Catch Can: Mann Provent 200 Air/Oil Separator

[JSchleim18]

Continuing my journey to the most overcomplicated setup on earth /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

I hate catch cans. Everyone has their opinions on which way is the best, etc. I have stumbled upon this product about a year ago and finally came around to looking further into it.

Mann Provent 200

The above link has a .pdf file as well to check out.

Basically, this thing is the size of most catch cans. However, the inlet and outlet are both close to 1" ID! (-16 AN fitting to give you an idea of how big they are considering most people only go as large as -10 AN on their valve covers). It has a filter in it which separates the vapors and has a nipple at the bottom which is supposed to be re-routed into the oil pan. This should be fairly clean oil but it's all speculation. It is a closed design IE no breather up top so it will keep the system under vacuum under normal operating conditions.

This thing is about $145 and replacement filters are $32.75. I don't mind paying the price as long as the system is correct.

Question I have:

Is one 1" fitting going to be possible to weld onto the valve cover and would one fitting be enough pressure relief?

-Thank you all in advance. If there is a proven setup that someone can chime in about that does the things the Provent can do I would be happy to put that into consideration.

Also want to add: Lingenfelter sells these as well under their own name: Lingenfelter

 

[Street Surgeon]

I've always wanted to pick one of those up but just couldn't justify the cash for it. Personally I'd run a -10an line from the valve cover, over to the pro-vent, you would have to come up with some kind of adapter to make the 10an line mate up to the pro-vent 1"ID ports, then from the pro vent over to the intake pipe.

You can run it to the exhaust as well but unlike the V8's our motors don't have so much exhaust pulses which is why they work so well on the V8's. Really it probably works as well as the turbo intake pipe though so it's your call.

 

[G]

Looks interesting, do you have a diagram of the internal construction? Also what exactly does this one do that others don't? If the internal chambers are designed correctly a filter is not needed. Also with s/d the return line can go anywhere. Mine just dumps underneath the car.

 

[JSchleim18]

G: .PDF for ProVent

 

[Dialcaliper]

What you have there is basically what catch cans try to imitate, i.e. it's just a really high-quality catch can like the type used in airplanes. Aircraft Spruce sells several types: click

In the catch can, the mesh stuff basically performs the same function as the air-oil separator, which is actually fairly empty inside - it is basically either a filter, or empty with a "swirl pot" that acts like a centrifuge (or both).

However, there are two types of air-oil separator. The first type is basically just a fancy swirl pot catch can. You still have to empty the reservoir.

The second type, which is probably what you're thinking of here, separates the liquid part out, and instead of a reservoir, it returns the oil back to the crankcase (or the oil reservoir). However, this means contaminated oil (minus *some* nasty vapors) is being put back into the engine, *unless* you happen to be running a dry-sump system under vacuum, in which case you can separate out most (but still not all) of the volatile gunk from the oil. On an airplane, this is a good thing, since maintenance and oil changes are performed very often anyway, and the key point is that you really *don't* want end up low on oil while flying long distances, and most modern airplane engines use a dry-sump design anyway.

However, on a car with a wet-sump, ambient pressure system, this means that while some of the vapors are separated and burnt off, you are reintroducing contaminated oil back into the oil system, which is not such a great thing from the standpoint of oil longevity, and it's why blowby is normally vented to the intake to be burned in the engine (or for non-emissions controlled vehicles, out to the air, or into the exhaust) in the first place. It does keep your intake clean and pretty though, if that's all you're after.

You're better off with an "annoying" catch can. If you're really after an over-complicated setup, you should be looking into fabricating a real low-vacuum dry-sump scavenging system with a large detached oil reservoir (9-10 liters), which will not become contaminated as quickly, and will always have a good oil supply. If you want to go a step further, you can try a regulated pressure system with a significant vacuum in the crankcase.

 

[JSchleim18]

Great to get that kind of response thank you!

I will just keep reading and decide what's best for me.

 

[boostin4door]

Thats a good looking Catch can, but I really can't justify paying that much for that.
I run the Boomba CC [it's not really cheap either] & it works great and has the clear window which is a nice feature.
click

 

[JSchleim18]

I currently run the Saiko Michi dual can setup which is pretty good but my dipstick was still popping out. I think I am crediting this more to a dying motor or the size of my hoses being too small

 

[SleepinGVR4]

I run a Saiko Michi dual can setup also. Works great.