Magnets on a MicroGreen 200-6

[kohnen]

Howdy Gents!

I've got a Chevy Volt that I'm playing with. One of the things I'm playing with is the oil and filter. I figure this is the place to post my results.

I put about 2,000 miles on the engine for this filter. (The Volt is an electric car that also has an engine). I'm running Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W-30 with a can of Liqui-Moly Ceratec.

I'm using a MicroGreen 200-6 filter (I replaced it with a MicroGreen 300-6 oversized filter).

Here's the filter with the magnets I put on it:


I have two FilterMag SS300s on the side, and two magnets I pulled from a hard drive on the end.

The filter looks to have a silicone ADBV:


And, since y'all seem to care, nicely cut louvers:

Now, as many of you know, the MicroGreen filters have an added 5 micron filter that takes some of the oil, and filters out stuff that is over 5 microns or so. Here's that:




And the filter looks good (note: Too few miles to stress it):

Here's an observation: I see no evidence that the Ceratec was filtered out by either filter. And, the oil still has the look of an oil with Ceratec in it. So, the Ceratec really isn't filtered out by this filter. Makes sense - Liqui-Moly says its particles are 0.2 microns, MicroGreen says its filter filters down to 5 microns.

Here's another observation: The bypass filters in the MicroGreen filters are no longer PTFE (aka Teflon). They look like some sort of pressed pulp or fabric.

Now, I wanted to know whether there would be any significant magnetic detritus in the filter. There was:


Now, here's the interesting part: The above pictures were taken AFTER I cleaned the container with brake cleaner. The brake cleaner did NOT dislodge the iron filings.

When I removed the magnets and sprayed the inside with brake cleaner, the filings stayed in place.

When I took another strong magnet and wiped it past (from the outside), the filings did not move.

The ONLY thing I was able to do to move the filings was to wipe them with my finger, or with a paper towel.

The filings were so small that I couldn't see or feel any individual particles. They just looked like a black paste.

So, here are my musings:

1) Magnets do pull magnetic material out of the oil.
2) There is a significant amount of magnetic material even with a MicroGreen oil filter. By significant, I mean enough to see.
3) The magnetic material looks to be really, REALLY small. It looks like a black paste, and feels like one too. I couldn't make out any individual particles. I bet they're all smaller than 5 microns or so.
4) Once the particles are stuck to the inside of the filter, removing the outside magnet, spraying with brake cleaner, or moving another strong magnet on the outside of the filter cannot move the particles. (This, quite frankly, surprised me).
5) Ceratec and MicroGreen filters are compatible.
6) The MicroGreen 200-6 works as a normal sized filter for a 1st generation Chevy Volt.
7) The MicroGreen 300-6 works as a oversized (a bit longer) filter for a 1st generation Chevy Volt.
8) The Longacre-Billet Oil Filter Cutter that I used to open the filter is a really slick tool!
9) But, it leaves razor sharp edges that can cut you bad. (Don't ask.)

 

[Driz]

I used to use 4 small neobendium magnets on the filter on my Cessna. Nowadays I just toss a couple old hard drive magnets on my car filter. They do seem to pick up and hold tiny flakes and metallic goo. Every little bit helps and they are free

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: Driz
I used to use 4 small neobendium magnets on the filter on my Cessna. nowdays I just toss a couple old hard drive magnets on my car filter. They do seem to pick up and hold tiny flakes and metallic goo. Every little bit helps and they are free


Yes. The free ones will weaken at hot oil temperatures. There are some that will keep their strength to 150°C = 302°F but you have to purchase them from a magnet supply house. The FilterMag magnets are, I believe, the high temperature ones. The ones I put on the end of the filter are just run of the mill hard drive magnets.

 

[blupupher]

So, did the magnets attract the iron in your blood.

Does Microgreen still advertise PTFE filter material?

Interesting info on the magnets. We read all those that say it is bad to use a magnet because the debris could get dislodged and such, but seems you had a different result. I had been putting old hard drive magnets on my filters for a while, but quit a few years ago, just did not think about it. About a month ago I grabbed one of the HDD magnets and stuck it on the Scion. I did not put one on the truck because I would probably have to remove it to get the filter off, and did not want to have little magnetic bit possibly getting back into the engine, but I may go stick some on it now. Thanks.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Aren't drain plug magnets easier to use? Also, they contact all the oil while staying out of high flow.

 

[Dyusik]

The magnets are underutilized. As for the weakening at temps, they do not weaken enough to loose their grip on the crud captured. The N52 and 48 magnets have not stopped working, even in my Harley in 90 degree weather with stop and go traffic.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Aren't drain plug magnets easier to use? Also, they contact all the oil while staying out of high flow.


