But Is It Really Activated Charcoal? (Make your own and then test it..)

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Putting steam into the bottom of the kiln first was a great idea so steam filters up through the still hot coals. Little dangerous though as it could blast you. Been burned that way myself

[@bknesheim]

Flash boiling can be very powerful, but I do think his method should be OK since charcoal have very low heat capacity (that is the reason you can walk on glowing coal without burn the skin of your feet).

[@Nighthawkinlight]

@@bknesheim There's little worry from the coal, it's the white hot end of the pipe that could cause an issue. Already does blast some of the water out on camera, that could have been worse.

[@excitedbox5705]

I think spreading the hot coals and spraying them would get better results. The water needs to get as deep into the wood as possible before turning to steam. It may even be beneficial to load the retort with wet charcoal. This matches the normal process the closest, where they first produce coal and then add steam. Putting the water in the bottom will drop the temperature and the steam moving up through the coals will have no pressure. Adding water from the top allows the coals to extinguish, soak, and get steamed from the rising heat coming from the coals below. This should increase the internal pressure.

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

Thanks, all. I thought the pipe to the bottom was worth trying first, but it's not as satistying as the hissing/cracking you get from the top down. I should test the different layers to see if there's any detectable change. So many interesting things to do!

[@bknesheim]

@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 I like one option you have with the pipe to the bottom. You can extinguish the lower layer and stop it completely from burning and still continue the fire on top. That should increase the yield some and make it easier to control the radiated heat. Making a little less hot to do the work is always nice. 🙂

[@recklessroges]

I would leave the two filtered samples on the window sill and see which grows things first. (If you have a time-laps camera, it might be an additional data point.)

[@excitedbox5705]

The activated charcoal might be a better surface to grow things on, which can screw the results. To do a real test you would make agar plates and put a drop of water on each. boiling some potatoes and evaporating the liquid from the water will give you a good agar substitute because the starchy sugar mix is perfect for mold and bacteria to feed on. The faster and bigger the growth colony on each dish the more contaminates the sample contained. PS. You can also dissolve some antibiotics in water and paint some on the half of the dish without contaminates and you will get a clean line where the growth stops if it is effective against those things, and if it spreads further those are antibiotic resistant/immune.

[@hootiebubbabuddhabelly]

I'd like to see the activated vs regular RINSED charcoal. The grayness could just be ash. Also like to see a PPM meter reading on both. Even regular charcoal that has merely been rinsed of ash is pretty powerful stuff. I have charcoal all over the place and don't need more but I might do a small test batch just using the rocket...

[@arturjogi6054]

​@@excitedbox5705 That's not really how it works at all... You can't tell how many microorganisms are in it just by looking at a single "colony" growing. You'd need to take this, and make controlled dilutions of it, dispense a small amount onto a sterile plate, spread it around, let it grow and then count all the individual colonies on the plate - if you see any that look like they're touching or have overlap or just look strange and nonuniform you need to dilute it more and do it again. You can only count the amount of microorganisms if all of them are isolated and grow a separate colony.

[@excitedbox5705]

@@arturjogi6054 I didn't say you could count them. BUT you can get an educated guess at which has more because the visibly more active and faster growing dish will have had a head start and therefore more colonies. Besides that, you literally described the same procedure in slightly more detail. Don't know what difference gravity spreading or physically spreading a liquid over the bottom of the dish is gonna do. We could get real nitpicky and flame sterilize the inoculation loops and do test patterns instead of a bulk test but this is plenty for his case.

[@dr.froghopper6711]

I enjoy Cody’s Lab myself. I’m a Rough Science geek who enjoys using basic science to accomplish goals around the home. Even regular charcoal has some level of usefulness as a filter medium.

[@DreadX10]

That's a blast from the past, "Rough Science".

