WIX Air Filters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Used auto engine air filter, clean side

Used auto engine air filter, dirty side

Auto engine air filter clogged with dust and grime

An air filter is a device which removes solid particulates such as dust, pollen, mold, and bacteria from air. Air filters are used in applications where air quality is important, notably in building ventilation systems and in engines, such as internal combustion engines, gas compressors, diving air compressors, gas turbines and others.

Some buildings, as well as aircraft and other man-made environments (e.g., satellites and space shuttles) use foam, pleated paper, or spun fiberglass filter elements. Another method uses fibers or elements with a static electric charge, which attract dust particles. The air intakes of internal combustion engines and compressors tend to use either paper, foam, or cotton filters. Oil bath filters have fallen out of favor. The technology of air intake filters of gas turbines has improved significantly in recent years, due to improvements in the aerodynamics and fluid-dynamics of the air-compressor part of the Gas Turbines.

There are four main types of mechanical air filter media: paper, foam, synthetics, and cotton.

Air filters are found in most all forced-air heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. The efficacy of the air filters in such systems significantly affects the Indoor Air Quality. Building industry recommended practices and government guidelines contain minimum recommended efficiency ratings for air filters. For example, the US Department of Energy recommends air filters with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of 13 as determined by the ASHRAE 5.2.2-1999 test protocol.^[1], and LEED advises builders similarly.^[2] And ASHRAE recommends MERV 6 or higher air filters to control the amounts of pollen, mold, and dust that reach the wet evaporator coils in air conditioning systems. Wet coils contaminated with high levels of pollen and dust can allow mold colonies to grow.

Since efficacy drops beyond a certain dirt-loading level, filters must be serviced regularly. There are a variety of different types of HVAC filters available. Many are inexpensive and not very efficient. Many in-duct filters for home forced air heating and air conditioning systems are made from loosely-spun fiberglass. These filters are inexpensive, disposable, and come in various densities and sizes. Less-dense filters allow for higher airflow, but do not remove as much dust. Higher density filters remove more particles, but are more resistrictive of airflow. They also become more quickly loaded with dirt.

Polyester and/or glass fibres are commonly used to make air filters. Both materials have high temperature ratings of at least 120°C (250°F), and are widely used in commercial, industrial and residential applications. Polyester and glass fibres can be blended with cotton or other fibres to produce a wide range of performance characteristics. In some cases Polypropylene, which has a lower temperature tolerance, is used to enhance chemical resistance. Tiny synthetic fibres known as microfibres are used in many types of HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters.

Air filter flammability

Various engineering associations and test organizations issue standards regarding the flammability of air filters for use in buildings, homes, and other habitable spaces. The Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standard 900 for air filter flammability , for example, classifies filters as Class 1 or Class 2. When attacked by flame, clean class 1 air filters do not contribute fuel and emit only negligible amounts of smoke. Clean class 2 air filters attacked by flame burn moderately or emit moderate amounts of smoke, or both.^[3]

Automotive cabin air filters

The cabin air filter is typically a pleated-paper filter that is placed in the outside-air intake for the vehicle's passenger compartment. Some of these filters are rectangular and similar in shape to the combustion air filter. Others are uniquely shaped to fit the available space of particular vehicles' outside-air intakes. Being a relatively recent addition to automobile equipment, this filter is often overlooked. Clogged or dirty cabin air filters can significantly reduce airflow from the cabin vents, as well as introduce allergens into the cabin air stream.

Internal combustion air filters

The combustion air filter prevents abrasive particulate matter from entering the engine's cylinders, where it would cause mechanical wear and oil contamination.

Most fuel injected vehicles use a pleated paper filter element in the form of a flat panel. This filter is usually placed inside a plastic box connected to the throttle body with an intake tube.

Older vehicles that use carburetors or throttle body fuel injection typically use a cylindrical air filter, usually a few inches high and between 6 and 16 inches in diameter. This is positioned above the carburetor or throttle body, usually in a metal or plastic container which may incorporate ducting to provide cool and/or warm inlet air, and secured with a metal or plastic lid.

