Cummins Filtration and many other air filter manufacturers discourage the practice of cleaning air filters and do not warrant cleaned air filters. Nonetheless, some equipment owners and maintenance supervisors believe that cleaning and reusing heavy duty air filters can lower operating costs. Before you decide to clean your filters, please consider the following facts:
■Proper use of a quality air filter restriction gauge and adherence to OEM recommended air filter change guidelines will provide the maximum life out of the air filter element and the engine/equipment that the filter is protecting.
■Cleaning your air filter will reduce the dust holding capacity compared to a new air filter. Dust capacity can drop up to 25% after the first cleaning with additional capacity loss after each subsequent cleaning. Loss of dust capacity shortens the useable service internal of the filter leading to more frequent service – which in turn adds additional risk of mis-service and/or accidental dust ingestion.
■On-highway air filters should not be cleaned since the contamination encountered over the road (fine particles and soot materials) is very difficult to remove from the air filter media. On-highway filters that have been cleaned generally display a dingy, dirty color due to the retained contaminant. Filters in this condition generally have marked reductions in dust capacity as compared to a new air filter. Cleaning to the point of yielding a “like new” appearance will most likely result in damage to the air filter media.
■Secondary air filters should never be cleaned since the secondary filter is the last barrier to contaminant before it reaches your engine/equipment. The useful life of a secondary air filter is equivalent to three changes of the primary air filter or one year of continuous service, whichever occurs first.
■Extra handling of air filters could inadvertently cause damage. Proper inspection of cleaned elements is of vital importance for the proper operation of the air cleaner system.
■Generally the commercial air filter cleaning businesses do not want to clean air filters that have been used to the OEM recommended change point (20-30″ H2O or 4.9 – 7.4 kPa filter restriction). This fact encourages more frequent filter service and leads to the problems associated with too frequent opening and closing of the air filtration system. Utilizing the maximum life of the air filter is your best practice for gaining the maximum, cost-effective engine/equipment protection.
Consideration before clean air filters
