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Oil Filter

I prefer Champion filters, for what it's worth if you can't afford a $30 filter maybe you should find another hobby :eek:
Like always it boils down to risk vs reward.
 
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I can "afford" to replace your $30 Champion after every flight. But since I know that the consumer price of this product does not define the mechanical properties, I'd rather pay $3.50 for the equivalent.
 
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I prefer Champion filters, for what it's worth if you can't afford a $30 filter maybe you should find another hobby :eek:
Like always it boils down to risk vs reward.

I totally respect your point...valid, in the sense that $ should not factor. However, there are other forces in play that determine cost in aviation products which are not related to testing, approvals and quality.

Spending more money doesn't make it safer. In fact, much of the "crazy" things we do in EA-B have served to enhance safety in the certified world.
 
K & P Engineering filters

Confirming what others have said, I had two of the Challenger filters on my Baron many years ago. The Baron is gone, but the filters live on, one is on my wife's Explorer and the other will go on my RV-10 IO-540. They're very high quality filters. I liked them so much the I have them on my BMW motorcycle and my F350 diesel as well.

The Challenger filters are made by K&P and sold as the FAA-PMA version, but you can buy the filters, and parts, on USAoilfilters.com, except for the housing. For an IO-540 (or probably pretty much any engine with a 3/4-16 thread) you need the following parts:

Housing: C4 - this has a 1" nut on the top and safety wire holes...they are appropriately cautious about not violating their PMA agreement with Challenger, however, having held both the PMA housing and this one in my hands, it appears to be only lacking the Challenger name and FAA-PMA laser etching. You need to call K & P Engineering directly to buy this part. C4 Housing

Filter element: FE-15 - 3/4-16 thread. If you happen to be using a metric engine, such as a UL Power or Rotax, an FE-30 element will fit the housing with a 20x1.5 thread.

Spring: FE-RS1

Quad Ring: QR2 (they're about $1 each and can be used multiple times, just inspect for wear before reusing - flip them over for additional use)

If you're spending $30 on a filter that you're tossing in the garbage every four months, the break-even cost on this permanent filter is about 7 oil changes. But the price, to me, isn't the real value. The permanent filter has a 35 micron rating, which stays constant throughout the filtration period, unlike paper elements that open up during the same period (for a good time, read the certification spec for paper oil filter elements and discover the wide tolerances allowed).

Also this filter flows much better than a paper element with a 'little' extra cooling coming with the fins on the housing; at the very least, they look cool ;)

The main benefit to me isn't the cost, or the reusable factor (both very nice features though), but rather the ability to quickly pull the filter apart and inspect. The element has a rare earth magnet, so it is immediately apparent if you have ferrous material, and inspecting the rest of the element is very easy and quick.

I then clean it with some mineral spirits (although parts cleaner in a can is recommended as well), wash with simple green, rinse with water, air blow it dry and reinstall. I read in a former post about some limitation of 5 years from ACS - I have to assume that is some legal limitation, but there is no limitation from K&P; the sucker is made from billet aluminum with stainless medical mesh in the filter element - not sure what would why it would need replacing, other than damage, with the only wear part being the quad-ring that is reusable and inexpensive as well.

Highly recommended.
 
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Hey Ron - I’m interested enough to go look them up - I didn’t see a “C4 housing” listed on the web site page of products….. did I miss it, or did you mean something else?

Paul
 
Hey Ron - I’m interested enough to go look them up - I didn’t see a “C4 housing” listed on the web site page of products….. did I miss it, or did you mean something else?

Paul

Sorry for the twist Paul, it's here: https://kandpengineering.com/product/c4-housing/

I had to grind through the grey cells and recall that I had to call and ensure them it was for my experimental airplane and order this part over the phone. Because this part, let's call it a similar part, is also sold as the PMA part under contract to Challenger as a certified part, they're very careful about selling it. I just checked and all of the other parts I mentioned earlier are for sale on their online website at usaoilfilters.com.
 
I may have posted this already, but I have been using the Challenger series of filter on my aircraft for years (RV-10, Stearman, and the Hughes 269C). They really seem to do a better job of filtration, are so much less messy to inspect.

The first time you open one up, take a deep breath, as you will think you have an engine problem. :)

The use the same part number as your current filter, with a CP in front of it, e.g, CP 48110, CP-48109, etc.

Vic
 
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Hey Ron - I’m interested enough to go look them up - I didn’t see a “C4 housing” listed on the web site page of products….. did I miss it, or did you mean something else?

