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Using activated carbon powder

J

jaredtpuck

New Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2023
Messages
18
Started using activated carbon powder this year. I sprinkle it in my totes after I throw my hunting laundry in. Then shake everything a few times. Use one for my saddle, sticks, backpack, and a diff one for my Scentlok.

I’ve always done some scent control, with showering and laundry… So my routine hasn’t changed much.

I’ve noticed a big difference. Got a shot at a doe down wind with thermals blowing at her. And I got away with it. Makes it feel worth it doing all this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Where are you getting carbon powder? I've thought about something like this for putting in the totes with the non Scentlok items and my saddles.
 
You can get 50 lbs bags of powder activated carbon from the same place that water treatment plants get their chemicals. There is no restriction.

However: 1. breathing that stuff in is bad and 2. in the air it is highly explosive (grain silo explosion on steroids).

Have fun and be safe :)
 
Yeah. I would guess a pound would last me a lifetime. Good info though on getting bulk. I bet it would be had to breath it.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
Yeah. I would guess a pound would last me a lifetime. Good info though on getting bulk. I bet it would be had to breath it.
Click to expand...

Keep it sealed up also. While in storage it is continually trying to adsorb (d on purpose here) everything it can until all the little carbon atoms are full.
 
drew13 said:
I used activated charcoal powder for a year or two - it works great but man, is it messy! I’d look like a coal miner after using that stuff.
Click to expand...

That's why I've never considered it. Getting it in your eyes, nose, mouth, or lungs is not advised and it's gonna ruin the inside of your vehicle also.

The 20 hours a year I'd be spending wrangling with this stuff would be better spent shooting my bow or scouting.
 
I was thinking of having a bag of the granulates carbon that I could keep in the tub and then put that in an airtight container when not in the tub. Maybe that would absorb odor but not be messy.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
I was thinking of having a bag of the granulates carbon that I could keep in the tub and then put that in an airtight container when not in the tub. Maybe that would absorb odor but not be messy.
Click to expand...

Granulated is going to be much easier to deal with (much safer and less messy). I'd maybe put it in cheese cloth or something. When it's used, it stops working after a while and new has to be utilized or sent to be recharged (heated at super high temps).

You can test it out to see if it works. I'd put a BO shirt, stinky dog blanket, cloth rubbed with onion, etc in there and let it sit a while and then open it and have a few people smell it.
 
 

Activated Carbon Powder

What's your opinion on buying the aquarium grade activated Carbon to dust your clothes with? I'm thinking possibly pouring some in my boots. Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
saddlehunter.com
 
I bought some of this last year. It's a granular and not a true powder. It came with several sachets. I filled each one and it goes into my tubs. When I get back to the truck after each hunt my boots ALWAYS go back into the tubs but I've often wondered if the interior of the boots (odor) can contaminate the exterior of the boot when it's in that enclosed environment of a sealed tub. So I drop a sachet inside each boot for the ride back home. At that point, the boots immediately go on the boot dryer, and I do leave the charcoal sachets in the boots while on the dryer. My idea behind keeping sachets in the boots while the boot dryer is to also dry the charcoal of any moisture they may have absorbed. Not sure it matters to do that but I can say with certainty that busts from my gound odor are just about zero. As long as I don't brush against anything above my boots deer pay little, or no attention to where I've walked. It's opened up a lot of stand options that I used to write off because of reluctance to cross deer trails.
I understand how charcoal works but I guess the microscopic pores eventually "fill up"??
That's the concept with scent lok and why they say to reactivate it in a hot dryer. So I wonder...if the granular charcoal can be reactivated by placing it on a cookie sheet in a hot oven? Thoughts?

charcoalhouse.com

Activated Charcoal Products for Home | Charcoal House

Purify your home with activated charcoal products. Neutralize offensive odors naturally, purify stale household air, your water supply, and more.
charcoalhouse.com charcoalhouse.com
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I bought some of this last year. It's a granular and not a true powder. It came with several sachets. I filled each one and it goes into my tubs. When I get back to the truck after each hunt my boots ALWAYS go back into the tubs but I've often wondered if the interior of the boots (odor) can contaminate the exterior of the boot when it's in that enclosed environment of a sealed tub. So I drop a sachet inside each boot for the ride back home. At that point, the boots immediately go on the boot dryer, and I do leave the charcoal sachets in the boots while on the dryer. My idea behind keeping sachets in the boots while the boot dryer is to also dry the charcoal of any moisture they may have absorbed. Not sure it matters to do that but I can say with certainty that busts from my gound odor are just about zero. As long as I don't brush against anything above my boots deer pay little, or no attention to where I've walked. It's opened up a lot of stand options that I used to write off because of reluctance to cross deer trails.
I understand how charcoal works but I guess the microscopic pores eventually "fill up"??
That's the concept with scent lok and why they say to reactivate it in a hot dryer. So I wonder...if the granular charcoal can be reactivated by placing it on a cookie sheet in a hot oven? Thoughts?

charcoalhouse.com

Activated Charcoal Products for Home | Charcoal House

Purify your home with activated charcoal products. Neutralize offensive odors naturally, purify stale household air, your water supply, and more.
charcoalhouse.com charcoalhouse.com
Click to expand...

