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Newsletters>
SIZE DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE
January 29, 2008
Many Frantz Oil Filter owners desire to keep their
maintenance costs to a minimum by purchasing off-the-shelf
store-brand toilet paper rolls for use as their filter
element in the Frantz Oil Filter. I don’t blame them
except that I have not found a satisfactory sized roll to
accommodate my perfection.
Most brands of toilet paper are pretty standard widthwise
so as to fit properly in the toilet paper holder with some
degree of slack. We will assume for this writing all brands
are the same width. However, not all brands are the same in
other areas such as diameter of the roll, diameter of the
cardboard center, or degree of tightness when wrapped up
into a roll. There are also brands that are smaller than
the Frantz roll. If it is larger, it is pretty simple to
unwind some turns until the desired size is achieved for
the Frantz Oil Filter canister. But, what does one do if
the roll is too small?
What about the cardboard tube diameter? This is critical
and why I do not recommend ANY standard toilet paper for
use in the Frantz Oil Filter unit. The Frantz Oil Filter
base unit with metal cylindrical tube is designed to fit
snugly inside the Frantz TP Element so no oil can escape
down the cardboard tube without being filtered through the
paper.
I have seen all kinds of “fix-its” including the use of
many rubber “O”-rings to take up the slack. This is simply
asking for trouble. It voids any warranty or
representations made by Frantz and it is a serious risk to
your engine.
Integrity is important in the filter unit. I’m sure you
have had skeptics accuse you of ruining your engine because
the paper will disintegrate and go all throughout your
engine causing terrible things to your bearings, etc. The
truth is, a roll of toilet paper will not disintegrate in
water much less in oil when it is contained and properly
supported. The Frantz roll is contained inside the canister
snugly and is supported on a screened base.
A sharp edge at the bottom of the metal tube of the base
penetrates into the bottom of the element material thus
sealing the bottom so the oil only has one place to go –
through the filtering material. This method is
characteristic of the Frantz Il Filter design.
Squeezable is undesirable when it comes to filter elements.
If you can squeeze it, that means the oil will squeeze it
also and you will have openings down through the toilet
paper roll allowing volumes of oil to flow past without
being filtered. Use a filter element that is tightly wound.
Do the pinch test. Take your first finger inside the
cardboard opening and thumb outside the roll and squeeze.
It should be firm with as little ability to squeeze as
possible.
But now the skeptic says to you “look at the difference in
price you are paying between the store-brand and the Frantz
roll.” Okay, let’s look. The store sells a roll of cheap
toilet paper for around 50¢ to 75¢ per roll. That’s pretty
cheap when it comes to oil filters which can run upwards to
$10 sometimes. Why not pay only about a dollar more and get
the real thing – the Frantz TP Element? It comes in packs
of 4 rolls for $7 and is designed for the Frantz Oil Filter
with no unwinding of turns to make it fit and the cardboard
tube is a nice snug fit eliminating creative corrective
measures for improperly-fitting toilet paper. The Frantz TP
Elements are available from your Frantz Authorized
Distributor.
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