Paper

Pleated paper filter elements are the nearly exclusive choice for automobile engine air cleaners, because they are efficient, easy to service, and cost-effective. The "paper" term is somewhat misleading, as the filter media are considerably different from papers used for writing or packaging, etc. There is a persistent belief amongst tuners, fomented by advertising for aftermarket non-paper replacement filters, that paper filters flow poorly and thus restrict engine performance. In fact, as long as a pleated-paper filter is sized appropriately for the airflow volumes encountered in a particular application, such filters present only trivial restriction to flow until the filter has become significantly clogged with dirt.

Foam

Oil-wetted polyurethane foam elements are used in some aftermarket replacement automobile air filters. Foam was in the past widely used in air cleaners on small engines on lawnmowers and other power equipment, but automotive-type paper filter elements have largely supplanted oil-wetted foam in these applications. Depending on the grade and thickness of foam employed, an oil-wetted foam filter element can offer minimal airflow restriction or very high dirt capacity, the latter property making foam filters a popular choice in off-road rallying and other motorsport applications where high levels of dust will be encountered.

Cotton

Oiled cotton gauze is employed in a small number of aftermarket automotive air filters marketed as high-performance items. In the past, cotton gauze saw limited use in original-equipment automotive air filters.

Oil Bath

An oil bath air cleaner consists of a round base bowl containing a pool of oil, and a round insert which is filled with fibre, mesh, foam, or another coarse filter media. When the cleaner is assembled, the media-containing body of the insert sits a short distance above the surface of the oil pool. The rim of the insert overlaps the rim of the base bowl. This arrangement forms a labyrinthine path through which the air must travel in a series of U-turns: up through the gap between the rims of the insert and the base bowl, down through the gap between the outer wall of the insert and the inner wall of the base bowl, and up through the filter media in the body of the insert. This U-turn takes the air at high velocity across the surface of the oil pool. Larger and heavier dust and dirt particles in the air cannot make the turn due to their inertia, so they fall into the oil and settle to the bottom of the base bowl. Lighter and smaller particles are trapped by the filtration media in the insert, which is wetted by oil droplets aspirated thereinto by normal airflow.

Oil bath air cleaners were very widely used in automotive and small-engine applications until the widespread industry adoption of the paper filter in the early 1960s. Such cleaners are still used in off-road equipment where very high levels of dust are encountered, for oil bath air cleaners can sequester a great deal of dirt relative to their overall size, without loss of filtration efficacy or airflow. However, the liquid oil makes cleaning and servicing such air cleaners messy and inconvenient, they must be relatively large to avoid excessive restriction at high airflow rates, and they tend to increase exhaust emissions of unburned hydrocarbons due to oil aspiration when used on spark-ignition engines.

References

1. ^ [1] DOE EERE Indoor Air Quality - MERV 13 Air Filters
2. ^ [http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/LEEDdocs/CI-final%20content%20draft.pdf ] Green Building Rating System - For Commercial Interiors Page 64 of 74
3. ^ UL Standard 900 (air filter flammability)

See also

• Air purifier
• Clean Air Delivery Rate
• Cyclonic separation
• Oil filter
• Respirator

External links

• Comparative filtration efficacy and airflow tests for different types of automotive air filter elements
• Engineered Systems Magazine Filter Selection: A Standard Procedure (June 2000) MERV designations (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value)
• ASHRAE
• U.S.E.P.A. Indoor Air Quality, Federal Interagency Committee

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_filter"

Categories: Auto parts | Filters | Particulate control

WIX Oil filter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

'Spin-on' oil filter beneath the engine of a Saab 9-5 (2005)

'Cartridge' oil filter for use on a 2006 Volvo S40

An oil filter is a device used to decontaminate oil that contains suspended impurities. A major application is in forming part of the lubrication system of engines in which filters are typically detachable units due to the need for regular service or replacement. The filtration of oil in engines is essential for enhancing longevity and performance.

History in automobiles

Early automobile engines did not use any form of oil filtration. For this reason, along with the generally low standard of lubricating-oil refinement in the era, very frequent oil changes, of the order of every 500–1000 miles (800–1600 km) were often specified. The first oil filters were simple, generally consisting of a screen placed at the oil pump intake.

