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Oil filter Super Magnets?

21K views 57 replies 23 participants last post by  JIM BAR 
#1 ·
I was browsing the net and came across a web site that was selling an external magnet that sat on the outside of the oil filter to collect minute metal particals floating in the engine. Is it just snake oil or does it have any real benifits?

Regards
Mark
 
#2 ·
Snake oil. Magnet will only see part of the oil flow, any particle that can get through a modern premium oil filter medium will be so small that the dynamics of the oil flow would induce a much larger force to keep the particle entrained than the force any stick-on magnet could muster, and a majority of the particles in the engine are non-magnetic (bearing material, carbon particles, silica dirt). A simple magnet in the bottom of the oil pan like some automatic transmissions have would be more effective if you want a magnet.
 
#4 ·
I saw that someone mentioned oil filter magnets in one of their posts, and was wondering about them.

Has anyone with an oil filter magnet cut open their filter while leaving the magnets attached to see if they're collecting any shavings?

Are the magnetic particles the hardest particles that might be floating around in your engine, or are the non-magnetic particles the hardest?

Any other opinions around?
 
#5 ·
Terje said:
I saw that someone mentioned oil filter magnets in one of their posts, and was wondering about them.

Has anyone with an oil filter magnet cut open their filter while leaving the magnets attached to see if they're collecting any shavings?

Are the magnetic particles the hardest particles that might be floating around in your engine, or are the non-magnetic particles the hardest?

Any other opinions around?
Silica found in common dust is the hardest thing inside an engine, always run a filter of some sort to vent the crankcase or tie it into the aircleaner system to prevent drawing these particles inside the engine.
 
#6 ·
I have 2 magnets in the bottom of my oil sump and 2 in my lifter valley. I use the wonder magnets and these little magnets are very strong. I was surprise when I put it on my toolbox and the amount of force that was required to remove it. Sometimes I had to slide the magnet to the end of the shelf to get a good grip to in order to pull it away.
Wonder Magnet
 
#7 ·
4 Jaw Chuck said:
Silica found in common dust is the hardest thing inside an engine, always run a filter of some sort to vent the crankcase or tie it into the air cleaner system to prevent drawing these particles inside the engine.
On my engine there is a hose that goes from my valve cover through my PCV, and into a vacuum hose that leads to my carb.

On my other valve cover there is another hose that leads to my air filter. But, where it leads to is outside of the filter.

I assume that the air is sucked from the valve cover, through the PVC valve into the carb. I believe that this causes the air to go into my air filter compartment, and into the hose that leads to my other valve cover. There is a cheap sponge thing that is all grimy that appears to filter the air that goes into the second hose.

I guess what you're saying is that I should move that hose from outside of my air filter to inside my air filter.
 
#10 ·
Oil filter Maganits

There is all this science on magnets and the rare earth super magnets...

They are brilliant....

I ran all these tests in filtering abilites of the various oil filters available on the market and most of them are just ****.

And they allow alot of really fine ferritic (and other) material through....

I recall the standard of partical filtration is down to 20 or 25 microns...

There are special oil filters or filtering systems (multi staged) that filter down to 5 microns.

I can't remember the brand/s right now....

A magnet stuck into a steel sump greatly magnifies it "filtering range" in terms of pick up area, because the magnitic field flows through the iron into about a 10-15 cm diameter (4-6" for the backward Emerikens)

If you have a steel sump plug whack one on that and the magnetic field will flow on to a considerable area around the plug and across the sump.

I really recomend putting a little super magnet on your STEEL sump plug (so it goes on the inside of your engine) and on on the ende (in the centre) of your oil filter.......

If you just put one on the ende of your sump plug, you will be surprised at just how much ferritic crap it picks up...

Actually you may be able to buy little super magnets from the elcheapo telescopic magnetic pick up tools (e.g. ball bearing rolls down into crack in floor), or from electronic supplies stores.
 
