OT new fuel filter

[Dave C]

Ran across this today and wondering if anyone here has had any experience with one of these filters. I think I could use one, but not sure if it will really work. Any help will be appreciated.
FOR NAPA 4003 WIX 24003 Fuel Filter Aluminum Solvent Trap 6 inch/10 in - SageHolm

[tom_d]

Interesting. There are a few 10 inch versions offered on that web page that look like some sort of adaptation of a Tesla Valve, which is a one way check valve with no moving parts. Otherwise it appears to be a one way device to get you to part with your money, and not get it back.

[Ed ke6bnl]

People are getting them strickly for reducing the noise out of the barrel of your air rifle.

[A.K. Boomer]

People are getting them strickly for reducing the noise out of the barrel of your air rifle.

Yes - that's what they resemble --- might be more than just air guns too which would make them illegal --- but i guess not if your selling them as a fuel filter....

[danlb]

Yeah, it's a silencer kit that is being sold under the guise of being a tool. It's perfectly legal in many states, but always requires a ATF stamp. In other words, it's a jail sentence or fine to have one without registering it. It's a crime to offer one for sale in some states, like Calif.

Dan

[Willy]

It is definitely used as a suppressor for cartridge firing firearms. I see it has the distinction of being used for both small caliber and large caliber firearms.
The 1/2" x 28 tpi thread is for use on small caliber rifles with smaller diameter barrels while the 5/8" x 24 tpi thread size is the standard for larger calibers and barrel diameters.

I have to wonder about the design and safety built into these pieces of crap. I can see buddy either firing something like a .340 Weatherby or multiple rounds in quick succession from a smaller caliber rifle and a bystander ends up wearing parts of this kind of junk. Lots of quality materials and engineering are built into a quality suppressor so this does not happen.

Not much filtering ability in this puppy.

[epicfail48]

Well, its a fantastic way to end up in a federal, pound-me-in-the-*** prison for half a decade

Seriously, crap like this is why nobody takes the firearms enthusiast crowd seriously

[Dave C]

My first thought when I saw the ad was How is this thing being sold legally? My second thought was some fool will send his money, and a week later he is looking for the product, and the next week the company has vanished with his $.

[Doc Nickel]

My first thought when I saw the ad was How is this thing being sold legally?

-Technically because it's not "finished". In that particular ad, note the baffles have no holes. It's kind of like an "80% receiver"- it's just metal pieces 'til somebody finishes it.

And, they're 100% legal to finish, if you file the proper ATF paperwork. Silencers/suppressors are legal to own and even manufacture (in most places) as long as you follow the procedures and file the proper paperwork. (And stamp the proper numbers on the finished part, etc.)

If you don't file said paperwork, and finish it- and/or, god help you, actually use it- you're in for a world of hurt.

My second thought was some fool will send his money, and a week later he is looking for the product, and the next week the company has vanished with his $.

-Possible, if the seller gets raided before your order goes out, but tens of thousands of these things have been sold- and received. There's a ton of YouTube videos of people testing and comparing them (presumably legally finished.)

Now, all that said, if you (the general 'you') were to order one, and NOT almost immediately send in the paperwork, or at least have the paperwork handy, even unfinished you're courting disaster. The ATF can and has prosecuted people for "intent"- that is, you might not have actually finished that silencer, but they can argue to intended to. No, I'm not kidding.

And us as a group? It'd be way too easy to "prove" that you "intended" to finish it. You own a drill press, don't you? (Or a lathe, or a milling machine, or a hand drill, cordless drill, or whatever.) You deliberately ordered said kit, and had the means to complete it. You would not have ordered it if you didn't mean to finish it, therefore you intended to finish it.

Silly? Sure, and you can fight it in court, but it'll cost you $200,000+ and you might not win. And in the meantime the ATF has confiscated the parts, your machines, all your tooling, all your computers, and shot your dog for good measure.

There's no goddam way I'd order one of those. If I wanted a legal suppressor, I'd buy one from a reliable, name-brand company, and make for damn sure all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed.

Doc.

[Willy]

-Technically because it's not "finished". In that particular ad, note the baffles have no holes. It's kind of like an "80% receiver"- it's just metal pieces 'til somebody finishes it.

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Doc.

Doc I have to agree fully with everything you say. However I think the reason these things are being sold legally is due to the fact that they are being sold as a fuel filter. We all know what it is and if you got caught with one without the required paperwork we know that a charge would result.

