Things Are Not As They Seem

Ain’t that the truth? Talk about flip-flopping, I should just keep my mouth shut until all is said and done. I was cleaning the chainsaw when I decided to check the air filter, which the manual says to do regularly and I had never done in the three years since I first got it. I know, my bad, but it begs the question, how many of us regularly check the air filter in our cars? I thought so.

Either way, that’s the not the point. I checked the air filter and it looked completely caked with dust. They say to clean it by tapping the dust off or using an air compressor and blowing it off. I tried tapping, and it seemed like it was glued on, so I went to Joe’s and got a new one, and believe me, they are not cheap. When the woman handed me the filter, I was surprised that it didn’t look that different than the one in the chainsaw. It’s covered with the film that looks like sawdust to prevent fine particles from getting through. My first thought was that the old air filter was fine, and I didn’t need a new one, especially since they’re not cheap. Then I figured I’d need to replace it at some point, because we use the chainsaw a lot. So I got it.

When I got home, I took another look, and wouldn’t you know it? The filter was actually a mess. Even though there is a film on it, it was caked with dust that I couldn’t get off. The problem you run into is that if you are especially rough in trying to clean the thing, you’ll end up ruining it.

In the end, it needed replacing, and after all that ruminating, I realized it was good that I got the new one. I lucked out on that one.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.