When it comes to paint booth filters, it can be challenging to know when they should be changed. So, while there’s a general range for when you should change your filters, there’s also a lot more to it than that. You’ll need to consider how maintenance and paint booth design factors into the equation. However, you should also look into creating a schedule for swapping out filters. There are a few guidelines we can offer that can help your operation work more efficiently as well as maximize the lifespan of your filters.
Best Way To Gauge Paint Booth Filter Performance
It’s important to know your exhaust, re-circulation, and intake. However, even if you don’t know, the biggest thing you need to know is how much resistance your filter fan is designed to handle (as well as its current condition). If you didn’t know, all filter fans for paint booths were made to work within a specified resistance range (which also includes filters, duct-work, and plenum). So, your best bet would be to follow the operator’s manual that came with the fan. However, if you no longer have the manual, you’re going to have to change your filters based on industry averages.
In many paint booths, the exhaust filters are changed roughly around 0.5” – 0.75” water column. However, depending on the frequency drive system, it can go all the way up to 1.0” or more with a single-stage exhaust filter. With intake filters, the resistance it can handle relies partially on the type of booth you have. Booths can be pressurized or non-pressurized.
So, with booths that are pressurized it’s important to know whether it has supply and exhaust fans or whether it’s re-circulation. As for non-pressurized paint booths, such as a cross draft, a maintenance schedules commonly occur anywhere from 3 – 6 times a year. This is because the manometer gauge only measures the exhaust fan. In comparison, pressurized booths may have a separate manometer gauge for the re-circulation air plenums or supply air. However, a photohelic gauge would also be there to measure differential pressure for the intake and exhaust.
When it comes to re-circulation filters, you would change them at about 0.5” – 1.0” water column. However, that also depends a bit on the type of fan you have. As for air make-up filters, you’d change them in a pretty similar manner. If you have diffusion filters in your pressurized paint booth, we recommend creating a preventative maintenance schedule. You’ll want to do at least once per year for one that has MERV 8 and twice a year for for any air filters with a lower rating in efficiency.
Garmat Paint Booths: Best Way To Gauge Paint Booth Filter Performance
At Garmat USA, we are all about production efficiencies both for your shop, and for our operation. We thrive on coming up with new methods to address the needs of our customers while meeting their budgets.
We are also dedicated to helping you save on your cost of operation. Garmat USA equipment is designed to reduce energy consumption, giving you the best possible return on your investment.
Every product and every improvement is developed with your business goals in mind- Lowering your operating costs and Increasing your production.