#11 ·
If you have an OLD OLD OLD computer laying around somewhere... or can pick up some kind of old one for free...
Take the hard drive apart... The magnets inside the Hard Drive are the strongest magnets i've ever played around with, If two of these get stuck together, they're damn close to IMPOSSIBLE to pull apart. (After a couple hours of trying you'll get em apart) I have half of one on the drain plug of my oil pan, always a little something on the end of it whenever I change the oil.
Only reason i say OLD computer is because they're basicly free, although your brand new computer will work just as well :thumbup:

Although two bad things about these magnets... if you get two or more to close, they will snap together so fast that ethier 1) they'll shatter (which is how i have half of one), or 2) you'll be missing some skin, and WOW does that pinch hurt. Careful!!
 
#12 ·
Computers are Evil

Computers are Evil.

Electrickery is Evil.

Computers use electricity use an abbacus instead.

Use paper planes and carrier pigeons or horse and carts.

Use diesel - direct injection, compressed air starters and carbide lamps for illumination.

As for CD's players.. - Use an Edison cylinder converter kit with the genuine bamboo needles... Works a treat.

Now you can have computing, locomotion, lighting and a full sound system, and you need never had this instrument of the devil (electrickery) in your horseless carriage again.
 
#14 ·
Re: Computers are Evil

ButtWeldor said:
Computers are Evil.

Electrickery is Evil.

Computers use electricity use an abbacus instead.

Use paper planes and carrier pigeons or horse and carts.

Use diesel - direct injection, compressed air starters and carbide lamps for illumination.

As for CD's players.. - Use an Edison cylinder converter kit with the genuine bamboo needles... Works a treat.

Now you can have computing, locomotion, lighting and a full sound system, and you need never had this instrument of the devil (electrickery) in your horseless carriage again.
Hey, you are my kind of guy!! I thought I was the only one in the world who hated electronics. I heard a funny news report the other day (Paul Harvey maybe! Can't remember who). They were interviewing an old guy about remote controllers on every dang piece of equipment you buy nowadays. He said he would NEVER own any of the new-fangled stuff with those unfathomable controllers with so many buttons and features no one knows what they do. And he is the guy who invented the remote control!!!!!
 
#15 ·
Quote
---If you have an OLD OLD OLD computer laying around somewhere... or can pick up some kind of old one for free...
Take the hard drive apart... The magnets inside the Hard Drive are the strongest magnets i've ever played around with, If two of these get stuck together, they're damn close to IMPOSSIBLE to pull apart. (After a couple hours of trying you'll get em apart) I have half of one on the drain plug of my oil pan, always a little something on the end of it whenever I change the oil.
Only reason i say OLD computer is because they're basicly free, although your brand new computer will work just as well

Although two bad things about these magnets... if you get two or more to close, they will snap together so fast that ethier 1) they'll shatter (which is how i have half of one), or 2) you'll be missing some skin, and WOW does that pinch hurt. Careful!!---

Another great place to get magnets of a slightly lower power is speakers, particularly subs. And with all of the kids who put stupidly miswired and mismatched systems in their cars, a blown sub is easy to come by.

As for the magnets in hard drives, they are great. I really like the ones from the old Quantum Bigfoot 5 inch drives, which were common in old Pentiums from Compaq. The magnet has a special plate on one side, so that side isn't very magnetic, but the other side is incredibly strong. We used to stand out in the hallway of our dorm and chuck these magnets down the hall, and they'd curve up and stick to the old iron pipes on the ceiling, or sometimes they'd stick to the metal doorframes. That all ended when one of them was 'attracted' to the end of a florescent light. It busted out the bulb and then sat on the electrodes, and all of the lights in the hallway were on the same breaker....


Chris
 
#19 ·
Oil filter magnets.

Amsoil makes a bypass filter that will install on most vehicles in an hour or so. It filters all of the engines particulate, (not just ferrous material). A bypass filter will work down to a very small particle size, (approx. 5 micron). In addition to the protection afforded by trapping damaging particles, you enjoy the benefit of much longer oil change intervals.
 
#20 ·
Yeah that's it..............

