Quote:
Originally Posted by howardfry
Cheap plastic gauge 10 bucks, new air filter 125 bucks, replace turbo or engine pricless. Never trust anything that cost 10 dollars to protect a 25,000 or more investment.
|
Howard,
In your case I suggest you buy a Magnehelic water manometer gauge. Then you will not be able to call it a 'cheap plastic gauge...' Since you do not want to trust one of those devices, how will you determine when it is necessary to change the air filter? Spare me, don't say yearly or some other time related interval. Certainly not by visual examination. So you are left making a pressure drop measurement. You can make your own slack tube manometer. You need clear plastic tubing and a yard stick. Fasten 6 feet of tubing to the yard stick. Leave a long piece of tubing to go to the air filter gauge port connection. Fill the tube with colored water so you have about 35 inches on each leg. Position that simple tool some place where you can see it as you drive down the road under load. Have your spouse, girl friend or relative observe the number of inches between the highest water reading and the lowest reading. It helps to dye the water some color to make it easier to observe the "inches of water". You now have the Standard by which the very expensive water manometer gauge is based on! If you find the above too cumbersome or not to your decorating tastes suitable for your palace on wheels, feel free to decorate it to match the decor.
The 'cheap' gauges you refer to are what? The original Donaldson popup that only has a red zone? Some other pop up device or are you referring to the Engineered Products Filter Minder?
Filter Minder, Automobile Parts, Air Filter, Sensor, LED Display, Fuel Monitor, Car Accessories, Air Restriction Gauge, Engineered Products Company
This product is installed by little companies like Caterpillar, International Trucks, Volvo, Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt. I doubt they would utilize a device like this if it had the qualities you describe. It is easy to determine if these filter gauges are functioning or not. You can remove it from the air cleaner and suck on the sensing port. It should pull the plunger up and lock into a position. By "a position" I mean one of the graduated lines between the lowest reading of 8" to the maximum of 25". If it locks up, it has passed the first test. If it does not pull up, the housing is cracked. Replace it. If it locks in place, hold your finger over the sensing port end and press the bottom plunger. Does the plunger hang up and not drop? If yes, it is good. If no, it is cracked. Replace it.
I note that some on this forum like those laptop computers connected to your engine. That Magnehelic will look really sharp next to the PC.
You still have to have somebody observe the peak reading on the hills.
I really do understand how you could think of a Filter Minder or similar device as being a cheap piece of plastic. I know for fact that the Filter Minder correlates very well with the Magnehelic gauges used in engine dyno testing and lab calibration.
Kind regards,
Spike45
Linear Mode
