AIR FILTER MAINTENANCE

[HOMER]

With the cost of things these days and the profit margins being what they are, I am trying to run things as long as I can and save a few dollars. I know an air or oil filter is not something to stretch too long before changing but I wanted to know how long everybody else runs theirs and how do you clean them. For the last 2 seasons I have been washing mine in warm soapy water and letting them dry overnight. I read in one of my manuals not to use compressed air to blow them out because it would mess up the pleats or something. One filter is not too bad, but all total I now have 13 I have to keep up with. Any ideas, what do ya'll do with yours?<p>Homer

[Lazer]

We clean/re-oil the foam weekly and replace all air filters the first Tuesday of every month.

[Bobby]

Hey Homer. I was wondering if your Choppers had a pre filter system? The Walker I run has a Donaldson pre-filter. I've been told not to blow them also. I do anyway from the intake side out. Every two days is enough to keep the primary filter looking new. I check it anyway , but it never needs cleaning.<p>----------<br>Bobby <br>Ft Lauderdale

[JJ Lawn]

Homer,I know that the cost of things is high and we need watch those profit margins, But.....<p>Air filters are cheap compaired to replacing an engine. I clean my air filters every day, and replace them every month whether they need it or not. Worth it to me. Dirt (IMO) is the #1 cause of engine failure. <p>Generally you can just tap the filter on a flat surface to shake the dirt out. Now you can and should wash the foam pre-cleaner, which if you usem them can help keep the filter cleaner, and extend the life. <p>Not too sure about washing paper filters though, seems to me that this can clog the pores of the paper filter? And using compressed air can make pores bigger. And any damage to the filter can let dirt in to the carburator, and it does not take too much dirt to prematurely wear an engine.<p>I have a Walker mower and one thing I did was to get the Donaldson Turbo air cleaner system which greatly reduces the dirt to the filter.<p><p><br>Jim<br>

[Guido]

The paper filters are much more fragile then we all think. Like someone said earlier, the only thing you can really do to them w/o defeating they're purpose is tap the dirt out. During some preventive maintenance courses we took for our larger equipment (I would imagine smaller filters are even MORE fragile) They showed us a couple filters that had been cleaned various ways, and by looking at them you couldn't tell there was anything wrong with them. We looked at each under a microscope and.....(paper filters, not the foam pre filters)<p>water - closed up the pores, insuffeciant air intake to the machine<p>Compressed air - opened the pores up to 5 times original size, letting large articles of crap in to your engine <p>Not changing / dusting out filters - leaves the pores clogged, and eventually all the debris will be sucked in, opening the pours wider and wider. <p>It's worth it in the long run to do the proper factory preventive maintenance on equipment (if not better), rather then going through engines.<p>----------<br>&quot;guido&quot;<br>David M. Famiglietti

[southside]

Air filter is cheap insurance. We run mostly<br>diesel gear here and its a hell of a lot<br>cheaper to replace a filter than rebuild a<br>20k truck or tractor motor.With the diesel<br>filters I just blow them out ONCE with <br>compressed air and when they get dirty again <br>i throw them out.

[Eric ELM]

I wash the foam prefilters out with gas/oil mix. The gas washes out the dirt, the oil coats it so it's ready to put back on.<p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

[cutntrim]

We wash our foam filters in soapy water then coat them lightly in oil. I'd like to say I'm right on top of it like everyone else, but we only do it probably once a week. The air filter we just smack on the ground and replace when its dirty.<p>----------<br>Dave in S.Ontario<br>

[thelawnguy]

Same procedure as cutntrim. My paper filters will usually last a season as long as I keep the prefilter washed at least every 25hrs of run time.<p>Bill

[mattingly]

I'd like to know a little more about this oil/gas mixture. What relative amounts of each are used, how long do they soak, how often, how long do you keep them, when do you change out filters and prefilters? Equipment maintenance is my one weak suit of the bunch and I know I need to learn more. Additionally, what kind of short courses can be taken to be better prepared/are there any good books out there?<br>TIA(thanks in advance)<p>----------<br>Integrated Landscape Solutions<br>Lexington, KY

[1stclasslawns]

I clean the pre filters daily or every other day depending, I wash with soap & water let them dry then re oil them. I have 2 for every machine so they dry for a day or so. <br>The paper ones I tap out then put on the bench and put the blower nozzel in the top hole and blow out back wards but not directly on the paper. I usually change them every month except during the fall when its a lot more often cause of the dust.

[GrassMaster]

Hello Everybody:<p>This is a article that I posted in another forum a few months back, I hope not this one if so, Well excuse me!<p>&gt;Is it really necessary to put oil on the foam element filter that goes over the paper element filter? I would like to hear some pros and cons. Thanks.&lt;<p>If you watch after a period of time, you will notice that you get a good bit of dirt in your intake & or carb when servicing your air filter if you are not very careful. <p>There was a study did a while back & it proved that a lot of people overlook this when cleaning & servicing an air filter.<p>When ever we serviced our equipment we checked to see if any dirt did fall down in there when removing the air filter (If you can't see down in there take the time to get a flashlight & look). If we found dirt we did whatever it took to get the dirt cleaned out. <p>I found out the best thing to do was take off the air filter cover & if the intake opening was still not showing we would hold down the air filter blow off the outside area around the air filter area, then remove the air filter carefully not to spill any dirt down in the intake opening.<p>If I removed the air filter cover & intake opening was visible we would put a rag over the intake opening then blow off around the air filter area then carefully remove it.<p>Yes, you should always put about a table spoon or so of oil on the pre cleaner, work it in real good by squeezing the pre cleaner in your hand, & then put the pre cleaner in a rag squeezeing to remove the excess oil so then you will not have excess oil on the pre cleaner that could reduce the life of your air filter. Always buy OEM air filters not cheaper after market ones.<p>The pre cleaner that has been properly oiled with the excess oil removed will stop most finer dust (also larger debris that could shorten the life of you air filter), Yes the finer dust that would go through the paper filter element straight through to your carb ( causing excess throttle shaft wear, this wear alone will allow dust & dirt to enter at the throttle shaft bypassing even later a engine that has a properly serviced air filter)then into your head, valves, piston, rings, cylinder wall then into your crankcase & so on.<p>Oh, by the way take a new filter & hold it up to the light, you will notice that you can see light through it, this means if you can see light through it, very fine dust particles can also go through it too. <p>Thank God for the person that thought of the pre cleaner. Notice that most home owner engines do not have a precleaner & all I-C or commercial grade engines do have pre cleaners, this contributes to it being a commercial grade engine. Please remember to blow off very lightly the air filter from the inside out first, then lightly blow off the outside of it. Blowing to hard can damage to the pores of the paper element on the filter.<p>If I had a larger engine that had a oil filter, I would run synthetic oil in it which adds a lot of life to your engine, helps out if the engine was ran a little low on oil & helps you when you are cutting on steep slopes & not getting proper engine lubrication). <p>The air compressor is one of the greatest tools a Commercial Pro could have & a parts washer.<p>Time is Money & Money is work divided by time.<p><br><p>----------<br>GrassMaster - Home: www.lawnservicing.com<br>My Start Up Page www.lawnservicing.com/startup/