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+--- Thread: DIY Activated Charcoal Water Filter (/Thread-DIY-Activated-Charcoal-Water-Filter)
DIY Activated Charcoal Water Filter - Nerb - 03-21-2024
I'd like to tell you about a water filter I have just made.
It's an Activated Charcoal filter for tap water and in a SHTF scenario for my well water. The well water is really clear and nice but without a proper test there's no telling what could actually be in there,. It's only 4m deep but filtered through limestone. The tap water contains treatments like chlorine. Yuck!
The filter I made uses a stacking aluminium set of 4 camping bowls with a deep one on the bottom. About 1 liter for the 3 shallow bowls and perhaps 2 litres for the bottom one. It has a lid and a clasp to hold the whole lot together and now hangs in my kitchen on the very convenient carry handle.
I made the activated charcoal by using barbecue charcoal made from local untreated forest wood, smashed it up in a large stainless casserole with a club hammer and sieved it into granules about 3mm - 6mm in diameter with a garden sieve. I sieved it again with a kitchen sieve to remove the power which I use for brushing my teeth along with lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda. Not as bad as it sounds. lol
I then soaked the granules for a couple of days in 4 parts distilled water to 1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice. Nice slushy mix. This is to open up all those pores in the charcoal that would allow water to be filtered through it rather than round it and it stops the charcoal just floating.
I put a tap in the bottom and drilled about sixty or so 1.5mm holes in the bases of the 3 shallow pans, nice even spacing in circles. The top 3 pans were lined inside the bottom with circles of cooker hood extractor filter sheet.
I then filled each of the 3 shallow pans about half way up with the activated charcoal and stacked the whole thing together.
After washing through with around 10 litres of water, I removed the charcoal and washed off the pads to remove any residual powder caught in them which would inhibit the flow in future.
All I do now is remove the lid, fill it gradually with a 1 litre jug, open the tap and fill one of those pyrex glass coffee machine jugs that has a small hole in the plastic lid. Dribbles in perfectly with no spill.
Works a treat and no more buying bottled water. No more wasted plastic bottles too. I have about 100 2 litre bottles to fill having saved plenty.
I will use the water for cooking, drinking, the kettle, the aquariums, my rat and will maybe use it for watering "special" plants this year. I'm keeping an eye on the PH too just to check it remains neutral.
Shelf life for the activated charcoal in there should be about 4-6 months, then I'll chuck it on the veggie garden and make some more. The bag of charcoal I bought contains enough for a couple of years, same for the distilled water (5L). All I'll need to buy is lemons/citrus. I also have plenty of filter pad left over.
I love inventing and no longer drink juice, so water is a little more important now.
For those interested, this is similar to the kind of pan set I used but mine is has 4 pans, not 5: Stacking Camping Pan Set
Cheers.
