Project Carbon Control!

[alaskacruiser]

I didn't have the monies for this catch can setup, but I might try a product from steeda that looks like a coalescing filter but apparently flows freely...

http://www.steeda.com/products/steeda_oil_separator.php

This Steeda looks like an interesting option and is reasonably priced, but I am wondering about what looks like a filtering element at the top- it appears to be something that could eventually clog. Anyone know anything about this?

This one looks interesting, but is expensive at $179:

http://www.condensatorsales.com

I am considering this mod, but would like a more affordable option. Any ideas?

 

[JerseyCruiser]

I have my motor apart now for a HG replacement and I can't believe all of the oily crap I have in the intake. It's kinda neat how its completely clean from the spray of the injectors prior to entering the head. I want to do this mod on my motor and my question is there are two hoses coming from the valve cover going into the intake one being for the PCV and the other I don't know, will I need a can for both or just the PCV side?

Thanx
George

 

[turbocruiser]

I have my motor apart now for a HG replacement and I can't believe all of the oily crap I have in the intake. It's kinda neat how its completely clean from the spray of the injectors prior to entering the head. I want to do this mod on my motor and my question is there are two hoses coming from the valve cover going into the intake one being for the PCV and the other I don't know, will I need a can for both or just the PCV side?

Thanx
George

Theoretically every bit helps here however, I would only really recommend putting one on the PCV side especially if you are not adding boost. I have one on the turbo side also but it catches a fraction of what goes through the PCV. Hope that helps.

 

[Phil H]

Amazing! I have not seen one of those Condensators since 1981 - did not even know they were around

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=151577

I had a job working for a company that made after-market water injectors and they considered distributing the Condensator in the Bay Area back then. I bought one and installed it on my '68 Firebird. It sure collected a great deal of oily sludge. The claim to fame was the silica balls in that filter device. Still have it around I think - it had a glass mayonaise jar for the screw-on cup - was always afraid the glass might break Looks like the new one has a plastic cup/bowel.

Am in the beginning stages of a HG failure and, like others, considered adding a collector of some kind.

 

[Brindleboxer]

From what I hear Condensator is being championed by a very loyal and dedicated group in Montana. Occasionally I will see them in the salvage yard (first few I had no clue what they were or what they sold for) or hear testimonials (in the Pacific Northwest) about how great they are but still am not sold on the cost to benefit of the product.

I ran a seperator, similar to the previous post, on a T-5 Volvo for a couple years and was pleased with the results. Definitely made the PCV claenout less of a chore and I could even extend the interval to the factory recommended timeframe.

One drawback to note is that you have to add a reminder to your maintenance schedule to empty the pot before it fills. I was looking at converting to this one (http://www.rpmoutlet.com/lightsniper1.htm) but sold the Volvo before needed.

 

[TrickyT]

Does anyone know what's become of Accurate Machine Works (AMW - www.accmachtech.com), makers of the catch can? Their old web site seems to no longer be accessible, and the current home page just says "new site coming soon." Anyone have a phone number or other contact information for them?

Thanks!

 

[turbocruiser]

Does anyone know what's become of Accurate Machine Works (AMW - www.accmachtech.com), makers of the catch can? Their old web site seems to no longer be accessible, and the current home page just says "new site coming soon." Anyone have a phone number or other contact information for them?

Thanks!

Best person to talk to there is Todd Kay:

Todd Kay
Accurate Machine Works
4400 Pate Rd.
College Station, TX 77845

Phone (979) 774-0062 x 111
Fax (979) 774-1420

email address: tkay@accmachtech.com


Tell him turbocruiser says hi!!! Hope That Helps.

 

[gray]

Best person to talk to there is Todd Kay:

Todd Kay
Accurate Machine Works
4400 Pate Rd.
College Station, TX 77845

Phone (979) 774-0062 x 111
Fax (979) 774-1420

email address: tkay@accmachtech.com


Tell him turbocruiser says hi!!! Hope That Helps.

Does someone have a diagram of how this is rigged
into a stock 1996 FZJ-80? ie: does it fit between the
PCV and the intake?

BTW; I have found the MIGHTY brand foaming engine product
seems to work very well; I think it is the only foaming product
out there; the idea is that it expands to fill up the intake; you let
it sit, then start the engine.

g

 

[TrickyT]

Best person to talk to there is Todd Kay:

Todd Kay
Accurate Machine Works
4400 Pate Rd.
College Station, TX 77845

Phone (979) 774-0062 x 111
Fax (979) 774-1420

email address: tkay@accmachtech.com


Tell him turbocruiser says hi!!! Hope That Helps.

Thanks for the info, Turbocruiser. I spoke with Todd; he says "hi." Very nice guy. They've sold more than 8,000 catch cans to date. However they no longer sell direct, but rather exclusively through a distributor:

American Racing Technology
Web: www.americanracingtech.com
Phone: 512-312-2258
Contact: David Weaver

I ordered one. My goal is to keep all the carbon crud from accumulating in my intake plenum. Will follow-up with another post when I find out how much oil the thing captures.

 

[turbocruiser]

Thanks for the info, Turbocruiser. I spoke with Todd; he says "hi." Very nice guy. They've sold more than 8,000 catch cans to date. However they no longer sell direct, but rather exclusively through a distributor:

American Racing Technology
Web: www.americanracingtech.com
Phone: 512-312-2258
Contact: David Weaver

I ordered one. My goal is to keep all the carbon crud from accumulating in my intake plenum. Will follow-up with another post when I find out how much oil the thing captures.

