AAF MEGApleat^® Filters Help Automotive Shop Reduce Maintenance Costs

Customer Profile

• Automotive trim and chassis shop
• Working with AAF Service Partner John Morfield Ltd., a distributor for a variety of filter types to a wide range of industrial market sectors, as well as a supplier of filters to this customer

The Filtration Situation

The customer advised that the current panel filters they were using were only lasting two to three months before requiring changeout at 250 Pa. This customer was therefore in need of a filter with a longer life cycle to reduce maintenance costs.

The AAF Solution

AAF and service partner John Morfield offered the AAF MEGApleat^® filter as the solution. The customer requested a trial comparing their current supply against the PerfectPleat^® HC filter (already in use on the site), and the MEGApleat filter. Three AHUs were selected with the same airflows and running hours. Each unit contained eight 20 x 25 x 2 filters.

Trial Result Summary

The competitor’s filter did not perform well under the particular operating conditions. The high airflow and moisture ingress presented challenges to the integrity of the filter, particularly the filter frame, leading to the collapse of the filter, which came out of its holding frame and was found on the AHU floor after only two months of service.

The AAF PerfectPleat^® HC filter performed to specification. However, the high flow rate resulted in the dp reading reaching 250 Pa by the second reading, therefore requiring the filter to be changed out after 2 months of life.

The AAF MEGApleat^® filter was the most successful performer under the operating conditions. It had the lowest initial pressure drop of 73 Pa when installed.

At the point where the competitive panel filter collapsed and the PerfectPleat HC filter reached 250 Pa, the MEGApleat filter had only reached 95 Pa—less than the initial dp of the other filters on trial. In addition, the MEGApleat filter was not affected by moisture.

The Results

The AAF MEGApleat^® filters have continued to perform and are still in service after 9 months with a dp reading of 200 Pa.

The automotive shop has advised they wish to change to the AAF MEGApleat filter in another trim and chassis shop and will begin installing those filters at the end of September.
They have also advised that they wish to purchase additional MEGApleat filters to run trials in both their casting shop and the body shop.

In total, there are 102 AHUs in the three areas under consideration.