Oil Filter Shelf Life

[Mikey V.]

How long are oil filters good for. I have a case of wix filters, a m1, pp1 and now a royal purple filter. How long do these things last. Oh yeah.....all 3 of my cars use the same filter so thats the reason i have a ton of them...

 

[jldcol]

What is the base made of? Normal "rubber" or silicone. The rubber should be UV sensitive, so keep in box away from sun should help. Silicone seems tougher, longer lived. The next question is the can, a thin(to thin to me) sheet metal product. It is painted on the outside, but what about the inside? Corrosion may be a shelf life limit factor. These seem similar to old steel beer cans, they would rust in how long? If you want an number, a guess is 7-10 yrs. depending on storage conditions.

 

[Mikey V.]

they are all in the wix case in my bedroom closet.

 

[jldcol]

If I can add a bit to the question, do to possible corrosion is it better to store the filters dry or filled with oil for really long term 10+ years storage?

 

[iunderpressure]

I wouldn't pour oil in a filter to store it.

 

[RWEST]

Originally Posted By: mv6845
they are all in the wix case in my bedroom closet.

Something about that just .....

If the filter opening is sealed w/plastic, as a lot of filters are nowadays, they should last about forever, especially if they're being kept in a controlled environment. Or, you could stick 'em in some Baggies or something..

This past fall, we were cleaning out my Dad's garage, and came across a pile of OEM filters he'd stored in a locked cabinet for his John Deere compact tractor, probably back in the '90's. Those things aren't cheap, and we have a bunch of J-D equipment that uses the same filter, so we were pretty happy until we opened the boxes and discovered every one of 'em was rusty.

 

[Mr Nice]

15 years if kept in a cool, dry place.

 

[Kestas]

I've used two 20 year old Spectrum oil filters stored in my garage. They had no rust. They worked fine.

 

[SargeBB]

I think just about forever, if kept in a dry environment. I've got some old aftermarket filters for our 2 vintage flathead Mopars that are labelled 1949 - 1955 Plymouth - Dodge. Those engines used the same filters through 1959, so I assume they were produced in 1955. The metal is not rusty and the paper elements look to be in excellet shape. I certainly plan to use them!

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: iunderpressure
I wouldn't pour oil in a filter to store it.
Besides, you'd have to plug the holes or you would risk a big oil mess in the closet someday.

 

[ravenchris]

Till the next civil war.

 

[Chris142]

If I buy a filter and it may sit a while I tape the box shut and also use the tape to seal any openings in the box.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Originally Posted By: iunderpressure
I wouldn't pour oil in a filter to store it.
Besides, you'd have to plug the holes or you would risk a big oil mess in the closet someday.


I enjoy plugging holes in the bedroom.

 

[StevieC]

My Amsoil EAO filters come sealed in plastic inside their boxes... Great for storage. The Mahle filters I buy for my Austin Mini & VW Cabriolet also come sealed in plastic.

You could Saran wrap the filters and put them back in the boxes... This would help to keep dirt & moisture out.

 

[IntegraVT]

Bill in Utah posted some pics of a twenty year-old Fram filter once. Outside of some baseplate rust, I think the filter would have been serviceable...

Ah, found it, here's the link to his post.

 

[jldcol]

A 20 yr. old filter is rusting on the outside, it is the internal rust of the same metal in the same conditions that would worry me. Without a destructive examination of the filter, inside conditions are somewhat unknown.

 

[Petty]

I switched to WIX this year and purchased the oil filters in bulk, the people at WIX said the filters are good for 5 years from the date of manufacture.

 

[chevrofreak]

Put some desiccant packs in the boxes with them and they might outlast you.

 

[TallPaul]

My only concern with something like 20 years is whether the paper element may become brittle.

If you plastic wrap the filter, make sure it is good an dry first, would not want to wrap humidity in.

 

[Patman]

I've got a couple of old oil filters for my wife's car that I'm going to use up this year (trying to save as much money as I can now that I'm out of a job) so hopefully they are still ok. The first one I'm going to use is an AC Delco one that I bought from Walmart at least 5 years ago, if not more. These filters were made by Wix, they use the same T3 glass enhanced media as Wix, Napa Gold, Kralinator and Carquest premium. The only difference is they get a cheaper nitrile ADBV instead of silicone. This filter has been kept indoors the entire time, and it's still shrink wrapped. Visually it looks perfect inside.

The second one I've got is a Purolator Premium Plus, it's just as old if not older than the AC Delco one. This one isn't shrink wrapped but has been kept in it's original box inside the house all this time.

Neither of these filters will be on the car longer than 6 months, as I change the oil in her car every May and every November. Typical OCI works out to 4000 to 5000 miles.