When Do I Need to Replace a Dust Collector Filter

What to look for in your dust collector

In short, the best way to know when to replace a dust collector cartridge is based on differential pressure. Every dust collector manufacturer will have a recommended differential pressure that they recommend changing the filters at. Typically, this is measured in inches of water column or “of WC”.

If for some reason that is not specified on your system, the typical recommended time to change a filter is 6-7" of static (differential) pressure. Most dust collectors offer self-cleaning features, so this reading is when a dust collector can no longer keep a filter below 6” on the gauge after a typical cleaning cycle.

Avoid a filter fail

Anything above the basis mentioned previously, then you (as an operator) are running the risk of pushing the dust collection cartridge to failure. When a filter “fails”, it could be a pinhole or larger failure. Most who have pushed a filter to failure will tell you, it pays to maintain your filters and change them at recommended pressure intervals, especially those who have had a filter failure and blown dust all over their facility. Keep that risk low and monitor your static pressure gauge.

What if my machine doesn’t have a pressure gauge?

If your machine doesn’t have a static pressure readout or gauge, then you are left with 3 other ways to gauge when to change filters.

Hours of operation:

Typically dust collector manufacturers will tell you a generic expectation of 2000 operational hours can be expected. This can wildly vary based on application and manufacturer of dust collector, but in general holds true.

Time intervals:

If you minimally use a system and don’t know the static pressure or hours of operation, you might consider changing filters on a time-based interval. A typical interval on an intermittently used collector is every 2 years. Mitigating factors such as the type of dust and moisture in the air affect dust collector cartridges in general so you might consider changing filters at least every other year.

When a filter fails

As discussed above, the only other way to know when to replace it is when the filter fails (or begins to blow dust through instead of capturing dust). Obviously, this is highly desirable to avoid.

Filter Junkie Filters

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