The link left by Dave leads to a page of various models of "fuel filters", some even show filters that actually have a filtering element. But all models are available with the standard suppressor threads of 1/2 x 28 or 5/8 x 24. Not the customary ends one would normally find on a fuel filter.
And yes some models are finished, take a look at the post I left above showing one of their models, that looks finished to me.

So it appears that technically, if it looks like a duck and acts like a duck, but we call it a cat we can sell it as a cat. Well at least until someone gets caught using it like a duck.

I also see that this morning the link leads to an entirely different page than yesterday, still selling the same stuff but with more graphics and product descriptions.
I have to laugh at a description of how the "filter" works. LOL

Working Principle: The baffles make fuel turbulent, making particulates flow to the outside using centrifugal force (like the air/particle separators in turbine engines) and the threading at the end restabilizes the decontaminated fuel so it flows quickly again and can be metered.

[A.K. Boomer]

"Working Principle: The baffles make fuel turbulent, making particulates flow to the outside using centrifugal force (like the air/particle separators in turbine engines) and the threading at the end restabilizes the decontaminated fuel so it flows quickly again and can be metered."

Plus don't forget that with a write up like that --- if they were actually trying to sell it as a fuel filter they would have also stated; "Adds 50 horsepower to any engine"....

If your going to try and sell one bag of $hit you might as well go for two...

[Dave C]

Interesting. There are a few 10 inch versions offered on that web page that look like some sort of adaptation of a Tesla Valve, which is a one way check valve with no moving parts. Otherwise it appears to be a one way device to get you to part with your money, and not get it back.

Exactly what I thought when I stumbled across the ad. I have no actual need, or desire to own a suppressor, and even if I did, the cost and hassle to legally own one would keep me from it. Call me ignorant, but I had no idea that you could buy something like this. Just the idea that it is disguised as a fuel filter made me laugh. I would be wary of buying anything presented in such a way.

[Doc Nickel]

Doc I have to agree fully with everything you say. However I think the reason these things are being sold legally is due to the fact that they are being sold as a fuel filter. We all know what it is and if you got caught with one without the required paperwork we know that a charge would result.

-Doesn't work that way. If it did, I could sell a machine gun by calling it an overly complex hood prop rod.

The ATF is well aware of these things- there have been multiple raids and arrests already. The only reason they aren't sweeping up every buyer is the sellers are usually fly-by-night Chinese resellers. If they were legit US sellers, the ATF would have- and has- swooped in, confiscated all the sales records, and gone after the buyers.

But the complicating parts of that are the shady Chinese sellers (the in-country office is usually just a distribution warehouse, with all the administration done in China) the fact that some of the kits are "unfinished" and the ATF would basically have to take each one to court and prove 'intent', and the fact that a portion of the sales are, in fact, theoretically legit buyers that have or will, in fact, applied for the paperwork. (The $200 tax stamp applies whether or not you're buying a $500 professional suppressor or a $35 "oil filter".)

Personally, I very strongly suspect this is a deliberate tactic- arguably a sort of low-level act of war.

The Chinese know how the subject of firearms divides our country. (EG, current news.) They flood the market with a basically illegal, heavily restricted trinket, sold in an obviously deceptive manner. Some legit buyers will follow the rules, most won't.

Any number of them will wind up in the wrong hands, and sooner or later, one will be used in a fairly high-profile crime, such as another Trayvon Martin type event.

That will trigger (if you'll pardon the pun) a huge political backlash, that will further divide the country (examples given- The aforementioned Martin shooting, the incident that led to the BLM riots, etc.) and the more divided a country, the weaker it is. (EG, again, recent elections, current news, ad nauseum.)

Yeah, I'm fully aware that all sounds kind of conspiracy-theorist ranting. And I'll grant that yeah, it kind of is, as I have zero proof of any of it.

But it does strike me as odd that such a specific item, is being sold in such a specific deceptive manner. There can't be that huge a market for the things (that is, compared to legit products) and they're having to spend a great deal of time and energy dancing with the Feds. That makes me think there's a reason for them, beyond simple profit.

Doc.

[sarge41]

If the ATF is so strict about silencers, what about air rifles that come with a "noise suppression" attachment that looks looks a silencer.

Sarge41

[Willy]

Probably because in the US an air rifle is not considered a firearm?
In Canada an air powered rifle with a muzzle velocity over 495 fps is. Not sure what the particulars are in the US concerning high powered air powered arms is. There are some very powerful air powered arms nowadays.
Doc should know.

I do have to agree with his analogy though pertaining to the suppressors.