"Thinkin' bout gettin' some of those charcoal filter bags used in aquarium filers to fill up the column. Then put a stainless steel funnel in the top and pour away. The charcoal being in little bags means no cleanup mess. Just invert and pour them out.

Sounds good, anyway."

Went to a good boutique distillery the other day and they used SS tubes for carbon filtering. As pros, they ahd come up with a simple idea for holding the carbon in, releasing and removing. They hung the tube vertically from the ceiling, hung a container with liquid above the top of the SS tube, put a coffee filter secured with a zip tie at the bottom. Pour carbon in the top. on completion of filtration, put trashcan under tube, clip the zip tie, and bang the SS tube with a rubber mallet. Whoosh, out comes the carbon. Cheap and effective.