Westerbeke oil filter

[Underdog]

Does anyone know of a comparable oil filter for a Westerbeke BCD 4.0Kw genset? OEM parts are dear as poison - I am being quoted over $30 each + shipping.
I have a Nipparts Filter on the unit right now (that are comparable) part number on that filter is J131-7003, but no auto shop I have been to can cross reference that to any other manufacturers types.

[Dulcesuenos]

Fram ph3593a about $5.00 at a parts store or walmart.

[hellosailor]

Dog, NAPA are generally the best at finding out what you've really got. They can look at the thread pitch and size, look at the seal, and usually tell you something else that will fit. But that's only half the story, a new filter has to have the same overpressure relief valve (or not, by design) and the same flow capacity, and then they are not all the same about how well they filter. Bosch and Mobil1 list their specs on their boxes, and they may not only filter 10x smaller particles, but they may also filter out 90% more of the particles in all sizes.

Best bet is to try finding out what kind of engine you really have, because WB buys them from many sources. Once you know what that engine is, the folks at NAPA and pother places can probably look up the right filter for you.

[Underdog]

Gentlemen, thanks for your quick responses. I will chase that up with NAPA. I have sourced a Nipparts filter - but it is Russia! Looks like a Knecht OC-205 or -196 may be a substitute and that may equate to a RYCO Z148a here in Oz.
As for the FRAM - that will give me another comparison to enter the catalogue with, but on reading reports on FRAM - they are not a filter I would ever use.

Again, many thanks.

[Dulcesuenos]

Your westerbeke number should be 036918. Crosses to lots of filters. Have sold, installed 10000s of Frams gave had very few issues they weren't quick to rectify.

[hellosailor]

Underdog, the first machinist I ever knew and trusted, used to swear by Fram. And I've used a number of them.

They're nothing exotic, yes. You can easily do better, yes. But they are not crap. They are well made, They meet and exceed OEM specs.

And at about $4 each instead of $12-20 for the top two brands...you know, not so unreasonable.

If I can't get the extortionately better brand that I want, I'm quite happy to grab a FRAM, and I'll just swap it out a little sooner, when I can get the good stuff again.

It's nothing to be ashamed of, and won't hurt your engine.

[bobconnie]

Fram is concederd to be a top flight filter in the US. I have used them on ALL my engines both main and gen set for 25+ yrs and NEVER had a bad filter or a dirty engine ! just sayin unless your getting some phoney Fram filters ya can't get to much better ! if they have a proper matching filter for your engine I would have no problem useing them ! just my 2 cents from yrs of use!

[hellosailor]

bob-
Bear in mind that Fram now makes 2 grades of filters, the new one is supposedly twice as good (6x vs 3x) as the standard one. And the new one is rated, by them, as "FRAM Group testing of filter efficiency and capactiy of models equivalent to HM8A, 3387A and 6607 under ISO 4548-12 for particles > 20 microns."

Note that last part, they are using 20 micron dirt particles for the comparison. Bosch and Mobil have been posting their specs based on 2 micron (2 not 20) captures. So, would you call Fram first-tier? Eh, maybe not. It certainly isn't top-tier.

Not that I'm saying they are bad, just that they are commodity-grade, and probably OEM spec (they don't seem to mention that) and certainly way cheaper than those other two.