[@mzimmerman1988]

Cool video! Science is not about the equipment you use. I'm sure Cody would enjoy watching you work just like the rest of us :)

[@iangeorgesmall]

I’ve recently discovered this channel and I love it. Thank you. I want to share something that you may be able to take advantage of. Thermal insulation material for installation in fire boxes and the like. I believe the best insulation material is Dry White Wood Ash powder. The next best is charcoal. Proof of charcoal is Hold a piece of charcoal in your hand light it and blast compressed air on the end away from your hand. It will flow white hot and radiate enormous amounts of heat while you are holding the cold end in your bare hand. See how close you can hold it. White hot say half an inch away from the cold end. Well dry white wood ash is even better than that. Also I love the railway and monorail ideas. I love everything you are doing Thanks

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

Thanks, Ian. Interesting.

[@gbentley8176]

Superb stuff. Takes me back decades, trying to get students through long lost nuffield A level courses. These were easily undergraduate level and we all had a great time encouraging and devising everything from standard ecological stuff to slug bait production, memory in small mammals and evaluation of chalk and charcoal for filters. Every child should be allowed to explore this area of science. Too often H and S has killed good experimentation dead. Glad you fly the flag for innovation. I have a beautiful wind driven pump system from a well. It is 84 ft down the inspection caisson. Also a gasometer and generator using sewage and years ago chicken manure. Sadly not running now. . My ancestors were keen on self sufficiency and so had a gas lit house! Cheers

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

Ha! Sounds good - any videos to show us of the pump?

[@davidsmith9566]

Really loving these experiments Tim - such a fascinating topic with such potential for both carbon sink and fertiliser

[@Mattay20]

Followed Cody for the last few years, I love his approach to things as I do with you. Both keep me tuned In, learning and entertained.

[@zestoslife]

Fascinating 'jug and bucket' chemistry. Have learned a lot about charcoal from this series and glad I have been be default using water to quench my biochar made in a bathtub. Didn't know I was improving it by adding the water / steam.

[@Dengezik100]

I truely like the accurate and thorough way You do the things You do. It's very interesting and fun to watch. Thanks!

[@peterjensen6233]

I learned more in this clip than in a year if science classes. If things get really bad and I can’t find clean water I’ll hop a plane and visit Tim.

[@gregx1044]

It's a great starting point. Thank you.

[@MusikCassette]

there is an other (I think easier) way to measure the surface of the charcoal: you mix some Saltwater use the coal as electrodes, put some AC through it and measure the resistance. The bigger the surface area, the lower the resistance will become. Some years ago I sorted different kind of coals with that method.

[@roycarter6235]

Well done!! I prefer your method as it has a very practical outcome with low tech input.........albeit with a lot of cogitation / trial and error . My approach to virtually everything new I'm attempting. I have an engineering workshop and a woodworking workshop on my property ( I'm a retired builder who has taken to beekeeping ) . Thank you for your marvellous videos, you continue to inspire me.

[@sirkelly55]

Without any context there is some fantastic absurdist humour on your channel. "This time of year the stove is only warm for some of the day, so it's full of eggshells."

[@wwlb4970]

Watching Cody for years and not even doing something illegal. Legendary.

[@g81atherton]

Very cool. Would love to see some soil experiments using pond water inoculated biochar!

[@meirionevans5137]

Very satisfying, thank you. Hadn't realised the 'spent' charc was useful too.

[@matthewatkinson7558]

“…so it’s full of eggshells.” Well, of course it is.

[@djhscorp]

What are they for i wonder?

[@zifnabalias5062]

@@djhscorp feeding back to the chickens. heating the egg shells kills any bacteria and makes the calcium in the shells easier for the chickens to digest.

[@daveb8598]

@@zifnabalias5062 Also a good source of calcium for your garden if you need that. Lots of great uses after they've been dried/cooked!

[@djhscorp]

I use them in the garden but had no idea they were fed back to the chickens The things you learn on you tube

[@chemicalcowpoke307]

@@djhscorp Oysters shells or egg shells

[@roberthayward9299]

Another great video. Thanks Tim. There is probably another mechanism activating your charcoal besides the physical expanding of the steam within preexisting pores in the hot charcoal. Steam will react with hot charcoal to produce a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The mixed gas is called "reform gas" and it was produced back in the day when we had coal gas running around in pipes. The carbon monoxide would have added an extra poison the coal gas so it's probably a good thing we don't use it anymore at least here in Australia.

