Elecrostatic air filter

[flapdoodle]

I first noticed the low fuel economy and major loss of power in a rainstorm. It acted like the choke was on. Examining the air filter showed that there was water pooled in the housing. The ram air hose (which has since been replaced with clothes dryer hose) channels water in during a storm and saturates the paper air filter element.

After much head scratching, I bought a $22 electrostatic filter from Ace hardware designed for home heating units. It was disassembled and the element layers cut into strips. An old Fram filter from my car was stripped out to just the two big rubber rings and the mesh inner ring, so that what I was left with resembled a spool.

I wound the new strips on this form maintaining the original order of materials in hopes it would still have the electrostatic filtering properties.

The difference in fuel consumption was immediately noticeable, and the losses on rainy and muggy days is gone.

I examine the new filter periodically, and rinse it with a garden hose if it needs it.