Paul

I found them here - looks like it's linked to K&P:

oilfiltersites.png

http://oilfiltersites.com/

Seems like good value - is the cleaning process as easy as they show in the videos? Might be a good idea to buy two filter elements to have one ready to go.
 
Do you have the N number so we can read the NTSB report?

Prefer not to mention N number. But here is a clip from the report.

"Examination of the engine provided evidence of a large piece of paper towel appearing material in the oil sump. This piece of material had plugged the oil pick up resulting in oil starvation to the engine."
 
Prefer not to mention N number. But here is a clip from the report.

"Examination of the engine provided evidence of a large piece of paper towel appearing material in the oil sump. This piece of material had plugged the oil pick up resulting in oil starvation to the engine."

So it wasnt filter material but paper towel?
 
It was the oil filter paper.

Not sure this sounds right...how does oil filter media large enough to plug the pickup make its way from the filter canister to the sump? With the normal flow of oil, sure seems it would get stuck somewhere else first. I don't think it could get through the filter adapter/vernatherm

Paper towel seems more correct per the NTSB.

First thing my dad taught me working on engines. Never, stick paper towl/rags in any hole to plug it.
 
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I found them here - looks like it's linked to K&P:

View attachment 18197

http://oilfiltersites.com/

Seems like good value - is the cleaning process as easy as they show in the videos? Might be a good idea to buy two filter elements to have one ready to go.

Look's like the FE-16 would fit the C4 housing to replace the CH48103.

This looks like a great setup assuming you didn't have to fork over $100 every 5 years to replace element. Looks like any STC would require this. With EA/B, I think you replace on condition only, ie. visual inspection and oil analysis.
 
Look's like the FE-16 would fit the C4 housing to replace the CH48103.

This looks like a great setup assuming you didn't have to fork over $100 every 5 years to replace element. Looks like any STC would require this. With EA/B, I think you replace on condition only, ie. visual inspection and oil analysis.

I've been using the same element for much more than 5 years (I think about 11 so far) and the element still looks great.

Seems like good value - is the cleaning process as easy as they show in the videos? Might be a good idea to buy two filter elements to have one ready to go.

It only takes me 5-10 minutes to clean the filter, which generally gives me time for the oil to drain, so I hadn't considered buying a spare filter element, but sounds like a cool idea to be ready to go.
 
So, is it safe to say that the NAPA 1068 (or NAPA 1515, difference being that the 1515 is longer) will work in place of either the CH-48110-1 or the CH-48108-1...

The only difference is that if you normally use the CH-48110-1, you must reuse the nipple from a previously installed filter on your NAPA 1068 (or NAPA 1515)?

Likewise, will the NAPA 1068 (or NAPA 1515) be a direct replacement for the CH-48108-1 with no modification?

John
 
Yep, the NAPA 1068 (WIX 51068) will work just fine with no mods, all you need is the nipple.
 
Reposting this from a similar thread from a month or 2 ago:

I am using a Flo PCS4 on my IO-360-M1B, and my neighbor is using the same filter on his 390. On Amazon, comes in black, stainless steel, and combination, for about $112, has a 17 mm nut and a safety wire hole. Works great so far (admittedly, only a few hours on it at this point). I also have one on a Rotax 912.

https://www.amazon.com/PC-Racing-PCS...7-93deae8f9840
 
FLO PCS4

Just cut open hopefully my last paper filter as I also installed and tested the FLO PCS4.

Since we run thicker oil at double the pressure of a car at possibly also double the flow rate, it would be nice to know how much any filter, paper or mesh is actually bypassing the media.
 
At $34 a filter plus shipping, and the Challenger not going up in price that much, it seems to still be a good option today.
 
So, is it safe to say that the NAPA 1068 (or NAPA 1515, difference being that the 1515 is longer) will work in place of either the CH-48110-1 or the CH-48108-1...

The only difference is that if you normally use the CH-48110-1, you must reuse the nipple from a previously installed filter on your NAPA 1068 (or NAPA 1515)?

Likewise, will the NAPA 1068 (or NAPA 1515) be a direct replacement for the CH-48108-1 with no modification?

Well, they'll screw on the engine...

One significant difference (as compared to Champion or Tempest) is the bypass pressure rating. Wix rates the 51068 and 51515 (NAPA 1068 and 1515) at 8 to 11 psi. The Lycoming value is 11 to 15, with Continental (IIRC) at 13 psi.

