Oilguard element alternative (?)

[autokin]

The oilguard elements have become very expensive. I bougth two kits for my cars, but I am very dissapointed with the treatment that oilguard is given us, (the nonfleet owners). Does anyone have any ideas on how to construct an alternative element to replace the one
we buy from them? I am thinking of taking the filter out and use the baldwin B50 / OB1305 combo instead.

 

[Gary Allan]

PHONE: 800-487-7493

Try these guys.. I'd be prepared with some dimensions and whatnot. Cotton wound filters can be made up in just about any size/diameter/micron rating that you want. You may have to buy more than you want to ..but the price may make it worthwhile.

 

[firemediceric]

If you find an alternative, please let me know.

If you have to buy quanity to get a deal, let me know and I may be in.

 

[autokin]

Thanks for the phone Gary. I will try to find out if it is worth it.
Happy New Year to you and yours.


firemediceric,
I will get back to you if I have any helpful info.
Have a happy new year.

 

[Gary Allan]

I'll see if I can find the name of the outfit that Mel (Filterguy) turned me onto. They spun up 1um 3.5" diameter 20" DOE filters custom for me ..at a reasonable price. There are mostly 2" or 3" or 4" available ..and they typically are 20" or 10" (maybe it was 9") long ..so while mine was a custom diameter ..the length was standard.

The impression that I got is that they basically put it on a lathe with a big spool of thread (probably multiple strand) and do the happy dance back and forth at a given ratio of lathe speed and back and forth cycle feed speed to make the micron rating.

Here's the outfit. IIRC, Jeff Roark was my contact. It was several years and projects ago. Tim Schultz from PALL identified the filters I needed and Mel deciphered my antiquated PALL canister number.

They take credit cards.

 

[mangusta1969]

Well,

It's now a year/plus since the last post in this thread, so I thought it is time to re-visit this issue. I have an older turbocharged car with a small EPS-10 bypass filter installed in it, back in 2003. It has kept the oil very clean, but I am now out of replacement filters.

Has anyone found a cost effective alternative to the high-priced Racor or FTG filter elements to fit the old Oilguard EPS-10 or EPS-20 housings? Having these wound string filters increase in cost by almost 300% in less than ten years seems a little excessive to me. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[mangusta1969]

I am still looking for some lower cost stringwound filter replacements for the Oilguard EPS-10 or EPS-20 filter elements. Has anyone found some good filter substitutes or used a custom built filter ?

 

[mangusta1969]

Originally Posted By: mangusta1969
I am still looking for some lower cost stringwound filter replacements for the Oilguard EPS-10 or EPS-20 filter elements. Has anyone found some good filter substitutes or used a custom built filter ?



Originally Posted By: a bear;4480295
The filter housing I was referring to was the ST-1 and its rated at 300 degrees operating temp and a MAWP of 300 PSI which is higher than the Oilguard unit with the plastic filter core.

The cotton wound string on stainless core element to fit the ST-1 is also rated at 300 degrees.
http://www.thepurchaseadvantage.com/page/TPA/string_wound_water_filter_cartridges.html/FCCAF10XX
The synthetic media on stainless is rated at 750 degrees.

As far as I know no one has tried this setup so I understand the reluctance to try it. Personally I wouldn't have a problem trying it and it doesn't bother me that it's marketed for water filtration. Changing the o-ring seal to the proper elastomer would take care of compatibility issues. Also, cotton wound on stainless elements are rated as excellent for petroleum oil.

Actually I have only one more Oilguard filter left in stock so I might give this a shot in the near future.



I did get the response above from another unhappy (price) Oilguard customer on a diesel truck forum. This was my reply to him:

Thanks for the detailed reply and info. Please keep us posted if you take a plunge into the Pentek ST-1 filter assembly. Their stringwound filter elements are certainly much more reasonable than the Racor/Oilguard EPS-20 elements that I have located from various vendors.

I did find an interesting cutaway diagram of the Racor/Oilguard filter element here:
http://www.maesco.com/products/racor/r_lfs_intro/r_lfs_bypss/r_lfs_bypss.html

Perhaps the more complicated differential string winding shown in this diagram helps to explain the high Racor element costs, but my wallet is still conflicted with paying mid-$20 for each element.

By comparison, the Pentek replacement stringwound elements for their ST-1 stainless steel housings are below $4 each and are available in several different micron ratings. They probably don't have the differential winding like the Racor/Oilguard but a before and after particle analysis would tell us if the Pentek 1 micron element was doing a good job.

 

[dnewton3]

There is nothing wrong with seeking the least cost, equal performance alternative.

But it does not escape me that this simply plays into the whole "ROI" topic I push about synthetics and bypass filtration.

People often get sucked into the hype and rhetoric of premium products (synthetics and bypass filter units) and then realize they have difficulty making the ROI pay out, and seek "cheaper" sources. Often, that's hard to do with proprietary set-ups.

It's human nature to want the very best for the very least. But it's a smart man that realizes there ain't nothing free ...