Do-It-Yourself Air Filter Cleaner

Do-It-Yourself Air Filter Cleaner FARM SHOP Maintenance 21-2-1 It takes a lot of equipment to farm the 5,000 acres operated by Stan Lapnisky and his partner Albert Koroluk, including six 4-WD tractors, several combines, and a fleet of diesel-powered trucks. All those engines have filters that must be cleaned regularly. "You can spend a lot of time cleaning filters with an air hose and nozzle and you often end up puncturing the filter paper," says Lapnisky. After years of frustration he finally decided to build his own air filter cleaner that uses a compressor to blow dust out and a squirrel cage fan to vacuum it away. He used scrap angle iron and sheet metal to build the 3-ft. high, 2-ft. wide, 6-ft. long filter-cleaning machine. The filter is placed inside a metal housing with each end supported by a round wooden disc. A 2-in. dia. pipe with holes in it runs through the filter and blasts air through the filter from inside. As air blasts through the filter, it rotates at 400 rpm's, throwing dust outward by centrifugal force. An electric motor and V-belt turn the filter. A large squirrel cage fan sucks the dust out and discharges it outside the machine. After the filter is cleaned, Lapnisky sets it over a 300-watt bulb to examine it for punctures. "It takes only about 15 minutes to clean a filter. It does a great job," says Lapnisky, who says he spent less than $300 to build the cleaner. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Stan Lapnisky, RR 1, Andrew, Alberta, Canada T0B 0C0 (ph 403 365-2280).

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