First post here, but long-time lurker. I've got a newly rebuilt 12v Cummins in a 1947 International KB2 that I've been building over the past year or so. Because of some recent (I think) oil-related issues with the ball bearing turbo, I'm needing to up the game on my oil and filtering. And because I frequently prefer higher-quality homemade solutions, I've been searching extensively for the most effective reasonably-priced bypass filter setup, rather than an off-the-shelf solution.
My HPL Engine Cleaner 40 flush just arrived today, so I'll be using that on a fresh oil change with Mobil Delvac 1300 and running it for ~750 miles before switching to HPL Premium HD CK. I'm running a Donaldson DBL7349 primary filter; because I have a soft spot for Donaldson, I've spent hours scouring their filters for something that would work for a bypass solution as well.
I started by doing a search on what the particle count size distribution looks like in diesel oil. I knew I wanted to ultimately filter at 1-2micron for soot control if possible, but also didn't want the bypass filters to clog right away (the truck is on 40" tires, geared high, lugs and soots a good bit). I found the chart below that seemed to indicate there are perhaps a significant number of particles below the 15-micron size that my full-flow filter advertises.
Alas, (after way too much time), I stumbled across the P165185 medium pressure hydraulic filter. It boasts an astonishing Beta 1000 of 4 microns, and because of its synthetic media, it's rated to 250° F. It's a reasonably large filter at 3.82" diameter and 9.44" length. And based on the chart above, it should have plenty of work to do catching things between the 4- and 15-micron range.
My idea is use the above filter as the "primary" bypass filter; coming out of this filter, I'll go into the "secondary" bypass...a P551234, which has a Beta 2 rating of 1 micron. It's a bit smaller than the primary, with dimensions of 3.67" diameter and 5.66" in length, but is larger than the more common P551324 with similar filtration specs. This filter is only rated to 220° F; however, I think I'll get some cooling as the oil goes through the primary filter (with reasonably long residence time). Both filters will be located in an area that gets a fair amount of ambient air cooling.
Neither of these filters have an internal bypass; however, the filter heads that I've matched to these (P169310 and P561134 respectively) both have a 25-psig bypass. I know this isn't necessarily preferred for this application, but I'm thinking (or hoping?) that it won't be a problem. Since the filters are rather large with respect to the low flowrate passing through them, it doesn't seem likely that the bypass would ever open?
I think I'll need to put a restriction (orifice or such) downstream of the secondary; I've seen mentions of between 0.042" and 0.125" for the orifice, but would welcome guidance on sizing this. I also plan on having silicon filled gauges "before the primary/between the primary and secondary/ and after the secondary but before the orifice" to be able to keep track of pressure drop and help inform filter change frequency. The filter heads will also each have sliding differential pressure indicators (P162696 style).
I'm somewhat of a tribology newbie and am still steep on the learning curve. Am I overlooking anything, or does anyone have input before I start buying components? For reference, both filters, filter heads, and DP indicators will be ~ $275. So I should be able to put this together for less than most off-the-shelf solutions, and (I think) have a much more robust setup. Comments, suggestions, and criticisms welcome
Oh, and here's a picture of the truck for those interested...still a work in progress obviously!
--Eric
My HPL Engine Cleaner 40 flush just arrived today, so I'll be using that on a fresh oil change with Mobil Delvac 1300 and running it for ~750 miles before switching to HPL Premium HD CK. I'm running a Donaldson DBL7349 primary filter; because I have a soft spot for Donaldson, I've spent hours scouring their filters for something that would work for a bypass solution as well.
I started by doing a search on what the particle count size distribution looks like in diesel oil. I knew I wanted to ultimately filter at 1-2micron for soot control if possible, but also didn't want the bypass filters to clog right away (the truck is on 40" tires, geared high, lugs and soots a good bit). I found the chart below that seemed to indicate there are perhaps a significant number of particles below the 15-micron size that my full-flow filter advertises.
Alas, (after way too much time), I stumbled across the P165185 medium pressure hydraulic filter. It boasts an astonishing Beta 1000 of 4 microns, and because of its synthetic media, it's rated to 250° F. It's a reasonably large filter at 3.82" diameter and 9.44" length. And based on the chart above, it should have plenty of work to do catching things between the 4- and 15-micron range.
My idea is use the above filter as the "primary" bypass filter; coming out of this filter, I'll go into the "secondary" bypass...a P551234, which has a Beta 2 rating of 1 micron. It's a bit smaller than the primary, with dimensions of 3.67" diameter and 5.66" in length, but is larger than the more common P551324 with similar filtration specs. This filter is only rated to 220° F; however, I think I'll get some cooling as the oil goes through the primary filter (with reasonably long residence time). Both filters will be located in an area that gets a fair amount of ambient air cooling.
Neither of these filters have an internal bypass; however, the filter heads that I've matched to these (P169310 and P561134 respectively) both have a 25-psig bypass. I know this isn't necessarily preferred for this application, but I'm thinking (or hoping?) that it won't be a problem. Since the filters are rather large with respect to the low flowrate passing through them, it doesn't seem likely that the bypass would ever open?
I think I'll need to put a restriction (orifice or such) downstream of the secondary; I've seen mentions of between 0.042" and 0.125" for the orifice, but would welcome guidance on sizing this. I also plan on having silicon filled gauges "before the primary/between the primary and secondary/ and after the secondary but before the orifice" to be able to keep track of pressure drop and help inform filter change frequency. The filter heads will also each have sliding differential pressure indicators (P162696 style).
I'm somewhat of a tribology newbie and am still steep on the learning curve. Am I overlooking anything, or does anyone have input before I start buying components? For reference, both filters, filter heads, and DP indicators will be ~ $275. So I should be able to put this together for less than most off-the-shelf solutions, and (I think) have a much more robust setup. Comments, suggestions, and criticisms welcome
Oh, and here's a picture of the truck for those interested...still a work in progress obviously!
--Eric