The Amsoil filters..... very good filtration.

If you look at some of my genius posts., I did one on AIR filtration - it explains the principles of filtration....


And the hardest particulate suspended in engine oil is not silica., it's carbon.


One of my very good friends was the manager of Mobil Oil Lubricants; and he knew the ins and outs of ALL lubrication technology (motor oils).

The secrets of engine lubrication.

1. Regular oil changes - consumate with driving styles.

Lots of short trips and cold engine running, consumes the detergents and disperants and the anti-acid additives very quickly.

Regular long trips with a hot engine reduces the most damaging by products of combustion - being moisture and acidic reactions.

But long trips do slowly consume the dispersant, anti-oxidant and anti-varnishing components of the additive components.

If you do lots of very short trips, change your oil regularly.

If you do lots of long trips, the oil changes may be further apart.

Most engines wear during start up and some residual erosion and solventing occours during normal running.

Short run engines - without regular oil changes tend to grind and dissolve into their own sumps in short order.

Taxi engines that run all day every day and are fully serviced, usually get 200,000 miles + easially.


2. Some motors are suited to "regular" mineral oils and some do well on synthetics...

3. Most oils are formulated to a price, to win large contracts, and while they meet certain specifications, they usually only just do so.

4. It may pay to do some thorough "lab based" results type research...... to find out exaclty what is in certain oils.

There may be some benefit in the additives such as Dupont (tm) teflon in them....

I have found a product called NULON engine oil additive to be very good.

5. There are many good books on TRIBOLOGY at universities and such.. they are well worth studying.

6. Oil anaylisis is big business - because the trace elements of bearing and ferritic materials and acids etc., etc., etc., along with very detailed engine logs are very useful.

Especially if you have 4 storey high marine diesel engines... (BIG SHIPS).

6. Super magnets are a fun and useful idea, and they do give a good indication of engine health and wear.


And I guess much beyond good filtration and regular oil changes., the rest is pandering to your own neurosis (or a clapped out engine that needs to be nursed along for a bit longer).
 
#23 ·
Oil Filtration

Depending upon the application - if you want to filter ALL the crap out of your oil and fuel......

The BEST form or method to filter oil is CENTRIPITAL FILTRATION, no elements or replaceable filtering elements needed.

But the mechanics of it, make more suitable for continiously running engines.

Some of the Triumph Motorcycles used to run them.

They are used to do things like seperate blood from the serum, continiously filtering BULK quantities of fuel/s etc. etc. etc.....

The typical device is a RAPIDLY rotating drum with an internal flange on each ende, the fuel / lubricant etc., is fed into one ende of the drum, it picks up rotational speed with the drum and the solids and particals in suspension simply settle out - to the inside walls of the drum and the clarified liquid flows out the other ende.

Periodically the drum needs to be simply flushed out, and away we go.

Back in service.

But since the manufacturers tend to build engines to a price and the most oil filters are basically junk (filtering down to ~20 microns is the industry standard) - get the Neodybnium (?) magnets, pop one on the inside ende of your steel sump plug, pop one on the center and ende of the oil filter case...

When I build an engine (sump off) I stick one in the middle of the oil pump intake screen too.

I think the "super magnetic kits" are fabulous, but I am also savvy enough to not spend stacks of money on magnets that I can score for next to nothing.

Yes the OLD Hard Disk Drive are an excellent source of Neodybnium (?) magnets.

I have one (very strongly) taped to the ende of a long stick, to pick up little iron things off the floor, from scrap to the important little things that fall into cracks and underneath hard to reach spaces...

It's handy when just cleaning up anyway (boxes of loose paper clips etc).
 
#24 ·
oil filter magnet?

Anyone wondering if the oil filter magnets work? Do they ever, I will not run my vehicles without one! Tested it on my harley, truck and car....unreal....I found the "Filtromax" to be the best one I have ever used....attaches in seconds and looks cool too...it's not "snake oil", ask any engineer or anyone that know's about engines....metal to metal contact happens, and regular filters just don't cut it....thanks
 
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