AIR CLEANERS

Clean air is essential to the performance and life of an engine. The air cleaner must remove fine materials, such as sand, dust, or lint, from the air before it enters the intake system. The air cleaner normally has a reservoir large enough to hold material taken out of the air; therefore, operation over a reasonable time is possible before cleaning and servicing are necessary.

NOTE: A buildup of dust and dirt in the air cleaner passages will eventually choke off the air supply, causing poor combustion.

Multiple air cleaners are sometimes used in locations where engines are operated under extremely dusty air conditions or when two small air cleaners must be used in place of a single large cleaner.

The most common type of air cleaners are the following: pre-cleaners, dry air cleaners, dry element air cleaners, and oil bath air cleaners.

Pre-Cleaners

Pre-cleaners are devices that remove large particles of dirt or other foreign matter from the air before it enters the main air cleaner. This relieves most of the load on the air cleaner. Pre-cleaners are normally installed at the end of an air cleaner inlet pipe that extends upward into the air (fig. 1-34). This locates them in an area relatively free of dust.

NOTE: Cleaning out the collector bowl of the pre-cleaner is part of operator's maintenance and should be performed during both prestart and post-operation maintenance.

Dry Air Cleaners

Dry air cleaners (fig. 1-35) are attached directly to the intake system and are used on engines in which the

Figure 1-34 . -Pre-cleaner.

Figure 1-35.-Dry air cleaner.

Figure 1-36.-Dry-element air cleaner.

demand for air is small. The dry air cleaner cleans the air by passing it through layers of cloth or felt that removes large dirt particles from the air very effectively.