DPF Cleaning, Air, Water? Whats the best method?

Our manual states every 300,000 miles, depending of course on idle time etc, but it's just about that time every time we have regen/dpf lights coming on and staying on, so I would say the recommended intervals are spot on.

 

Good info! But ours are a bit different we don't have the 1 box as these are all 2010's so no DEF, my dpf's are all in line under slung, some of these units are original to the truck and have been re cleaned over and over several times, they still seem to go to the 300,000 mark???

I know its a dirty word around here and I can understand why, but I am going to do a delete on one of these trucks next time its due for a service, I want to see with my own eyes just how much of a difference it makes without the EGR and the DPF, both in power/mileage and also I want to run a soot/particulate scan and see exactly what difference there is.

 

I like the idea of a deeper more thorough cleaning. I agree a liquid based cleaning would increase cleaning success. I do think they are a little on the pessimistic side of ash accumulation and how much remains behind after conventional air cleaning. They are using examples of DPFs that are basically not serviced when they should be and become over plugged. This is just another video by a manufacture claiming "Their product is better than everyone else's." Like I said, we send out DPFs all the time and have great success. Many times, the DOC is what has worn out with time and not allowing proper oxidation and therefore improper burn at the DOC so excessive unburnt fuel gets lodged inside the DPF and burns there instead of being baked which causes the excessive temps and ultimate failure of the substrate

I searched around Quickserve and found this several times,
"Cummins Inc. does not endorse localized air cleaning machines for ash removal. All DPF ’s requiring ash cleaning should be returned to a Cummins® Authorized Repair Location in exchange for new/reconditioned DPF . Unauthorized cleaning methods can not be used to clean the DPF ."
I can totally see this during warranty when Cummins pays for the DPF, but outside of warranty, exchange DPF are still cost prohibitive compared to bake and clean methods.

 

The wire test does not give a DPF a good health status IMO, and only tells you that the bulk of the ash was removed during cleaning. Reman unit is the way to go if you do not know the history of cleaning intervals and that they were done on time. Most issues with filters not cleaned successfully can be traced back to core engine issues with oil or coolant consumption.