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Air filter pre cleaners?

673moto

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Do those turbo precleaners actually work for fine dust/ash?
Here in California it looks like there will be a fair amount of cleanup to be done due to all the fire damage...and I’d rather not have to buy new filters every day!
 

Tones

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The answer is yes. There is another brand made in Argentina which is all metal and has replaceable bearings instead of bushes. Darned if I can remember the brand name but can vouch for ther ability to work well and durability. No hassles in 6000 hours on a forestry mulcher .
 

Tones

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673moto another tip for working in dusty conditions is to fit a vacuum gauge in the cab with the hose plumbed into the pipe from the aircleaner to the engine. With that you can see the condition of the filters at all times and not when the indicator trips.
 

673moto

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673moto another tip for working in dusty conditions is to fit a vacuum gauge in the cab with the hose plumbed into the pipe from the aircleaner to the engine. With that you can see the condition of the filters at all times and not when the indicator trips.
That’s an excellent idea!
 

catman13

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oregon usa
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refrigeration engineer/excavation contractor
i have run the TURBO 2 precleaners on tractors in mount saint Helens ash back in the day, we would clean the filters 2 or 3 times a day then we put the turbo 2 on and would only clean every couple of days
 

kshansen

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Central New York, USA
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Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Then there are the precleaners like Cat uses, the ones that have the pipe from them to the exhaust where there is a venturi type device that creates a suction to pull the dust out. Only problem is sometimes in damp conditions the dust can build up in the precleaner and cause restriction. Then you have to remove and wash it out.

We did use some of those Turbo 2's and they seemed to work and hold up pretty good. Plus the polished aluminum hosing looks sharp!
 

Tones

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Ken those venturi type precleaner work very well but are no good for this type of work. Any vegetation going through them comes out burning. I looked at them but no one would sell it in my work environment.
 

Delmer

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interesting. The venturi, exhaust aspirator, whatever you call it, can be plugged and the precleaner will still function, you'll just have to empty it manually instead of it sucking the dirt into the muffler. The old days you had a mason jar screwed into the precleaner on a farmall, and could see when you had to empty it. The aspirator style aren't designed to show you the dirt buildup, so you have to check and empty on schedule if you disconnect the aspirator.
 
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treemuncher

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eatin' trees, poopin' chips
I had a great, half broken Turbo III precleaner on my tracked mulcher. Rarely had to clean the air filter unless things got really dry and dusty. Last I saw of it was a small piece of black plastic after it went through the mulcher on a backwards pass. I was working steep ground and a limb knocked it off. That had happened several times before but I always saw it in time.

So I purchased an Enginaire precleaner of the proper size for that Cummins 8.3. I had one of their precleaners on an ASV Positrac years ago - warrantied the precleaner for life and they were always good on that guarantee. However, after knowing the performance of the Turbo III, the Enginaire unit was worse than disappointing in performance. I did check to make sure it was working and spinning, and it was, but I was having to clean my filters in what I considered "clean" conditions.

So, as much as it hurt, I shelled out nearly $500 for another Turbo III of the proper 7" inlet size. This one now has a leash attached to it so that if it gets knocked off, it stays on top of the engine compartment. This one does not seam to work quite as well as the original one I had but then the original had nearly 1/4-1/3 of the intake bars missing and covered with hardware cloth over the missing section. That might have increase my air velocity enough to make that blade spin faster and knock out more debris. Tough to take a saw to that $500 chuck-o-plastic just to try it.

I've also got a Centri metal unit on another machine that is a total dust mother. Sometimes I have to stop twice a day from air filter alarms going off so that precleaner is not my first choice either. Whatever you chose, precleaners will extend your air filter run time.

You should also check into an Air Filter Blaster if you are going to be working a lot of dust. The tips are a little bit fragile but the unit is worth the cost. It's not uncommon for me to stretch an air filter's life well over 1,000 hrs in the dusty environments that I run in. There is no way I could do that without the AFB.

 

treemuncher

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eatin' trees, poopin' chips
interesting. The venturi, exhaust aspirator, whatever you call it, can be plugged and the precleaner will still function, you'll just have to empty it manually instead of it sucking the dirt into the muffler. The old days you had a mason jar screwed into the precleaner on a farmall, and could see when you had to empty it. The aspirator style aren't designed to show you the dirt buildup, so you have to check and empty on schedule if you disconnect the aspirator.

I need to remember to take a pic on a dusty day. My machine will leave 3 distinct areas of discharged dirt on the top of the engine bay lid. Sometimes its over 1/2" deep. Just check it every few weeks to make sure no leaves or crap are blocking the dirt discharge holes.
 
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