With DPF-related issues continuing to rise, DPF Clean Team reveals some of the crazier extremes that car owners and workshops have gone to in an attempt to resolve problems.
According to data that we uncovered from the call history for our block DPF helpline, petrol, oven cleaner and paint thinner are some of the most bizarre ways fleet managers, garage owners and diesel vehicle owners attempted to resolve blocked DPFs, catalytic converters and silencer units over the last year.
Other peculiar – and failed – attempts at unblocking DPFs from customers included jet washing the filter, setting fire to the unit and even pouring oven cleaner down the DPF.
As amusing as these methods might seem, such practices are only serving to further damage DPFs, making regeneration impossible, and significantly harming the interior of the filter.
Cameron Bryce, Director at DPF Clean Team, a business that has over 15 years’ experience in the automotive reconditioning industry, explained: “Once a DPF warning light appears on the dashboard, using substances such as drain cleaner can remove the interior coating of the filter, stopping future regenerations from working effectively. The result in many of these cases is that the customer has required a complete DPF replacement, which has been more expensive than a professional clean. ”
One of the easiest ways to unblock a blocked DPF is to perform a ‘regeneration’ of the filter. This can be done by driving the vehicle at a high speed on a motorway for a consistent amount of time, causing the DPF to heat up, and burning away the soot and particles that build up in the filter.
Setting fire to the filter, on the other hand, will remove the filter coating and most likely melt parts of the substrate, restricting flow. Jet washing may remove surface carbon, but DPF Clean Team states that it will not remove any internal carbon or oil contaminants.
Instead, the business is encouraging diesel vehicle owners and technicians to seek professional advice as soon as the DPF, catalytic converter or silencer unit becomes blocked, and to consider having a professional clean.
DPF Clean Team uses ultrasonic technology for a safe and thorough clean of these units, and has a 96% success rate. In addition, a professional clean is almost ten times cheaper than having to pay for a new DPF unit. The business is already working with a number of fleets in the UK to help clean blocked filters, including Leicestershire Metropolitan Police Force, Avis and Europcar.
Cameron concludes: “Professional DPF cleaning is a quicker, more accurate, and cost-effective solution to unblocking a DPF, catalytic converter or silencer than investing in a new unit. The process removes all traces of particulate, returning the component back to near new condition.”
