In line charcoal water filter fail

[Siftasam]

Good morning.
Have any other members had an issue with their in line fresh water filter depositing its charcoal from the inlet end into the fw pipework?
We have the filter fitted just under the sink and have used the same well known brand of filters (changed annually !!) for years. This season we have had 3 filters behaving in this way which means having to strip the other cold water taps each time as the charcoal granules travel through the syslem and block the lines.
Chatting to another yachtsman revealed that he had the same problem with three purchases (all from different chandlers).
The manufacturer when contacted about this were uninterested and told us to exchange via the retailer…
Any advice about a RELIABLE in line filter gratefully received.

 

[geem]

Buy a 10" clear filter housing and carbon block filter to fit. A fraction of the price of inline filters and twice the size as least. Lots more performance the bigger it is.

 

[thinwater]

Buy a 10" clear filter housing and carbon block filter to fit. A fraction of the price of inline filters and twice the size as least. Lots more performance the bigger it is.

This. Better yet, fit it with a carbon block filter, which will also stops cysts, such as gardia. Unless the water is constantly chlorinated, like home, granular carbon is mostly a growth media for bacteria. The Pentex floplus 10 is a good one.

 

[geem]

Isn't that what I said?

This. Better yet, fit it with a carbon block filter, which will also stops cysts, such as gardia. Unless the water is constantly chlorinated, like home, granular carbon is mostly a growth media for bacteria. The Pentex floplus 10 is a good one.

Isn't that what I said?

 

[oldgit]

Buy a 10" clear filter housing and carbon block filter to fit.

link would be handy..........
My filter cartridge is years beyond its bin date, no problem ,lets get a replacement ... saw the price , well used to marine inflation but....
£40.00 + for a plastic tube filled with few grammes of presumably charcoal ?

 

[geem]

link would be handy..........
My filter cartridge is years beyond its bin date, no problem ,lets get a replacement ... saw the price , well used to marine inflation but....
£40.00 + for a plastic tube filled with few grammes of presumably charcoal ?

Aquafilter 10" Filter Housing c/w 1/2", 3/4", 1" Ports | eBay

10" Carbon Block Filter Cartridges for RO Reverse Osmosis Units Housings | eBay

 

[lustyd]

I'd never come across carbon block before, seems to be getting sold as a semi-RO solution. Very notable that they use the word "can" and "may" with these when talking about things like cyst removal rather than "does" and "will". Upon further reading proper RO units are available for under sink that will use a membrane to definitely remove contaminants, but these waste most of the water just like a watermaker does.

The carbon block definitely looks like a step up in protection from a standard carbon filter, although the tradeoff seems to be that slightly dirty tank water might clog it more easily and it could be a bit slower at the tap

 

[geem]

The carbon block definitely looks like a step up in protection from a standard carbon filter, although the tradeoff seems to be that slightly dirty tank water might clog it more easily and it could be a bit slower at the tap

You are correct. We install a 1 micron filter in front of the carbon block filter to protect the carbon filter. Not only doesn't the 1 micron filter protect the carbon filter, but if you install it in a clear housing, it provides a barometer of water tank condition.

 

[lustyd]

Very useful to know, thanks. Now I just need a bigger boat to fit all this stuff into before we retire in 3 months

 

[thinwater]

Isn't that what I said?
Isn't that what I said?

Yup, I can't read.

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Lustyd: Pre-filtering the water as you fill the tank (particle filter), light chlorination if it is not city water, and cleaning the tank annually (part of winterizing for many) should limit the fouling. If the carbon block filter is fouling more than 1-2 times per year, even for a live-aboard, the tank cleanliness needs work. Light chlorination really helps by preventing bio-film from growing on the carbon. The carbon will easily remove the chlorine.

 

[lustyd]

It's funny, I'd never thought about using a particle filter on the way in. I've seen various folk using a charcoal filter which didn't seem wise, but particle filter seems a great idea

 

[doug748]

link would be handy..........
My filter cartridge is years beyond its bin date, no problem ,lets get a replacement ... saw the price , well used to marine inflation but....
£40.00 + for a plastic tube filled with few grammes of presumably charcoal ?

I filled mine up with this stuff this season:

Granulated Activated Carbon GAC Charcoal Water Filter Media Aquarium KOI Refill | eBay

Lets out a bit of charcoal at first but no worse than the proper thing and one bag will probably last 5 years +

.

 

[MontyMariner]

Looking at this thread has made me realise how expensive my Jabsco aqua filter cartridge is - £40-60 !

