At 08:16 PM 10/26/2009, Michael Sullivan wrote:
>My experience with charcoal is with fish tanks and BBQs.

Fish tanks same stuff, except it's used once and tossed in a much
less controlled environment.  BBQ, ordinary (non-activated) charcoal,
with or without binders and heaven-knows-what that seems to amount to
about a third of a bricquet.  Actual pure charcoal burns to a light
feathery ash with very little volume.

>   So this lasts indef as long as no cracks or leaks?  Thanks again
> for the insight.

I guess I'd say it lasts indefinitely until it stops working whether
for obvious or magical reason (i.e. the charcoal gets gucked up with
something other than gasoline vapor).  I believe the magical failures
are very rare but don't know for sure.  And I don't know any
reasonable method to test one for function in the back yard.  So,
physical integrity and proper connections are both the best you can
do and pretty reasonable as well.

Yrs,
D