Oil Filters

[silverdawn]

Hi All, I have purchased alternative oil and fuel filters which are half the price of the Beta Filters which I normally fit to my Beta 20Hp engine, however on receiving the filters the fuel filter was the same size as the original but the oil filter is 18mm shorter in length, This concerned me I contacted the suppliers and they assured me that the shorter filter would be fine and the reduced length would not have any adverse affect in any way on engine protection or performance because the filters inner construction matches the same filtration as the Beta.
The 18mm represents a 20% loss in overall capacity to the original Beta Filter, the suppliers were very helpful and the explanation very plausible , but I still have my doubts, so if any of you forumites can advise I would be very grateful.
Iam not sure why I tried to save a few pounds on filters when I spend hundreds on other items, I think I had a senior moment of penny pinching.

 

[Jamesuk]

Hi All, I have purchased alternative oil and fuel filters which are half the price of the Beta Filters which I normally fit to my Beta 20Hp engine, however on receiving the filters the fuel filter was the same size as the original but the oil filter is 18mm shorter in length, This concerned me I contacted the suppliers and they assured me that the shorter filter would be fine and the reduced length would not have any adverse affect in any way on engine protection or performance because the filters inner construction matches the same filtration as the Beta.
The 18mm represents a 20% loss in overall capacity to the original Beta Filter, the suppliers were very helpful and the explanation very plausible , but I still have my doubts, so if any of you forumites can advise I would be very grateful.
Iam not sure why I tried to save a few pounds on filters when I spend hundreds on other items, I think I had a senior moment of penny pinching.

Speak to the original makers of the unit. It seems very strange to be given a different size filter. Brand being different is fine but i am very surprised you were vharged 50% more for your original filters? Where did you get them from an how much were they?

As an example: buying the pair of Perkins (original equipment) that i needed in Corfu the agent wanted 65 euro, i bought the pair for £4 back in the uk... That was for a 235hp engine so im surprised cost should really come into buying filters. Athough they did try and charge £25 in a chandler for non branded oil filters for the perky.

 

[alahol2]

I've used various alternative filters on my Beta for the last many years. As long as they have appeared on a compatibility chart I have not concerned myself with the dimensions. The number of hours use the filter gets in any one season is minuscule in comparison to the hours the engine is capable of when fitted in a dumper.
Look after the pennies...

 

[silverdawn]

Hi Jamesuk, purchased at Filtersupermarket ( Donalson T600 Oil Filter £4.96 )Original Beta Oil Filter £ 10.00.

Speak to the original makers of the unit. It seems very strange to be given a different size filter. Brand being different is fine but i am very surprised you were vharged 50% more for your original filters? Where did you get them from an how much were they?

As an example: buying the pair of Perkins (original equipment) that i needed in Corfu the agent wanted 65 euro, i bought the pair for £4 back in the uk... That was for a 235hp engine so im surprised cost should really come into buying filters. Athough they did try and charge £25 in a chandler for non branded oil filters for the perky.

 

[toad]

I notice on some fords the long life oil filter is smaller than the normal filter

 

[silverdawn]

Hi Vonasi, Many thanks for a very informative reply which backs up the suppliers comments, this gives me the confidence to use the filters.

Do not concern yourself with the fact that the filter you have bought is smaller than the one that it replaces. The oil filter is there to maintain the cleanliness of the oil between services and oil filters are designed to last far longer than the time between services. As a one time 'motor vehicle technician' (posh name for a car mechanic) I can tell you that I saw many engines with oil filters on that had far exceeded the recommended changing interval and no harm came to any of the engines. I also spent some time working for a car parts supplier and can tell you that there are not actually that many oil filter manufacturers in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if your cheap alternative was probably made by the same company as make your 'genuine' replacement. For example the company I worked for had their own brand of filters which were made by Framm. The only difference from the genuine Framm filter was that they painted them a different colour. The different length of filter housing is most likely just a different specification for a different application. On some engines in some installations a shorter filter is needed to allow fitment but the size of the housing will have no effect on the quantity or quality of filtration within the filter. There are not actually that many varieties of filter as one design of filter will be used in many different applications by many different engine manufactures. I have a 32 year old engine and I can walk into any car parts shop anywhere in the world and wave my old oil filter at them and within seconds they will provide me with a replacement. Basic oil filters haven't needed to progress very far very fast.

Hope this helps.

 

[Avocet]

Its very common. When I service my car, the filters are often slightly different sizes from one year to the next, depending on brand. As long as the thread size and sealing ring size are the same, I wouldn't worry. I tend to only buy aftermarket filters from brands I've heard of though (e.g. Mann, Fram, Crosland, etc). I've had really cheap "no-name" filters before and have refused to fit them. If the company making them isn't prepared to put at least something like a batch code on the filter, then to my mind, it means they have no quality control!