Can I service my electrostatic air cleaner myself?

Short answer – Yes.

Long answer – Why would you want to?

First, what are electrostatic air cleaners?

Electrostatic air cleaners (EAC) are a high-efficiency air cleaner that achieves up to 99.3% collection of particles at .3 µm. When oil mist or smoke gets drawn into the air cleaner, it gets a static charge from the ionizer. Then it gets pulled out of the airstream in the collection cell. This process is very similar to rubbing a balloon on your head which gives it a static charge; then it will stick to a wall. EACs pull the oil mist and smoke out of the airstream, so they have very little back pressure. Also, as the collection cells get dirty, they do not lose suction. A media filter does lose suction as it gets dirty because they collect the oil mist and smoke in the filter. EACs use less energy than media filters to move the same amount of air because they have less back pressure, and they have no disposable filters that go to the landfills making them a very green option.

When electrostatic air cleaners get dirty, you just pull the filters out clean them and put them back in, right?

Yes, well, there is more to it than that.

1. The ionizers and collection cells need to be cleaned carefully to avoid costly damage and inspected.
2. You need to put them back in the air cleaner correctly.
3. You must make sure the filters have the correct high voltage, or they do not work no matter how clean they are. Did you say high voltage? Yes, you should be very careful not to get shocked! Air cleaners that are off can still shock you without correctly grounding stored electricity.

How long are electrostatic air cleaners down for cleaning?

Before reinstalling clean EAC filters, you need to make sure they are completely dry, or they can short out. If they short out, they can wreck insulators and if it happens often enough can cause the power supply to fail.

1. When cleaning the filters yourself, your air cleaner could be down anywhere from one hour to a full day depending on how hard they are to get clean.
2. When you take advantage of our exchange program; your air cleaner is only down for a few minutes while we swap clean filters for your dirty ones and check that it is operating correctly.

Are they challenging to troubleshoot?

Electrostatic air cleaners use DC and high voltage; there are a lot of little things that can go wrong, challenging even the most experienced maintenance person. Our staff works on electrostatic air cleaners every day, so they can diagnose and take care of any issues that arise quickly. Having our technicians work on your electrostatic air cleaners ensures that your maintenance staff can focus on keeping production running, while our staff keeps the air clean.

The Bee Clean Advantage

In summary, yes, your maintenance staff with proper training could maintain your electrostatic air cleaners, but the costs of doing this are high due to time, filter damage, and wastewater. Our service lets them focus on production boosting your bottom line. Often the cost to have Bee Clean service your electrostatic air cleaner is less than the filters of an equivalent sized media filter. Put our knowledge, technicians, and extensive exchange filter inventory of over 1000 filter sets to use and make it your ADVANTAGE.

We are here to help! I will respond to questions or comments posted below or click here to contact us. – Scott McAbery