I'm as anal about air filters as some of you are about oil and oil changes . I have a Bad Boy Zero Turn with a Kohler 725cc engine . Every other time I mow I pull the filter out , wash the foam pre filter and lightly oil it with some K&N filter oil I have left over . The paper element gets blown out ( gently ) and I put a film of silicone grease on the rubber seal on the bottom . The pre filter traps a buttload of crud and is worth every penny . The paper element gets replaced once a year . Cheap insurance .
Air filter maintenance
- Thread starter nomas
- Start date
I was always of the opinion that over servicing the air filter could do more harm than good. Cleaning the foam pre filter is o.k.. Removing and cleaning the paper filter can allow excess dirt to make its way into the engine and blowing off the paper media might damage it if you are not really careful.
I very carefully (not intense suction) shop vac my industrial paper filter on my Exmark once a year and replace it about every 4 -5 years. Use is light at only 100 hours per season and the filter location and design causes it to collect very little debris.
I very carefully (not intense suction) shop vac my industrial paper filter on my Exmark once a year and replace it about every 4 -5 years. Use is light at only 100 hours per season and the filter location and design causes it to collect very little debris.
Sounds to me a little overkill.
Originally Posted by doitmyself
I was always of the opinion that over servicing the air filter could do more harm than good. Cleaning the foam pre filter is o.k.. Removing and cleaning the paper filter can allow excess dirt to make its way into the engine and blowing off the paper media might damage it if you are not really careful.
I very carefully (not intense suction) shop vac my industrial paper filter on my Exmark once a year and replace it about every 4 -5 years. Use is light at only 100 hours per season and the filter location and design causes it to collect very little debris.
Did you see the part where I said that I gently blow off the paper element ? No different than your shop vac . And I'm careful about removing the filter and not letting anything get in . Give me a little credit . I've been doing this for a while ...
I was always of the opinion that over servicing the air filter could do more harm than good. Cleaning the foam pre filter is o.k.. Removing and cleaning the paper filter can allow excess dirt to make its way into the engine and blowing off the paper media might damage it if you are not really careful.
I very carefully (not intense suction) shop vac my industrial paper filter on my Exmark once a year and replace it about every 4 -5 years. Use is light at only 100 hours per season and the filter location and design causes it to collect very little debris.
Did you see the part where I said that I gently blow off the paper element ? No different than your shop vac . And I'm careful about removing the filter and not letting anything get in . Give me a little credit . I've been doing this for a while ...
Car air filters can go 30,000-40,000 miles between changes. Why do you think a lawn mower filter would get clogged every couple hours?
Originally Posted by jmsjags
Why do you think a lawn mower filter would get clogged every couple hours?
Umm.... let me make a guess ... the lawn mower may throw a lot of residual dust/pollen/debris/crud into the intake vs car driven on relatively clean paved roads ? How'd I do ?
Why do you think a lawn mower filter would get clogged every couple hours?
Umm.... let me make a guess ... the lawn mower may throw a lot of residual dust/pollen/debris/crud into the intake vs car driven on relatively clean paved roads ? How'd I do ?
Lawn mowers, especially those used commercially need to have a lot of attention paid to the air filtration. There are a lot of properties that have half grass and half dirt and the amount of dust and sand can be really high. My Dixie Chopper had 2 separate air filters and they worked incredibly well. Foam prefilters are a no brainer, but I would not pull the paper air filter very often. There just isn't much need to do so.
Anyone ever gotten crazy and installed 2 foam prefilters? or pantyhose over the initial air inlet?
Anyone ever gotten crazy and installed 2 foam prefilters? or pantyhose over the initial air inlet?
My Honda 160 is 12 years old. I generally get two years out of an air filter. I blow it out and reuse.
Originally Posted by nomas
I'm as anal about air filters as some of you are about oil and oil changes . I have a Bad Boy Zero Turn with a Kohler 725cc engine . Every other time I mow I pull the filter out , wash the foam pre filter and lightly oil it with some K&N filter oil I have left over . The paper element gets blown out ( gently ) and I put a film of silicone grease on the rubber seal on the bottom . The pre filter traps a buttload of crud and is worth every penny . The paper element gets replaced once a year . Cheap insurance .
I think you are doing more harm than good when you are blowing out your filter. You should be able to go a lot longer without having to clean the air filter.
