10 Things to Consider When Buying Filter Mesh

Woven wire mesh is arguably one of the most versatile materials in the world, as it can be formed to accommodate almost any filtration or design application. With other materials, such as wedge wire, on the market, woven wire mesh stands out as it balances performance with cost-savings.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Haoshun Wire Mesh Manufacturing.

But as no one operation is the same, buying customized wire mesh screens and filters proves to be ideal in most cases. With that, it is important that you know what to expect when building a customized wire mesh part so optimal results are achieved.

Having gained over 150 years of woven wire mesh experience, W.S. Tyler is here to ensure you put the ideal solution for your process in place.

That said, this article will help you better understand:

• What the buying process looks like for customized mesh
• Important quoting information
• What is needed to build the best possible solution

Building the Perfect Mesh Specification

There are several specifications that must be methodically determined while designing the ideal custom mesh screen/filter. Of these specifications layer configuration, size and shape, and mesh count can be the hardest to determine.

Single- vs. Multi-Layer

There are several reasons why a multilayer configuration would be best for your operation. Of these reasons, the biggest deciding factor would be the need for strength and durability.

Let’s say you are filtering a substance or screening a material that has various particle sizes. If you were to simply use a single layer of fine mesh, odds are it wouldn't hold up as the larger particles would compromise the integrity of the mesh in a short period of time. 

To combat this, you would take the fine mesh needed to deliver the filtering capabilities and sandwich it between layers of stronger, more coarse mesh. Doing so will prevent the larger particles from damaging the finer filter layer. 

That said, if you are filtering non-abrasive material or seeking to obtain the filter cake, a single-layer configuration will best suit your needs.

Size and Shape

When working with woven wire mesh, in particular, the sky's the limit when it comes to the ways it can be formed to accommodate your operation. That said, there are a few aspects to the forming process that simply can’t be done. 

When forming deep drawn funnel screens for low-pressure die casting, for example, there is a ratio, based on the screen’s diameter, that limits the depth in which the screen can be drawn. This ratio essentially limits the depth measurement from exceeding the measurement of the diameter of the screen. 

Putting this into perspective, if you require a screen that is one inch in diameter, it would be impossible to draw the part out to a measurement of 5 inches.

Mesh Opening Size

The mesh opening size that best suits your operation ultimately depends on the particles you are working with. 

If you are screening large pieces of aggregate you will want to use larger mesh openings as they will allow the large particles to pass while also accommodating the wire diameter needed to create a durable screen. On the other hand, if you are filtering out sand from raw oil, a finer mesh count will be needed as these particles can prove to be small.

With that, the mesh count of the screen may be limited based on the type of woven wire cloth. Square mesh has a mesh count range of 4 mesh down to 230 mesh whereas filter cloth has a mesh count range of 4 microns to 302 microns.

To learn more about how mesh count and micron rating compare, read the following article:

• Wire Mesh Specifications: Mesh Count vs Micron Rating

Important Information for Wire Mesh Inquiries

When trying to identify the wire mesh needs of a customer, there is a “Good, Better, Best” scale that is used. With that, there are three primary mesh elements that dictate how effective the mesh supplier is at helping you establish the perfect mesh solution:

What Does the Buying Process Look Like?

Regardless of the needs of your wire mesh part, the buying process starts with reaching out to the mesh supplier with an overview of the mesh to see if it can be produced. Typically, you will be asked to submit some sort of drawing or blueprint with the mesh specifications so an engineer can review them.

Want more information on Filter Mesh? Feel free to contact us.

Read the article below for an in-depth breakdown of what you should expect when submitting a wire mesh drawing:

• Fabricated Wire Mesh Components: Shop Drawings

If neither a blueprint or drawing is available, our team of experts can work with you to determine which specifications will work best for your needs.

Once the engineer confirms that the desired mesh specification can be produced, you will receive a quote reflecting the cost of the materials needed to produce the mesh. With that, it is important that you know the different elements of the desired mesh specification.

This includes: 

• The mesh count
• The alloy of the mesh
• Any sort of heat treatment needed
• Any value-added services needed

Once you receive the quote, the final step would be to accept it and submit a purchase order. Taking all this into consideration, the biggest obstacle you will face during the buying process is if the mesh can be produced.

Do you have heavy sediment or large volume of scale, debris, sand, or grit needing to be removed from your water filtration system? Selecting the right mesh filter element for your sediment filter or separator starts with having a good understanding of what is on the market and what they remove from water.

Water mesh filter elements are specifically designed to remove large volumes of sediment. In this blog, we will be going over four things to consider when selecting a mesh filter element.

Housing Selection

Part of selecting an element is determining what housing you have or need. If you already have one installed, the size is listed on the inlet and outlet. When installing a new one, knowing the desired flow rate greatly helps! Check out our “What is the Typical Household Water Flow Rate” blog for more on determining flow rates.

Flow rates in sediment filters and separators have a wide flow rate overlap between sizes. For example, a 1” filter housing has a flow rate of 1-25 GPM and a 1-1/2” filter housing has a flow rate of 10-50 GPM. If your flow rate is within the range, it’s best to go with a smaller size to ensure the centrifugal force is adequate to separate the sand from the water. That would mean that if your desired flow rate is 20 GPM a 1” filter housing would be more effective.

Element Type

Elements come in two different styles, filter and separator. They both work the same way, the difference being that separators allow for more sediment to build up before it needs to be purged. Our "Understanding Sediment Filters & Separators" blog goes over the difference in more detail.

Depending on the size of the housing the filter may look different. For 1” housings the filters look the same between filters and separators whereas for a 1-1/2” and 2” housing, the filter has a shorter screened area and a stem holding the filter part up which gives room for the sediment to build up at the bottom.  The image shows a filter element on the left and a separator element on the right for a 1-1/2" or 2" housing.

Mesh Material

There are two main mesh materials, polyester and stainless steel. Polyester mesh is manufactured from non-corrosive material and is ultraviolet stabilized / weather resistant. Stainless steel mesh is manufactured from 316 stainless steel and is non-corrosive and durable.

Stainless steel will hold up better to sharp sediment and particles as they won’t rip the material. In the past polyester was the more economical option but that has changed making them both very economical options.

Mesh Size

Selecting the mesh size required is determined by what needs to be removed from the water. When talking about filtration there is different terminology that defines the size of things that will be removed. The equivalency chart below shows the comparison between the different terminologies.

The opening is the size of space between material that water and particles can pass through. The number of openings in one square inch of screen is called the mesh size. The micron rating is the distance between filter media. “Water Filters – The Basics on Micron Ratings” goes over this in more detail.

When using a sediment filter or separator as a pre-filter for other water filtration products, make sure that the mesh size is equivalent to a larger micron rating. For example if your filter is 80 micron you would want to use a mesh size of 140 or smaller.

To give you an idea of some common sizes, scale may be removed by using a 24 mesh element whereas sand is smaller and would require a mesh element with a 100 rating or even higher.

Determining the amount of sand / sediment that needs to be removed will help determine the element that is right for you. No matter which element you choose it can be removed and cleaned with a soft brush. Soaking the element in 50/50 bleach and water solution will help remove stains caused by iron, etc. Be sure to rinse the element thoroughly before it is installed again. Now you have a better understanding of what goes into choosing a water mesh filter element and what the options are.

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