Gasoline Filter Testing - Planning Stages

[Hatsuwr]

I rarely ever see gasoline filters with any useful information advertised (micron rating/efficiency, media/housing material, holding capacity, flow rate). I reached out to a couple dozen brands to do a survey, but the results have been very disappointing so far.

I was thinking instead that it might be worth just testing. Seems like it could be pretty straightforward. Buy some test dust in the 5-10 micron range, load an equal amount into each filter, run pressurized water through the filters while agitating them to prevent settling, then measure the particles that get through. Could probably measure by giving some time for settling, pouring off the majority of the filtered water, then letting the rest evaporate and weighing the remaining dust.

Brands to test that come to mind are ACDelco, Baldwin/Parker, Bosch, Carquest, Duralast, Ecogard, Fram, Mann, MicroGard, NAPA, Pentius, Purolator, and Wix.

Thought I'd check here first to see if that's already been done, or if there's a better way to go about it.

 

[FowVay]

If you care to expend the effort then write to the filter companies and request their data for the SAE J905, SAE J1985 and the ISO 19438 test results. It's quite unlikely that they'll divulge this data but it is performed on each and every fuel filter made that received OEM recommendation by the manufacturer. I supposed it's worth a try though.

 

[Hatsuwr]

If you care to expend the effort then write to the filter companies and request their data for the SAE J905, SAE J1985 and the ISO 19438 test results. It's quite unlikely that they'll divulge this data but it is performed on each and every fuel filter made that received OEM recommendation by the manufacturer. I supposed it's worth a try though.

Good to know, I'll give it a try with the companies I listed here, plus any others that bother responding to my initial email.

 

[chemman]

DO NOT use water as the carrier/test fluid. Water will cause the filtration media to swell especially if the media contains cellulose.

 

[FowVay]

Chemman is pointing out an absolute truth. In fact, one of the tests of a fuel filter is to see how they react when exposed to water. Some filters will filter water but those aren't generally for automotive or general consumer use. They are used with diesel fuels mainly. Specific requirements are stated for marine applications regarding the reactivity of the filter with moisture contact. You don't want to be 30 miles off the coast and have your fuel filter plug because some water got on it.

 

[Hatsuwr]

DO NOT use water as the carrier/test fluid. Water will cause the filtration media to swell especially if the media contains cellulose.

Chemman is pointing out an absolute truth. In fact, one of the tests of a fuel filter is to see how they react when exposed to water. Some filters will filter water but those aren't generally for automotive or general consumer use. They are used with diesel fuels mainly. Specific requirements are stated for marine applications regarding the reactivity of the filter with moisture contact. You don't want to be 30 miles off the coast and have your fuel filter plug because some water got on it.

Interesting. I'd assumed that since there are cellulose-based water filters, then water would be fine. That complicates things a bit I. wanted to pass at least a few liters through the filters, but I suppose I could get the job done with <1 L per filter and find someone with a gas lawn mower who wants the clean(?) filtrate. That will also limit the flow rate and pressure differential I can achieve across the filter media