Can I Use BBQ Charcoal To Filter Water / Air?

Charcoal specific to filtration purposes is called Air, Water, or Vapor phase carbon. They are manufactured in a precise manner to achieve the desired application.

Charcoal made for water purification is ‘activated’.

But in a pinch, you can use BBQ lump charcoal (not briquettes as they may have binders and chemicals). And here is how you can do it.

How to make an Improvised Charcoal Water Filter:

  1. Use charcoal from a reputable source
  2. Crush your charcoal into small bits, from powder up to the size of aquarium gravel.
  3. Use a tall cylindrical container (taller is better than wider) and punch some small holes at the bottom.

You can pour water at the top, and the purified water will come out the bottom. Don’t make the holes too big, you want the water to spend as much time as possible with the charcoal to filter the water.

Below is a list of fireplace and grill stores that service Ohio (OH)

Erlanger, KY

TateBuilder's Supply, LLC
3511 Dixie Highway
Erlanger, KY 41018

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Canfield, OH

Youngstown Propane, Inc.
4445 Boardman-Canfield Rd.
Canfield, OH 44406

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Columbus, OH

Blackburns Chimney Sweeps
4644 Kenny Road
Columbus, OH 43220

Columbus, OH

Aspen Fireplace & Patio
5156 Sinclair Rd.
Columbus, OH 43229

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North Canton, OH

Custom Fireplace Shop
5537 Whipple Ave NW
North Canton, OH 44720

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North Ridgeville, OH

Heat Exchange Hearth & Patio Shoppe
34205 Lorain Road
North Ridgeville, OH 44039

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North Royalton, OH

Country Stove Co.
6669 Royalton Road
North Royalton, OH 44133

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Painesville, OH


1270 Mentor Ave
Painesville, OH 44077

St. Henry, OH

Buschur's Refrigeration, Inc.
541 N Eastern Avenue
St. Henry, OH 45883

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For more information, contact your local fireplace and grill store..

2 Responses

  1. Stu Mack
    How can I tell if it's brisquette charcoal if it's already out of bag. Is that possible?
    • Joseph Bodden
      Hello Stu: Charcoal briquettes are manufactured from wood by-products. Briquettes have been compressed and contain binders and chemicals that assist with lighting and burning consistently. As a result of this process, briquettes are all uniform in size; like sort of a pillow shape. The size of lump charcoal is not consistent. It varies in size and shape. As the article said, in a pinch lump charcoal can be used to filter water or air.

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