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Carbon Canister

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Carbon Canister
#1
  This topic is about my 1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500
GriffinNC Dennis D
Greenville, SC, USA   USA
1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500
Anyone have a idea of how much carbon is in the canisters? My carb completely filled them both up when the float stuck and I need to rebuild. Wondering how much fish filter carbon I'll need. Garage is really smelling like gas since then.

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Re: Carbon Canister
#2
Doug in Vegas Avatar
Doug in Vegas Douglas D
Las Vegas, NV, USA   USA
1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500
You can spread out the old stuff on metal and burn off the gas.

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Re: Carbon Canister
#3
christrish Avatar
christrish Gold Member Chris B
Lehi, UT, USA   USA
1973 Triumph Spitfire 1500 "Lola"
In reply to # 1491019 by Doug in Vegas You can spread out the old stuff on metal and burn off the gas.

Here's the video of John Twist doing this to an MG/MGB carbon canister:


Working to take the "D" out of DPO since 2013
Follow my restoration progress: http://73spitfire1500.blogspot.com

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Re: Carbon Canister
#4
GriffinNC Dennis D
Greenville, SC, USA   USA
1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500
The gas sat in there long enough that the carbon is broke down and mushy. I think replacing the carbon is probably better.

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Re: Carbon Canister
#5
Yellowhawk Valley Avatar
Yellowhawk Valley Silver Member Dan A
walla walla, WA, USA   USA
1969 Triumph Spitfire "Walla Walla"
1969 Triumph Spitfire "Portland"
1972 Triumph Spitfire MkIV "Spokane"
1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500 "Dayton"    & more
If it has gone squishy then it is dead. The attached might help. I have never measured the actual depth of the charcoal when full but with the filter piece and screen I think you can make a good guess. It is pretty much full.
Dan


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Re: Carbon Canister
#6
GriffinNC Dennis D
Greenville, SC, USA   USA
1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500
Most what I'm finding at the pet store is pellets and not busted up bits. They are small pellets still and used for fish tanks. Think it will make a difference.

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Re: Carbon Canister
#7
spitfire50 Avatar
spitfire50 Paul Mugford
Rochester, N.H., USA   USA
1966 Triumph Spitfire MkII
In reply to # 1491252 by GriffinNC Most what I'm finding at the pet store is pellets and not busted up bits. They are small pellets still and used for fish tanks. Think it will make a difference.

Dennis,
In the carbon canister the important thing is the surface area of the carbon, So the pellets will probably have a bit more area than the chips for the same volume. So they will hold a bit more gas fumes, and maybe take a bit longer to give them up.
All the best,
Paul

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Re: Carbon Canister
#8
Yellowhawk Valley Avatar
Yellowhawk Valley Silver Member Dan A
walla walla, WA, USA   USA
1969 Triumph Spitfire "Walla Walla"
1969 Triumph Spitfire "Portland"
1972 Triumph Spitfire MkIV "Spokane"
1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500 "Dayton"    & more
Others have commented about using those sort of pellets so as Paul suggests, they should be fine, maybe even better in the long run. You can fill it up to the top just leave enough space at the top for the filter, screen and lid to refit.
Dan

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Re: Carbon Canister
#9
Greg1835 Avatar
Greg1835 Greg S
Rudolph, WI, USA   USA
1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500 "Nigel"
I bought some charcoal from Petsmart and found it was finer than the original. I was able to reuse the original stuff, however. I did find that when I went to refill one, I couldn't get all the charcoal back in. I tapped and tapped the canister but still had about 1/2 cup that wouldn't fit back in.

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Re: Carbon Canister
#10
Yellowhawk Valley Avatar
Yellowhawk Valley Silver Member Dan A
walla walla, WA, USA   USA
1969 Triumph Spitfire "Walla Walla"
1969 Triumph Spitfire "Portland"
1972 Triumph Spitfire MkIV "Spokane"
1975 Triumph Spitfire 1500 "Dayton"    & more
In reply to # 1491350 by Greg1835 I bought some charcoal from Petsmart and found it was finer than the original. I was able to reuse the original stuff, however. I did find that when I went to refill one, I couldn't get all the charcoal back in. I tapped and tapped the canister but still had about 1/2 cup that wouldn't fit back in.

Interesting. When I redid mine, I burned it off and let it sit in the sun for several hours on a big cookie sheet. It all went back in at the same level as when I took it out.
Dan

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Re: Carbon Canister
#11
Greg1835 Avatar
Greg1835 Greg S
Rudolph, WI, USA   USA
1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500 "Nigel"
Yup, did the same with mine - spread it out on an old cookie sheet, played the torch over it a bit. Mine didn't even have a gas odor and nothing even burned off, so it must have been in pretty good shape. For whatever reason, either the can shrunk or the charcoal expanded. winking smiley Another mystery of the universe.

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Re: Carbon Canister
#12
christrish Avatar
christrish Gold Member Chris B
Lehi, UT, USA   USA
1973 Triumph Spitfire 1500 "Lola"
If you think about how long that canister has been sitting there, being shook/vibrated with every bump and rumble, any voids between the carbon particles would pack down over time. Not surprising that you couldn't get it all back in there. Open it up again after a year or two and I bet you'll be able to pack the rest in there!


Working to take the "D" out of DPO since 2013
Follow my restoration progress: http://73spitfire1500.blogspot.com

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Re: Carbon Canister
#13
GriffinNC Dennis D
Greenville, SC, USA   USA
1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500
I refilled the canisters. As a note one bag of the carbon below is perfect for filling them both.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YIWT0M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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