A few days ago the maintenance supervisor at a high end custom millwork manufacturer here in Colorado called me in distress.  He was pissed.  Fortunately, not at me.

Compressor lubricant had gotten past several oil-removing coalescing filters and fouled a CNC machine, causing more than $3,000 of damage.  My customer reported that the differential pressure indicators on the filters had never shown a need to change the filter elements in these housings.  This fact lulled him into believing that the filters were in good shape, when in fact they were likely blown.

A blown filter element registers no differential pressure!

I often tell folks to recognize the limitations on a filter's DP indicator.  Trust it, but only so much.  Manually inspect the condition of your filter elements at least once per quarter.  Do so more frequently if contamination of your pneumatic equipment and processes will be costly.

Fortunately I was able to send this fellow a pair of OEM replacement elements from stock.  Same day shipment.

I'll head over to his shop soon to take a look at the air system and see if there are any other steps we can take to prevent future costly mistakes like this.

Need replacement filter elements?  Enter the OEM part number or model in the search bar above.  Not finding what you're looking for?  Give me a call or send me an email.  Free shipping to most U.S. addresses.  Outside the U.S.?  No problem.  Send me an email for a freight quote.