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Anatomy of a Frantz toilet paper bypass oil filter

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AFE rep said the BHAF was a piece of...

Swepco Gear Oil

I called them today to see if they had any retainer rings.



Anyhow, I didn't realize but the lady, Deborah, runs the whole buisness right out of her house. Nice lady to talk to.



Retaining ring is $1 BTW. :D
 
OK, now that everyone has had a chance to run their bypass, what do you think?



I can honestly say that while I like the Amsoil's convenience, I am not sure the new EaBPs do as good of a job as the BEs. For the price of an Amsoil element, they should perform better. Further, I am currently exploring other options for a bypass filter.



The ONLY thing keeping me from running a Frantz is the frequent TP changes. I can put a run of 4500 miles in less than a week in certain instances. The motorguards look to be about the same as the frantz (with respect to filter change frequency)...



Any ideas??



steved
 
The more frequent element changes needed by the Frantz certainly CAN be a problem for users who pile up miles quickly - I suppose the bottom line question, and final decision maker, is how effective in filtering performance the Amsoil and other competing bypass filters are (including Frantz) as compared to none at all - and if there are significant differences in total efficiency, how much extra effort might a more efficient one be worth to a user as compared to one easier to service, but less efficient.



At a glance, it would seem the high-mileage users would be the very ones most interested in providing for the best lifespan of their engine, if they plan on long term ownership.



Many times, on longer RV trips, I take along an extra Frantz filter canister, all loaded up and ready to install - actual element mileage on vehicles that put on lots of steady speed, long distance miles can easily be increased out to 3000 - 3500 miles, and give the same filtering effectiveness as an "around town" short mileage truck at 2000 miles.



Out on the road, I can easily swap out filter canisters in about 2 minutes - and then clean/reload the used one when I have time at some future point.



Still not a perfect solution for all, but at least in my case it's easily do-able, and still provides me with what I consider to be a no-compromise filtering solution.
 
See, another thing that comes to light is the fact the 3rd gen "600 series" place a lot more soot into suspension... that would effectively plug the filter even sooner, correct?? Gone are the good old days of my 99...



I probably should just buy the $^%& Frantz and be done with it... I just wished they made a "bigger" version from those of use wanting a slightly longer change interval...



I'm looking into the oilguard and FS2500... I have even considered building my own filter and using larger rolls of paper...



steved
 
I just wished they made a "bigger" version from those of use wanting a slightly longer change interval...



2 options:



1. Install 2 Frantz units, either in parallel or series, and double the service interval, or -



2. there ARE some older 2-roll, longer Frantz units that show up on places like Ebay - those would go more miles as well.



For that matter, Ebay can be a good source for less expensive complete Frantz filter units, usually new in-box units with all installation hardware - such as this one:



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fran...ryZ33661QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
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I'm looking into the oilguard and FS2500... I have even considered building my own filter and using larger rolls of paper...



Some guys like the larger paper towel element units - never have seen an oil analysis from one, but might be an option. I personally dislike paper towels as an element because they typically are so loosely wound, creating the possibility for channeling.



What DOES interest me, is these blue paper shop towel rolls available at auto parts stores - they are about the right diameter, and usually pretty tightly wound - sure would seem to provide good filtration and higher capacity - wonder if one would fit properly in a paper towel type bypass filter?
 
Would like to see some oil analysis's done from TDR members that have the FS2500 ( http://filtrationsolutionsww.com ) . Their video is impressive, but their price is high. Would like to see how they compare to the Frantz.

I hate to admit it but have neglected to change my frantz several times and put over 5k on a roll. The oil gets pretty black. But after replacing the roll, running it a while, and taking a sample, the oil comes out fairly clean considering what its been through (and not referring to the frantz).
 
Some guys like the larger paper towel element units - never have seen an oil analysis from one, but might be an option. I personally dislike paper towels as an element because they typically are so loosely wound, creating the possibility for channeling.





Yeah, that always concerned me about the paper towels... they are typically very loose and I could see the oil litterally passing between the layers...



Running two Frantz is an option, but that means replumbing my setup... was trying to avoid that. But it is an option...



steved
 
Would like to see some oil analysis's done from TDR members that have the FS2500 ( http://filtrationsolutionsww.com ) . Their video is impressive, but their price is high. Would like to see how they compare to the Frantz.



The only such comparison/analysis I have seen between the FS2500 and Frantz, was a thread done on this board a few months back - it was a first run analysis with the FS2500, and wasn't very impressive, but we're waiting for a follow-up analysis report to see if the results improve.



Has anyone ever considered stuffing two rolls of TP into a paper towel filter??



Not that I have ever heard of - I've not seen any of the paper towel filters, so not sure how adaptable they might be to TP...
 
HA! Check this out:

http://www.luberfiner.com/products/docs/ZgardBrochure.pdf


Looks like Amsoil isn't the only kid on the block anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to find some info on this because I will run this preferentially to anything Amsoil!!!!!!!!!

Luber-finer

LFP9750 = $94. 59
LMB = $40. 49

Thread is 1. 5", flow from outside to inside, 2u @ 98. 6% . . and has a sacrificial zinc to combat acids!!!

steved
 
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I've thought about putting two in parallel. If you put them in series, when the first one gets "loaded up", wouldn't it block flow to the second?



Bob



In 40+ years, I have yet to see my Frantz get clogged - but then, I usually am faithful in keeping the elements changed on schedule. As to which is best, series or parallel, the only issue to be especially careful of would be to reduce the diameter if the filter flow restrictor if the parallel method was used in order to not have excessive total bypass flow - I'd probably drop down to 1/16th of an inch in that scenario for each filter.



In series, that wouldn't be an issue...
 
Looks interesting - I think ye oughta get one and test it out for us! :D :D





I PLAN on it... bye-bye Amsoil...



I have the number of the local Luber-Finer distributor... As big as it, the element would be good for at least 50k (it's a full 12 inches long) in my application...



I read their testing abstract and it sounds pretty good. UOA would be the tell-all...



steved
 
OK, the initial sticker shock was "list" prices... not that these are substantially less, but they are very do-able:

The LFP9750 (filter) - $70. 28
The LMB451 (base) - $37. 60 (has 3/8" NPT connections)...

I also have a line on an Oilguard and a GulfCoast... but they will probably be out of my price range...

steved
 
The Franz was easy enough to find a price for. I spent a good hour researching most of the others but didn't find a price for them. I was to lazy to sift through the dealer list to find the best prices. What did you find steved.



I'm leaning twords the Frantz myself. But... Let's see what you found.
 
The Franz was easy enough to find a price for. I spent a good hour researching most of the others but didn't find a price for them. I was to lazy to sift through the dealer list to find the best prices. What did you find steved.



I'm leaning twords the Frantz myself. But... Let's see what you found.





Oilguard @ http://www.oilguard.com/Merchant4/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=mtm&Category_Code=EPS-2



MotorGuard @ http://www.bypassfilter.com/order.htm



GulfCoast @ http://www.gulfcoastfilters.com/product_info_oil_filters.htm



Frantz @ http://www.wefilterit.com/orders/100/index.htm



There are several Luber-Finer bypass filter besides the screw on canister I found.



There are also a couple Fleetguard (not all that good) that use a LF777 (rated at 5u @ 95%) using 3304173S base.



Obviously Amsoil (if you want to deal with them)...



Doing a search on line brought up a whole lot of fly-by-night company...



steved
 
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Well, now I'm leaning towards an OilGuard that was offered to me...

They have a 2u rating @ 96-97%. Sounded like I could run them 20k per OCI, so that was a plus... sorta similar to what I'm doing now...

steved
 
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