Compressor and blower intakes.
The application where restriction is not an inconvenience but a running cost. Coarse, washable foam elements that keep grit out without making the machine work for it.
A compressor pays continuously.
On most filtration jobs, over-specifying the grade costs you a shorter service interval. On a compressor intake it costs you electricity, every hour the machine runs, for the life of the installation.
Anything obstructing the inlet makes the compressor work harder to deliver the same air. A filter two grades finer than the duty requires is a permanent efficiency penalty bought in exchange for capture nobody needed — and because it is invisible on the bill, it usually goes unnoticed for years.
So this is the application where the general rule matters most: specify the coarsest grade that stops what actually needs stopping. If the plant room air is genuinely dirty, add thickness or a second coarse stage rather than reaching for a finer pore size — thickness buys dirt capacity almost for free, where fineness buys it at the cost of pressure drop.
Coarser than you expect.
| Duty | Grade | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Compressor intake | 20 – 30 PPI | Stops grit, fluff and insects at minimal pressure cost. The default for rotating plant. |
| Industrial blower | 30 PPI | Slightly finer where the delivered air matters and the fan has headroom. |
| Vacuum pump inlet | 30 – 45 PPI | Finer capture is worth more here, because ingested debris damages the pump directly. |
| Dirty plant room | 20 PPI, thicker | Add depth rather than fineness. Same restriction, far more dirt capacity. |
See choosing a PPI for the underlying trade-off and for staging two grades.
Two sets, in rotation.
These are washable elements, so the sensible arrangement is two sets: one in the machine and one clean, dry and on the shelf. The second set costs very little once the tooling exists, and it means a filter change never waits for foam to dry.
Intervals should be set by the filter rather than the calendar. Quarterly is typical in a clean plant room; weekly is not unusual in a foundry, a textile mill, or next to construction work.
To order, send the old element — panel, ring, cylindrical wrap, or an odd profile that follows a housing — and we die-cut replacements to match.
Common questions.
Why does pressure drop matter so much on a compressor intake?
Because a compressor pays for restriction continuously, in energy. Anything obstructing the inlet makes the machine work harder for the same delivered air, every hour it runs — so an over-specified intake filter is a permanent efficiency penalty, not a one-off inconvenience. This is the application where specifying the coarsest adequate grade matters most.
Which grade for a compressor intake?
Usually 20 to 30 PPI, coarser than you might expect. The intake's job is keeping grit, fluff and insects out of the machine, and going finer buys marginal capture at a real energy cost. Where the plant room air is genuinely dirty, add thickness or a second coarse stage rather than reaching for a finer grade.
How often should a compressor intake filter be washed?
Watch the filter, not the calendar. In a clean plant room, quarterly is common; in a foundry, a textile mill or next to construction work, weekly is not unusual. Because these are washable elements it costs nothing but labour, and running two sets in rotation means the machine never waits for a filter to dry.
Can you match an existing compressor filter element?
Yes, and it is the easiest way to order. Send the old element — panel, ring, cylindrical wrap or an odd profile that follows a housing — and we die-cut replacements to the same dimensions and an appropriate grade. Tooling is kept for repeat orders.
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