[Tim]

Donaldson # P522874

I don’t know about blue?

[Archived]

For what its worth, the filter from Prevost is like $110 and I think its a Fleetguard (#70337N)

I have found the Donaldson filter for $58 (part#P522874) or the Baldwin for $73 (part#PA2839)

Save a little money if you like.

[Andy]

Thanks Don , And Patrick.

My wife used to say , It costs more so it should be better. And sometimes that is the case. You get what You pay for kinda thing. But is their air filter 2x the quality of a Donaldson ? I dont know. I have read a lot of great reviews on the Donaldson. I want the best filter available for the ole girl, And do not mind to pay more for quality.

[Hisham]

I have bought from Prevost and Amazon and they are the exact same thing. That motor has been put in a zillion trucks so everyone makes filters for it. As cheap as it is I replace mine quite frequently.

[Jim]

Patrick,

That is a good practice, Preventitive maintenance is always a good thing. I think the Donaldson Blue is a little more advanced than the regular filters. Newer nano Tech. The only price I have seen so far is 146.00 , That is for a part # that I have no idea what it is for. They might not even make one for a prevost at this point ? Guess I will have to call and talk to a representative. Below was copy and pasted from their site. OTR Truckers that have switched to them claim to have an increase in MPG. Amsoil has them on their site FWIW.

*******************************************************************************************************************************

Donaldson Blue™ air filters deliver cost-saving benefits:

* Longer Engine Life

* Longer Filter Life

* Ideal for Extended Maintenance Intervals

* Double Mileage Guarantee

Donaldson Blue™ Air Filters with exclusive nanofiber technology offer longer engine life, longer filter life, initial efficiency up to 99.99 percent and five times more capacity.

The nanofiber technology causes submicron contaminants to be held on the surface layer of smaller fibers. This filtration characteristic is only possible with this new type of air filtration technology. In on-highway applications, where the contaminant is primarily submicron in size, Donaldson Blue filters cause less restriction than conventional filters with cellulose media. The smaller interfiber spaces of nanofiber technology have a higher efficiency and capture more contaminant.

The following illustration may help visualize these phenomena: Imagine two filters, a chain link fence and a mosquito net, with a tennis ball being a dirt particle. As you may have observed, a tennis ball will fit quite nicely into an opening of a chain link fence, but will obstruct the hole almost 100%. Now imaging the same tennis ball covering a mosquito net. The tennis ball, at the point of contact with the netting, will obstruct much less filter area than the chain link fence example. In fact, air will flow around the tennis ball all the way to the point of contact. It will take many more particles to obstruct the netting surface area than the chain link fence.

Donaldson Blue™ air filters are guaranteed to deliver twice the miles between change intervals over cellulose air filters for on-highway applications or customers receive a new filter at no charge.

Capacity Graph

Efficiency Graph

Donaldson Blue™ Air Filters

With Nanofiber vs. Conventional Cellulose

Nanofibers have submicron diameters and small interfiber spaces, which result in more contaminant being captured on the surface of the media and lower restriction.

Red circles represent the diameter of a 2 micron and a 5 micron particle.

Cellulose fibers are larger than nanofibers, and have larger spaces between the fibers, causing contaminant to be held in the depth of the media and plug the airflow path; resulting in higher restriction and less capacity.

[Archived]

I feel as if I am abusing my coach.

I used to change air filters at a predetermined mileage. That made me feel good. On every coach I had I made sure I had a restriction monitor installed just to be sure I wasn’t waiting to long to treat my coach to a clean filter.

That little device is cheap and availble from many places and as the yellow spring loaded disc approaches the red line you know the air filter needs to be replaced. I am not over 50,000 miles on my current filter and the yellow disc still hasn’t moved so the filter is still unchanged since I replaced it about 4 years ago. And when I do replace it I will get whatever NAPA has at their fleet discount rate.

When my driving habits change and I start putting on 100,000 miles annually I may look into filter technology but I cannot see myself putting enough miles on my coach ever to damage the engine. BTW a dirty filter actually does a better job of catching particles than a clean new one. I just don’t have any way to evaluate filters by comparing upstream and downstream particles in the micron range.

[Larry & Diane]

Cheap using your PC Napa card.

[Archived]

I like that restriction monitor. I finally found a part # for the newer blue type filter. Donaldson filter # that was posted is P522874. Found that on the Donaldson site , And below that is a Donaldson Blue Upgrade with the part # of DBA 5065 . Back to the Amsoil site with that part # and the price is $194.19 ……..WOW !