In 1923, Ernest Sweetland invented the original Purolator which is considered to be the first modern oil filter,^[1] featuring a more elaborate design as well as placement between the pump and the lubrication galleries of the engine. Although oil filter technology progressed over the years, as much as 90% of the oil bypassed the filter. The first 'full-flow' oil filter, introduced in 1943, was able to filter all of the oil emerging from the pump.

In 1954, WIX created the easily detachable 'spin-on' filter design which subsequently became a standard design.^[2] This type of filter is now used almost exclusively in modern passenger cars and in recent years, has gained use in heavy-duty vehicles. Oil quality and filtering capabilities have now advanced so far that some manufacturers such as Mobil sell engine oils and filters that claim to have up to a 15,000 mile change interval.

Types of oil filter

Mechanical

Mechanical designs employ a filtration element made up of layers of media, such as paper, to arrest various types of suspended contaminants. As material builds up on the filtration media, the efficiency of the filter is reduced and oil-flow is restricted. This requires the periodic replacement, or cleaning, of the filter or its media.

Bypass filters only act upon a portion of the engine oil flow, typically less than 10%, whereas those that filter the whole stream are known as full-flow filters. In some engine designs, a primary full-flow filter is accompanied by a secondary bypass filter, with the latter filtering particles too small for the primary. This dual-filter design can increase the time between subsequent servicing of the lubrication system.^[3]

Many full-flow mechanical filters incorporate an integrated pressure relief valve to allow a bypass mode. If the filtration element becomes completely clogged, this valve allows oil to bypass the filter, protecting the engine from oil starvation. The valve may also open in very cold conditions if a high viscosity oil is used.

There are two main designs for road-vehicle engines:

• Cartridge filters have a housing that is bolted to the engine and a removable cartridge contains the filtration element. The advantage of only having to remove the filtration element is that the seal between the engine block and filter is not disturbed.

• Spin-on filters attach directly to the side of the engine block by a threaded fitting. The main advantage is that used filters are easily removed and the whole filter is usually disposed of, but care must be taken not to over-tighten the new filter.

Cartridge filters are seen in several European and Asian car designs, whereas North American engine manufacturers generally favor the spin-on filter. Current examples of engine manufacturers that use cartridge filters include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo, Toyota (V6), Volkswagen, and Hyundai (V6). Ford's North American-market diesel V8 uses cartridge filters also. GM switched to using spin-on filters exclusively in 1960 for the North American market. However, GM has moved some of its engine designs such as the Ecotec family of 4 cylinder engines back to the cartridge type. Ease of recycling, minimization of waste, ^[4]and reduction in trapped motor oil inside a disposed filter are often given as the reason for companies reverting to cartridge designs instead of spin-on filters.

Many vehicle manufacturers recommend replacing the filter each and every time the oil is changed while others such as Honda generally recommend changing the oil filter every other oil change.

Magnetic

These use a permanent magnet, or an electromagnet, to capture particles, however only ferromagnetic contaminants can be filtered by this method. An advantage of magnetic filtration is that maintaining the filter simply requires one to wipe the magnet clean.^[5] High-performance engines and jet engines often have one or many 'mag plugs' which insert into the oil lines, however these are not specifically filters, but are inspected to test the wear of the engine.

Sedimentation

A sedimentation, or gravity bed, filter allows the heavier-than-oil contaminants to sink to the bottom of a container under the influence of gravity, filtering the oil in the process.

Centrifugal Oil Filter

The operation of this filter is a simple process that uses the oil pressure from the main oil pump. Pressurized oil enters the centre of the filter housing and passes into a "drum rotor". The drum rotor is free to turn about, as it rests on a bearing and seal assembly. The rotor also has two jet nozzles that are arranged to direct a stream of the pressurised oil at the inner housing in a manner that will make the drum rotate. The stream of oil will then slide to the bottom of the housing wall and in the process leave small particles struck to the inner walls. This particle build-up will eventually need to be cleaned. If left too long the particle thickness will be enough to stop the rotation of the drum thus forcing un-filtered oil to be re-circulated. Under usual circumstances, the clean oil will collect in the base of the filter lubricating the bearing, before draining to a convenient location for general lubrication of the engine. When maintaining this filter the engine must be switched off and a period of time allowed (see manufacturer's instructions) to make sure that the rotor is stationary before dismantling. After disassembly, the particles are cleaned off and the whole unit reassembled using a little clean engine oil to pre-lubricate the unit if necessary.