 

[lustyd]

Looking at this thread has made me realise how expensive my Jabsco aqua filter cartridge is - £40-60 !

I just had a look on Force4 because I wasn't sure what people were talking about and was shocked. I just bought a finerfilters tap and it's £20 for 4 filters which is 2 years use

 

[thinwater]

It's funny, I'd never thought about using a particle filter on the way in. I've seen various folk using a charcoal filter which didn't seem wise, but particle filter seems a great idea

A friend of mine wnated to use hard-top rainwater for washing etc. but it wasn't really cleaning enough. He asked me what I thought (knowing I was a chemical engineer) and I came up with this DIY for him. It really works very, very well for many tasks. 1 micron rated is best.

• Prefilter from hose or even jerry cans.
• Prefilter for water coming off the roof.
• Can be washed and then sanitized by laying it in the sun. This can be done about 10 times.
• High capacity.
• Cheap.

It will really keep your tank clean.

A DIY Water Filter - Practical Sailor

 

[Siftasam]

A friend of mine wnated to use hard-top rainwater for washing etc. but it wasn't really cleaning enough. He asked me what I thought (knowing I was a chemical engineer) and I came up with this DIY for him. It really works very, very well for many tasks. 1 micron rated is best.

• Prefilter from hose or even jerry cans.
• Prefilter for water coming off the roof.
• Can be washed and then sanitized by laying it in the sun. This can be done about 10 times.
• High capacity.
• Cheap.

It will really keep your tank clean.

A DIY Water Filter - Practical Sailor

Aquafilter 10" Filter Housing c/w 1/2", 3/4", 1" Ports | eBay

10" Carbon Block Filter Cartridges for RO Reverse Osmosis Units Housings | eBay

 

[Siftasam]

Thanks to everyone for the input. The solid block carbon does seem the way to go. Doulton appear to do a nice unit the filters are a reasonable cost and less than the aquafilter ones we have discarded.

 

[Neeves]

A bit of drift.

Activated carbon is not just 'charcoal' - it can be made from wood, coconut shell (what else can you use the shell for?) and coal. How it is processed determines which carbon is best for which application. You can make activated carbon by heat or chemistry (acid) though I think heat is the primary process. Maybe Thinwater knows a bit more about this. ICI, the UK chemical company, used too have a plant in America

Carbon blocks will be made from, any (and probably more) of these raw materials (coffee grounds?) - I think shells (husks) from other nuts are used. You just need to compress the carbon and it will bond 'naturally' (but the bonding does not appear to be very robust).

There used to be an operating plant in Wigan, Manchester, Sutcliffe Speakman. From memory they were absorbed into a water company. The biggest producer (I think) is Calgon Carbon (American). They acquired Waterlink (of which Sutcliffe was a part) and they seem to trade under the Sutcliffe Speakman (and or Chemviron) name in Europe.

Its not simple.

But you can probably improve on your domestic water treatment by doing a bit of home work and buying the best carbon for your specific application - as opposed to buying whatever you local distributor recommends, or the cheapest.

Activated carbon is big business, riding a bit on fashion, and is also used in air purification (and has a military application, gas masks).

Jonathan

 

[thinwater]

I used to work for the same parent company as Weststates Carbon, but I was not deeply involved, other than as a user.

They did not make the carbon only re-generate. The largest portion of the carbon at the time was coming from China, and when the Olympics was there the price spiked severely for several months; they shut the producers down, because they cooked the carbon in the open and created horrible air pollution. As soon as the Olympics ended the prices dropped back to normal.

I believe most of the carbon block for drinking water is coconut shell. Larger pore structure than coal, making it better for chlorine removal and larger taste-altering contaminants.

---

Perhaps the biggest things to watch out for with carbon block filters are:

• Good flow rate a moderate pressure drop. They can require a lot of pressure.
• Good end sealing. O-rings and knife edges rather than wide gaskets. The pressure causes bypassing, and there goes your 0.5 micron rating.

 

[Roberto]

I believe most of the carbon block for drinking water is coconut shell.

I use quite a few of them at home, all the 10" cartridges from different brands have the "coconut shell carbon" indication.

We use it to filter tap water for drinking, it's central Paris so water goes through a zillion controls before being distributed, the flow is basically continuous, the water company director once said "if our technical standards were applied to mineral water brands, no one of them could be sold". Yet when one makes tea or coffee, raw tap water forms a sort of patina on the liquid surface, filtered water does not (and stains a lot less), no idea what is the chemistry involved; we also made a family blind testing and tea/coffee made with filtered water are recognized by everyone as being better.