How do I remove and replace carbon from my filter

[gbourdieu]

I am looking into replacing the activated carbon in my 4 year old filter. It is approximately 12" dia by 60" tall. It has been doing a decent job of removing the sulphurous odor from my well water until recently. It has a manual backwash setup with pipe fittings at the top and bottom of the cylinder as well as a removable 4" plug at the top.. I am curious as to how to remove the carbon (do I just disconnect the plumbing and overturn the tank?). Are there any special procedures to refilling it to avoid channeling? How do I determine the proper size of carbon for the filter? I am unable to find a manufacturers name on the filter. Any help or advice would be appreciated

[nomind]

First you should make sure you can get the right materials. Try your local well products (or plumbing ) wholesaler. You will likely need pea gravel or similar as a base below the carbon or greensand. When you have the materials, you need to fashion a crude funnel to insert the media into the neck around the entry tube. Take off the valve head and dump the old media , this may take 2 people. Clean out with a hose, then place your entry tube back and insert the recommended base to a depth of about 6" . Follow this with the filter media. Don't fill to the top, it should only be about 3/4 full . To avoid a lot of humping a heavy cylinder, I always fill them near the final location. Good luck with it

[Gary Slusser]

You have a side mount type tank. Remove the top plug, drain the water, shop vac the carbon out without damaging the top and bottom distributor tubes leaving the gravel in the tank and add the proper amount/type of carbon for the actual size and type tank you have; no guessing. If you don't maintain the proper freeboard (empty area above the cabon), you will backwash carbon out of the tank.

Any internet or local water treatment dealer can inform you better and will have what you need and usually at less cost than pump/well/plumbing supply houses will charge.

Gary
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