Interesting oil filter concept

[tony1679]

The things a BITOGer thinks of at 4 a.m....

So I have personally been affected by the PureOne tears, and this has made me think of alternatives. I am switching to Wix temporarily. But I had an interesting thought. There are spin-on filters and cartridge filters. What about a new type of filter? There are already reusable air filters (although they suck) and reusable gaskets. Why is there not a reusable oil filter? In a spin-on application, why not keep the existing design, but enable the can to be opened? Even if this can't be done (which I think it can) then what about a "servicable" oil filter? Meaning sell the individual components separately. The only components that would need changed regularly are the filter itself, the adbv, and the exterior gasket that mounts to the engine. By doing this, you can visually inspect the filter media whenever you please, and have total control of what goes into the filter. Thoughts?

 

[wirelessF]

Something similar like this:

http://www.trasko-usa.com/Replacement-Kit-Instructions/Replacement-Kit-Instructions.htm

I could see something like this work, ie convert a spin on filter base to a cartridge filter base.

 

[tony1679]

And after a Google search out of curiosity, I see they already exist. So much for my million dollar idea...

So I guess the better question is what are your thoughts on the ones that exist? Are there good and bad ones?

 

[tony1679]

What are your thoughts on this info from 37 Degree?

http://www.37degreefilters.com/component/content/article.html?id=1069&make=CHEVROLET&model=Impala&year=2008&engine=V8%205.3L%20(C)%20F


And I think I am going to pass on Pure Power reusable oil filters (a.k.a. K&N). Too many contradictions and strange info on their faq.

http://gopurepower.com/information/faq.aspx

 

[Kira]

The Trasko filter refreshment video was cool enough but there were 2 things:
1) The ADBV lives in the base plate and is never changed. Sure hope it doesn't harden or crack!
2) No description at all of the filter media.

While I do like the idea of reusable metal (finned aluminum, no less) I can't help but think their time, money and energy was spent tooling up for production and making the thing look good, not securing the best filter media.

How can the white solid shown compare to the stiff pleats of a MANN or Hengst filter? Kira

 

[Andy636]

Or you could machine yourself a unit that fits on the oil filter block and that functions by feeding the oil to an alternative cartridge type filter...sort of like the Amsoil Bypass unit...only that this would have to be a full flow one.

 

[Kira]

It's nice to dream. Figuring out how to make an anti-drain-back valve, procuring filter media and engineering the necessary by-pass mechanism makes this part assembly impossible to make yourself-even if you were a master machinist.

In fact, the by-pass function of an oil filter wasn't addressed in the company's video.

As cool as the finned aluminum looks, this product is a toy which will fall aside when parts support withers away.
Really, let's all grow up a little bit. The company also sells its "mechanics-in-a-can" on the same video.

When they go the way of STEED Oil Treatment, your source for the gaskets and elements will dry up.

Better to campaign for replaceable element style filters on all engines.
Campaign for external transmission filters while you're at it. Kira

 

[CHARLIEBRONSON21]

K&N makes one. SS version. Pretty pricey. Used on my mustang for the track

 

[DBMaster]

Unless you have a shop with a parts cleaning station it's just that much more hazardous liquid you'll have to dispose of.

Having done the reusable air filter thing years ago I will pass on anything like this.

 

[Artem]

The reason why it will never happen is price...

1: It can't be much cheaper then the current $2-3 spin on filters that are on sale regularly

and

2: people don't want to mess with disassembling the oil filter just to replace the media. I hate the process in my 2011 Toyota Avalon which comes stock with one. It's so much simpler to unscrew the old filter and screw on the new one. No messing around with tiny gaskets or messy filter medias.

As far as recycling... used oil filters already have that process but few actually recycling them, apart from oil change places and dealerships. Until Auto Parts places start collecting used oil filters for recycling, mine are going into the recycling bin along with the empty oil jugs.

 

[DBMaster]

I take my used filters to O'Reilly's, just due to the ease of the process. I keep my oil and other fluids until I feel like going to the monthly household hazardous waste disposal events that the city sponsors. Since I use my synthetic oil for the extended OCI's for which it was intended it takes me a couple of years to accumulate enough to require disposal.

The premature changing of synthetic oil I see on this site is sickening.

 

[ZeeOSix]

It would be kind of neat to have a housing that spun-on to the engine like a regular oil filter, but you could buy and install a standard/popular/easily obtainable cartridge filter to put inside of the housing. Of course, as mentioned, the ADBV and base gasket would have to be changed out now and then.

 

[DBMaster]

Do you have a lot of difficulty finding spin-on filters to fit your car? I see nothing easier about this type of filter. Some do like to mess around with different stuff, though. I am doing so with MicroGreen filters. The higher price is more than offset with the reduced use of oil.

 

[slalom44]

I have a Trasko filter and I've used it at least a dozen times on one of my vehicles. It's reusable, except for the bypass filter element which looks like a small toilet paper roll. It's very well built and will last forever if that's what you're looking for.

I have cut up toilet paper rolls and used them to replace the bypass filter elements to save money and it works well, but it's very time-consuming. Even if you buy the replacement rolls, you still have the messy task of opening up the filter and cleaning out the full-flow wire mesh filter. Little tiny grit particles that get caught in the mesh have to be picked out with a pin or needle. They don't all just wash out.

I did a UOA years ago using a Trasko and the results were decent. But the hassle and time wasted cleaning it out made me use other filters.

The Trasko filter doesn't have a rubber ADBV like a conventional filter. Oil can't drain back through the bypass filter (it's too dense), and when the bypass opens, the oil is filtered by the mesh. It really doesn't have anything to wear out except an o-ring to seal it after putting it back together, and replacement o-rings come with each new bypass filter element.

If you do a search in the Bypass Filter forum, you will see several discussions about the Trasko filter several years ago.

 

[tony1679]

Originally Posted By: Kira
Campaign for external transmission filters while you're at it.

THIS! Lol.

No, I don't have availability issues, it would just be nice to "create you own" filter. That's why I asked about these. But after some research of my own, they all seem way too expensive and actually seem inferior (efficiency) to disposable filters. Plus there's the hassle of cleaning them.

Doing the math (comparing the average $200 lifetime filter to a Wix at full price ($8)), it would break even after ~100,000 miles and that's if I change oil at 4k. If I go longer intervals or find filters cheaper, it would take even longer to break even. I guess I'll stick to disposables.

 

[route66mike]

We need disposable oil filters! Our landfills would be less full without them, robbing us of the chance to waste more metal.

 

[CELICA_XX]

Originally Posted By: tony1679
what about a "servicable" oil filter? Meaning sell the individual components separately. The only components that would need changed regularly are the filter itself, the adbv, and the exterior gasket that mounts to the engine.

Originally Posted By: tony1679
And after a Google search out of curiosity, I see they already exist. So much for my million dollar idea...


You basically just described a cartridge oil filter.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: route66mike
We need disposable oil filters! Our landfills would be less full without them, robbing us of the chance to waste more metal.


There is a decent market for recycling them. This is just my opinion, but I think DYIers may be more likely to toss a cartridge in the trash (due to messiness of storing it) than they would a spin-on. It's the oil itself that is the issue and not really the filter casing.

Still, that is just an opinion. I know that BITOGers dispose of their hazardous waste responsibly.