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ENGINEERING BULLETIN | 98 - 3 |
| April 14, 1998 | ||
REPLACEABLE VERSUS REUSABLE FILTERS | |
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Traditional replaceable filters provide a low cost, high performance means of protecting engine systems. New reusable filters now being marketed would propose to offer an alternative means of providing these same benefits. This bulletin addresses some of the performance and cost factors which should be considered when evaluating a reusable product.
We recently tested one of the latest market offerings for a reusable engine oil filter. During the first test cycle, the filter demonstrated nearly the same efficiency and capacity of a standard replaceable filter. However, the performance of the filter element during subsequent use cycles fell off dramatically. By the 10th use cycle (as recommended by the manufacturer), the contaminant holding capacity had decreased by 67%. The chart below illustrates the decrease in capacity with the successive uses of the reusable filter compared to the performance offered by a conventional Hastings filter. 
As you can see by this test data, the reusable element will provide ever decreasing capacity after each subsequent cleaning and re-use compared with the traditional replaceable Hastings LF432 filter, which will offer consistent, known contaminant holding capacity with each and every use. The decrease in the contaminant holding capacity of the reusable filter results in shorter filter life and increases the likelihood of contaminated oil by-passing the filtering media through the by-pass valve. |
Buyers should also carefully consider the economics associated with reusable products. The purchase price for the reusable unit we tested is approximately $240.00 with an element cost of $55.00. The analysis below shows the cost comparison between replacing a Hastings LF432 lube filter ten times and reusing the cleanable filter over ten service intervals.
Reusable Filter Initial Cost -- $240.00 Ten Service Intervals Cost With The Element Being Replaced Once -- $295.00 Hastings LF432 Cost -- $14.71 Ten Service Intervals Cost -- $147.10 Using the above model, the reusable system costs $163.30 more for ten service intervals than installing a new LF432 filter at each service interval. The marketing of reusable filters does make their use seem attractive. The performance and cost data above, however, show a traditional replaceable filter continues to offer the most cost efficient means to provide the best protection for engine systems. While not cost effective, reusable filters will also fail to offer the same level of system protection provided by high quality traditional replaceable filter elements. |
call our Service Engineering Team at (800) 887-8836 |