Bhaf

[jrandol]

Hi all,



Will be adding a BHAF here pretty soon and want to know which one to get. Was planning on going with the NAPA 2790 but understand they are about $45 a piece. Arent they throw away filters? I am wondering if I might be better off going with a little more spendy recleanable BHAF. Which brand is good (no K&N for me) and what should I expect to pay for it? Thanks everyone, this is the greatest site for a guy like me new to diesel ownership who wants to learn!

 

[Whitmore]

The NAPA 2790 is $42 bucks, paper element disposible, use it a year and throw it away



cheers, Kevin

 

[jrandol]

Can I really get a year out of a paper element? Whitmore, wyoming is similar in outside conditions to Colorado, how dirty are yours after one year?

 

[Whitmore]

I only drive 20 k a year and only 1 mile a day is dirt so I think a year is obtainable. JMO, also I watch my boost gauge and it has never suffered.



cheers, Kevin

 

[tgbol]

I have got 25,000 miles and a little of a year on mine. That includes five trips to the dry lakes in the desert and 1 trip to Baja. It looks fine.

 

[zman]

I'd bet a dirty BHAF still flows more air than a clean stock filter/air box setup. I've had mine on for 18 months/24k miles, but I'm planning to swap in a new one this spring.



If someone has the means to test a dirty BHAF against a new stock filter/airbox setup, I'd love to see the test results...



Steve

 

[Whitmore]

Keep in mind that the BHAF has atleast 4 times the surface area of the oem filter, next time I dispose of a used 2790 I want to pull the screan off and see if I can get the paper element out so I can streach it out and measure the surface area and then maybe someone can do the same to an oem unit for a comparison.



cheers, Kevin

 

[WadePatton]

Originally posted by jrandol

Can I really get a year out of a paper element? Whitmore, wyoming is similar in outside conditions to Colorado, how dirty are yours after one year?

Many of us use "pre-filters" on the BHAF. Any sort of cloth/screen to catch dust before the BHAF will work. There are commercial products for this and there are other ways- like the 6" surgical stockinette Herb and I use.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have mine on about 18 months now also. I figure on replacing mine come spring too. For my time, I figure ~40-45 bucks with no cleaning is a no brainer.

 

[illflem]

Can't you just clean the BHAF and use it longer?



I know on my JD tractor filters, which are similar construction to the BHAF, they recommend six cleanings with compressed air from the inside or even washing it in soapy warm water if it's is oily before tossing the filter.

 

[KEarnest]

My next door neighbor owned a crop dusting business for 12 years out here in the deserts of eastern Washington and used helicopters (3) instead of airplanes. He said he would drive to Portland, OR once a year and buy a pickup truck load of paper element air filters. He cleaned his filters with high-octane Av Gas.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Originally posted by illflem

Can't you just clean the BHAF and use it longer?



I know on my JD tractor filters, which are similar construction to the BHAF, they recommend six cleanings with compressed air from the inside or even washing it in soapy warm water if it's is oily before tossing the filter.

I might try a few things but I think I will have a new filter on hand just in case.



One place I worked at had a bunch of Ford tandem dumps with those 100k V8 Cats using Baldwin filters. We had an air tank with about a 2" pipe and a ball valve on it maybe two feet long. There was a shallow funnel shaped bell on the end of the pipe. Pump up the tank, put the filter on the floor, place the bell on the filter opening, lean over onto the tank and hit the valve. Whoosh! Talk about a dust bath! Baldwin recommended cleaning no more than three times I as I recall.