Question 1:
Why do you need more than the factory recommended in-line filtration on capital equipment?

Answer:
The factory filtration usually installed on capital equipment is put in place as "protective" filtration. This in-line turbulent flow filtration will capture the large particles quickly so that catastrophic failures and heavy wear do not occur. The Filtroil by-pass filtration system is a sub-micron filter that works in conjunction with the in-line filters. The 0.1 micron filter will take out the silt-size and smaller particles that in-line filtration cannot remove, thereby preventing the every day wear on machine components and dramatically prolonging the life of the hydraulic oil.

Answer:
No. Portable filtration will help; however, full time filtration is needed to continuously filter the ingression of contaminants that come in the form of: 1. Generated contamination 2. Environmental contamination 3. Built-in contamination 4. New oil contamination Also don't forget that portable filtration usually doesn't filter down to a lower micron than typical in-line filtration (10 micron or maybe 1 micron). These units will not remove the sub-micron contaminants that eventually cause valves to stick and pumps to wear.

Answer:
No, the in-line filtration is the protective filtration responsible for capturing large particles quickly. The Filtroil by-pass filtration system is the preventative filtration responsible for removing sub-micron particles that cause wear to hydraulic components and deteriorate oil.

Answer:
Filtration removes contaminants from your oil - your oil cannot be too clean. Regular oil analysis shows the amount of contaminants in your oil and is displayed as an ISO code. New oil has an ISO code of 18/16/11. Industry guidelines and valve manufacturers advise that an ISO code higher than 16/14/11 contains too many contaminants which cause excessive wear on components and increase oil deterioration. Filtroil cleans your oil 2-5 grades better than new.

Answer:
Filtroil, unlike in-line filters, will remove water with its regular element down to .03% by volume. Filtroil also has a water eater element for larger amounts of water that can remove water very quickly down to .01% by volume.

Answer:
The SPI (Society of the Plastics Industry) recommends an ISO code of 16/14/11 or better to be maintained in the system. Several servo valve manufacturers recommend the same. Contamination causes heat and friction so the cleaner the oil the better.

Answer:
Each unit has a range of gallons or liters that it can filter. Whenever a reservoir size is exactly at the limit for a unit it is always safer to up size to the next canister. You can never over-filter the oil, but you can under-filter it.

Answer:
To measure the efficiency of a filter you need to look at the Beta Ratio. Reducing the Beta Ratio by 1 unit, you exponentially increase the life of your components. One study showed that at NUMBER your components should last 3000 hours. By reducing it one Beta, your components should last 9000 hours, but if you reduce your Beta one more level, your components should last 27,000 hrs.

Answer:
Filtroil's regular elements remove water down to 0.03% by volume. If you have a lot of water Filtroil has a special water eater element that can remove water down to 0.01% by volume very quickly.

Answer:
Yes, we have a 90 day buy-back guarantee on our product. If you are not pleased with the Filtroil system for any reason we will buy the system back from you.

Answer:
No. This is a myth that has been disproved by a leading oil company. The additives in the oil are in solution and cannot be removed with the Filtroil system. For results on these test results please call us at 1-800-638-3866.

Answer:
Depending on how much contamination a hydraulic system has the Filtroil system will filter at the preset flow rate on our pressure compensated flow control valve. For example, our BU-100 has a flow rate of 0.5 gpm. If you took a 200 gallon reservoir we would filter the equivalent of the reservoir in less than seven hours. A rule of thumb is that once we turn that over 11 times we will have seen all of the oil in the hydraulic system. With oil analysis you can test the results weekly or by-monthly and watch how many particulates we're taking out of the system. Eventually we will filter the oil down to a 16/14/11 ISO code or better.

Answer:
Many people believe that you have to change hydraulic oil regularly. The only indicator that would tell you that you needed to change your oil is the TAN number (Total Acid Number). If your TAN number was greater than 2 than your oil has been shot and it needs to be changed. If the TAN number is under one than it is in excellent condition (unless you have an unusual amount of water in the oil). If your oil has a high amount of particulates don't change it if the TAN number is good. Filter it!

Answer:
Many oil suppliers will test you hydraulic oil free of charge. It is important, however, to make sure that the test results include ISO codes, particle counts, TAN numbers, wear metal analysis, viscosity check, and water content. Filtroil also offers oil analysis that is performed at an independent lab. Call us at 1-800-638-3866 for more information.

Answer:
We have the same by-pass filtration units with pump motor systems that you can draw oil out of the reservoir with returning it to the tank. This would prevent you from bleeding off a small amount of oil off of the high pressure or allow you to filter oil in a low pressure application.

Answer:
An ISO code shows the number of particles contained in 1 milliliter of oil at 2, 5, and 15 micron and is determined by oil analysis. It is recommended that you test your oil 2-4 times per year.

Answer:
Beta Ratio is the number of particles upstream of the filter at a particular micron size and larger, divided by the number of particles downstream from the filter at a particular micron size and larger. For example, if you had 200 particles at 3 micron or larger entering a filter and had 1 particle 3 micron or larger after it passed through the filter your beta ratio at 3 micron would be 200/1 or 200. The beta ratio for Filtroil at 1.5 micron is over 750.

Answer:
It is very easy to install a Filtroil system and should take no more than a couple of hours. Additionally, each system has a test valve that easily allows you to take an oil sample, and a shut off valve, which allows you to change the element without shutting down the machine.