Do I put a lot of miles on My coach , No. But I hope to in the future. And I will probably keep this coach until the day I die. Will this new technology deliver the less restriction it promises letting the engine breath better. And getting a bump in MPG ? Two hundred bucks is like nickels in the scope of the Detroit diesel / Prevost. Even one half of a MPG increase it would not take long to pay for itself.

Bsafe,

Rocky

[BILL]

You will see zero change in fuel economy. NADA, none, zippo.

DDEC III provides fuel proportional to the boost or air flow so if the air filter is clogged the result will lower fuel flow and less power. But I do like it when folks like to spend a lot of money because it helps the economy.

[Archived]

Jon,

You use the example of a clogged filter. The other end of the spectrum would be for the engine to breath better. On other vehicles and motorcycles, Changing to a high flow AF like a K&N have proved to increase HP and mileage. With Dino tests to back that up. I bet You even flipped the breather cover upside down on an old V-8 back in the day to increase air flow. I admit I do not know the DDEC III that well. But the Detroit takes 2 things to run. Fuel and air. And I am gonna try out the blue and give her all the air She wants. And possibly have the DDEC reprogrammed. I do like to do My part in keeping the economy going.

I drive the short Bus

[Archived]

The amount of fuel the DDEC provides is proportional to the available air so if you have more air available fuel flow increases providing some power, and conversely as the filter restricts air flow (and boost) you get less fuel flow and power.

This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.

[Archived]

A quick way to ruin a diesel engine is ingesting dust. The humble air filter is your only defense. I’m a bit paranoid about dust in my engine and always check the filter and the inlet piping to the turbo at least once a year. Any leaks there will get you a new engine in a hurry.

I have seen pictures of split filter pleats and water damaged filter media resulting in high oil consumption/worn out engines with overhaul bills of $30+k. Filter problems are not common but they take a big bite out of your wallet when they occur.

In case you ran out of things to worry about 🙂

Gerald

[DON]

Hey Gerald,

There is plenty to worry about on a Prevost if You get to reading enough here. My lists keep getting longer and longer. And of course I would never want to do anything to harm the ole Girl. Is all the new nano technology a farse ? The donaldson blue says it filters out much smaller particles and alllows more flow. With lab results to back it up. Can they see down to a nano level ? Sure they can. If the results are legit ? I do know they use donaldsons in some of the worst dust environments in the world. like coal mines and earth moving jobs. You are right , dust is the enemy. I will do more research before I ever put one in. The cost does not bother Me if it is quality. Lets face it , with a 2500.00 water pump and a 1500.00 water heater and 7K in tires and on and on. 200.00 is change. I am not afraid of new technology. In fact , I embrace it when it has merit.

Bsafe,

Rocky

[Archived]

I can find no complaints on Donaldson on the Better Business Bureau , And have searched for negative feedback and cannot find any. They have passed all the same tests that any other filter has to, And meet Prevost requirements.

I did however find another brand of cellulose filter that caused a catastrophic failure on a 8V 71. I will share that in another thread.

Bsafe,

Rocky

*******************************************************************************************************************************

The coal industry is notoriously hard on vehicles and equipment. In West Virginia, where all four seasons are harsh and unforgiving, maintenance crews on coal jobsites face a variety of dirt, dust and grime that few environments can match. To keep their equipment up and running, these maintenance crews need every advantage they can get.

So when a longtime Donaldson coal mining customer in Charleston, West Virginia, claimed to have one of the longest-running engines in the industry – 51,000 hours of work without a rebuild or major repairs, the equivalent of almost six years of continuous work – we were amazed and proud to learn from the company’s maintenance manager that they attributed that longevity in large part to exclusively running their equipment with Donaldson filters. (This customer asked us not to use their name so as not to divulge any trade secrets – but they did want us to tell their story).

“What a great testimonial for our filtration products,” said Ted Angelo, Global Product Director, Engine Aftermarket at Donaldson Company. “Whether for oil, air intake, hydraulics or fuel, we are committed to providing the highest quality filters to meet our customer needs – even in extreme operating environments.”

According to the maintenance director at this mine site, a 4000 Series Detroit Diesel engine has seen nearly nine consecutive years of use in one Haul Truck with virtually no downtime other than scheduled maintenance. This has been a major advantage to their operation, where efficiency and reliability play such a vital role.

