Husqvarna makes two air filters for the 550, which is now shared with the 562. One is felt, which is what came stock in my saw. Like this: OEM Husqvarna 550 XP Mark II Air Filter Assy The other is nylon, which I haven't seen before. Like this: OEM Husqvarna 550 XP Mark II Air Filter, Mesh 25 Micron Can anyone enlighten me on when or why you might want the nylon over the felt?
I have bought two maintenance kits for my two Husqvarna 460s from Amazon. Comes with the nylon filter, spark plug, fuel filter, and two stroke oil. I have been using the same nylon filter for almost two years now and it is holding up very well. I blow it out every second cutting day and then soak it in hot soapy water every two or three weeks. So you get your money's worth out of the nylon filter. It is easy to see if the nylon filter requires cleaning, not so much with the felt.
The nylon filter can be cleaned but the felt will only get more clogged, even if you try to clean it, but it will usually catch finer stuff. I switched to nylon filters and see better power because of it. Oem, not china pos. I tried china and they leaked fines into the intake. Oem is great.
I run the nylon on my ported saws. They flow a bit more freely. I keep my chains throwing large chip so I don’t really worry about fines getting ingested. Felt will filter to a smaller micron number (I do believe)..I’ve washed felts plenty of times.
I washed mine a bunch too, but every time I washed them, more stayed in the felt and would not come out. Great filters, but they do tend to get more restrictive over time.
I thought I read once upon a time the felt filters were better for dry dusty conditions since they trap more. They also clog faster. The nylons are better in colder conditions. maybe I'm imagining it too.
Nylon is designed for cutting green wood where there will be less chance of finer dust particles. The felt is a finer filtering media for dry, dusty conditions.
