Oil Bypass Filter Technology Evaluation Eleventh Quarterly Report: April -June 2005

Abstract

This Oil Bypass Filter Technology Evaluation quarterly report (April–June 2005) details the ongoing fleet evaluation of engine oil bypass filter technologies being conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for the U.S. Department of Energy’s FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies Program. Eleven INL four-cycle diesel-engine buses and six INL Chevrolet Tahoes with gasoline engines are equipped with oil bypass filter systems. Eight of the buses and the six Tahoes are equipped with oil bypass filters from the puraDYN Corporation; the remaining three buses are equipped with oil bypass filters from Refined Global Solutions. Both the puraDYN and Refined Global Solutions bypass filters have a heating chamber to remove liquid contaminates from the engine oil. During the April to June 2005 reporting quarter, the eleven diesel engine buses traveled 85,663 miles. As of June 30, 2005, the buses had accumulated 829,871 total test miles. During this quarter, seven regularly scheduled 12,000-mile bus service events were performed. Bus 73449 had its oil accidentally changed on 5/17/05 during servicing. Two buses had mechanical problems which required the oil to be changed: Bus 73446 had an injector failure and Bus 73413 had a broken “dip stick” fitting on the oil pan, both of which introduced contaminants. Buses 73432 and 73433 began the idling phase of the INL Diesel Engine Idling Wear-Rate Evaluation Test. Throughout the 35 months of evaluation, only six oil changes were performed on the INL buses because of degraded oil quality from normal operations. This is a 90% reduction of oil consumption (490 gallons saved) and a concurrent 90% reduction (490 gallons) of waste oil generation. Another six oil changes were performed due to mechanical problems and accidental oil changes. The six Tahoe test vehicles traveled 28,688 miles, and as of June 30, 2005, the Tahoes had accumulated 260,116 total test miles.