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

Thanks Robert - interesting!

[@joshuadelisle]

Fascinating thank you for that. I had the suspicion that activated charcoal and bio char was a con to sell waste charcoal dust. You've convinced me otherwise. Cheers J

[@cncbuss1]

Very interesting experiment Tim!

[@rusty911s2]

Brilliant as ever. Your films never fail to raise a smile, and despite being (I like to think) pretty practical and well rounded (and incredibly modest, obviously) I always learn something. Thanks Tim!

[@BernardSandler]

I love so much that you did the experiment in such an accessible way. I'm tempted to try recreating it just for the sheer elegance and the fact that it would probably cause my dad glee.

[@pgalaxy]

great science class, thank you

[@hermanhale9258]

This is perfect for my garden needs. Thank you! 8:07

[@mischef18]

Enjoyed the video bro, the technical stuff went right over my head but over all I enjoyed it. Safe travels

[@mobiousenigma]

thanks for the videos! isnt youtube a small world cody is a great source for information among others. i could probably list a dozen channels most of us have watched and frequently am surprised by people like you who present mostly one area of content referencing other providers i watch who cover other areas of interest. its quite the operation you have developing with a waste nothing approach which is now uncommon.

[@AlexKiraly]

I'm having a blast with these videos, this series. Thank you!

[@markgoddard2560]

The fact that you make your own charcoal is wonderful. That you take time to activate it is even better. Clean water for you. Why people argue over the quality is beyond me. Keep on doing what you do. It’s wonderful

[@schwuzi]

The water sure looks clean! If you start out with flowing water from a river I'm sure it would be no problem to drink it.

[@nooneknows6060]

Nicely Done!

[@My-Nickel]

Thank you, sir!

[@christopherbrown3695]

Love your approach to everything and life Tim. Keep it up and I too know which one I’d drink!

[@jercos]

If you were forced to rely on this process for water filtration, every extra advantage you can give the charcoal would be valuable in reaching cleaner water: -bubbling air through the raw water to activate aerobic bacteria and destroy anaerobic life -giving settling time for aerobic processes to consume the remaining oxygen and die off -flocculation by adding alum or iron salts to make mechanical filtration more effective -coffee filters or fine cloth as a pre-filter to remove bulk material -seeping through stoneware or terracotta for fine particulate removal -and finally, after running it through the charcoal, boiling it! All that being said, I suspect the water from your hose pipe is still more reliably safe. ;-)

[@AlbertFilice]

Fun! And doesn't hurt to confirm your findings, and I'm sure you'll gain finesse and improve technique a tiny bit each batch. Keep on Tim! Love seeing the videos.

[@ronaldmartin7892]

Interesting, Tim. As are the readers suggestions.

[@dennisdavidek6694]

Thank you for taking the time to make this informative video!

[@glenedwarddelpilar-yz2si]

Wow. Thank you for sharing this video about activated charcoal

[@OstrichWrestler]

"The stove is only warm part of the day, so it's full of eggshells." Yes, mhmm that makes sense. That's a nice stove though. I was recently in a house that was literally being moved to another location and they had a stove that was a little larger than that converted to use gas. They wanted to make sure it didn't get damaged because it was hard to get another and it costs about 15k CAD. They were never very common here.

[@TheHylianBatman]

An interesting comparison! Good on you for doing it and setting things right. Always respect that.

[@bilgeratjim]

This is an essential skill that everyone should know, because when the zombie apocalypse happens, you will have to filter water with campfire charcoal.

[@arturjogi6054]

Haha yeah, sure, when the zombie apocalypse happens

[@justinvanwijk716]

Thank you for explaining it so simply! This is great content

[@cprgreaves]

If I have understood this, then any filter - even a cloth handkerchief - is better than no filter; a large layer of charcoal is better than a handkerchief; and activated charcoal is better than raw charcoal. - notwithstanding toxic chemicals that might be partway out of the wood (Australians will think of Oleander branches). I let my 25-litre pails of roof water stand for 24 hours before handkerchief filtering. All rain water is boiled (tea, coffee, bread-baking, fruit bottling etc) and I have great confidence in my gut bacteria and immune system. Cheers, Chris

[@mrpddean3439]

Amazing Sandra and Shoestring Tim

[@martinswiney2192]

Just found your channel starting with the wood chopper, the kiln build and now the activated charcoal test. Downright fascinating. Looking forward to watching more and learning. Im a machinist so would love to see some used in cooking up some steel.

