Does the charcoal canister actually do anything?

Welcome to the DeLorean Club Forum, this area is for general DeLorean chat

Does the charcoal canister actually do anything?

Postby jerzybondov » Wed Sep 16, 2020 11:06 am

Is there any reason why we shouldn't just chuck it in the bin and plug up the vacuum pipes that go to it?!
VIN 7176
Official Club Reaper Extraordinaire.
User avatar
jerzybondov
 
Posts: 2603
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:24 pm
Location: London NW2
VIN #: 7176
Spaxed

Re: Does the charcoal canister actually do anything?

Postby Dan 6511 » Wed Sep 16, 2020 11:18 am

It absorbs fuel vapour from the tank. So you should never smell fuel when driving your Delorean, so yeah it works great :lol: :lol:

If you remove it and and plug the vac lines be sure to not plug the vent pipe from the tank as the fuel pump will be trying to suck the air out of the tank and as we know how well these tanks are sealed :lol: it could cause running issues. I'd put a little filter on the tank vent line so muck can't get drawn down it into the tank.
Vin: 6511 Reg: TDV 102W (Totaly Diabolical Vehicle)

Sell it Or Sorn it

Road trips:
2008: Mervyn's D Weekend, Ireland
2008: DMC Europe Open House
2009: DMC Europe Open House
2009: Royal D Weekend, Ireland
2010: Silvercoast, France
2010: Shanefest, Ireland
2010: Luxemburg & Nurburgring
2011: Eurofest, Belfast
2019: International DeLorean Meeting, Hamburg
User avatar
Dan 6511
 
Posts: 3538
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:10 pm
Location: Essex
VIN #: 6511

Re: Does the charcoal canister actually do anything?

Postby jerzybondov » Fri Sep 18, 2020 9:48 am

Lol! So should it be a service item then? If I replace it will that then mean that I can use the fans without blowing a load of fuel vapour inside the car?!
VIN 7176
Official Club Reaper Extraordinaire.
User avatar
jerzybondov
 
Posts: 2603
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:24 pm
Location: London NW2
VIN #: 7176
Spaxed

Re: Does the charcoal canister actually do anything?

Postby Dan 6511 » Fri Sep 18, 2020 10:14 am

jerzybondov wrote:will that then mean that I can use the fans without blowing a load of fuel vapour inside the car?!


Don't be silly Gez :lol:

Its not a service item, the idea is it absorbs the vapour then when there is engine vacuum it sucks it back out and burns it off in the engine. Modern cars have a similar setup, but of course they work.
Vin: 6511 Reg: TDV 102W (Totaly Diabolical Vehicle)

Sell it Or Sorn it

Road trips:
2008: Mervyn's D Weekend, Ireland
2008: DMC Europe Open House
2009: DMC Europe Open House
2009: Royal D Weekend, Ireland
2010: Silvercoast, France
2010: Shanefest, Ireland
2010: Luxemburg & Nurburgring
2011: Eurofest, Belfast
2019: International DeLorean Meeting, Hamburg
User avatar
Dan 6511
 
Posts: 3538
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:10 pm
Location: Essex
VIN #: 6511

Re: Does the charcoal canister actually do anything?

Postby jerzybondov » Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:18 pm

But surely that charcoal gets all saturated with fuel after 40 years? Like those dehumidifying crystals you can get for caravans etc? Tell me I can put a new one in and the car (and me, and my clothes and my stuff) will no longer miraculously smell of fuel as soon as I go anywhere at all! :mrgreen: :lol:
VIN 7176
Official Club Reaper Extraordinaire.
User avatar
jerzybondov
 
Posts: 2603
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:24 pm
Location: London NW2
VIN #: 7176
Spaxed

Re: Does the charcoal canister actually do anything?

Postby CFI » Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:57 pm

jerzybondov wrote:But surely that charcoal gets all saturated with fuel after 40 years? Like those dehumidifying crystals you can get for caravans etc? Tell me I can put a new one in and the car (and me, and my clothes and my stuff) will no longer miraculously smell of fuel as soon as I go anywhere at all! :mrgreen: :lol:


That could work. I’m aware of a few people that got rid of fuel smells by replacing the canister, which had some sort of clog. Although those people were complaining of a fuel smell from the back of the car, not through the air vents. The canisters main job is really just storage of the vapor until the engine is started and is part of the EPA regulations (for the USA anyway). I’m not sure how much “absorbing” it’s really doing.

The problem is that there are many places that fuel vapors can leak from: roll over valve, sending unit cap, fuel pump boot, etc. If the vapor is coming from anywhere near the fuel tank area, it can easily travel up the water drain hole above the fuel pump, and right into the air intake for the HVAC system. To see if that is your problem, try taking a clean rag and shoving it into that water drain hole.
CFI
 
Posts: 135
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 1:16 am

Re: Does the charcoal canister actually do anything?

Postby Dan 6511 » Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:43 pm

I've never managed to achieve a fuel tight seal on the fuel pump boot on either of my cars, so that is probably the culprit.

Also on a long run you end up with a tank full of very hot fuel as its heated as it passes through the metering head and pumped back into the tank via the return line. Round and round it goes getting the fuel in the tank hotter and hotter. I dare say when the fuel is hot it will give off more vapour than cold. I know on the Hamburg trip which after hours and hours of continuous running, a few of us were smelling petrol fumes in the cabin.
Vin: 6511 Reg: TDV 102W (Totaly Diabolical Vehicle)

Sell it Or Sorn it

Road trips:
2008: Mervyn's D Weekend, Ireland
2008: DMC Europe Open House
2009: DMC Europe Open House
2009: Royal D Weekend, Ireland
2010: Silvercoast, France
2010: Shanefest, Ireland
2010: Luxemburg & Nurburgring
2011: Eurofest, Belfast
2019: International DeLorean Meeting, Hamburg
User avatar
Dan 6511
 
Posts: 3538
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:10 pm
Location: Essex
VIN #: 6511


Return to Welcome! ... General DeLorean chat

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests

About us

The DeLorean Club UK forum for European DeLorean owners and enthusiasts. The largest DeLorean forum in Europe.

Registration is FREE and all registered users get full access

cron