Want to change the air conditioner filter yourself but don't know how to determine the direction? Teach you the most practical method
Nowadays, online shopping of auto parts has quietly become popular, but due to limited conditions, most car owners need to go to offline stores for installation and replacement after purchasing accessories online. However, there are some accessories that are relatively simple to install and operate, and many car owners are still willing to try to do it by themselves. Replacement, air conditioning filter is one of them.
However, the seemingly simple air-conditioning filter installation is not as easy as you think.
First of all, you have to find the installation position of the air conditioner filter element, which is not easy, because the installation position of the air conditioner filter element of different models is often different in style. Some are installed under the bonnet near the windshield, some are installed above the co-pilot's footwell, and some are installed on the back of the co-pilot glove box (glove box)...
When the installation position problem is solved, if you think that you can replace the new filter element smoothly, you are wrong, because you will also face a new challenge - confirming the installation direction.
You read that right,
The installation of the air conditioner filter element has direction requirements!
Usually, the air conditioner filter element is different on both sides when it is designed. One side is in contact with the outside atmosphere. After the filter element is used for a period of time, this side will collect a lot of impurities such as dust, catkins, leaf debris and even insect corpses, so we call it the "dirty side".
The other side is in contact with the air flow in the air duct of the air conditioner. Since this side passes the filtered air, it is relatively clean, and we call it the "clean side".
One might ask, isn't it the same which side to use for the "dirty side" or the "clean side"?
In fact, it is not, because the high-quality air-conditioning filter elements are usually multi-layer design, and the filtering function of each layer is different. Generally, the density of the filter media on the "dirty side" side is relatively small, and the density of the filter media closer to the "clean side" is higher. In this way, "coarse filtration first, then fine filtration" can be realized, which is conducive to layered filtration and accommodates impurity particles of different diameters, and improves the dust holding capacity of the filter element.
What are the consequences of doing it the other way around?
If we install the filter element in reverse, then due to the high density of the filter material on the "clean side", all impurities will be blocked on this side, so that other filter layers will not work, and the air-conditioning filter element will of dust holding capacity and premature saturation.
How to determine the installation direction of the air conditioner filter?
Due to the different installation positions and placement methods of the air-conditioning filter elements of different models, the orientation of the "dirty side" and "clean side" during installation is also different. In order to ensure the correct installation, the manufacturer of the air-conditioning filter element will mark an arrow on the filter element to indicate the installation direction, but some filter element arrows are marked with the word "UP", and some are marked with the word "AIR FLOW". What is this? What is the difference?
For the filter element marked with the word "UP", it means that the arrow direction is upward to install. For this type of marked filter element, we only need to install the side with the tail of the arrow facing down and the side with the top of the arrow facing up.
However, for the filter element marked with the word "AIR FLOW", the arrow points are not the installation direction, but the airflow direction.
Because the air-conditioning filter elements of many models are not placed horizontally, but vertically, the upward or downward arrows alone cannot indicate the installation direction of the filter elements of all models. In this regard, many manufacturers use the arrow of "AIR FLOW" (air flow direction) to indicate the installation direction, because the installation direction of the air-conditioning filter element is always the same, always let the air flow from the "dirty side", after filtering, from " The clean side" flows out, so just align the "AIR FLOW" arrow with the direction of the airflow for proper installation.
Therefore, when installing the air-conditioning filter element marked with the "AIR FLOW" arrow, we must first find out the airflow direction in the air-conditioning air duct. The following two widely circulated methods for judging the installation direction of such filter elements are not very rigorous.
One is to judge according to the position of the blower. After determining the position of the blower, point the "AIR FLOW" arrow to the side of the blower, that is, the top side of the filter element arrow faces the side of the blower in the air duct. The reason is that the outside air flows through the air conditioner filter element first and then the blower.
But in fact, this method is only suitable for models with the air conditioner filter element installed behind the blower, and the blower is in a suction state for the air conditioner filter element. However, there are many models of air-conditioning filters that are installed in front of the blower. The blower blows the air to the filter element, that is, the outside air passes through the blower first and then the filter element, so this method is not applicable.
The other is to feel the direction of the airflow with your hands. However, when you actually try it, you will find that many models are difficult to judge the airflow direction by hand.
So is there a simple and sure way to correctly judge the installation direction of the air conditioner filter element?
The answer is yes!
Below we will share it with you.
For the air-conditioning filter element marked with the "AIR FLOW" arrow, if we cannot judge the direction of the air flow, then remove the original car air-conditioning filter element and observe which side is dirty. As long as your original car filter element is not just replaced, you can tell it at a glance. .
Then we orient the "dirty side" of the new filter element (the tail side of the "AIR FLOW" arrow) to the same direction as the "dirty side" of the original filter element and install it. Even if the original car filter element is installed in the wrong direction, its "dirty side" will not lie. The side facing the outside air always looks more dirty. Therefore, it is very safe to use this method to judge the installation direction of the air conditioner filter element. of.
Post time: Aug-12-2022