Sidestream/kidney loop/offline filters

Sidestream/kidney loop/offline filters, works with maintenance of the oil/fluid with an oil filter with pressure either from an external pump or from the system pressure and return to the oil reservoir. Side stream filter are available in particle removal range from 0.1 to 25 microns. Inline / fullflow oilfilters can not filtrate this fine due to the high flow though the oilfilter. Full flow filter are desigend to guard system components from emidiate or catastrophic failure while a side stream filter works like a kidney on a machine, cleaning up leftovers in the machines "blood", the oil or hydraulic fluid. It is wise to have both full- and side stream oilfilters installed to maintain maximum protection of the macine and lubricant properties. "Sidestream filter" may also be called "offline filter", "Kidney loop filter", "Bypass filtration". The "offline filter" term describes a situation where the filter is driven by the existing system pressure creating a differential pressure over the filter media, with a return to a lower pressure or to the oil tank or reservoir. The "Sidestream filter" or "Kidney loop filtration" term or description is a totally independent filter unit with its own pump, filtrating from the oilreservoir, with return to the oilreservoir. The Sidestream/kidney loop/offline filters can and are made of many different materials depending of the tasks to perform. The Sidestream/kidney loop/offline may still be divided into 2 main categories that acctually describe the fluid direction through the filter. The main categories are Radial- or Axial- filtration. In general about all filtration, high filtration speed yields poor filtration and vice vercus, low filtration speed yields at least better filtration. To maintain t.e.x. a lubricant property during use it is nesseceary to remove the catalytic material in the lubricant such as water, metals, oil resedue, varnish. This is possible with some few filter- and electrostatic cleaners systems in the market.

Uses

An oil filter on a Yanmar 2GM20 marine diesel engine.

A chief use of the oil filter is in the reciprocating engine, typically found in automobiles and light aircraft and various naval vessels. Vehicles may have automatic transmission or demanding gearboxes that benefit from an oil filter. Additionally turbine engines, such as those on jet aircraft, require the use of oil filters. A multitude of industrial applications, such as mining equipment, generators, metalworking machinery, make use of oil filtration in some form. Of course the oil-production, oil-transmission and oil-recycling industries themselves employ filters.

Power generating stations use upwards of 40,000 gallons of turbine lube oil to lubricate large bearings. Hydraulic lines are used in industry for many purposes. All of this oil needs to be filtered and the level of filtration is much more stringent than that of standard automobile filtration. Industrial applications do not "change their oil" frequently as changing tens of thousands of gallons of oil at $10 a gallon quickly adds up. This is why much higher quality filters are usually used. Subsequently the cost for an industrial grade oil filter can be anywhere from $50 to $1000 (depending on size). You can not purchase an industrial grade filter and expect it to fit on your car, as these filters are sometimes 6" in diameter and upwards of 60" long. Nor would you want to, as in automobile filtration problems often result from the additives package breaking down, more so than particle contamination. Major players in industrial oil filtration are Pall, Donaldson, Parker, Kaydon, HYDAC and Vickers. The industrial oil filtration market is full of retrofitted or will-fit filter elements. Every major manufacturer has a filter element that will fit in another manufacturers housing. Some manufacturers specialize in only retro-fitting other manufacturers filters elements, usually for 1/4 to 1/2 the cost.

Manufacturers

Major brands of automotive oil filters available in the U.S. include FRAM (a Honeywell brand), WIX (an Affinia Group brand), Purolator (a joint venture of MANN+HUMMEL and Bosch), AC Delco (a General Motors brand) and Motorcraft (a Ford Motor Company brand). Some brands, such as Ford's Motorcraft and GM's AC-Delco, are manufactured by other companies (i.e. Purolator for Motorcraft) but are generally designed and quality tested by the brand selling them. Many of the brands manufacture filters for a wide variety of makes and models of vehicles. For instance, Motorcraft sells oil filters that fit GM, Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota vehicles, in addition to Fords. The manufacturer usually provides a list of what makes and models they supply filters for.

