Reusable Oil Filters

[Too Badd]

More info

What Are Microns?

A micron is one thousandth of a millimeter. That's approx. .00003937 inches.

35 microns is about .00138", (just over one-thousandth of an inch).

The lower limit of visibity to the human eye is about 40 microns.

Pollens range from about 30 to 50 microns

A white blood cell is about 25 microns

Cigarette smoke is about 10 micron

[Too Badd]

Just a bit more


What about flow rate and why is it so important?

A very important dimension of oil filters is the flow rate. It doesn't matter how good the filter media is if the oil is going through the bypass due to a low flow rate. We believe many people mistakenly chase smaller and smaller micron ratings to try to get cleaner oil. Flow rate is decreased exponentially as the micron rating is decreased. Again, once the flow is restricted to the point the bypass opens, the filter media rating becomes a moot point. This is why we meet or exceed the filtration of the factory filters to meet warranty requirements, while concentrating on providing maximum flow. This combination delivers the maximum combined benefit from the oil filter. A one-inch square of our filter material can flow 1.9 gallons of oil per minute at only 1-PSI pump pressure (70 degrees F). This means the stainless steel filter cloth we use in our small spin on filter element can flow 57 gals/minute.

We have run static pressure tests between our filters and paper filters for an identical application. For the same sized filters, our stainless steel micronic filter consistently flowed over 7 times more oil for the same time period than did the paper filter (tests were run at 68 degree ambient temperature). How does this affect what is going on inside your engine? We installed pressure gauges on each side of the filter element on a pro stock drag race engine so we could measure differential pressures (the difference in pressure between the input side of the filter element and the output side of the element). During a full pass down the strip the differential pressure of the stock paper filter measured 20psi difference. Our filter measured less than 1psi difference. Less differential pressure means less chance of bypass operation, faster oil pressure at startup, less drag on the oil pump (potential horsepower gains) and higher flow through the engine, often helping to cool the oil and keep the crankcase cleaner.
Another thing that can affect the paper filter flow is moisture. Not everyone is aware that engines get condensation in them. When paper gets wet it swells and may pass even less oil.

Now, think about all the particulates that have had a chance to settle to the bottom of the oil pan right where the oil pickup is... just waiting to go through the bypass valve directly to the engine components...

[Too Badd]

Lastly, I am going to just post the web address for their independant test at K&P Engineering.

Stainless Steel Cleanable and Reusable Oil Filters for your Motorcycle and ATV

I don't want to over load the site with info that only a few may be interested in.

Good info though if someone is interested.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Too Badd

This was pulled from K&P's web site.

4) How does this type of filtration compare to paper oil filters?

We use ASTMF316 testing procedures which eliminate many of the user variables found in the SAE procedures. Basically, the filter media is pressurized from one side, and when the media starts passing particles, that is the micron rating. We sent filter media from several common brands of paper filters to the lab to be run through the ASTM test. We sent the media to the lab with no names, just numbers for identification so they wouldn't have any idea what brand filter they were testing. The results for the paper filters ranged from 48 microns for the best filter to over 300 microns for the worst filter. Our tests were right in line with other testing results we have researched that have paper media filters passing particles anywhere between 50 and 90 microns. What does this mean? Paper filters are rated on averages, percentages of efficiency (also known as beta ratios) and multiple passes, so a 10 micron rated paper filter (as advertised on the packaging) may be letting particles 50 microns and larger through. The medical grade stainless steel cloth that we use is consistent across the entire media surface and is rated at 35 microns, meaning nothing larger than 35 microns should pass through the material. The bottom line is we meet or exceed the filtration performance of OEM filters, eliminating any warranty issues.

I read that disclaimer too. Which makes me wonder how a good quality disposable filter, such as Harleys 5 micron filter, gets a 5 micron rating. It would be great to see the actual testing data of all the filters that were tested.

I have spent enough time dealing with marketing departments to be a bit of a skeptic when it come to any such claims, from Scotts or Harley. Did Scotts test their filters against the best disposable filters, or just OEM filters? Does their term "paper filters" exclude disposable filters that use filter media other than just "paper?"

What is particularly troubling is that folks with the reusable filters think that they filter to a lower micron level than the filters were actually tested to.

I don't have any hard answers to any of these questions. It's just that I would be concerned about an oil filter that uses a 35 micron rated filter matrix. In modern engines, a contaminant that is 35 microns is a pretty big piece of trash.

Pete

[Too Badd]

Just to clearify, based on a conversation I had with K&P prior to setting up with them as a dealer, they stated they were the original manufacture of these filters. Unless Scott's is rebranding the K&P filter, it is a knock off.

As far as the micron ratings, this is what jumps out to me the most:

Paper filters are rated on averages, percentages of efficiency (also known as beta ratios) and multiple passes, so a 10 micron rated paper filter (as advertised on the packaging) may be letting particles 50 microns and larger through. The medical grade stainless steel cloth that we use is consistent across the entire media surface and is rated at 35 microns, meaning nothing larger than 35 microns should pass through the material.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Too Badd

Lastly, I am going to just post the web address for their independant test at K&P Engineering.

Stainless Steel Cleanable and Reusable Oil Filters for your Motorcycle and ATV

I don't want to over load the site with info that only a few may be interested in.

Good info though if someone is interested.

I would like to see some Consumer Reports style independent testing of oil filters where the test criteria were explained in some detail and the filters being tested were actually named. Marketing departments very often use "independent" labs to substantiate a claim that later turns out to be false. There are a lot of ways of twisting an experiment that can drastically alter the results.

In this case I'm not claiming that Scotts or K&P did that. It's just that some of the reusable filter makes have made claims regarding oil cooling and increased horse power that appear to be very suspicious. One manufacturer even shows a dyno chart of increased horse power. Only later did we find out that they ran the second dyno test with a lower viscosity oil - an oil that is lighter in weight than what the bike manufacturer recommends.

I like the concept of a reusable oil filter. They certainly look cool. I'm still trying to figure out how a 35 micron filter is better for my engine than a 20, or a 10, or even a 5 micron filter. Scotts and K&P might be right or they might be selling a filter that lets damaging contaminants through that other filters would catch.

Pete

[gruss]

sorry for the mixed up numbers pete, i've seen so dang many today, i cant remember my birthday, or age.
with regard to the scotts filter, i believe its a re-branded J&P...

as far a micron vs. micron, a synthetic oil molecule is 12 microns in size...(averaged) as lee posted earlier. if this is the case, and a stock harley filter claims 5 microns full pass, that would mean that the oil molecules are not able to pass through the filter media.....

i would guess that the harley filter falls in line with the rest of the tested paper filters of similar quality on the market place, with respect to the level of filtration they are capable of.

and sisnce harley doesnt build their own filters, this is almost surely the case...

if in fact the harley filter does filter to this level, the filter by-pass system would surely activate, allowing unfiltered oil to circulate through the motor....so the question remains....is it really 5 microns, or is it closer to the 25-35 range as seen in other filters...

either way, the inside of my motor is clean as a whistle. can i say the filter is the reason for this ? or the more than frequent oil changes the motor sees....i'm leaning toward the oil changes as the primary cause.......

and i dont miss the degraded filter paper getting into the motor either.....g

[Blackdog 15]

ever try to shoove 12 microns thru a 5 micron hole ?.....

[WebbHog]

Originally Posted by Blackdog 15

ever try to shoove 12 microns thru a 5 micron hole ?.....

Every night...

[gruss]

Originally Posted by WebbHog

Every night...