Oem or aftermarket air filters

[egraham]

What do yall recommend? The oem husky filters are expensive but if they are better I will pay for them. Always like to keep a spare set in my truck in case I run into an unexpected issue.

Thanks

 

[cus_deluxe]

I have had the same thought. I have an 028 i got in trade that i believe died, in part, from ingesting the flocked material of the ancient air filter. Dont want to buy a cheap air filter and have it ruin a good cylinder.

 

[alexcagle]

A soft material like air filter flocking would most likely pass through without harm. Oem filters are worth every penny. Stihl and Husqvarna spend untold millions on research and developement on their filters. An aftermarket filter like an 028's that have the choke mechanism built into the air filter are in my experiences total junk.
I have tried aftermarket concrete cutoff saw air and fuel filters. They may look just the same as an Oem, but that's about as far as it goes. Dirt and concrete dust go right through the air filter media.
Tests have proven that the air filters in the newer Oem Stihl TS420, 500I, 700 & 800 actually work better the dirtier they get. I have seen this first hand. Some Oem filters I have seen have weighed a couple pounds when the saws come In for service.
They have been designed with over sized filters and have compensators in the carburetors that insure the power stays the same whether the filter is new or dirty, with exception to the TS500i, which is fuel injected and compensates through it's engine management system.
Once It reaches a certain point, the saw will noticeably lose power, In which time you replace it. Blowing these filters out with compressed air has been proven by extensive testing to allow contaminents to pass through perforations caused by the blowing them out.
This is what an AM air filter didn't stop in one week in a concrete saw!

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

The few times I've had to replace a filter it was Oregon brand. Normally just clean them with brake clean or ether once in a while and they last for many years.

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

The extra buck or two for oem is well worth it. Some, if not all of the aftermarket filters are made from weaker materials and don't hold up as well. I saved a guys brand new ms660 that was running the back up filter which was aftermarket. The cover was screwed down properly, but the filter itself was still rattling around loosely with about an eighth inch gap. He would have ran it that way expecting it to start bogging when needing cleaned....but it would have started bogging for another reason.

When it all comes down to it, it's a very expensive bargain.

 

[1Alpha1]

Spend the extra $$'s and buy OEM.

Peace-of-mind alone is worth it.

 

[treesmith]

Any AM filter on saws I've bought has been binned straight away

 

[egraham]

That is what I thought. I have never bought anything but oem and you have validated my decision.

 

[o8f150]

i always go oem

 

[dave53223]

Oem the only way to go with filters.

 

[Gypo Logger]

I bought a couple of after market 346 filtres. They were ok, except that it was missing the tab that seperates the two pieces.

 

[Justsaws]

The individual saw filter would determine if an AM alternative would work for me. The AM filters for the Husq 372 HT and 394L work very well as did the filters for the 044-660 Stihls. $10.00 each with no issues as of yet.

The Stihl 021-025 AM filters are also holding up and working well, $3.00 each. The little tabs that hold them on have not broken off yet which is why the OEM were replaced.

I have seen some really crappy AM air filters, and they were truly a waste of money, however all of the ones I have purchased so far have worked as they should. I would buy more.

 

[Onan18]

My buddy is running an Oregon mesh air filter on his MS260 and it seems to work well.

Joe