“We know the coal industry is highly competitive right now,” said Angelo. “If you’re operation is not efficient and cost conscious, you fall behind quickly. Our mining customers are finding that Donaldson filters provide the highest filtration efficiency and lowest maintenance costs – which is a real advantage in an industry where margins are under constant pressure.”

Donaldson Blue™: The Star of this Story.

While this coal producing customer uses a full range of Donaldson filters, the stars of this story are the Donaldson Blue™ extended-service air filters. These filters, which include Donaldson’s exclusive Ultra-Web® nanofiber media, are designed specifically for extended filter maintenance programs and deliver better engine protection, minimized equipment downtime and reduced long-term operating costs for fleets. If this off-road equipment success story is any indication, Donaldson Blue filters do exactly what is intended, and then some.

“In the ever-changing West Virginian environment, effective air filtration is a must,” says Joseph Serrenho, Donaldson Senior Territory Manager. “In dry conditions, the dirt and coal dust are ever-present. But even in wet or snowy conditions, the combined exhaust from the jobsite equipment blows down on the hard-packed roads and creates a dust mixture that can be deadly for engines.” This abrasive mixture can destroy an engine in a matter of hours if the air filter fails. According to this Donaldson customer, not one engine has been dusted in the 20 years the company has used Donaldson filters.

The typical 4000 Series engine provides 25,000 to 30,000 hours of service in the coal industry. Many off-road engine owners find it easier to completely replace an aging engine than to overhaul or make regular repairs, so when an engine reaches that 30,000-hour mark, the maintenance team automatically orders a replacement. For this particular customer, the replacement for the company’ “star” engine has been sitting in storage for more than four years. “They’ve been waiting for the engine to fail,” says Angelo, “But it just keeps going!”

In fact, it is believed that the 51,000-hour outlier is one of the longest-running engines in the industry. In addition to the use of high-quality Donaldson filtration products, a fully integrated maintenance program is also credited for the long life of the record breaker. But it’s not just a single engine that Donaldson and this mine’s maintenance team hang their hats on. The operation boasts four 4000 Series engines that have clocked well over 40,000 hours of use and a number of others that have already far exceeded 30,000 hours of service. Overall, the team maintains 90 percent availability in the fleet, an important benchmark in an industry where margins are tighter than ever before.

Because those margins are razor-thin, this mine’s maintenance team finds that Donaldson Blue air filters also save when it comes to replacements. With standard cellulose air filters, a typical maintenance team would expect to swap out filters three to four times per year per vehicle. The efficient Donaldson Blue filters used on this customer’s haul trucks have lasted up to a full year, cutting maintenance downtime and filtration costs by up to 75 percent.

“When our customer realized the value in using Donaldson Blue air filters in engines like the 4000 Series, they didn’t hesitate to make minor modification to a pair of excavators so they, too, could accept the latest Donaldson Blue filters,” said Serrenho.

“This major coal mining operation moves 3 million tons of coal with more than 80 pieces of major equipment every year”, says Angelo. “We’re happy to play a part in the success of such a hard working company. When we see this type of success and we recognize that we’ve helped a customer to achieve such great heights – it’s what motivates us to help each customer achieve more.”

About Donaldson Company

Donaldson is a leading worldwide provider of filtration systems that improve people’s lives, enhance our Customers’ equipment performance, and protect our environment. We are a technology-driven Company committed to satisfying our Customers’ needs for filtration solutions through innovative research and development, application expertise, and global presence. Our over 12,200 employees contribute to the Company’s success by supporting our Customers at our more than 140 sales, manufacturing, and distribution locations around the world.

[Ron]

The “blue nano” technology is great marketing; it may be decent engineering too. I personally think you are better off changing your regular filter once a year ($60), but going with the blue version ($200) won’t hurt anything but your wallet.

I find the claim of cost savings for extended service intervals on air filters strange. I do have some experience operating diesel engines in very dusty environments. When disking/tilling the fields our tractor operates in a literal cloud of dust depending on wind direction. I have an upgraded dual air filter setup with outer and inner filters. Operating in this dusty enviroment requires daily filter maintenance. Primarily vacuuming the outer filter and ensuring the inner filter remains clean (i.e. no perforations). Despite daily vacuuming, the filter needs to be replaced no later than 100 hours.

I wish my lungs were as easily serviced as the air filters

Gerald