$10 Harbor Freight Catch Can
 

Picked this up at harbor freight for $8, got two 1/4" end fittings from auto store, gutted the inside of the "filter", reversed the spring to the outside of the "filter", and BAM...catch can.

This is after the first drive. (hour long drive) Yes, the zip ties are going away today.
http://i.imgur.com/9O0go99.jpg

p/n #68225
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_13987.jpg

It aint pretty, but it sure is clever.

Just put a little tint on it and it's good to go.

Tint, nothing! I think it's cool seeing through it.

Nice. You have a pic of the spring reversal?

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Zip ties don't have to go. They do the job perfectly fine

I ran one of these on a budget build I did a while back except I used a steel pot scrubber to catch the oil.... same thing thats stuffed into valve cover vents on smallblocks to vent pressure but trap oil

i've used those before. all the function, none of the bling. just the way i like it :)

I don't, but Its very simple though. It comes with the valve in the bottom always open which is bad. So disassemble the bottom, and take the spring out. then put it back together and put the spring between the bottom ring nut and the clip. Provides enough pressure to seal the inside.

genius! Needs some duct tape to complete it

Ahh I gotcha ya. Wonder if I can find a petcock that would thread into that bottom hole for draining.

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This is full of Win! Thanks.

You just push on the bottom and the valve opens, so you wouldn't need one, unless you had something else in mind.

Yeah wanted to add a small hose to make it cleaner to drain.

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Good job. I also recommend adding some copper or stainless steel wool in there to give the oil vapor some surface area to condense on to.

I'm interested to see how you mounted it. The first image doesn't seem to be working.

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Its really not mounted to anything. The hose is stiff enough that the can just kinda leans on the support bar

What exactly is that thing marketed as? There's no Harbor freight in Canada, The next best thing is Princess Auto, but I'd need to know what I'm asking for if I go looking for it.

The four screw holes at the top of would be perfect for mounting two cushioned clamps.

Looks like a air\oil separator from compressor section

why did you remove the filter?

Great job for a cheap alternative oil catch can I'll definitely look into it and do it soon
Also I think its great for it to be clear so you'll know when you need to drain.
Thanks for posting

It's a mini air line filter used in conjunction with air tools. It removes moisture and particulates from the air being pumped.

The filter media probably restricts quite a bit. Not sure that would be good for an air/oil separater or catch can use case. Would probably get clogged up with oil pretty easily as well. Typically you would want some loose material with a lot of surface area for the vapor to condense on to, and something that wont deteriorate or rust, since you don't want any of that crap going back into your engine.

ML, from a safety perspective, it would be worth investigating if you could safety wire the bottom fitting of the catch can to the top mount. This would keep it from twisting off the boss fitting. I would also run the safety wire through some clear tubing from top to bottom so the wire doesn't cut through the plastic oil trap.

I'm having a hard time picturing, or understanding what you mean.

I hold a aircraft repairmen's certificate and I've done a little bit of motorcycle racing, so I'm a little obsessive about these things.

So the bottom part (plastic) of that air/oil separator just twists off. There is a possibility that the bottom could inadvertently twist off due to vibration. I would secure the plastic bottom to the metal top. Since there isn't a hole in the plastic body to insert twisted safety wire, you will need to attach something to the bottom drain fitting where you can pass safety wire. To keep the safety wire from damaging the plastic housing, I would encase the wire (that now runs from the top to the bottom) in plastic clear plastic tubing. I suggest clear so you can always inspect the condition of the safety wire.

Possibly use their larger unit

Item
68230

http://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-c...ter-68230.html


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Ok, I understand. I wasn't concerned about the collection container coming off mainly because there is a o-ring between it and the metal body, so it stays tight. But that is a good point if you think its something to be concerned with.

you can get these at home depot or i believe walmart, as well.

Yeah they are standard air water seperators. I went through a few in my old shop. They all seem to be the same manufacturer just different paint or packaging. Hb by far was the cheapest.

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For anyone not in the US:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Air-Filt...-/221261787281

Hard to be 2 dollar shipping from china.

I dont think you want that one since it is a lubricator too. You dont want to add oil to the air flow thats for air tools.

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This is pretty trick. It looks clean enough and functional to me. What would the advantage be to buying a real catch can? Aesthetics and capacity?

I've seen these used before, might be OK if you are NA, but don't use it for FI. The clear plastic will cracking over time. At least that's what my past research has brought up before I went with a real catch can.

There are chinese catch cans on ebay for around 20 bucks. It really is just a can with some baffles in it.

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that's not true at all, at least in my experience. i've ran these for years on turbo cars ranging from 8psi up to 23+psi. never any issues. only PITA is that you have to empty them more often than a 'real' (if paying more for something that serves the exact same purpose equally well makes it more 'real' i guess) catch can.

i did this with the other style they have at harbor frieght, right off the pcv

These are made for use on compressors, their max rating is normally somewhere around 120 psi.

It's an air oil separator. Princess auto normally carries them, so does Canadian Tire.

Doesn't look much different than this, only 1/4 the price.

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/52205/10002/-1