magnets on oil filter

[Bruce Tuncks]

In a book on light aircraft I saw this idea of putting some super-magnets on the outside of the oil-filter. Well I did this, retaining them with stainless lock-wire and tape.

 

After 50 hours of service, when the filter was cut open, there was quite a buildup of very fine-grained sludge where the magnets were, and this material must have been ferrous wear particles from the rings, cylinder walls etc.

 

When buying a new filter, I asked the parts-shop man why magnets were not built into lots of auto filters. He said that there had been such filters, but no more. He also reckoned that anything the filter passed was ok for the engine, so the magnets wouldn't help.

 

Now the book had said that these wear particles are too small to be filtered out, so they circulate till you change the oil.

 

I still think the magnets are a good idea.

 

cheers, Bruce

 

 

[tvaner]

Don't know enough to say if this would make a difference or not Bruce, but I do recall some automotive engines in the past having a magnet fitted to the sump outlet bolt which did much the same thing.

 

 

[Captain]

Bruce

 

I have always thought that this was a logical improvement to paper filtration and on my vehicles that have had a magnetic sump plug there has always been a surprising accumulation of magnetic particles.

 

Surely anything to get the particles out of the oil will be good, as long as it doesn't inhibit the normal flow thru the filter cartridge.

 

See FilterMAG: Magnetic Oil Filters finish the Job Your Filter Started. for a commercially available range of magnets.

 

Regards Geoff

 

 

[gofastclint]

I have a magnetic sump plug on my motorcycle and was amazed at the amount of particles attached to the plug when performing an oil change. even after the engine was run in there were still plenty of particles. defiantly a good investment in my opinion.

 

 

[Captain]

I have a magnetic sump plug on my motorcycle and was amazed at the amount of particles attached to the plug when performing an oil change. even after the engine was run in there were still plenty of particles. defiantly a good investment in my opinion.

If your bike runs common gearbox & engine oil I think you will find that that a lot of that material comes from the gearbox ..... but still an appreciable amount from the engine too.

 

 

[facthunter]

magnets.

 

couldn't hurt the engine... getting anything out of the oil (contamination) should help. Might be worth checking the accuracy of the compass afterwards though. Nev..

 

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

Today I got a sales email from Skyshop featuring Tempest oil filters with......

 

" a MAGNETIC ( their capitals not mine) secondary filtration system."

 

 

[Bob Llewellyn]

Today I got a sales email from Skyshop featuring Tempest oil filters with......" a MAGNETIC ( their capitals not mine) secondary filtration system."

Woohoo! They've invented magnets?

When Ricardo was designing bus and rail engines to run 10,000 hours TBO, he found that better oil filtration - removing ANY particles from the oil of ANY size- gave huge benefits. Modern car engines running quasi-ceramic bores can exceed their 100,000km warranty with small particles in the oil, and you'd want a new car by then, in this year's fashionable color! So why improve oil filters? Hmmm...

 

Ship diesels generally cool and filter their oil within a mm of its life - why would they do that, if they didn't have to?

 

 

[facthunter]

Good check on anything that runs gears or roller bearings. Particles should be inspected and IF flat hard particles present although small, that indicates flaking and impending failure likely.

 

Can't do much harm can it. I've been using magnetic drain plugs for ever when I can get or make them. Nev

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Rotax engines have a magnetic plug that performs much the same function.

 

 

[facthunter]

It's needed because of the gear drive and good in any case. Nev

 

 

[M61A1]

Good check on anything that runs gears or roller bearings. Particles should be inspected and IF flat hard particles present although small, that indicates flaking and impending failure likely.Can't do much harm can it. I've been using magnetic drain plugs for ever when I can get or make them. Nev

As you are probably aware, but others may not, a lot of aviation transmissions and gas turbine engines run indicating chip detectors, basically a magnet in the return oil flow, with two terminals built in, when the gap is bridged by the magnet collecting ferrous debris, it completes the circuit, and give a warning light in the cockpit. Some are even "fuzzbusting", if the pilot gets a chip indication, they can press a button which delivers an electric pulse, if the particle is very fine it will burn out and clear the indication, but if larger, it will not burn out, and the indication will remain.

 

 

[facthunter]

You can't wait for the engine to fail as it does too much damage and costs lots. That is the reason to cut open all your oil filters (especially on a new engine) and if there is metal there in excess of what might be considered normal, pull the engine and check it, rather than take a chance. Nev

 

 

[M61A1]

The indicating chip detectors will let you know if anything's making metal long before your filter inspection will.

 

 

[facthunter]

Of course, but it's not a technology we have in our field here. Nor do we have vibration meters . Most don't open the filters as far as I can tell. Another thing with jets they usually run the main part for 10,000 hours or so and it therefore needs more monitoring.. I don't; know many pistons with more than 2500 hours TBO and claimed TBO on much the stuff we buy, (excluding Rotax that does abide by a realistic standard even on it's two strokes) is a bit of a fairy tale. Nev .

 

 

[frank marriott]

Another option - I change the oil and filter every 25 hrs and cut the filter open and inspect for metal. With the small quantity of oil (3ltrs for a 3300 motor) and the low cost oil filters, to me it makes sence to keep everything clean and new. I guess it is a personal choise

 

 

[Bob Llewellyn]

Another option - I change the oil and filter every 25 hrs and cut the filter open and inspect for metal. With the small quantity of oil (3ltrs for a 3300 motor) and the low cost oil filters, to me it makes sence to keep everything clean and new. I guess it is a personal choise

Sounds like low cost, high value insurance, though might become a bit of a drag in a flying school environment. The old FIAT 850 Coupe had a centrifugal oil filter inside the fan belt pulley, which caught an awful lot of crud. How many people would be up for a better oil filter at a higher cost?

 

 

[Downunder]

Liked this so much I now have 2 on the one filter......http://www.aeromag.net/ (They do make a size for the 912 filters)

 

Fine, hard metal particles in oil....... grinding paste anyone?

 

 

[jetjr]

Weight can be a problem with better oil filters, plenty of long life engines run ultrafine bypass filtration too.

 

Jabiru sure needs work on the oil system needing better pressure regulation, catching oil vapour and cooling regulation too

 

I think camit might be covering a couple of these

 

Crook oil control could easily cause detonation and subsequent damage