about your Phresh filter, but on my scrubber I can take off the cap with a screw driver and replace the old carbon with fresh stock.
When your carbon seems to not be working as well; it's best (in my opinion,) to just toss the old stuff (or do an online search to see if there's any secondary uses for spent carbon,) as it takes an incredible amount of heat energy to regenerate activated carbon (as in, most people don't have the equipment to produce the heat necessary, and even if you did, the expense of creating that energy is far more than what buying a bag of PAC/GAC would be.)
I hope you weren't looking for a short answer.
Haha! That's just my 
Hope that helps bro! :karma Cloud: :beast:
EDIT* I just did a little more digging; how much moisture are you talking about here? Check out this link from the University of Minnesota (you can trust those Minnesotan's dontchaknow :smokebuds: )
Here's a little snippet from the article:
Note, this is for activated carbon filters used for water filtration, but wet carbon is wet carbon, so if your garage flooded or something to that affect and your filter actually physically got wet, then this may apply to you. Just thought I'd throw this in :smokebuds:
The thing you would worry most about from the moisture is whether it has caused any corrosion to the metal housing of the filter. I accidentally let my 6" carbon scrubber sit vertically on my grow room floor space and it got wet; after a the grow I pulled it out and saw I had rust on the bottom rim. :No:
Activated carbon (whether it's powdered or granulated) works by trapping the odor causing molecules in tiny micro pores that are created during the carbon activation process (generally using intense heat.) As the valleys, cracks, and pores of the carbon fill up over time, they become less effective. They aren't just pulling odors from your cannabis plants, they will trap a variety of molecules in them. They will also trap larger molecules (like dust, pollen, dirt, etc.) These coat the carbon and also cause them to be less effective. This is why it's important to keep that sleeve (which is the scrubber filter) on the scrubber; it traps those big molecules, letting the smaller (odor causing) ones through.
One grow shouldn't have diminished the absorbing powers of the activated carbon in your filter; but again; it depends greatly on the conditions of your garage and how much exposure it's had out there (and if it's been covered in a cloth bag, I'm sure you're alright.) Not sure about your Phresh filter, but on my scrubber I can take off the cap with a screw driver and replace the old carbon with fresh stock.
When your carbon seems to not be working as well; it's best (in my opinion,) to just toss the old stuff (or do an online search to see if there's any secondary uses for spent carbon,) as it takes an incredible amount of heat energy to regenerate activated carbon (as in, most people don't have the equipment to produce the heat necessary, and even if you did, the expense of creating that energy is far more than what buying a bag of PAC/GAC would be.)
I hope you weren't looking for a short answer.
Haha! That's just my Hope that helps bro! :karma Cloud: :beast:EDIT* I just did a little more digging; how much moisture are you talking about here? Check out this link from the University of Minnesota (you can trust those Minnesotan's dontchaknow :smokebuds: )
Here's a little snippet from the article:
Note, this is for activated carbon filters used for water filtration, but wet carbon is wet carbon, so if your garage flooded or something to that affect and your filter actually physically got wet, then this may apply to you. Just thought I'd throw this in :smokebuds:
Last edited:
JAYAR
Found in Anarchy
Thank you vaporhaizer!! What a great, thorough response 
thanks bro. And it looks like my filter is ok as it was mostly dry during the period it was stored. I'll be keeping a close nose to it though just in case since I do share my home. Again I appreciate your answer learned something new today!!
thanks bro. And it looks like my filter is ok as it was mostly dry during the period it was stored. I'll be keeping a close nose to it though just in case since I do share my home. Again I appreciate your answer learned something new today!!
