Absolute Rating gives the micron size of the largest particle that will pass through the filter with a 98.7% efficiency. Testing for absolute ratings is not, however, standardized.
American National Standards (ANSI) Institute is an organization that works to standardize business and manufacturing processes within the United States. ANSI works with the ISO to use international standards when available.
Beta Rating is an efficiency rating given to oil filters based upon ISO 16889 testing procedures. The rating is found from measuring particles of a specific micron upstream of the filter as well as downstream of the filter. The beta is found by dividing the number of particles upstream by the number of particles downstreams. This number is then turned into a percentage by dividing the beta ratio minus one by the beta ratio, and multiplying by 100. For example, if 5 micron particles were being measured, and 10 particles were found upstream and 2 were found downstream, the beta would be 10/2=5. To get the percentage, it would be ((5-1)/5)=80%. So the filter would have a beta rating of 80% at 5 microns.
Bio-diesel is viewed as an environmentally friendly alternative to diesel fuels. Bio-diesel is a renewable resource gained from sugar beets, sunflowers, and other organic sources.
Coal is a type of fossil fuel found in a solid state and mined from the earth. Composed primarily of carbon, as well as nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and sulphur, coal is commonly used for electricity generation, heating, railways, and steel production.
Crude Oil or Petroleum is a fossil fuel pumped from wells deep in the earth. Dark greenish-brown in color, crude oil is found in a liquid state and composed of hydrocarbons, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur. It is refined in refineries to create byproducts such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, asphalt, lubricants, and more.
Diesel is a petroleum byproduct created from the distillation of crude oil. Composed of hydrocarbons with little allowance of sulphur compounds, it is commonly used in transportation and for electricity generation. Unlike gasoline, it is an auto-ignite liquid, and is considered a more efficient fuel.
Fossil Fuels are considered non-renewable resources, and are generally created from the remains of organisms hundreds to millions of years old. Under immense pressure and heat, the remains slowly change their chemical composition to fossil fuels over hundreds to thousands of years. The main fossil fuels are oil, coal, and natural gas.
Gasoline or Petrol is a byproduct of petroleum, created during the distillation of crude oil. Containing hydrocarbons and sulphur compounds, gasoline is generally used for transportation and comes in different octanes.
Gear Oil is used to lubricate, cool, and protect gear systems, by collecting debris, muffling operation sounds, withstanding high temperatures and pressures, and providing oxidation and corrosion inhibition. It is often used in industrial machinery, as well as in vehicles such for differentials and transmissions.
Heating Oil is a byproduct of petroleum composed of hydrocarbons and closely related to diesel but with more allowance of sulphur, and is gained during the distillation of crude oil. Heating oil is primarily used to heat homes.
Heavy Oils are byproducts of petroleum gained during the distillation of crude oil. Heavy oils can be lubricants for machinery or engines, petroleum jelly, greases, or waxes.
Hydraulic Systems use hydraulic energy converted into mechanical energy to run machinery rather than electrical energy. This is generally done through the use of heavily pressurized fluid to turn a shaft, and the process can vary by the type of hydraulic system in use.
Hydraulic Oil is used in a hydraulic system to provide heat transfer, power transfer, and/or lubrication. There are three main types of hydraulic oil, each designed to work better in certain situations. Full synthetic is best in high temperature and pressure fluctuations, as well as for reducing oxidation. Petroleum based hydraulic oils provide excellent lubrication, as well as anti-wear, rust and oxidation inhibition, and improved viscosity depending on the additives present. Water-based works best in situations with a high probability of fire. Hydraulic oil is commonly used for automotive braking systems, power-steering systems, in aircraft, and for heavy machinery such as tractors or garbage trucks.
International Standard Organization (ISO) works to ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and of a good quality. The standardization covers a wide variety of industries, developing technical and economical standards for fuels, metals, transportation, energy, machinery, environment, medical, consumer goods, and more. ISO also creates standardized testing procedures to assist in ensuring standardized testing practices throughout industries. These procedures are generally tested by third party laboratories.
ISO 16889 is a filter performance test using ISO medium test dust that produces the Beta rating for filters. The test is performed by third party laboratories using the ISO testing procedures.
ISO Medium Test Dust is particles that have been accurately measured to be of the same size, using NIST certified calibration suspension, which certifies that a certain number of particles were at a specified size.
J 1321 is a SAE fuel consumption testing procedure for buses and trucks. This test is used to test the fuel consumption of the vehicles with and without certain applications, such as bypass fuel filtration systems, to see if the applications improve fuel consumption numbers.
Kerosene or Jet Fuel is a petroleum byproduct created during the distillation of crude oil. Kerosene is used for transportation, and in many underdeveloped areas, for cooking, heating, and lighting.
Micron Rating is the rating given to a filter based upon the size in microns of the particles the fuel filter is able to filter out. The rating may be based upon the beta rating, absolute rating, or nominal rating. For primary fuel filters, the recommended micron rating is between 7 to 25 microns. A bypass fuel filter will usually have a lower rating, such as between 3 to 5 microns. Certain systems may require lower primary filter micron ratings. For example, marine applications that require high-efficiency water separation may require as low as 2 micron in-line filtering, and newer, high pressure rail system require primary filtering as low as 3 microns. Micron ratings should be selected based upon the engine/system and the operation environment. It is imperative to check that you are using an OEM approved replacement for your system. You can generally find the filter recommendation for your system in the owner’s manual.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, and is a physical science laboratory for the United States government.
Natural Gas is a fossil fuel generally found when retrieving crude oil from oil wells. Natural gas is piped in pipelines from the earth to storage facilities, and is commonly used for heating, air conditioning, cooking, and to fuel other appliances.
Nominal Rating is a rating given to the filter by the manufacturer. The rating specifies the smallest micron size of particle the filter is able to filter, generally at 50% efficiency. The actual efficiency can range, however, anywhere from 1% to 98.6% in efficiency.
Octane Numbers are a measurement of gasoline, with higher numbers being more resistant to engine knocking. Engine knocking occurs when the fuel and air mix inside of an engine cylinder explode rather than burning controllably, causing a pinging sound in the engine.
Propane is a byproduct of natural gas or oil composed of hydrocarbons. While it is used in a gaseous state, propane is often transported in a liquid state. It is commonly used for heating homes, heating water, for cooking, and for fueling other appliances.
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is an organization of engineers in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries working towards education and standardization development within the industry.
SAE HS 806 is a test that measures performance characteristics of oil filters. Some characteristics tested include: resistence to flow, capacity, cumulitive efficiency, and collapsibility
Turbine Oils are oils used in steam, gas, hydro, and aero-derivative turbines. They are petroleum based oils that have been highly refined or hydro-pressured. Characteristics of turbine oils can include contamination separation, cooling, lubrication, water separation, wear reduction, rust and oxidation inhibitors, and demulsibility and hydrolytic stability.
