DPF Cleaners for Classic Cars

DPF Cleaners for Classic Cars

June 4, 2021 Off By Joe K

What is a DPF cleaner?

Do you have questions related to DPF cleaner? We will try our best to provide details about how to clean DPF using DPF cleaners. Diesel Particulate Filter Cleaner is designed to give your car engine a good clean inside out. It’s a chemical treatment that helps reduce soot emissions that are generated by your car engine, regenerate the DPF and get rid of any existing soot particles.

What is DPF Regeneration?

A DPF is a filter that traps exhaust soot in order to reduce the emissions from diesel vehicles. As the gases pass through a panel in your car, they escape but particles that are harmful to the environment are trapped. When kept clean filters are highly effective in ensuring this happens. All filters, regardless of their purpose, must be cleaned and emptied regularly so that there is space to trap more things. This process of cleaning and emptying a DPF is what we are referring to as DPF regeneration.

There are two types of regeneration namely;

-passive regeneration.

-active regeneration.

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Passive regeneration

It is mostly relied on by drivers who drive for a long time at a high speed. Driving at a speed of 70mph and above for a consistent while heat the exhaust burning off the soot particles trapped by the Diesel Particulate Filter.

Active regeneration

this is common to drivers who do not use their cars for long distance drives. Therefore, manufacturers came up with a different way to keep the DPF free of particles. They introduced a system in which when the amount of soot particles in the DPF reaches a certain amount, active regeneration is activated. A 45% of the total capacity of the DPF level is set in most cars.

If the above two fail to help, then forced regeneration is applied. This is carried out by a mechanic where he burns the soot off for your car. Note that this is expensive, and it is done about four times before it damages the DPF permanently. However, you should know that this method is expensive and may sometimes fail to give promising results.

 

The Symptoms of a Blocked DPF Filter

You may wonder how you know that your filter requires cleaning. A blocked filter simply indicates that cleaning is urgently needed.

In cases where the DPF filter blocks, an orange light appears on our dashboard. It usually looks like a small piped box with several dots in the middle. This however might vary from one manufacturer to another.

There are symptoms that can notify you of the blockage including the following;

  • The engine note changes.

Blockage on the filter causes a build up of unnecessary pressure on the engine. If this happens, your engine will refuse to start until this pressure is released.

  • An increase in the fuel consumption.

A blocked filter affects the functioning of your engine. This will make you accelerate more to make up for the power that the engine should be producing. This acceleration causes you to use more fuel. The accelerations as well are not as powerful as they should be. These two problems force you to use for cash on fuel and tires your engine at a faster rate.

  • You will notice an increased idle speed
  • Automatic start/stop deactivates.

A blocked DPF affects the engine. With the engines functioning tampered with, the car’s automatic start/stop deactivates.

  • Cooling fans running
  • There is a hot acrid smell that comes from the exhaust

The buildup of all the gases trapped inside the engine will result to a hot acrid smell. Anyone who inhales these gases may become ill. The gases also ruin the engine and can easily cause fire.

Causes of a Diesel Particulate Filter Blockage

A DPF can block due several reasons including;

The major cause of this blockage is short journeys which are covered at low speeds. This is why in most cases you will find people purchasing petrol cars rather than diesel cars. It is advisable for people who rarely drive out of their cities to avoid diesel cars.

Poor serving is another factor that can cause this problem. For a DPF to last long, it requires proper servicing and maintenance. It should last for a distance of 100,000 miles generally.

Using the wrong type of oil can also lead to a malfunctioning of the filter. Therefore, you should ensure that you always use the right type of oil.

How to Avoid a Blocked DPF

City motorists will have trouble with avoiding this. Especially for delivery motorists, they make a lot of short drives that include a lot of stopping and starting. This rarely gives them a chance to drive at major speeds. Short journeys are also problematic when it comes to avoiding a b DPF blockage. Ts is because they do not give your engine enough time to reach the required temperatures to start burning away the blockage.

