Reusable oil filters, whats your thoughts?

seen one the other day and was wondering what everyone thought of them, im kinda skeptical myself. who uses them and what has been your experiance. how do they compare to the paper filters???

I seriously doubt they filter as well. Which means increased wear on your engine parts. I don't use K&N air filters for the same reason. They're performance because they let more air in. But they let more particulate in...

ya i havent heard anything good about the k&n stuff on the diesel forums either, i read on one of theese reusable oil filters that its gets down to 35 microns i cant remeber how much my trucks gets down to but i want to say its in the single digits....

I have one on my bike - the guy I bought it from put it in the very first service he did on the bike. I am yet to do my first service on it to see how much it has managed to catch, but the guy said you actually see the filing residue in the bottom of the bowl if you let it settle. (A bit scarey that there is that much wear in the engine IMO). He said a flush with diesel followed by a good blast with compressed air is all it needs to clean it. I have also read that it filters finer than paper filters which surprised me too, but it is plausible.

At the end of the day, given the oil has, an will be changed every 200km's odd means that even if the filter lets some debris through, it will be very fine and it will be flushed out with fresh oil quickly anyway. It's the large debris that's going to cause the most damage, so as long as the filter catches that I am happy.

thanks, i was kinda wondering about that since you change the oil more than in a car/truck

If this is about a SS filter, here is a thread on the subject ...maybe more info than you are looking for ..

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/day-of-the-ss.11723/

They work excellent in drag racing applications since you can check them after every pass and catch a problem way before a major breakage occurs. The same could be done with a paper filter but you have to cut it apart to inspect it as opposed to cleaning it and putting it back on. Race engines have bigger clearances which enables them to operate at high rpm without seizing so really fine micron filters aren't ideal because they restrict flow which is important for pressure and cooling. That being said I'm not sure it would be the ideal set up for motorcycles I guess it would depend on what kind of racing or riding you're doing.

sooo you can use a paper filter twice??? do you even take it out or just leave it in during the oil change?? after reading more about it they both have their ups n downs...still not sure though

Alright, Ive read thru the numerous posts and I'll add my 2 cents.
On aircraft turbine engines (PT6A &JT15) we use a similar type of filter. It's removed, ends capped and submerged in solvent and placed in a vibro-sonic cleaner. Afterwards it's removed, let stand to drip dry and can use low pressure air to blow dry. Then re-installed. They do have a service life of 3 cleanings then are replaced with new.
I do agree that a brand new filter ensures a clean element is installed. Would be curious to run a test of 2 bikes and upon rebuild, to see which has more wear. Not sure about any other engines that husky makes but the 05-09 4 strokes use 2 screens prior to oil filter. I personally clean those each oil change and replace the filer element every second change.

I need a vibro-sonic cleaner

The point of a reusable filter is not only to save money by not having to replace them but it also makes it very easy to inspect what is in the filter. If you have a bearing going away it is obvious and you can tear down the engine and find the problem before it is a major blow up. You can do this with a paper filter as well but you need to separate the pleats of paper and inspect with a magnifying glass which involves cutting them apart because many of the particles are embedded in the paper. BTW competition paper filters are usually more coarse to allow high flow which IMO is much better because if a fine micron filter gets clogged it will bypass and let all the gunk directly in your engine. If you're using your bike in extreme race conditions and checking the filter after every moto or race and are tired of cutting up paper filters and buying buying new ones a reusable screen is probably for you. If you're changing filters at the maintenance intervals than it would come down to which you prefer. When drag racing cars a few years ago I have seen several engines get saved by inspecting the screen between rounds, this was also true for friends that competed in truck and tractor pull competitions. If you think you would benefit then go for it. Another option is buy a 2 stroke that has no filter at all.

My drain plug always has a small amount of silver and i don't usually see any in the SS filter but I'm sure some is there ... that vibro-sonic cleaner would shake some out I bet .... Usually my SSF just has some small black crude particles in it ..

I like that 2t idea but these 4t machines are just too easy to street ride on and go slow&easy whenever... They get very good gas mileage when poking along also ... I never had a 2t that wanted to go slow and easy unless ...unless U 4-stroked it ...

thanks for all the info gang!!