Do I really need to change my oil filter?

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I have a Fisher Panda 6.5kVA diesel generator with Kubota engine. According to the manual the oil needs changing at 100 hours and the filter at 500 hours (sic). Some generators don't even have oil filters.

My Yanmar main engine has a recommended 250 hours interval for oil and filter.

The Kubota runs dirty; the oil is weak and dark from very early on whereas the Yanmar oil looks almost like new after 250 hours.

So what is it about oil filters these days? Is 250 hours an overkill for the Yanmar? What about the Kubota?

OK, some will say things like "cleanliness is next to godliness with a diesel" and "who cares, just change them regularly, you won't go wrong". However there is a very real monetary and environmental cost in changing oil and filters so it would make sense to do it at the optimum times.

Any views?
 
I think you should change it.Oil is the cheapest and most important part in your engine.When people say"cleanliness is next to godliness with a diesel" they mean the fuel system .Apart from that ,these are engines like all others although there are different demands on the oils they use.But cleanliness is very important anyway.If you don't change the filter, the old oil in it will contaminate the new oil and the whole thing will eventually become plugged by sludge.If the engine has a pressure release valve the oil will still circulate but unfiltered.If not,well ,the engine won't last long.
 
I would change the oil & filter as suggested, every 100 hrs. Make sure you use the correct spec oil and you can get cheaper branded oil filters from automotive factors. I can see your worry as the filter change is so much longer than the oil change. On my Beta 25(Kubota based), as the propulsion engine not a generator, after an initial oil & filter change at 50hrs, the oil & filter change is yearly or 250 hrs. I suspect your generator engine could be similar, but why don't you ask Kubota? - they are usually very helpful.
 
I'm sure there is a good answer to this, but why does my diesel car run for 12,000 miles (which is a lot of hours) without need of servicing, but a marine engine needs such regular attention?
 
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I'm sure there is a good answer to this, but why does my diesel car run for 12,000 miles (which is a lot of hours) without need of servicing, but a marine engine needs such regular attention?

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One of the big problems for boat stuff is it often doesn't get those regular long staedy runs that really clean the engine out. More 'stuff' gets left in the oil so it needs more frequen oil and filter changes.
 
250 hours is about 6 months for my car, so about the change interval.
My boat engine never did more than 100hrs a year, so a yearly oil and filter change was called for.
Bulk buying of filters can help, in some cases it might be worth getting an adaptor made to enable the use of cheaper size filters?
 
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....why does my diesel car run for 12,000 miles (which is a lot of hours) without need of servicing, but a marine engine needs such regular attention?

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12,000 miles at an average speed of 50 MPH is 240 hours of running. So you car servicins interval is not that much differant form your marine one where most manufactures want a change after 250 hours of running..............
 
Engine oil and filter change frequency is very subjective and depends on a number of factors which can vary greatly.

Oil change time depends on

1) how much dirt gets into the oil (from the atmosphere)
2) how much the oil gets diluted by the combustion fuel
3) The effectiveness of the detergent in the oil (self cleaning ability
4) run time also can affect this

Oil filters

1) how much dirt in the oil (from the atmosphere) as above
2) the size of the filter ( how much dirt it can "store")

The differences is the reason for the difference in the change frequency

The manufactures recommendations is based on an "average" working conditions, mainly dirt in the atmosphere.

The same engine requires an oil/filter change 4 times as frequent in our local mines as used for road transport due to the significantly more dirt in the atmosphere down the mines as on the road.

just a comment on the oil/filter change times on cars. 12000 miles @ and average of 50 miles / hr is 240 hours which is similar to a lot of marine engines
 
As castrol says oil is liquid engineering.
It cools, cleans, lubricates, withstands high pressure and temperature without breaking down and is easily pumperble. It is probably the most advanced thing in the engine. Look after it.
Rgds
Bob
 
Is this a troll?

Oil degenerates. And the moving parts of the engine wear away into the oil. Eventually it ends up full of metal and carbon and other gunge. That's why it goes so black!
 
Thanks, and to everyone else who has contributed. I don't understand the 'atmosphere' argument either. Very few marine diesels have proper air filters -my Yanmar has a coarse wire mesh although the generator, which is in a noise-reducing case, has a very fine air filter made of sponge and oil. I've wondered why they do that?
 
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I have a Fisher Panda 6.5kVA diesel generator with Kubota engine.
Any views?

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The Kubota diesel generator on my fishing vessel used to get an oil and filter change once a fortnight. Filter in my case was a Z142a which is the same as a Mazda 323 and cheap. Single grade 40 oil. Its done well over 10,000 hours now.
 
The filter mainly removes carbon picked up by the oil from the engine, plus any other debris that has got in, so that the oil fed to the bearings has been 'cleaned' and has the best chance. Eventually the filter will become clogged, at which point a by pass valave opens so the engine at least gets some lubricant - but the contamination has much the same effect as grinding paste, and will cause rapid wear of the bearing surfaces. Even the best filters do not remove all traces of dirt, which is why regualr oil and filter changes make such a big difference to the life of an engine.

Modern common rail diesels burn much more cleanly than the old mechanically injected engines, which is why new diesel cars get away with longer service intervals. Additionally, marine engines are often subjected to a much harsher environment than their land based counterparts; standing idle for extended periods, then being used for short bursts (in and out of the Marina until the sails are hoisted), in a hostile salt air environment which plays havoc with any exposed metal surfaces both inside and outside the engine. All this increases the levels of oil contaminants.

So by all means neglect your engine, forget about oil filter changes etc. It will continue to run fine until - just when you need it, it will go bang and leave you with a re-engining job - usually in the middle of a shipping lane with a supertanker or two bearing down on you, or just as you are skirting a lee shore in bad conditions to make it to safety....
 
From May to October our usage is daily so probably comparable to a fisherman's. Roughly how many hours would it run in a fortnight? What did the oil look, smell and feel like at the time of changing?
 
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From May to October our usage is daily so probably comparable to a fisherman's. Roughly how many hours would it run in a fortnight? What did the oil look, smell and feel like at the time of changing?

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I was using it for 100 hours a fortnight and the oil was always dirty when I changed it.Black with the sort of smell you would expect. Gardner main engine oil gets changed less regularly but always has a strong smell about it and lots of particles. Messy and unpleasant on the skin. Now I'm semi retired so use is much less, I probably average one day a week at the most at work now. Engines run about 10 hours a day.
 
Many modern generators don't have a filter at all. Why is that?

I don't agree with the statement that marine diesels have a harder life; just the opposite. Most road vehicles average 30 MPH overall, not 50 MPH as suggested elsewhere. Most of the time is spent in stop-start traffic at very low speeds with lots of accelerating. The roads are filthy with dust, unlike the sea. I had assumed that the lack of a paper air filter on boats was due to the lack of dust?
 
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