PetroSavers ® - Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How is the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System unique?
A: The PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System is the most advanced product of its kind on the market, both technically and in user application development. It effectively removes all three (3) previously described types of contaminants from oil. It can be serviced without shutting down the engine (Generators/Stationary engines) and it has no moving parts to wear out. It can be transferred from one engine to another when equipment is replaced.
Q: Specifically, what does the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System remove?
A: The PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System described herein is a patented and proven system that continuously removes solids (metals, dirt, dust, sand), liquids (unburned fuels and water from combustion and/or condensation), and gases (generated from combustion) from engine oil.
Q: How is the refining and cleaning process superior?
A: The PetroSavers Refiner Pac Element is made of 100% cellulose compressed disks, which not only remove solid particles 9,000% more efficient than standard engine oil filters, but also, because of its special media mix, acids are neutralized and the oil viscocity is maintained. The complete bypass system controls the volume of oil going through the refiner at any given time by means of a small orifice located in the clean oil exit of the Refiner. The compressed media disks prevent any channeling or bypassing of the oil and thus provides for 98.99% filtration.
Q: What are the advantages of bypass flow?
A: Bypass flow, in which a metered portion of the oil is cycled through the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System at any given time, is both a safety and economy feature. Every full flow filter has an automatic bypass valve to let oil flow around the filter in case it becomes blocked. If this happens, there is no filtration, nor is there any convenient way to check whether filtration has taken place. With the PetroSaver bypass system, no extra valving is needed to ensure that oil is flowing through the engine. The PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System can be checked during engine operation to see if refining is taking place, and can be serviced without shutting down the engine (generators/stationary engines) or interrupting filtration for a significant time.
Q: What is the cleaning capacity of the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System?
A: Any PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System will recycle the oil in any crankcase of 5 quarts up to 1,000 gallons, seven (7) times per hour. Imagine taking your car or truck to a quick lube oil facility 7 times an hour to achieve the same result as the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System achieves in one hour of normal engine operation.
Q: How does it work?
A: It continuously bypasses a metered portion of the engine oil through a patented refining cleaning process.
Q: What about existing engine filters?
A: They are typically always left in place because of engine system design. It is advisable to replace existing filters at least once every twelve (12) months of operation or thirty thousand (30,000 miles) or forty-eight thousand (48,000 kilometers). With stationary engines such as generators, it is advisable to change existing filters at least once every two thousand (2,000) engine hours.
Q: Where can the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System be used?
A: On light, heavy, and over-the-road trucks, marine engines, heavy equipment (graders, scrapers, cranes), offshore installations (drilling rigs and platforms), farm machinery, stationary engines, hydraulic systems, industrial applications, gear sumps and consumer cars. The PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System can be installed on any engine application throughout the world.
Q: Is it true that oil never needs to be changed on an engine fitted with the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System?
A: The answer is a qualified “YES”, unless a malfunction or accident introduces excessive quantities of water, fuel, and metal contaminants into the oil, it is not necessary to change oil as long as the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System is operating and serviced properly. This equates to a positive impact on a company's financial profit and loss statement and its effect on the environment.
Q: How does installation of a PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System on a new engine affect the manufacturer's warranty?
A: Specific acknowledgment has been received from American manufacturers that after market products such as the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System do not affect their warranties.
Q: Can the PetroSavers® Oil Refiner System be used on systems other than engines?
A: Yes, it can be used to clean hydraulic oil, brake fluids, gear oils and other oils. PetroSavers National Corporation does have the ability to design our Oil Refiner Systems for custom applications.
Q: What is the life expectancy of the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System?
A: Since we began marketing our system, no PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System has ever worn out. We are confident that barring accidents, PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner Systems will last more than 15 years and can been transferred from engine to engine during this same time frame.
How oil is protected by the PetroSavers Engine Oil Refiner System:
Q: Will the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System keep oil from turning dark?
A: Oil may turn dark from the action of heat on some additives. This color change does not affect additive function; however, because of this, color is not a good indicator of oil's lubricating quality. Although the PetroSavers Engine Oil Refiner System does not prevent color change, it does remove any harmful contaminants that would contribute to a color change. This data can be obtained through any independent oil analysis laboratory.
Q: How can one recognize contaminated oil?
A: The only reliable indicator of any contaminant content is through independent laboratory analysis. Test kits are available to any PetroSavers' customer free of charge.
Q: How much water does it take to make oil unfit for use?
