Attn Seapower Frank: question on Airseps

[Split Bill]

Hi Frank --

First off, always enjoy your posts, so thank you for taking the time! I read this one the other day and was hoping you could expand some more.

"Airseps oughta be required on all marine engines in my book. They have many benifits that can't be realized until you run with them for a while. Over time they actually help pay for themselves, good investment for the boats powerplant. Frank"

Our bertram has old 3208T's in her and we too see some blow-by on our foam filters. I've thought about the air-seps, but honestly don't know the advantages to the engine.

Thanks!

Ed

ps, would love input from others as well. I specifically mentioned Frank b/c of his earlier post.

[Big Jay]

We run airseps on our Albemarle with 3126 (300 hp). They are good filters. I like them. You'll get oil blow by and the airsep housings actually separate it out allowing clean air to pass into the motors. Only thing with them is the elements ARE NOT permanent. Yes you can clean them like a K&N but the volume of air diesels draw will overtime clog the filters. We had commonly cleaned our elements 2-3 times a season. However, you only may get 2 seasons out of the elements.

The emphasis on Airseps are "air/oil seperator" which they do quite effectively

[Storm]

I'd like to have all the money I've spent on airsep filters for my Cat 3196. At about $135 each, they are not cheap. And, I replace them more often than I clean them. Racor makes the airseps for Cat and I'm quite sure John Deere has the same assembly. We have a local Racor distributor and either Kellogg or Lewis Marine sells replacement parts.

[seapower]

I stand by what I said. After seeing boats as I have run with traditional air filters as opposed to an Airsep type product, the difference is plain. What I like about the Airsep type product is the fact that it keeps your crankcase gas in a closed system. This means that any crank case gas, goes through a hose to the inlet side of your turbo charger. You essentially do away with any of that oily mist that coats everything in your engine room. The oil rich gas from your crankcase goes through a "wick" that seperates the oil from the air, it then goes (the oil) back into your sump. The line that drains from the Airsep canister has a check valve that allows the oil to drain, but doesn't allow any flow of gas or liquid back up into the canister. The filters can be cleaned a couple of times, life of the filter has alot to do with the guy doing the cleaning. It is imperative that the system be installed CORRECTLY.
Boats are considered to be a "clean environment", but we all know belt dust, wood dust, dog hair etc... is common. You'll more than likely see less oil leakage at you front and rear seals with these installed, simply because instead of a pressurized base you now have a vaccum affect caused by the inlet of you turbo charger. You'll likely see your oil staying cleaner longer as well. I've installed these on alot of boats, that had owners wondering if they could possibly do what is claimed. The answer is they are tickled to death. One of the best installations to prove the effectiveness is turbo charged/aftercooled Detroits. All I can say is the oil flow (we all know they are leakers), slows way down. A much cleaner engine room all the way around. Are they cheap? No. Are they worth it? In my book absolutely yes. Frank

[seapower]

One other important point. They help in keeping your aftercoolers clean. An oil soaked aftercooler is not able to transfer the heat nearly as well as a clean one. This helps you get a more complete fuel burn, by more efficently dropping the temps across your aftercooler. Frank

[Capt.Troy Crane]

I stand by what I said. After seeing boats as I have run with traditional air filters as opposed to an Airsep type product, the difference is plain. What I like about the Airsep type product is the fact that it keeps your crankcase gas in a closed system. This means that any crank case gas, goes through a hose to the inlet side of your turbo charger. You essentially do away with any of that oily mist that coats everything in your engine room. The oil rich gas from your crankcase goes through a "wick" that seperates the oil from the air, it then goes (the oil) back into your sump. The line that drains from the Airsep canister has a check valve that allows the oil to drain, but doesn't allow any flow of gas or liquid back up into the canister. The filters can be cleaned a couple of times, life of the filter has alot to do with the guy doing the cleaning. It is imperative that the system be installed CORRECTLY.
Boats are considered to be a "clean environment", but we all know belt dust, wood dust, dog hair etc... is common. You'll more than likely see less oil leakage at you front and rear seals with these installed, simply because instead of a pressurized base you now have a vaccum affect caused by the inlet of you turbo charger. You'll likely see your oil staying cleaner longer as well. I've installed these on alot of boats, that had owners wondering if they could possibly do what is claimed. The answer is they are tickled to death. One of the best installations to prove the effectiveness is turbo charged/aftercooled Detroits. All I can say is the oil flow (we all know they are leakers), slows way down. A much cleaner engine room all the way around. Are they cheap? No. Are they worth it? In my book absolutely yes. Frank

Frank,
I agree with you 100%.

I did not have the airsep system before my repower in November and I can tell you that everything you stated about them is absolutley correct.

I never could have imagined there would be that much difference.
Now if you could just come up with a way to get rid of the belt dust

[seapower]

Whats the old saying, "even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and again". Glad you see a difference. I'm still amazed folks read this stuff. Frank

[Capt.Troy Crane]

Whats the old saying, "even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and again". Glad you see a difference. I'm still amazed folks read this stuff. Frank

Did you see the 64 pounder that was caught on Monday ? pending new N.C. state record. The current one is 62.

There are some big ones close to home right now, you better go this weekend with the forecast we have.

Troy

[seapower]

No haven't heard a word about it, been in the bilge too much I guess. Man, thats a BIG fish. I haven't even looked at the forcast, I need to tighten up! My wife tried to run me out a couple of weeks ago, I should have listened. She's be raggin me ever since. It sure is nice to have a wife that pushes me out the door to fish or go to the woods. I'll give you a shout tommorrow. See Ya, Frank

[Split Bill]

Frank and others,

Thank you all for the great and informative replies! It definitely sounds like something to add to the list for the future. It makes sense that being able to remove the oil from air headed back into the turbo would be a good thing in many ways. We don't have aftercoolers, but it would still have benefits.

Frank, if we go in that direction, i'll look you up. We're down in Wanchese, which I believe is near you.

Troy, We're headed down this weekend and had thought about some rockfishing, especially if they're somewhat close. Are they south of the inlet now? I haven't been since January, so am a little out of the loop. Also, have you heard how far down the BFT's are being caught? It looks like more out of Hatteras than OI, but saw someone bring one in Monday.

Thanks again guys!

Ed