Spin-on Oil Filters

Spin-on filters are one of the most popular oil filters designed for liquid filtration in internal combustion engines. The spin-on design offers an effective, efficient and clean method for servicing liquid filters and is by far the preferred technique to design filters for automobile and mobile heavy-duty equipment.

Spin-on filters come in various combinations of mounting thread and sealing gaskets, along with two lengths to fit a wide array of engine applications. Each unit comes perfect with the entire essential O-rings and gaskets required, and one 8-micron element. These filters constitute a single unit that consists of housing and filter element. The complete unit is substituted during maintenance.

Spin-on filters can be attached directly to the side of the engine block using a threaded fitting. The prime benefit of these filters is that they can be easily removed and the whole thing is typically disposed of. Over the years, various developments have been made in terms of filter sizes, which include length, diameter, sealing gasket diameter and thread size variation. The internal design of spin-on filters over these years has also varied. Some designs use internal by-pass valve and /or anti-drain back valves. Filtration media may also vary for different models that depend on various service and engine requirements.

Materials:
Today, most of the low-cost disposable spin-on oil filters are manufactured using cellulose filter media. High performance oil filters are made using synthetic media, while top end spin-on filters are made using "Microglass" or extremely fine metal mesh.

The filter media is made of materials, which capture organic or inorganic contaminants as oil passes through. These organic contaminants may include bacteria and other organisms, which form gross sludge. Inorganic contaminant comprises dust, which is ingested into the engine, along with trace amounts of wear metals from bearings and other internal components.

Applications:
Spin-on Filters are have found uses in different filtration applications, including:

• Lubrication oils
• Hydraulic fluids
• Fuels in engines, machines and hydraulic systems
• Mobile equipment
• Return Line and Suction filters

Advantages:
Some of the prime advantages of spin-on filters are -

• The element is disposable and easy to remove
• Simple and light weight design
• Available in a complete range with variety of sizes, styles and capacities

Cartridge Filters V/s Spin-on Filters:
Cartridge filters can be widely seen in European and Asian car designs, while North American engines manufacturers normally prefer the spin-on filters. For example, some engine manufacturers using cartridge filters are - Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo, Toyota (V6), Volkswagen, and Hyundai (V6). Ford's North American-market diesel V8 utilizes cartridge filters also.

GM switched towards the use of spin-on filters exclusively in 1960 for the North American market. However, the company has moved some of the designs of its engines, like Ecotec family of 4 cylinder engines back to the cartridge type.

Some advantages of cartridge filters, such as - ease of recycling, minimization of waste and reduction in trapped motor oil inside a disposed filter, are prompting the manufacturing to switch to the use of cartridge filters.