A: As little as 0.2% water in oil is very damaging to engine parts, and lubrication experts say that water contamination is significant at only 0.05% (ppm); 1% water in oil cuts lubricity by 50%, resulting in significant increase in engine wear. In normal operation, PetroSavers Engine Oil Refiner System will keep water content below 0.05%. During an engine malfunction, large quantities of water can block and prevent proper filtration. Therefore, if there is evidence that an engine malfunction has introduced an abnormal amount of water into the oil, the engine should be checked, and if necessary, repaired, and the PetroSaver Refiner Pac Element replaced.
Q: How much oil will I save using the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System?
A: Based on over 15 years of use, we can confidently state that you will use a minumum of 60% less oil. When you consider the size of vehicle fleets, the reduced impact a company has on the environment and the savings to a company's financial position can be significant.
Q: How much fuel contamination in the oil can the PetroSavers Engine Oil Refiner System remove?
A: According to laboratory tests, the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System keeps oil contamination by fuel to less than 0.05% in normal operation. This is less than one-tenth of the critical level (5%) at which an oil change becomes mandatory. However, the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System cannot handle large quantities of fuel entering the oil as a result of engine malfunction.
Q: What oil do you recommend?
A: Our position is that the proper oil for any engine is the one recommended by its manufacturer. The PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System works equally well on all types of lubricating oil, including synthetic oils.
The PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System in a preventive maintenance program
Q: How often must the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System be serviced?
A: PetroSavers Refiner Pac Elements should be replaced every 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) or every 2,000 operating hours. The first PetroSavers Refiner Pac Element change in a system installed on engines comes sooner (at the half interval) -- after about 15,000 miles (24,000 kilomoeters) or 1,000 hours -- since it will be removing existing contaminants that have been accumulating and are already present.
Q: Can the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System be serviced without shutting down the engine?
A: Yes -- On stationary/generator engine applications. This can be done by simply closing the regulating valve in the oil inlet line. Because of the way the system was designed, changing of the PetroSavers Refiner Pac Element is easily done and normally requires less than thirty minutes. Continuous running of engines in lieu of shut down, will equate to significant savings for any company.
Q: What is the value of an oil-test program?
A: A periodic laboratory analysis of engine oil employing spectrometry, and other special test methods, furnishes complete information on the condition of the oil itself, and the condition of the engine itself.
In addition, taken together, the analysis form a historical record of engine wear, in particular the presence of varying amounts of metals worn from engine parts. Excessive wear is commonly signalled by a sudden increase in one or more metals, depending on the location of the wear. Thus, analytical data not only serve as an early warning of engine trouble, but helps locate it, so repairs can be made before major damage results -- the whole point of a preventive maintenance program.
We consider an oil-test program almost indispensable to anyone with much of an investment in engines, therefore, we recommend that you continue the oil test program for a minimum of 2 years after initial installation.
Q: Where can this service be obtained?
A: A number of independent laboratories test oil. PetroSavers National Corp., has arranged to have a laboratory handle tests for its customers, if they so desire.
Q: What about progressive loss of additives with continuous use of the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System?
A: Extensive laboratory tests indicate that additive levels remain satisfactory during continuous use of the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System. There are various types of additives, each designed to do a specific job increase lubricity, keep solids in suspension, or emulsify water. Some of these additives actually enter the pores of the metal in the engine, and unless removed by abrasion or chemical action, remain there indefinitely. By removing the causes of abrasion and chemical action, the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System improves their effectiveness. Additives are made more effective because the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System reduces their workload by continuously removing contaminants.
Q: Does the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System eliminate the need for the existing filter?
A: Even after the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System has been installed, the existing filter is useful for removing large particles, which reduces the load on the PetroSavers Refiner Pac Element and helps prolong its service life.
Q: Where can the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System be used?
A: On internal combustion engines, whether the fuel is gasoline, diesel, bio-diesel, Liquid Propane (LP) gas, compressed gas or turbines up to an oil-sump capacity of 1,000 gallons.
Q: What about "synthetic" oil?
A: So-called synthetic oils, many of which are polymers of petrochemical origin, are superior to natural oils in having more consistent physical properties, higher flash points, and a greater resistance to sludge formation. Nevertheless, since the primary sources of contamination in oil are combustion, mechanical process, and airborne solids, contaminants are bound to accumulate in synthetic as well as natural oils. The PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System is very effective in prolonging the service life of both synthetic and natural oils
Q: How can the PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System remove water if it doesn't heat up to it's boiling point (212 degrees F) or (100 degrees C)?
A: Water vaporizes from the surface of a liquid at all temperatures, provided that the air is not saturated with water vapor. The higher the temperature, the faster evaporation takes place. The PetroSavers® Engine Oil Refiner System provides optimum conditions for rapid evaporation by heating the air to just below the boiling point of water, exposing a large surface to low-humidity atmosphere. Also, the specific cellulose fibers used have a high water absorption rate without reducing the oil filtration capacity.