filter ability vs flow

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Nov 28, 2002
Messages
70
Location
plano texas
I am guessing that when someone says 20 microns that means anything smaller can get through the filter, but it seems like they flow much more oil. Do filters close to 20 not filter as well as small ones and do the smaller ones and do teh smaller ones never flow as much as teh larger?
 
It's not always as simple as that. If two filters are constructed out of basically the same type of material, but one stops 10 micron particles and the other stops 20, the one at 20 will flow more oil.

However it is possible for a 10 micron filter to outflow a 20 micron filter, based on the media it is made out of. A fully synthetic media can filter small particles and flow very well, while a paper media can only do one or the other, so it's a compromise.

Most of the filters out there that claim to be made from synthetic fibers are actually a blended media though.

Finding out information on oil filters is a very tricky game too, because most manufacturers are terrible at giving out their technical info, and it's not cost effective to test oil filters ($750 each approximately!) so the average person can really only take them apart and comment on what they see, but can't say too much in regards to how it filters or how it flows oil without having it fully tested.
 
One other thing 94: The Micron rating of a filter is based on an efficiency at that micron particle size.. For instance: in the old days you would have a "nominal" rating and an "absolute" rating for a specificif micron filter. For instance A 20 micron "Nominal" rating filter meant that it would filter 50% of 20 micronlevel dirt (nominal= 50%. On the other hand that filter could be rated say 40 micron "Absolute"-meaning it would filter 98.7%(definition) of the particles at that particle size.
Now we also have "Beta" values- where a Beta is again given at a specific micron level
(Beta =#of particles upstream/#of particles downstream). Efficiency = (1- 1/Beta)100

So a nominal (50% effficient filter ) has a Beta rating of "2": (1- 1/"2")100=50%. A 98.7 efficiency has a "Beta" rating of 75: (1-1/75)100-98.7

Now couple all of this garbage with the SAE tests which in many cases the manufactures do not tell us the size particles we are dealing with-Its a jungle out there
grin.gif


Probably bored some (most?) people but thats just a little info about filter rating. Also close to my limit of expertise
grin.gif
.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top