Intake Filters

Intake filters are very important for the long term operation of a compressor.  The challenge is that virtually all compressor manufacturers supply a filter that may be okay in a clean air environment but that will be woefully inadequate in a compressor  sitting next to a pond that will be exposed to dust, insects, pollen, cat tail and dandelion fluff for example.  These are no exception.  All compressors come with a small filter that is perhaps better than nothing and can be made useable with some adaptation. 

This usually entails fitting a ¼” galvanized nipple in the intake orifice, running some braid reinforced tubing to a point a couple of feet above ground level to get it away from clutter in the air close to the ground.  This also helps to reduce the effect of heat in the micro climate close to ground that makes the air thinner (and the compressor less efficient) when ground temperatures are higher.  Position the supplied filter so that it remains dry and place in inside a coarser filter media like a piece of screen and it should function fairly well.

The alternative is to acquire a superior filter that is both oversized, stops even smaller particulate material than the one supplied with the unit and that is washable and therefore reusable for many years of continuous duty.  To that end, we offer you the Solberg line of filters.  Either of these filters will work but bigger is definitely better and if you are aerating in a dusty area or with a lot of carbon particulate in the atmosphere then bigger is a must.

In the process of doing projects in 35 countries we have encountered carbon particulate so severe that the filter had to be oversized by a factor of five times.  These filters had to be either gently hand-washed with soap and water or dry cleaned when they got dirty.