I might try this because it doesn't harm the boot. I used to spray Scent Killer Gold field spray, but I don't like putting that stuff on nice leather.

As far as recharging, I got involved in a discussion with someone that seemed to have worked with ScentLok. He said the fibers actually have carbon embedded in them and partially in a matrix that melts at dryer temperatures. So, every time you dry the product, you expose new carbon previously shielded from the outside. This actually partially changed my mind on ScentLok and made me think it just might work somewhat.

Before, I thought there was no way this stuff could work. The reason (and my main point) is that to break the bonds between granular or powder activated carbon and whatever is has adsorbed (not absorbed), it has to be heated to such a high temperature that in regular atmosphere the clothing would burn (and in a low oxygen environment it would melt if a synthetic). So, you can try, but I wouldn't get my hopes too high.
 
raisins said:
I might try this because it doesn't harm the boot. I used to spray Scent Killer Gold field spray, but I don't like putting that stuff on nice leather.

As far as recharging, I got involved in a discussion with someone that seemed to have worked with ScentLok. He said the fibers actually have carbon embedded in them and partially in a matrix that melts at dryer temperatures. So, every time you dry the product, you expose new carbon previously shielded from the outside. This actually partially changed my mind on ScentLok and made me think it just might work somewhat.

Before, I thought there was no way this stuff could work. The reason (and my main point) is that to break the bonds between granular or powder activated carbon and whatever is has adsorbed (not absorbed), it has to be heated to such a high temperature that in regular atmosphere the clothing would burn (and in a low oxygen environment it would melt if a synthetic). So, you can try, but I wouldn't get my hopes too high.
Click to expand...
Yeah, and I don't know any way to quantify to what amount that granules could be reactivated.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Yeah, and I don't know any way to quantify to what amount that granules could be reactivated.
Click to expand...

I think it would be such a pain and maybe so subjective (objective would be the big pain) that I'd maybe look into getting a bag of granular activated carbon and try your hand at making your own pouches.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I bought some of this last year. It's a granular and not a true powder. It came with several sachets. I filled each one and it goes into my tubs. When I get back to the truck after each hunt my boots ALWAYS go back into the tubs but I've often wondered if the interior of the boots (odor) can contaminate the exterior of the boot when it's in that enclosed environment of a sealed tub. So I drop a sachet inside each boot for the ride back home. At that point, the boots immediately go on the boot dryer, and I do leave the charcoal sachets in the boots while on the dryer. My idea behind keeping sachets in the boots while the boot dryer is to also dry the charcoal of any moisture they may have absorbed. Not sure it matters to do that but I can say with certainty that busts from my gound odor are just about zero. As long as I don't brush against anything above my boots deer pay little, or no attention to where I've walked. It's opened up a lot of stand options that I used to write off because of reluctance to cross deer trails.
I understand how charcoal works but I guess the microscopic pores eventually "fill up"??
That's the concept with scent lok and why they say to reactivate it in a hot dryer. So I wonder...if the granular charcoal can be reactivated by placing it on a cookie sheet in a hot oven? Thoughts?

charcoalhouse.com

Activated Charcoal Products for Home | Charcoal House

Purify your home with activated charcoal products. Neutralize offensive odors naturally, purify stale household air, your water supply, and more.
charcoalhouse.com charcoalhouse.com
Click to expand...
Screenshot 2023-12-08 121524.png
gonna need a forge or ceramic kiln to hit those temps
 
raisins said:
I think it would be such a pain and maybe so subjective (objective would be the big pain) that I'd maybe look into getting a bag of granular activated carbon and try your hand at making your own pouches.
Click to expand...
The stuff I bought was the 2 pound container of granules and it came with pouches (sachets). No need to make them.
Probably better to just replace the granules occasionally. I'm just not sure exactly when to do so.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
The stuff I bought was the 2 pound container of granules and it came with pouches (sachets). No need to make them.
Probably better to just replace the granules occasionally. I'm just not sure exactly when to do so.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not sure either. When used to clean water, there are tests (water clarity, amount of organics removed, etc) than can be done. Once it starts not working as well, then you can intervene.

I'd be afraid that any tests on what you have would be destructive to the carbon (you test it and the act of testing ruins it).
 
I’ve mentioned this a couple other places, it’s prolly fair to say I’m a pretty skeptical fella, but had three encounters this year w Scentlok that have increased my confidence in it. But to continue to reduce odor I need to deal with my pack, and maybe the Jx3. Wonder how brushing the powder on and then leaf blowing the excess off might work. I think I’ll try it on the pack. What leads me down this road is a swirly river valley. That’s where the deer daylight the most, it’s kinda where I need to be.
 
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