I'm as anal about air filters as some of you are about oil and oil changes . I have a Bad Boy Zero Turn with a Kohler 725cc engine . Every other time I mow I pull the filter out , wash the foam pre filter and lightly oil it with some K&N filter oil I have left over . The paper element gets blown out ( gently ) and I put a film of silicone grease on the rubber seal on the bottom . The pre filter traps a buttload of crud and is worth every penny . The paper element gets replaced once a year . Cheap insurance .
I think you are doing more harm than good when you are blowing out your filter. You should be able to go a lot longer without having to clean the air filter.
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by nomas
I'm as anal about air filters as some of you are about oil and oil changes . I have a Bad Boy Zero Turn with a Kohler 725cc engine . Every other time I mow I pull the filter out , wash the foam pre filter and lightly oil it with some K&N filter oil I have left over . The paper element gets blown out ( gently ) and I put a film of silicone grease on the rubber seal on the bottom . The pre filter traps a buttload of crud and is worth every penny . The paper element gets replaced once a year . Cheap insurance .
I think you are doing more harm than good when you are blowing out your filter. You should be able to go a lot longer without having to clean the air filter.
And I think you are wrong . We all have choices . That's mine .
Originally Posted by nomas
I'm as anal about air filters as some of you are about oil and oil changes . I have a Bad Boy Zero Turn with a Kohler 725cc engine . Every other time I mow I pull the filter out , wash the foam pre filter and lightly oil it with some K&N filter oil I have left over . The paper element gets blown out ( gently ) and I put a film of silicone grease on the rubber seal on the bottom . The pre filter traps a buttload of crud and is worth every penny . The paper element gets replaced once a year . Cheap insurance .
I think you are doing more harm than good when you are blowing out your filter. You should be able to go a lot longer without having to clean the air filter.
And I think you are wrong . We all have choices . That's mine .
Originally Posted by nomas
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by nomas
I'm as anal about air filters as some of you are about oil and oil changes . I have a Bad Boy Zero Turn with a Kohler 725cc engine . Every other time I mow I pull the filter out , wash the foam pre filter and lightly oil it with some K&N filter oil I have left over . The paper element gets blown out ( gently ) and I put a film of silicone grease on the rubber seal on the bottom . The pre filter traps a buttload of crud and is worth every penny . The paper element gets replaced once a year . Cheap insurance .
I think you are doing more harm than good when you are blowing out your filter. You should be able to go a lot longer without having to clean the air filter.
And I think you are wrong . We all have choices . That's mine .
If you think everyone is wrong, let's see where it is stated in your manual where air filter cleanings are needed after each mow?? You have a choice, if it turns you on, go for it.
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by nomas
I'm as anal about air filters as some of you are about oil and oil changes . I have a Bad Boy Zero Turn with a Kohler 725cc engine . Every other time I mow I pull the filter out , wash the foam pre filter and lightly oil it with some K&N filter oil I have left over . The paper element gets blown out ( gently ) and I put a film of silicone grease on the rubber seal on the bottom . The pre filter traps a buttload of crud and is worth every penny . The paper element gets replaced once a year . Cheap insurance .
I think you are doing more harm than good when you are blowing out your filter. You should be able to go a lot longer without having to clean the air filter.
And I think you are wrong . We all have choices . That's mine .
If you think everyone is wrong, let's see where it is stated in your manual where air filter cleanings are needed after each mow?? You have a choice, if it turns you on, go for it.
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by nomas
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by nomas
Originally Posted by Lubener
nomas said:I think you are doing more harm than good when you are blowing out your filter. You should be able to go a lot longer without having to clean the air filter.
And I think you are wrong . We all have choices . That's mine .
If you think everyone is wrong, let's see where it is stated in your manual where air filter cleanings are needed after each mow?? You have a choice, if it turns you on, go for it.
Where did I say I clean it after every mow ? No manual has the ability to gauge how much dirt and dust you kick up in your own yard .The pre filter is not 100% efficient and there is still a lot of dirt trapped in it , so I'm confident that my method is paying off in the long run . Sorry if that offends you . Well , not really .
Sounds like a good plan to me. I have lots of mowers come through my shop with clogged solid air filters. How often it needs to be maintained really depends on your environment. I maintain my grandpa's Scag zero turn that he mows 8 acres with, and usually after 2 mowings the filter is clogged because of all the dust and seeds from the grass flying around. My tractor on the other hand can go an entire mowing season without the filter getting too dirty. Blowing it out with an air compressor won't hurt a thing, and many power equipment owner's manuals actually recommend doing this every few hours of use.