Filter adapters for Lycomings may or may not have a built-in bypass, thus the reason for aviation filters with (48108) and without (48110) an internal bypass. If you screw a NAPA 1515 on a standard AC style filter adapter (48110, filter horizontal), the 1515's bypass opens well before the bypass built into the adapter.

The second difference is burst pressure, 290 psi for a 1515, well below either aviation filter. The combination of low burst pressure and low bypass pressure suggests an aviation application should also include multi-grade oil.

Users with the standard horizontal filter adapter (built-in bypass) might want to consider a Wix 51647, aka NAPA 1647. Burst is 390 psi, with no bypass in the filter. You will need to add a nipple.

Users with an angle adapter, which typically do not have an built-in bypass, might want to consider a Wix 51601, 360 burst with a 13-19 psi internal bypass. The catch might be diameter in some applications, 4.282", as compared to about 3.75" for the Champion/Tempest. You'll need an extra 1/4" on all sides.

From a technical standpoint, I am not very impressed with cleanable screens as compared quality paper filters. However, they might be good enough. The whole subject is a swamp. It does not appear the aviation filters meet the accepted aviation standard, while automotive filters generally use an ISO standard, and the standard claimed by Challenger doesn't actually apply to filters.
 
From a technical standpoint, I am not very impressed with cleanable screens as compared quality paper filters. However, they might be good enough. The whole subject is a swamp. It does not appear the aviation filters meet the accepted aviation standard, while automotive filters generally use an ISO standard, and the standard claimed by Challenger doesn't actually apply to filters.

Do you think the "cooling fins" on the Challenger case actually do much oil cooling, or even enough to consider it as part of the buying decision over disposable filters? I'm chasing a high oil temp issue (with normal CHTs) on an angle valve IO-540 on a slow airplane (90mph cruise) and I'm looking at every possible thing I can do to help keep the oil temps low once I get it to our Texas summers.

Lenny is helping with his thoughts and if we don't get it down to normal when test flying it today, I might have to bother you for your thoughts on it.
 
Do you think the "cooling fins" on the Challenger case actually do much oil cooling, or even enough to consider it as part of the buying decision over disposable filters? I'm chasing a high oil temp issue (with normal CHTs) on an angle valve IO-540 on a slow airplane (90mph cruise) and I'm looking at every possible thing I can do to help keep the oil temps low once I get it to our Texas summers.

Lenny is helping with his thoughts and if we don't get it down to normal when test flying it today, I might have to bother you for your thoughts on it.

Oil to air coolers have turbulators internal to each passage and the external fins are dense and enhanced for heat transfer as well. This is to say nearly dead oil on a few sq-in of area (vs many sq ft) w/o forced air velocity would provide a positive, but very low cooling value. The value is primarily marketing favoring the provider.
 
Do you think the "cooling fins" on the Challenger case actually do much oil cooling, or even enough to consider it as part of the buying decision over disposable filters? I'm chasing a high oil temp issue (with normal CHTs) on an angle valve IO-540 on a slow airplane (90mph cruise) and I'm looking at every possible thing I can do to help keep the oil temps low once I get it to our Texas summers.

Lenny is helping with his thoughts and if we don't get it down to normal when test flying it today, I might have to bother you for your thoughts on it.

Probably won't help you, but I found the source of my high oil temps on my PV IO-540. There were two washers under the Vernatherm. When I removed the extra washer, the oil temp dropped 10-15 degrees. I also instrumented the oil cooler above and below to check for pressure recovery and the differential pressures were good at all speeds from 95-160 KIAS.

(Airflow Systems 2008X oil cooler and 5" duct, Challenger/K&P oil filter).




 
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This is to say nearly dead oil on a few sq-in of area (vs many sq ft) w/o forced air velocity would provide a positive, but very low cooling value. The value is primarily marketing favoring the provider.

That was my inclination.

Probably won't help you, but I found the source of my high oil temps on my PV IO-540. There were two washers under the Vernatherm. When I removed the extra washer, the oil temp dropped 10-15 degrees. I also instrumented the oil cooler above and below to check for pressure recovery and the differential pressures were good at all speeds from 95-160 KIAS. .

I'll add that Vernatherm washer to the list of things to check. We already had one big hose and are installing a second big hose this morning. The next step is to install an exhaust shroud on the oil cooler exit to funnel the air outside of the cowling to make that air flow smoother with less interference by the turbulence under the cylinders.
 

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