I have a commercial Honda push lawn mower that has a two part air filter, foam/paper. I clean it frequently, soap and water, then some carb cleaner, then compressed air and let it air dry a while. I was wondering about the oil. I have some Red Line 2-stroke racing oil that I have been using, but wondered if one of those 'high tack' air cleaner oils would be worth the trouble. The reason I'm using the RL 2-stroke is that I figure some of the oil is going to go into the engine, and why now an oil that is meant to be there. What are you doing?
Air filter
- Thread starter LarryL
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The past few times I've cleaned, dried & oiled the foam sleeve pre-cleaner on the old Briggs I/C OHV rider, I've used bar & chain oil for a chain saw. It has built in "tackifiers" to help it stick in place on a chain saw, & seems to work better than ordinary motor oil. Got this idea from someone here on BITOG a couple of years ago, don't remember who it was. A quart is cheap, & if you use it for nothing else it might be a lifetime supply. And if you own a chain saw, you should already have it on hand.
Yep, I've been recommending cheap chainsaw bar & chain oil for foam air filters for years.
We have 2 Stihl saws ... and always a gallon jug of this stuff laying around.
--- Bror Jace
We have 2 Stihl saws ... and always a gallon jug of this stuff laying around.
--- Bror Jace
Glad it's workin' out fer ya'
Isn't it aming how dirty that oil gets in a very short time?
--- Bror Jace
Isn't it aming how dirty that oil gets in a very short time?
--- Bror Jace
I am cleaning my foam sleeve now. I use gasoline to remove old oil first, then gentle wash in warm water. I have some disposable gloves to protect my hands.
As for oil, I had trouble finding the "proper type" (even sales people didn't know) so ended up with a heavy about 80 weight gear oil. I am not an expert; just thought it would stay on the foam better. I give it a few days to drip excess oil off it. Just leave it on newspapers.
I didn't realize that chain saw chain/bar oil has tackifiers. Are they effective only on metal (bar/chain) or also on other materials (foam)? What weight "equivalent" is that oil?
thanks
As for oil, I had trouble finding the "proper type" (even sales people didn't know) so ended up with a heavy about 80 weight gear oil. I am not an expert; just thought it would stay on the foam better. I give it a few days to drip excess oil off it. Just leave it on newspapers.
I didn't realize that chain saw chain/bar oil has tackifiers. Are they effective only on metal (bar/chain) or also on other materials (foam)? What weight "equivalent" is that oil?
thanks
Hello,You did not say which model of mower it is. Most honda prefilters as advised by local dealer you do not oil, they are a dry pre filter. Why you ask , the filter oil clogs the pores in the fiter media. If you must oil foam pre cleaner 1st clean with a mild degreaser eg kerosine 2nd wash with hot soapy water 3rd clean with gentle compressed air 4th let air dry 4th reoil as required [only lightly if sitting on paper element] ps preferably use an oil that changes colour when its dirty.tomo
Tomo,
I have a Scotts (John Deere) 1642
I did notice the oil getting into paper element, so was wondering about it. Could be my foam is supposed to be dry. I just don't see what can a dry foam do??? From what I've read (my Kawi bike has a foam filter alone, no paper) it is not the foam, but the oil sticking to the foam which traps dirt particles. Can a dry foam be effective at trapping dirt????
I was going to use Mineral spirits but ... Are kerosine and Mineral spirits much more gentle degreasers than gasoline?
thanks
P.S.: This may be a dumb idea, but could I use Mineral spirits or some other mild degreaser (which?) to clean oil/particles from paper element?
I have a Scotts (John Deere) 1642
I did notice the oil getting into paper element, so was wondering about it. Could be my foam is supposed to be dry. I just don't see what can a dry foam do??? From what I've read (my Kawi bike has a foam filter alone, no paper) it is not the foam, but the oil sticking to the foam which traps dirt particles. Can a dry foam be effective at trapping dirt????
I was going to use Mineral spirits but ... Are kerosine and Mineral spirits much more gentle degreasers than gasoline?
thanks
P.S.: This may be a dumb idea, but could I use Mineral spirits or some other mild degreaser (which?) to clean oil/particles from paper element?
My Honda commercial mower came with the pre-filter oiled. I know because I checked when I got home. I bought mine from a real lawm mower shop and they put it together and showed me how everything worked. I took it home, warmed it up and change the oil and rechecked everything. I think I'm going to follow the advise of 04SpecV and get some Maxima stuff for foam air filters. Right now I clean the pre-filter every time I mow and it's always full of stuff, but the paper element looks untouched, so far.
The foam filter treatment wont end up in your paper element either(don't overoil). It sticks like glue. You may want to use latex gloves while applying the oil, makes cleaning up afterwars much easier.
I normally soak the filter in mineral spirits or similar, then wash it in simple green. Let it air dry, then reoil.
My Stihl has a thin foam pre filter, which is not oiled.
Not sure why they have so many different types.
I normally soak the filter in mineral spirits or similar, then wash it in simple green. Let it air dry, then reoil.
My Stihl has a thin foam pre filter, which is not oiled.
Not sure why they have so many different types.
Well I overoiled it last time so used mineral spirits to clean the paper element. Not sure if it is a good idea?
Anyway, as I am not sure how much oil to use, this time I overoiled it, then left it on a newspaper for over a week. Every day I'd flip it to see how much oil is on the newspaper. This weekend there wasn't much so I decided most of the excess oil is out.
Going forward I'll always use mineral spirits and gloves help too.
thanks for the tips
P.S.:
Filter design is interesting. Base is a triangle. The longer side is facing the flywheel, which presumably pushes air into the filter, hence this side gets the most dirt. The other sides are opposite, so look cleaner. Too bad the other sides are shorter, so cannot rotate it periodically. Seems most of the work is done by the longer side facing the flywheel?
Anyway, as I am not sure how much oil to use, this time I overoiled it, then left it on a newspaper for over a week. Every day I'd flip it to see how much oil is on the newspaper. This weekend there wasn't much so I decided most of the excess oil is out.
Going forward I'll always use mineral spirits and gloves help too.
thanks for the tips
P.S.:
Filter design is interesting. Base is a triangle. The longer side is facing the flywheel, which presumably pushes air into the filter, hence this side gets the most dirt. The other sides are opposite, so look cleaner. Too bad the other sides are shorter, so cannot rotate it periodically. Seems most of the work is done by the longer side facing the flywheel?
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