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

Thanks, Martin - you saw the one where I test some in a forge? Lots more to experiment needed..

[@martinswiney2192]

@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 not yet. Will be looking for it.

[@garethparkin9498]

very interesting Tim thanks for explaining

[@compostjohn]

Nice experiment Tim, thank you.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

I watched your last two video's on char making and your method for making the char is pretty much the same as mine including water for stopping the process. I sort of wondered about the activated bit I knew that the shock of cooling the hot char quickly created more fissures and cells in the char and that equals more homes for and surface area to achieve biochar. After watching your experiment with the homemade filter and pondwater you pointed out an interesting thing. That is what is actually activated charcoal mean? One thing I have learned about KZbin is there is always people who get great pleasure in pointing out what they see as your shortcomings and the safety policeman get me. Just because its dangerous for them to do something a certain way does not mean its dangerous for another person who has the sense to keep their body parts out of moving machinery etc. I saw the oven full of egg shells we ground ours all up the other day with the char very satisfying to use everything. John

[@bknesheim]

Activated charcoal are from commercial suppliers would normally have an increase in surface area of about 3-3.5 times . An index could be used where 1 is non treated charcoal and the index for treated charcoal would indicate how efficient the treatment was.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

@@bknesheim Thanks for the explanation and help. John

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

Thanks, John. I think I'm just a step or two behind you, watching all your experiments too. Our climate and soil are completely different from yours, but we're both having fun experimenting, aren't we?

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 Its interesting that we live in totally different parts of the world and about opposite in terms of climate and yet we do pretty much the same sort of things. As far as the fun factor its about as good as it gets plenty of toys and learning lots. John

[@foamer443]

The eggshells. So the idea is to mix them into the biochar? Makes me wonder about the potshards that have been found in the Amazon biochar and the purpose it served. Biochar in general has me wondering about what effect forest fires have. And is there much effect to the soil from just straight charcoal created from those fires and or when it rains or from water bombing therefore, to some degree creating biochar.

[@sandbergius]

A white background (like piece of paper held behind the glasses) makes the difference in appearance while comparing more prominent. One of the view things i memorized from chemistry lessons back in school ;)

[@bigunone]

I am sure Cody would approve!

[@jhonviel7381]

never realized that wetting it was an important step, it just made practical sense to me to soak it so that it cools down and doesnt reignite. a couple times i even filled my retort with dirt to keep the oxygen away from the hot coals while they cool. plus i like watering my plants with black water. ha

[@yeagerxp]

Good job 👍👍👍Thank you for sharing. 🇨🇦

[@bayernbahn1549]

Wow! That's very clean!

[@bennyhill3642]

Awesome i needed that info. Thank you very much😇😁

[@dennisolsson3119]

Chlorine is easily tested with pool water quality test sticks. Table salt is easily tested with an ohm meter (just fuse the probes together with a rubber band and dip the whole tip to remove variables in distance and surface). I don't know what it would tell though, but you would get actual numbers if you want to compare your methods for making AC with no or minimal investment. I love your "rough science" approaches!

[@andrewchapman2024]

Now I understand just how important this wood chip charcoal thing is. I will have to do the same once I aquire the land for it.

[@gladdyus]

you could use bamboo as your source of biomass and you should be able to demonstrate that activated bamboo charcoal is even much better than activated tree charcoal

[@PaulinesPastimes]

Well, I'm convinced 😊

[@pieters286]

very informatve!

[@BlueEyedColonizer]

If we all live up to Cody's standards we'd get nothing done. Lol

[@andrewreynolds4949]

I must say your channel has impressed me more than Cody’s!

[@MattBrownbill]

Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing.

