MESH VS MICRON - As is standard for the irrigation industry, nothing is standardized! Irrigation filters are no different. Some manufacturers use a Mesh number or size while others use a Micron size number. Selecting the best filter for your irrigation project is confusing enough without trying to figure out what the difference between mesh and micron is. Mesh size is the “mesh number” (a US standard of measure for filter screens) in reference to the size of the opening in the screen. Mesh number technically refers to the number of openings in a linear inch of the filter screen material. So, a screen with 30 openings along a linear inch of material is considered a 30-mesh screen. As the mesh number increases, the size of openings decreases, thus the larger the mesh number, the finer the filtration. Micron is a term of measurement used to describe the size of tiny particles. Thus, in filter screens, micron size refers to the maximum size of a particle that will pass through the filter screen. To get an understanding of a micron sized particle - with good but average vision you can see objects as small as about a tenth of a millimeter. A micron is one-thousandth of a millimeter. The smaller the micron number the finer the filtration. In relationship to the size of particle that will pass through that opening, we must consider the strand size of the filter screen material. Type of material or wire size may differ making the opening between strands vary.

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Mesh vs Micron

What You Should Know

Drip Depot

As is standard for the irrigation industry, nothing is standardized!

Irrigation filters are no different. Some manufacturers use a Mesh number or size while others use a Micron size number.

Selecting the best filter for your irrigation project is confusing enough without trying to figure out what the difference between mesh and micron is. 

Mesh size is the “mesh number” (a US standard of measure for filter screens) in reference to the size of the opening in the screen.

Mesh number technically refers to the number of openings in a linear inch of the filter screen material.

So, a screen with 30 openings along a linear inch of material is considered a 30 mesh screen.

As the mesh number increases, the size of openings decreases, thus the larger the mesh number, the finer the filtration.

Micron is a term of measurement used to describe the size of tiny particles.

Thus, in filter screens, micron size refers to the maximum size of a particle that will pass through the filter screen.

To get an understanding of a micron sized particle - with good but average vision you can see objects as small as about a tenth of a millimeter.

A micron is one-thousandth of a millimeter.

So, in essence, the smaller the micron number the finer the filtration.

In relationship to the size of particle that will pass through that opening, we must consider the strand size of the filter screen material.

Type of material or wire size may differ making the opening between strands vary.

This may cause slight variances in mesh to micron conversion for various types of materials and manufacturers.

It is important to remember that mesh size is not a precise measurement of particle (micron) size. 

Noted below are some common particulates and their approximate micron size for comparison.

Particulate	Bacteria	Clay	Giardia	Beach Sand	Fine Sand	Silt	Plant Spores	Viruses
Micron Size	0.3 - 60	0.1 - 2	8 - 14	62.5 - 2000	125 - 250	2 - 50	3 - 100	0.005 - 0.3

Common Mesh to Micron Conversion Chart

US Mesh	Inches	Micron	Millimeters
30	0.0232	595	0.595
35	0.0197	500	0.500
40	0.0165	400	0.400
50	0.0117	297	0.297
60	0.0098	250	0.250
70	0.0083	210	0.210
80	0.0070	177	0.177
100	0.0059	149	0.149
120	0.0049	125	0.125
140	0.0041	105	0.105
170	0.0035	88	0.088
200	0.0029	75	0.075
230	0.0024	63	0.063
270	0.0021	53	0.053
325	0.0017	44	0.044
400	0.0015	37	0.037

For additional assistance in selecting a filter to match your irrigation needs see our Filter Buying Guide.

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https://help.dripdepot.com/support/solutions/articles/11000066426-mesh-vs-micron-what-you-should-know