As a city driver, it is therefore advised for you to take a spin around the city once in a while. This will give your engine a chance to build up the heat and power required to remove any waste that has built up within the Diesel Particulate Filter of your car.

It is also advised for you to have your fuel injectors checked. This will as a result ensure that they are sending the right required amount of fuel to the engine and not interfering with your air.

When getting your engine refilled, make sure that you get the right type of oil that allows your engine to burn off the DPF residues. Also make sure that the oil you use is not contaminated with impure particles or else it will cause malfunctioning of the engine.

Do I Really Need a DPF Cleaner?

The answer is yes. You really need to have a DPF cleaner. Having dirty and unmaintained filters hinders their work and, in many cases, resulting to clogs. Once clogged they cause many other problems. For example,

  • Fuel economy will drop.
  • A clogged filter will damage the engine.
  • When the exhaust is blocked, diesel motors lose their power.
  • A buildup of particles damages the Diesel Particulate filter.

The Diesel Particulate Filter is one area of your car that is a hot spot for trouble and therefore needs often cleaning. A DPF cleaner helps in avoiding and solving these problems. Its regular use ensures that you avoid DPF problems for good.

Having a DPF cleaner means that your Diesel Particulate Filter will always be clean. Why do you need to have a clean DPF?

Here is why;

  1. Fuel economy.

When your filter is clean, you will be awarding yourself a better fuel economy. The DPF is a vital part of your engine’s exhaust system. If clogging occurs on it, it increases unnecessary pressure on the engine. This in return affects the economy of your fuel.

  1. Prevent replacement.

A DPF is a very expensive part of a car. Replacing it will force you to dig deeper into your pockets and it might affect your financial health. If you do not invest in cleaning the filter, they slowly become damaged and demand replacement. At this point, you will have no more options to choose from.

  1. Performance

A well maintained and clean DPF will give a perfect performance. Regular cleaning of the DPF of your car will ensure that the engine runs smoothly. For your engine to be perfectly functioning, the DPF filter must be working 100 percent. With this, you will realize that you do need to have a DPF cleaner.

  1. Increase the resale value.

In the used cars business, a well-maintained car will sell at a higher price. Owning a truck or a van, you will some day want to sell it. For you to attain a good price, you are required to ensure that the DPF filter is cleaned regularly giving you a good maintenance record. Failure to this, you will be forced to sell your car at a greater loss.

  1. All filters will eventually clog.

When your car’s Diesel Particulate Filter works at 100 percent perfection, it burns all hydrocarbons and tiny particles in the exhaust. As a result, ashes slowly build up in the filter. Having the filter cleaned removes all the traces of ashes and allows the filter to work in the most efficient way and for a long period of time.

  1. Stop and go driving.

The cleaning of DPF filter depends on how long the car is driven. If you own a truck that makes frequent deliveries and a lot of city errands, you’ll need to have the DPF cleaned more regularly. Frequent stop and go driving results to more exhaust particles and this makes it harder on both filtration and regeneration processes.

  1. Engine warranty.

A manufacturer gives you an engine warranty after you purchase a vehicle. However, if the company proves that you neglected your duties as a car owner to maintain the car, it could cause void of the warranty. Therefore, to be safe, you need to ensure that you take proper care of your DPF filter and that is by using a DPF cleaner on regular basis as required.

This particularly benefits a driver who uses his car for short drives within his locality and who therefore barely relies on passive regeneration for DPF cleaning on their car.

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Pros

  • It reduces the overall fuel consumption.

  • It will help to ensure that the Diesel Particulate Filter lasts longer. This will as a result delay the need to purchase another filter which is expensive.
  • It is easier to clean DPF since you do not have to remove and dismantle the filter from your car and clean it manually.
  • The efficiency of the regeneration process is increased. It burns out more of the soot particles collecting in the filter using less time.