[@sspence65]

I wish I could have visited when I was out near Galway a year ago.

[@andersholt4653]

Very interesting. Please keep it up.

[@PedalBox]

As soon as I saw your video on activated charcoal, instantly thought of Cody. suspected you might be a viewer already :) Clearly needs a collaboration video!

[@timelesskoontah]

In the Caribbean we've been using charcoal like forever ...it's also great to brush your teeth with ...

[@DaveE99]

My girl said she needed more of that charcoal toothpaste and said it was great, and I’m like “you mean that’s all it is! Heck I can make that!” I wonder how hard it is to just make tooth paste.

[@johnwildwest1]

Good man Tim😊

[@mohammedtroy4296]

Tim you are a brilliant man I hope to meet you one day and shake your hand respect you always

[@wesh388]

Very nice

[@mercermouth7571]

After watching Cody's "steam" video, I wondered if simply including water in the generator would do the same thing. Adding steam to a 500°+ pot just seemed redundant. To avoid contaminating my carbon with unknowns, I added RO water at the beginning of the firing process and kept it under heat until all the water was boiled off. So far, it seems to have 'activated' my carbon... (test to follow). It would have been nice to compare a commercial carbon to your testing samples... and yes, using the iodine method.

[@TimeSurfer206]

2:00 I was just pondering opening a new tab and shopping for a microscope. Done. 42 bucks for an educational one with a carrying case. There's kid toy ones for under 20 bucks that would work just fine. And I agree with you one the "Which one to drink." But I'd still boil it first. Oh, and if you have nice clear water and want to disinfect it in bulk, it only takes 1/4 of a TEASPOON of "Pool Shock," or Calcium Hypochlorite, to sterilize a 55 gallon (200~ litre) barrel. For the sample of filtered water in the standard charcoal, I would use 1/2 of a teaspoon. And when you buy your Pool Shock or whatever other brand you get, CHECK THE INGREDIENTS CAREFULLY. The only two you want to see are: Calcium Hypochlorite, in the 68-70% range, and INERT INGREDIENTS. Anything else listed is biocides and fungicides that will kill us.

[@mikecarlson6416]

surprisingly found cody'slab is already on my subscribed list, don't have any memory about it

[@electricreds6415]

Wow good job ,am surprised that was great

[@eckosters]

Awesome

[@harrisonmckee4759]

A true scientist!

[@ButterflyMatt]

Brilliant.

[@schwuzi]

Very interesting for homemade water filters in case there is no more freshwater available in a drought. Do you think you would get a better yield if all the hot charcoal is dropped into a tank of water at once? Difficult with your big hopper but may be feasible on a smaller scale.

[@dshack4689]

only catch in a drought might be using a heap of water to cool the charcoal first, before the charcoal can filter water....?

[@schwuzi]

@@dshack4689 I collect a lot of rain water. I wouldn't dare to drink it but I could use some to make activated charcoal and then filter the rest of the rain water to drink it.

[@dshack4689]

@@schwuzi "in case there is a drought" next minute "I collect a lot of rain water" ....

[@schwuzi]

@@dshack4689 I mean have a lot of rainwater stored already. Around 60m³

[@derghiarrinde]

the pond smoothie looked delicious

[@davidnyc487]

Fascinating 🤨

[@avenuex3731]

Yep. I knew there would be criticism. And yes you are right.

[@elijahsanders3547]

Thank you so much for this :) I'm curious, why wouldn't the act of smashing it to smitherenes not do the "activation" of creating fisures and holes? I would be very interested to see that activated charcoal compared to that made in the barrel, simply allowing all the fuel to escape and not burn.

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

the cracks are microscopic - you can't make them mechanically

[@chriscardwell3495]

Having drunk the cleaner water . . . . what would yu do with the egg shells that are being gentle heated in the oven ?

