Does a carbon bottle remove chloramines?

[imagirlgeek]

I'm just curious if these carbon bottles many are using remove the chloramines from the tap water. I've seen conflicting posts on it and so now I'm confused.

[gotticgs]

no John was telling me there is a certain kind of carbon you need but he has not located it yet

[SteveCGG]

check out http://www.calgoncarbon.com/carbon_products/index.html
they seem to have every possible kind of carbon

[myjohnson]

I was asking the same questions before I upgraded my carbon bottle to see if it was actually worth it. I literally read hundreds of articles. The info below, I think, is a good summary of what I found while doing the research.

"Chloramine, which consists of a mixture of chlorine and ammonia, is added to the water of many cities as a substitute for free chlorine. It is often referred to in the plural, as “chloramines,” because it can take on a number of forms according to the pH and mineral content of the water.

The whole reduction discussion for chloramines can become quite complex, but the main thing you need to know is that chloramine is removed from water with essentially the same strategies that are used to remove chlorine. This means that carbon filtration is the best removal method, and, contrary to urban legends, filter carbon does indeed remove chloramine. The problem is that it takes more carbon and more contact time to do the job. In practical terms this means that if your city disinfects your tap water with chloramines you’ll need to get a larger and better carbon filter than you would need if chlorine alone were used.

For drinking water you can consider high quality carbon units like Multi-Pure, or double and triple units that use lots of carbon. And, contrary to another widely promoted myth, reverse osmosis units do remove chloramine. In fact, they do it well, because any good RO unit contains a couple of carbon filters and the water gets an extra slow pass through the first one.

In choosing carbon for chloramine removal, a specially prepared carbon called “catalytic” carbon is far superior to regular carbon."

http://www.pwgazette.com/problemchloramines.htm

[imagirlgeek]

Ah...okay. Catalytic Carbon...that stuff is expensive (by comparison).

[myjohnson]

Yeah, it is! And not many people even carry it. I was trying to order some for my bottle.

But in the end, I made the decision that normal carbon will have to do for now.

I'll rethink when I have to change out my carbon bottle.

[76dragon]

Yeah, it is! And not many people even carry it. I was trying to order some for my bottle.

But in the end, I made the decision that normal carbon will have to do for now.

I'll rethink when I have to change out my carbon bottle.

That will take many many years

[eklikewhoa]

If i'm not mistaken chloramine is chlorine and ammonia bonded together, so the two must be broken down before it can be filtered out and when that is done you are left with the ammonia issue.

It's been awhile since I researched this and too lazy to dig through my archive of articles/studies that I found.

[imagirlgeek]

Here ya go...info about it on the EPA's website, to back up what you are saying EK. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/chloramine/

[eklikewhoa]

Thank you Traci!

I have some articles that go further into depth about the process of breaking it all down, been so long since I dug through it all so hopefully I'll find it.

[fshfrk]

I think catalytic carbon is marketing BS. Going to make a 50ft carbon snake and see what happens.

[myjohnson]

I think catalytic carbon is marketing BS. Going to make a 50ft carbon snake and see what happens.

I was scared of the same thing. Seems kind of new to me. Once I get my hands on a test kit, I'll post up my results.

I hope 75 pounds of carbon can remove it.

[geoff_tropheus]

Personally what I see as the biggest improvement with carbon use is the water clarity when its added back and the removal of most other wastes or contaimenates.

If there is any concern about chloramines, I would just treat the amount of water changed out with Amquel or Prime.

just my .02

[myjohnson]

Basically.

Even when I was using my smaller carbon bottle I was still adding prime.

I just saw the carbon bottle as insurance.