How Often Electrostatic Filters Need Cleaning?

Do I Need to Maintain my MistBuster & TriMist Cool Blaster Air Filtration Units?

Yes. The maintenance frequency on an industrial air purification unit is extremely important. Many manufacturers recommend cleaning the electrostatic filters four times per year. Unlike a media type filter, electrostatic air filtration units such as SMOG HOG or TRION, MISTBUSTER or COOLBLASTER filter the air by charging the oil particulate in the first stage of filtration, then attracting the positively charged particulate to negatively charged aluminum fins in the second stage of filtration. Electrostatic cells do eventually need to be cleaned as the oil clogs up on and between the fins and causes them to ground out. The result: NO AIR FILTRATION, not partial air filtration, none, its working or it’s not. What really causes more problems is that the units don’t shut off, they still remove the oil laden air from the machine center cabinet, and discharge it into the ambient factory air. Consequently, the operator does not know that it’s not working because they are still getting suction inside the CNC cabinet. As this dirty air gets discharged, over time the whole shop seems more “oily”.

How do I Know if it’s Working?

The Indicator Light. ON is good, if it’s on the cells are being charged. If it’s blinking then there is a clog and the cell(s) needs to be cleaned. If there is no indicator light on, then the machine is either turned off, or if turned on then the cells are not being charged. Many units have two indicator lights, you can have instances where one cell is good, the other dirty which cause a ground. In this instance one indicator light will be on, the other off or blinking.

How do I Clean Them?

If you’re a small shop running 5 days a week, one shift, maybe two, then they probably can be cleaned 2x per year, maybe 3x (every 4 months)

1. 1.Turn the machine off, wait a few seconds and ground out the cell.
2. 2.Remove the cell / ionizer (the ionizer is the section where the wires are located on the cell)… some units such as smog hog SH series have a separate ionizer section which will pull out of the cabinet separately from the cell.
3. 3.Soak the cell(s) overnight in a tub of hot water (no hotter than 120 degrees) with ½ gallon of simple green.
4. 4.Make sure that none of the ionizing wires are broken.
5. 5.Be careful not to bend any of the cell fins. If you did straighten and make sure none are touching.
6. 6.Let the cell dry for an hour then re-insert and turn on machine.
7. 7.Indicator light on the unit should be on.

If the indicator light is not on then it could be another issue:

• Bad indicator light
• Bad power pack
• The cell wasn’t cleaned properly
• No power to unit.
• Door latch malfunction – not depressing the shut off switch when the door is closed –

What do I do with the Dirty Water After Cleaning the Cells?

Be careful not to dump the water down the drain. It should be filtered prior to discharge or evaporated down. Check your local ordinances because violations can be costly.