[@GrizzlyGroundswell]

Huh, I thought innoculated and activated were two terms for the same process with no steam mentioned. So this is news to me. Hey that goose water is perfect for any fruit trees or shrubs! You know I like your cone kiln, but without the expense a good hole in the ground works great as well. Instead of square you just dig rectangular as it also fits your stems well. If I remember right it was skillcult or another interesting channel a hand full of years ago had a good video series on what he was up too. I liked it because it was so versatile. You dig where you want a charcoal bed, get it burning, keep layering your cuttings till the hole is full and then cover with earth and or water and either harvest the charcoal and use wherever or just bury and garden on top of it. Just like those old charcoal kiln spots are the greenest spots in the forest still today, so can it work for your homestead. IN THEORY, LOL! Great seeing all the fun you get up too.

[@GrizzlyGroundswell]

Unless your on peat bogs, stone and high water tables....I forgot you were located across the pond.

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

Exactly - if we could dig a hole it would fill with water in no time : - )

[@GrizzlyGroundswell]

@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 That would put a damper on the whole endeavor.

[@kreynolds1123]

Nice simple demonstration. I have no doubt that there was some steam activation. But it's hard to tell if both samples reached the same level of charing.

[@richardwohlers5245]

Activated won't filter everything alive. A friend did the same filtering in a College experiment - then drank the water! He was just fine after a week in the Hospital!

[@Beardedhero489]

You have to boil it at least.

[@crazyjack3357]

I would think something like a rock crusher would need 4 plates of steel some pin sitting in a grove which a geared rail could be used so you can adjust how big the bottom gap is to allow the charcoal to fall through then at the top of the crushing plate a cam either pushing on something or a camed pulley to a small pulley which could be powered by an electric motor or then another pulley on the small pulley to be connected to your stationary engine.

[@fredsmith6725]

I came for the charcoal but left intrigued by the eggshells? Explanation please Tim?🤔

[@PKMartin]

Perhaps cooking calcium carbonate into calcium oxide for lime experiments? Or just baking off organic material so the CaCO3 can also be used for soil amending

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

Cooking eggshells turns them into some kind of fertilizer but I'm not sure what kind

[@dougaltolan3017]

Well, I was one of the sent sceptics, now a true convert. Not that I ever want activated charcoal, all that I make is for casting ally and a kebab tandoor.

[@jpsimon206]

Forgive me but I'm going to ask a question that I could Google. I'm not much for a lawn care , but there's a small area around my ponds that used to have beautiful grass but my heavy dogs turned the clay rich soil rock hard. I have till this up very thoroughly and mixed in potting soil and even added a French drain. Three times. Every time it turns back into rock, sparse grass. Just by chance I happen to own a very large barrel of activated charcoal in these little spheres. Do you think that this would make a difference? Lighten up the soil enough? It's very difficult to get to, I necessarily have to till by hand, I really want to get it right this time. I've even been contemplating fake grass and I hate everything plastic

[@bricklearns]

What’s up with the eggshells in the oven?

[@GoingtoHecq]

I bet you could use that old tank you used as a retort as the vessel to activate the charcoal further.

[@ryelor123]

I tried this experiment but I only had activated charcoal and my results were inconclusive.

[@DisVietVetUSA]

Now you can boil the activated water and it would be drinkable

[@SimonHollandfilms]

clearly better

[@Beastclan-o5d]

I didn't understand which one was activated charcoal in Cody's Activated charcoal video

[@bknesheim]

Nice qualitative test, but it would be nice to also include the iodine test so we get a quantitative measure of the improvement. Using charcoal from the same batch would be more accurate and since the hardness and density of the charcoal make a difference, a measure by weight instead of volume should also improve the result (less important if it is from the same batch 🙂).

[@bella-bee]

I wondered whether your activated batch might have been better if you’d crushed it more before the heating and quenching process?

[@ericclone]

Why put eggshells in stove/oven? To heat or to dry?

[@grantofat6438]

He did explain that: Because the stove is only warm part of the day. :-)

[@ericclone]

@@grantofat6438 are you saying the eggshells are there to keep the stove warmer?

[@typxxilps]

Of cause we know what glas you would drink for sure: the left one - the fourty shade of greens as an irish , what else. Will harden you for sure. just kidding - great idea and proof of concept

[@teabagmcpick889]

Because at this time of year it's important to have a ready supply of warm eggshells?