Denso is also a major global manufacturer of oil filters as are UFI FILTERS, MANN+HUMMEL, Mahle, Millard Filters and HYDAC who are well known for their industrial grade filters.

Comparisons

Some have argued that there is a major difference in quality of various oil filter brands, and some studies have proven it [1]. Generally speaking, those branded by automotive manufacturers (such as Motorcraft and AC Delco as listed above) usually meet higher standards without costing significantly more than cheaper-made (and poorer performing) brands such as FRAM or Pennzoil brand.

Many major auto parts stores (such as AutoZone, which sells the Valucraft brand and NAPA, which sells NAPA Select and NAPA Gold) offer their own brands of oil filters, but these are also made by other major oil filter makers.

Perhaps the largest original design manufacturer of filters in the U.S. is Champion Laboratories, which manufactures at least some of the SuperTech, AC Delco, Valucraft, and many other filters. STP (licensed from Clorox) and Champ are their own brands. Champion was also a major supplier to Bosch USA until Bosch bought an interest in the Purolator company.

See also

• Air filter
• Oil-filter wrench

References

1. ^ AMSOIL - The History of Oil Filtration
2. ^ WIX Filters : Oil Filters
3. ^ Coming Clean with Filters
4. ^ Oil filter retrofit kits introduced - Filtration - by Racor - Brief Article | Diesel Progress North American Edition | Find Articles at BNET.com
5. ^ Oil analysis and lubrication learning cennter

WIX Fuel filter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A fuel filter is a filter in the fuel line that screens out dirt and rust particles from the fuel. They are found in most internal combustion engines.

A fuel filter on a pickup truck, showing its mounting location on the firewall.

A fuel filter on a Yanmar 2GM20 marine diesel engine.

Fuel filters serve a vital function in today's modern, tight-tolerance engine fuel systems. Unfiltered fuel may contain several kinds of contamination, for example paint chips and dirt that has been knocked into the tank while filling, or rust caused by moisture in a steel tank. If these substances are not removed before the fuel enters the system, they will cause rapid wear and failure of the fuel pump and injectors, due to the abrasive action of the particles on the high-precision components used in modern injection systems. Fuel filters also improve performance, as the fewer contaminants present in the fuel, the more efficiently it can be burnt.

Fuel filters need to be maintained at regular intervals. This is usually a case of simply disconnecting the filter from the fuel line and replacing it with a new one, although some specially designed filters can be cleaned and reused many times. If a filter is not replaced regularly it may become clogged with contaminants and cause a restriction in the fuel flow, causing an appreciable drop in engine performance as the engine struggles to draw enough fuel to continue running normally.

Some filters, especially found on diesel engines, are of a bowl-like design which collect water in the bottom (as water is more dense than diesel). The water can then be drained off by opening a valve in the bottom of the bowl and letting it run out, until the bowl contains only diesel. It is especially undesirable for water to be drawn into a diesel engine fuel system, as the system relies on the diesel for lubrication of the moving parts, and if water gets into a moving part which requires constant lubrication (for example an injector valve), it will quickly cause overheating and unnecessary wear. Also, because diesel engines require large amounts of compression to operate, water in the fuel system can be very dangerous as water cannot be compressed and may cause considerable engine damage. This type of filter may also include a sensor, which will alert the operator when the filter needs to be drained. In automobiles this usually causes an "idiot light" (customarily orange, and with the image of a fuel filter) on the dashboard to illuminate.

External links

• Replacing a fuel filter - Free video content from CDX eTextbook
• Detailed fuel filter replacement instructions

WHO IS THE AFFINIA GROUP?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Affinia Group, a motor industry company, was formed on December 1, 2004, to design, manufacture and supply replacement parts for on- and off-road vehicles and offer various aftersales services. The company currently has locations in nineteen countries, with approximately ten thousand employees. Its headquarters are in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The company is particularly concerned with filtration, braking systems and chassis components. Affinia brought together some of the aftermarket's oldest and most respected brands, including WIX® filters, Raybestos® brand brakes,Brake Pro®, Spicer® chassis components, AIMCO®, McQuay-Norris®, Nakata®, Quinton Hazell®, AquaChek and Filtron®.[1]

References
Affinia website

External links
Fortune 500 ranking
Datamonitor Company news
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinia_Group"