OT-Tractor Air Filter

I use them

Mike L

I always use the foam prefilter. I have a really dusty area in more lawn and this helps keep the air clean going into the engine. I wash them out and reuse them if they are still in good shape.

Re: OT-Tractor Air Filter

John K Jordan

Some think the filters with oiled pre-filters are better than just blowing the dust out of the dry filters. They do require a bit more maintenance (washing and re-oiling, perhaps often in very dusty environments) but can let the primary filters last longer.

Is your mower water-cooled? A Kubota service manager told me it was very important to keep the screens and radiator clean with air and water. He said some forget this to the detriment of the engines. I don't know if this more important with diesels. My two zero turn mowers have two screens - a large cage to catch the leaves and such with a finer screen inside tight against the radiator. I'm always surprised how much dust I blow out of the radiators.

JKJ

Re: OT-Tractor Air Filter

Bill Howatt

I think they are a good thing to use and my motorcycle buddy used it all the time on his dirt bike.

I do a similar thing with my shop-made air cleaners. My first filter in the stack is a cheapie fibreglass furnace filter with cooking oil sprayed on it. Catches the dust amazingly well and saves the more expensive filters behind it.

Bill

Just keep it clean either way...

David Weaver

..the prefilter is just a way to keep big stuff from clogging the fine filter and to make it easier to clean the big stuff rather than banging it out from between a bunch of pleats.

The pores are large and if the outside wasn't lightly oiled, most of the big stuff would end up going through it.

Sort of an interesting variation from the days when tractors had oil bath filters in general. I'm guessing high intake and exhaust pressure on newer engines kind of tilted bigger equipment toward paper or two stage paper.

That aside, our first tractors when I was a kid had foam outer rings and they did a great job leading to rarely needing to clean the inner paper element (and lawn equipment is generally low-output low demand so sucking the oil off of the outer ring isn't going to be a concern).

Re: Just keep it clean either way...

Tom Norton

Any special oil to use?

Re: Just keep it clean either way...

Pete in Holland MI

Any light oil will be fine. 10W-30 or something like that. No gear lubes. You're only putting a light amount of oil on it, not drenching it.