  • This particularly benefits a driver who uses his car for short drives within his locality and who therefore barely relies on passive regeneration for DPF cleaning on their car.

Cons
  • DPF cleaner is quick to use hence saves a lot on your time and energy.
  • It is also easy to use making it usable by any owner. You only need to pour the correct amount of it directly into your fuel tank just before you refill it.

 

How to Use DPF Cleaner

Replacing DPF filters has always been costly and many drivers opt to invest in DPF cleaners. It is a way of maintenance that has effectively saved drivers a lot of money in repair and replacement of the filter. To avoid blockages and other problems, the best approach you can take is learn how to use a DPF cleaner.

Below are several steps that will guide you in understanding on how to use a DPF cleaner

Step 1. What happens if your DPF warning light appears on your dashboard and refuses to go away?

When this happens, the DPF filter has probably began to collect soot from the exhaust of your car and failed to burn it properly.

With time, this will lead to a blockage.

Step 2. What next?

After realizing this problem, you will be required t consult with your dealer or car mechanic. They will help in diagnosing the problem. The filter might be diagnosed to be either partially or fully blocked.

After the diagnosis, you will be left with these three options to choose from;

  • Give the DPF a forced regeneration. This does not give 100% guarantee that it will work although it is worth giving it a shot.
  • Remove the DPF from your car for cleaning.
  • Replace the DPF filter.

All the three options are costly ranging above 3000 dollars if you do not have a warrant. Instead of using all these money, why don’t you view other measures you could take to keep your DPF clean.

FTC DE carbonizer DPF Cleaner

FTC DE carbonizer is a combustion catalyst that is effective and easy to de-clog and also maintain your DPF filter for a long time. it has been successfully used in many 4WDs, bus, truck engines where carbon and soot related issues have started damaging the engine.

Why is FTC DE carbonizer a Successful DPF Cleaner?

Immediately its added to the diesel tank, the FTC DE carbonizer effectively burns away build-up carbon from the combustion tube, cylinders as well as the exhaust manifold. This as a result creates a much cleaner fuel burn and at the same time de-cokes the Turbo. After burning the soot, the economy of carbon fuel is restored and DPF problems are over.

Steps on How to Use a DPF Cleaner

A DPF cleaner is not complicated to use. It is a chemical that you simply add to your diesel fuel tank in a couple of minutes and its done.

When using a DPF cleaner, follow the following guidelines;

Step 1

When refueling, add a double dose of the treatment (FTC DE carbonizer) into the diesel fuel tank. If the filter had suffered a severe blockage, you may have to repeat the process for a second tank.

Step 2

Keep using the FTC DE carbonizer at the double for the severely blocked DPF filters. Do this until you get positive results.

Step 3

For cars that regularly driven across cities, the FTC DE carbonizer should be added to every tank when refilling it to avoid DPF filter issues.

Advantages of using FTC DE carbonizer

There are many advantages that come along with using this DPF cleaner. They include the following;

  • DPF cleaners improves the energy efficiency.
  • It reduces the undesirable exhaust emissions.
  • DPF burns fuel faster, easier and cleaner.
  • FTC DE carbonizer removes all carbon deposits from diesel and petrol engines.
  • It is able to burn away hard carbon deposits from both combustion and exhaust spaces.

Conclusion

The pride of owning a classic car comes along with its own share of responsibilities.  In most cases, you will find cars being defined as more of liabilities than assets. However, you can choose to either use all your money on the car or use just a small amount of it. If you choose to keep a good maintenance record, and invest in DPF cleaners, then chances are that you will use less money on your car.

It is important for you to know that DPF filter cleaners allow you to save on time as well. A damaged filter and engine will take too long to fix. If you focus on cleaning the filter as required, you will be able to happily invest your time in other things as well.

With the above article describing the need to have a Diesel Particulate Filter cleaner for your car, you can confirm that it is an important item that you should consider having all the time.