Good to hear this ... you will be absolutely amazed at how much crap comes out of our PCV valves. You definitely dont want that in the intake system if you can avoid it. As I already reported I was surprised by how little the turbo side collects vs. the PCV side. BTW, not sure if todd told you this but he was the "inventor" of this catch can after trying all the other things out there ... he races vettes and vipers and needed something that really worked well ... the AMW can is really a thing of true beauty you will love it.

 

[TrickyT]

Yeah, I chatted with Todd for a while. He told me he went through several iterations before he was completely happy with his catch can. His critical innovation, he said, was realizing the need for undercut grooves on the sides of the container to keep the oil from creeping up the sides and then just out the can's exhaust and into the intake plenum. I haven't research the competition, but Todd claims none of the other available products have those undercut grooves around the sides.

A couple of other tidbits from Todd: Owners of GM's LS1 engines (Camaro, Corvette, etc) have been their biggest group of customers by far. They've even developed a special mounting bracket that mounts onto the head of these engines. Not sure what's so special about the LS1, but it accounts for the major portion of their sales. Secondly, Todd thought the catch can might be especially valuable on 4x4 trail rigs where RPM's are generally kept low and, correspondingly, the presence of relatively high vacuum in the intake manifold, equating to lots of crankcase vapor being drawn into the manifold.

Lastly, don't know if it's always been the case, but the catch can is now available in four colors: clear, red, blue, and black. I opted for black.

 

[JerseyCruiser]

Here are some pic's of my install. I used a piece of 1 inch square aluminum stock for a mounting surface and attached it to the charcoal canister bracket. Caught a lot of junk since I installed it in July, glad its not going back into my engine. Great project and writeup Shaun!

 

[NLXTACY]

Hey Jersey, I'm trying to visualize how you mounted the block and then mounted the catch can to the block. Do you just drill holes and use nuts/bolts or did you drill/tap?

 

[turbocruiser]

Good Work!

 

[JerseyCruiser]

Hey Jersey, I'm trying to visualize how you mounted the block and then mounted the catch can to the block. Do you just drill holes and use nuts/bolts or did you drill/tap?

I drilled two holes through the stock and canister bracket for sheet metal screws making the front ones in the stock larger to pass the heads of the screws through. Once it was secured I put the catch can bracket against the stock marked the holes drilled and used the supplied screws.

 

[turbocruiser]

Wondering where that will tend to drip when you open for oil changes? It looks like it is right above the coil which might make a mess or is it a straight shot down to the ground? I know the angle of the photo might be misleading. One thing that I like about where I mounted mine is that they both drop onto the reverse side of the wheel wells where they then drip to the ground. When I change my oil I simply sit two buckets under the wheel wells towards the back and all the oil and crap collects in those without getting on anything else. It is a small slim stream of oil on the reverse of the wheel wells which is really easy to clean afterwards. Anyway, have you done a dump test yet?

 

[JerseyCruiser]

Wondering where that will tend to drip when you open for oil changes? It looks like it is right above the coil which might make a mess or is it a straight shot down to the ground? I know the angle of the photo might be misleading. One thing that I like about where I mounted mine is that they both drop onto the reverse side of the wheel wells where they then drip to the ground. When I change my oil I simply sit two buckets under the wheel wells towards the back and all the oil and crap collects in those without getting on anything else. It is a small slim stream of oil on the reverse of the wheel wells which is really easy to clean afterwards. Anyway, have you done a dump test yet?

Shaun,

I not sure if it will drain all the way to the floor, i haven't drained it yet, however I have enough space to easily get a large red cup in and out with no problems. I'll check tomorrow and let you know if it's a straight shot down, that would be cool.

George

 

[turbocruiser]

Shaun,

I not sure if it will drain all the way to the floor, i haven't drained it yet, however I have enough space to easily get a large red cup in and out with no problems. I'll check tomorrow and let you know if it's a straight shot down, that would be cool.

George

Either way it sounds like you have your solution - just put the cup there and twist the petcock open. BTW, I leave mine open the entire time I am changing my oil and oil filter; I like to give it time to really drain down. Again, really good work!

 

[JerseyCruiser]

Shaun,

I not sure if it will drain all the way to the floor, i haven't drained it yet, however I have enough space to easily get a large red cup in and out with no problems. I'll check tomorrow and let you know if it's a straight shot down, that would be cool.

George

Shaun,

I looked at the drain, if opened it will drain onto the inner fender.

 

[turbocruiser]

Shaun,

I looked at the drain, if opened it will drain onto the inner fender.

Cool! I think the catch cup idea is the best, I can't get anything at all under my cans the way I installed them so I just let them drip to the floor and put two big buckets there to catch the waste. Like I wrote before, I let mine leak dry the whole time I'm draining the engine oil, removing and replacing the oil filter, etc. It takes a while to stop streaming out on the PCV side whereas on the turbo side it is like one tablespoon, maybe two tablespoons at most over 5K miles! You can test from time to time the effectiveness by removing the return hose - on mine it is always absolutely bone dry whereas with my other catch cans the return hose was wet with dirty dusty oil! If the return hose is dry you know that 100% of the oil is in the can! Again you did great work with one of the best catch can designs I've ever seen, $$$ but worth it!