Sheldon,
Thanks for the valuable info, but more importantly thanks for owning up to
the error, a trait not seen nearly often enough in this day and age!
Marcus
Do not archive
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-rv10-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-rv10-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Sheldon Olesen
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 12:20 AM
To: rv10-list@matronics.com
Subject: Oil filter apology
On Aug 11, I made a post about my crushed Kelly oil filter and included
pictures. I want to set the record straight. The failed
filter was the wrong filter for the engine. I am both sorry for and
embarrassed by my mistake. The difference between the correct filter
(48108-1) and the incorrect filter(48110) is an internal oil bypass valve in
the correct filter. I was unaware until about a week ago that there was
any substantive difference between the two filters other than the 108 had
female threads and the 110 had male
threading. I'll explain how all of this happened.
I was at home and going to do an Aircraft Spruce order and remembered that I
needed more oil filters. I didn't remember the filter number so I looked it
up in the A/C Spruce catalog where the IO-540 was listed under the 110
filter. When I got the 110's it was obvious
that one filter(110) was male and the other filter (108) female.
That wasn't a big problem because the male adapter for the ECI angled filter
adapter came off with the 108 filter. I figured there was no sense of
messing around with the male adapter if it comes off easily-- just use the
filter with the male threading built in. So I put the 110 filter on and
flew with no indications that there were any problems until I took it off
and found the filter media crushed inside the metal shell. This was around
OSH time so I asked Kelly what might be the problem. The very short answer
from them was the
engine. I also asked the Mattituck guy what might be the problem.
His answer was the filter. I emailed the Light Plane Maintenance editor and
asked the same question and his answer was the filter. I also had emails
from people on the RV-10 list telling me to check the engine and hoses which
I did. Nothing seemed amiss with the engine, hoses, or oil pressure. Since
I could find nothing wrong with the engine and I ordered new Champion
filters and put a new Champ 110
on. I checked it regularly and it wasn't looking distressed at all.
There were no signs of crushing. I thought my problems were over.
While all of this was going on Kim Santerre of LPM wanted pictures of my
crushed filter and I sent them. He was doing an article in LPM on
defective filters and my problem fit right in. The article appeared
last month in LPM with my filter pictures prominently on the cover.
Kelly was not happy about the coverage and started discussions with LPM.
While digging deeper to address Kelly's concerns, Santerre contacted
Mattituck and found out that my model engine ships with the ECI angle
adapter and should have a 108 filter because the adapter has no bypass
valve. Santerre thought that I must have the straight adapter with the
integral oil bypass valve since I was using the 110 filter. That's when I
found out about the real difference between a
108 and a 110. It was very embarrassing to tell him that I had an
angled adapter and I should have been using the 108 filter. A
clarification is to appear in the next issue of LPM. Kim Santerre has been
very gracious during all of this fiasco.
Apparently I'm not the only owner who has been confused about the the
108 and 110 filters. Mattituck has a warning that they now ship with the
ECI adapter equipped engines. My engine was shipped in July,
2007 and the warning came out in Oct 2007. See the attachment. I
think that ECI has a poor adapter design since it is possible to remove the
male threading with no difficulty. A fixed male thread design would make
it impossible to use the wrong filter. I still think that the Champion
filter is superior to the Kelly since it survived in a situation where the
Kelly failed although I'm sure the Kelly will work just fine in the proper
installation.
Sheldon Olesen
N475PV 119 hrs.
