Magnets on your oil filter (PICTORAL)

[ducatiz]

I did this a couple of years ago and found the pics, I thought I would derby it here:





I used three 1-inch neodymium magnets on the filter.  No glue necessary.




the outlines inside the filter show ferric debris held in place by the magnet -- inside the filter.  this likely would have been caught by the element, but since the magnet is holding it, the filter lasts longer..








the Ducati filter's guts are VERY heavy duty.  no cheapo filter here.

[Michael]

Those are great photos. I'm glad you posted them, I've been curious about magnets on the filter.

Although, it seems to me that the magnets don't really do more than the filter would have done anyway. And any extra life that the magnets add to the filters is nominal.

[ducatiz]

Those are great photos. I'm glad you posted them, I've been curious about magnets on the filter.

Although, it seems to me that the magnets don't really do more than the filter would have done anyway. And any extra life that the magnets add to the filters is nominal.

I've thought about that too and it would be hard to determine on my kitchen counter..

However, think about it:

For every large particle that you see, there are probably 100s of small ones you cannot see.  Many of those will stay suspended in the oil and even pass thru the filter.  They will not have a huge detrimental effect on the engine, however, keeping them out of the oil flow cannot hurt because it will help the oil last longer. 

As the oil heats and cools, ferric components will come in contact with moisture and some will corrode, others will burn.  Burning oil with heavy metals in it is not good as you might imagine. 

The magnets will only pick up ferric/steel/iron bits, so all the aluminum stuff is still there, but I am convinced the magnets do more than a nominal difference.

Maybe to to the filter itself, a nominal boost, but to the engine overall, definitely more.

[erkishhorde]

Plus the magnets aren't all that expensive and if you really wanted to be a scrooge you could stretch out your oil change intervals a little.

[djrashonal]

awesome pics! I had a couple of hard drives laying around and i think i just might pull them apart!

[Langanobob]

Good work.  The magnets don't take much effort, don't suck any HP from the motor and give us a warm IZ_ feeling.  I've been running them for awhile but never had the initiative to cut open a filter yet.  As I recall Georgecls was a firm believer in the benefits of magnets and that's good enough for me.

[ducpainter]

Good work.  The magnets don't take much effort, don't suck any HP from the motor and give us a warm IZ_ feeling.  I've been running them for awhile but never had the initiative to cut open a filter yet.  As I recall Georgecls was a firm believer in the benefits of magnets and that's good enough for me.

I miss George

[lwszabo]

I miss George

I miss him also, he was an aesome guy.

[ducatiz]

Good work.  The magnets don't take much effort, don't suck any HP from the motor and give us a warm IZ_ feeling.  I've been running them for awhile but never had the initiative to cut open a filter yet.  As I recall Georgecls was a firm believer in the benefits of magnets and that's good enough for me.

It's hard to argue against them with this kind of logic, and with the pictures showing actual debris trapped in place with them.  Those pics are at least 3 years old and I still have the same magnets, they are so friggin' strong they have never fallen off.

I've done the same thing on my cars too.  I put one of the bigger ones --1.5" long and 1" wide on the oil pan in front of the plug on my truck.  When I do an oil change, I take it off ~right~ before I remove the plug.  I figure the oil coming out pushes all the stuff the magnet was holding out (truck holds 8 quarts, so plenty of flow).  My car's plug has a magnet built in.

I miss George

damn.  put a tear in my eye.  what a good soul.  patient and helpful and very willing to share.

[Bill in OKC]

I put a strong washer-shaped magnet on the bottom of my oil filter for this reason, and the next time I rode I noticed several traffic lights that used to give me problems changed for me.

[swampduc]

What's the best place to find these magnets? I saw hard drives mentioned, but would they be available at hardware or auto parts stores?

[Privateer]

What's the best place to find these magnets? I saw hard drives mentioned, but would they be available at hardware or auto parts stores?

I got mine on ebay and I think they're magnets for electric toy racers.  You might find them at a specialty hardware store, but probably not a big box (but I've never looked there either).

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=neodymium+magnets&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1311&_odkw=magnets+neo&_osacat=0

[ducatiz]

I found mine on yahoo shopping.  About 4$ each for 2 in by half inch

[ducpainter]

I miss him also, he was an aesome guy.

Yes, he was.

He was also a real gentleman.

Not something you run across everyday.

[motolocopat]

+1
The Oil Guru