I'd argue that FilterMags and hard drive magnets are easier to use. To use them, I just slide under the car, and slap them onto the filter. To use an oil drain plug magnet, you have to find an appropriate magnetic drain plug, unscrew the old plug, (likely lose some oil in the process) and put in the magnetic drain plug.

HOWEVER, if you want to more easily SEE the iron, you're right.

I think that the pictures show that everywhere there's a magnet, you collect (I assume) iron particles. So, the more area you have magnetized, the better of a chance you get more iron out of the oil. But, this is conjecture on my part and I've not done any testing to try to prove this.

 

[goodtimes]

I'd like to see a sideways shot of the adbv as it is assembled like in the fourth picture, under a little pressure like it would be in the can. The goal is to see if there is a space for the adbv to open into. This is my MG 101-1 and it is not squeezed together very hard. That year Volt has a block bypass valve. That looks like new oil and a new filter practically.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: Dyusik
The magnets are underutilized. As for the weakening at temps, they do not weaken enough to loose their grip on the crud captured. The N52 and 48 magnets have not stopped working, even in my Harley in 90 degree weather with stop and go traffic.


Indeed, the magnets I stuck on the end held on like gorilla snot. The magnets do not, at oil temperature, lose ALL their strength, but they can reduce some. For the intended purpose, that's probably OK. The hard drive magnets I stuck on the end of the filter were on there while I took a trip up the Cajon Pass to Vegas, so I suspect that they got as hot as they're going to get.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: goodtimes
I'd like to see a sideways shot of the adbv as it is assembled like in the fourth picture, under a little pressure like it would be in the can. The goal is to see if there is a space for the adbv to open into. This is my MG 101-1 and it is not squeezed together very hard. That year Volt has a block bypass valve. That looks like new oil and a new filter practically.


The oil and filter had about 2,000 engine miles on it, so it IS practically new oil and a new filter. In fact, since the filter cutting tool doesn't introduce any bits of metal and I still have Ceratec in the oil, I poured the oil in the filter back into the crankcase (after checking it for impurities). The specified filter has no bypass valve (it's in the block) AND it has no ADBV (at least the one I cut open that came with the car didn't).

Enough chatter! Pics:



As you can see from the second picture, there's about a quarter's thickness of room for the ADBV to open. (I saved the filter). It took some doing to get the little 5/16" part of the can removed from the baseplate.

 

[goodtimes]

Good to get an answer to this, thanks. Here is a Baldwin B37 I cut open as I didn't like the excess glue I saw inside. It would have been fine though. The adbv opens about 1 mm only. I thought well that's no good, but then figured it out a bit and actually the opening is about the same area or more than the inlet holes. It wouldn't impede the flow even with such a small opening.

 

[i_hate_autofraud]

Yup! Magnets work great! OEMs don’t like ‘em because of cost! The more you have the better!

I use a pair of Filter Mags and fill the space between them with bar magnets to max out!
My oil stays clean to 7,000 miles before it even starts to darken even a bit.

>> Interesting point: Magnets with way higher operating temps trade off maximum magnetic field
strength in Kilogauss ratings.

You’re lucky the Microgreen has a flat spot on the end of the filter for the hard drive magnets,
I had an Amsoil filter with a fully rounded end that wouldn’t let a mag sit tight to the can couple
it’s full field to the metal housing!

See this PDF with Pics, it’s been around for 2 yrs or so:


FILTERMAG vs HOMEBREW
https://app.box.com/s/uxvu8dmscf5wcgftutdm0ejqwgn86tw7

 

[spasm3]

Nice pics. I have a microgreen on the zero turn mower and on the elantra. I'm curious about you going oversize. I wonder how that affects the bypass filtering. Would the smaller filter have more bypass flow through the ptfe filter than the oversize? Or would the bypass flow be the same regardless of filter size?

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
...I'm curious about you going oversize. I wonder how that affects the bypass filtering. Would the smaller filter have more bypass flow through the ptfe filter than the oversize? Or would the bypass flow be the same regardless of filter size?


1) It ain't Teflon any more.
2) I've not yet opened a 300-6 filter, but I'm guessing that the main filter will be taller, and therefore provide less resistance to oil flow. I bet the bypass filter and orifice are the same. So, yes, a lower percentage of the oil will go through the bypass filter in the bigger filter. I don't think it matters because either way the oil gets bypass filtered enough.