Ash proof a vehicle

[alan m]

Dyson delivers
Alan

[nayr]

Originally Posted by Preacherboy

Centri and 1 other brand are made out of metal, the others are plastic.

thanks for the tip; ive been looking for something to top a DIY intake im fitting in my jeep.. Scored a used Centri 30 today for $55 and it should work great.

im gonna fit it where this pvc rain-cap is (someone elses ride):


-R

[Fenrell]

So how feasible would it be to have tanks of oxygen or compressed air feed the engine directly rather than rely on filtered outside air I wonder?

[jeeperNY]

Just an observation........how much cubic feet of air does a vehicle engine need ? Assuming the vehicle is an SUV with a large engine and driving slowly (so no forced air) given lack of forward vision in an ash cloud, and revving under strain climbing over obstacles I would think a number of the filters suggested so far would not be able to filter a sufficient amount of clean air to provide enough oxygen to the engine. Worth looking into the oxygen draw of an engine.

[nayr]

Originally Posted by jeeperNY

Just an observation........how much cubic feet of air does a vehicle engine need ?

4 Stroke:
Displacement (Cubic Inches) / 2 x Maximum RPM / 1,728 = Calculated CFM
Calculated CFM x Volumetric Efficiency = Actual CFM
Volumetric Efficiency ~ 70-80% for a Naturally Aspirated Gasoline Engine

[Jungleboy]

Put the Intake inside the Passenger Compartment like they do at Baja 500. Make the Cab the Filter. Then add whatever else you might need according to how "NBC Filter Snobbish" you like.

[oldcamper]

When Mount St. Helens went off years ago we used womens nylons to cover the air intake. It worked great, it was used as a pre-cleaner. The nylons would colect the particals and usually shut the engine down because of air loss before the filter got cloged.

Then have plenty of them or plenty of pieces of them with bungie cord to attach to the intake. When the engine dies you just pull it off and slap on a new one. We had 3 feet of ash on the ground in the front yard in eastern washington back then.

[txflyboy]

You might look into tractor air filter setups. Below is just one example. Most tractors have a dual stage filter with a dirt exit funnel. And they have vanes to make it kind of cyclonic.

[Preacherboy]

Originally Posted by nayr

thanks for the tip; ive been looking for something to top a DIY intake im fitting in my jeep.. Scored a used Centri 30 today for $55 and it should work great.

im gonna fit it where this pvc rain-cap is (someone elses ride):


-R

Thanks for actually reading through the posts, it seems most just go right over them and post stuff that isn't feasible. These types of pre-cleaners are designed for this stuff. I had to get a plastic one, ordered the Wix part number and they sent me a Donaldson, same things, so no big deal. Wanted the centri steel one, but new they cost me for a 4" intake probably $300.

If your jeep is similar to that you could put another pipe and rise it up higher and get a deeper fording depth.

[xPwn]

I think a diesel uses less air to burn, so maybe the filter would get less clogged if you used one?

[Technologist]

Originally Posted by xPwn

I think a diesel uses less air to burn, so maybe the filter would get less clogged if you used one?

Diesels use much larger intake, exhausts and air filters per HP compared to gas. The air fuel ratios can run 17:1 to 29:1, while when idling or not under load this ratio can exceed 145:1. Lower restrictions increase efficiency so while the air filters might be much larger they also draw in more air per HP.

[Preacherboy]

When I put my hand over my wife's car's air intake (4cy engine) I can barely feel the "sucking" of the air, but the car nearly dies.

When I put my hand over my army truck's air intake (6cy 465 cu in) it feels like my hand is going to be sucked into the pipe, but the truck doesn't not miss a beat.

I guess I don't know what that means.

[Technologist]

Originally Posted by Preacherboy

When I put my hand over my wife's car's air intake (4cy engine) I can barely feel the "sucking" of the air, but the car nearly dies.

When I put my hand over my army truck's air intake (6cy 465 cu in) it feels like my hand is going to be sucked into the pipe, but the truck doesn't not miss a beat.

I guess I don't know what that means.

I'm only wildly guessing at the motors but the gas might have a sensitive mass air flow sensor and or EGR bleed off. An EGR is an Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve meant for emission contol. It takes unburned fuel from the exhaust and reintroduces it back into the engine via an EGR control valve possibly skipping your hand but killing the engine due to a lean result taping off the exhaust gasses. While the turbo diesel's? Turbo impeller is creating a strong vacuum. Also many diesels can use Jake brakes (an engine braking mechanism) While you can restrict the air at idle the vehicle will make little power with the restriction. Technically it's done at the exhaust for braking but you could be making an improvised intake jake break.

If true this leads to my next question. If you had a runaway diesel truck with failing brakes and two people inside. Could someone block the intake to slow and eventually stop the vehicle?

[arleigh]

At the rate of fall volcanic ash decends I can only think of one means of continiously keeping the filter breathing.
If a person were to arrange in their exhaust system a pair of gates that swapped intake and exhaust on prescreens on oposing sides of the vehicle, the exhaust would be blowing out the dirty side and the intake would be getting dirty, making the gate swap sides clears the alternate intake. flat screen material on the side would be the best, with port shields facing downward.
A vacuum diaphram and linkage would sense the clog and automaticly swap ports,as long as there is a issue.

[oldcamper]

The idea isn't to have 100 filters along with you but a method to clean your filter and keep the ash out of the system, but allowing you to restart and get back on the road.

[safariman]

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[txflyboy]

Are we forgetting the radiator? How are you going to keep the radiator from plugging up?

So you make a good air filter that works. It ain't gonna do much good if your radiator is a brick and your motor is 400 degrees.

I have an idea how to remedy this, but I don't want to be one of those folks who don't read and post things that are unfeasible.