Provent catch can review after 70,000km
Roughly 4 years ago, I received a university study showing how badly the HPD catch can we were running was at catching oil, and a new kit came out that allowed us to swap to a Provent on our Isuzu Dmax.
I made that swap, and we’ve been running a Provent 200 by Mann and Hummel for about 4 years, and roughly 70,000km, so its time to do a formal review.
We paid full price for our Provent 200
Like all reviews, I start off by explaining how we received the product. I’m tired of people raving about things that they got given for free, or were paid to ‘review’, and refuse to be a part of that.
I paid full retail price for the Provent 200 catch can and dual filter mount from Western Filters, and received no compensation in any form then, or since then for doing so.
Why the Provent 200?
Put simply, these were the best in the game according to the Curtin Uni study, and the more I researched, the more I had faith in Mann and Hummel.
They’re a massive filtration business with a huge number of staff, a ridiculous amount of turn over and they know their stuff.
Since then, the Ryco catch can has come out, which has great reviews and I have no doubt is good (and saw lots of paid promotions regarding it), but have yet to see any independent testing.
Provent catch can review
As mentioned above, I’ve been running a Provent 200 for about 4 years now, and I’ve replaced the filter once, with the next time coming up very shortly.
I’ve been replacing them at 30,000km intervals with genuine filters, to ensure that we have no crankcase pressurization issues, and that it does a good job of filtering.
To date, we’ve collected about 1.5L of oil, with more in the filters that doesn’t get counted. I also had a bit of a leak from the drain, which would have been a bit more lost, but we’ll overlook that.
So, what can I say? It works, and really well. We’ve had no issues, it collects a heap of oil and there are no negative side affects from running it so far.
What’s gone wrong with our Provent 200?
Honestly, we’ve had no real issues with our Provent 200. I did install a brass cap on the end of the drain line early on as I’d heard of sand and grit going up when off road, which eventually scores the ball in the valve and makes it leak, and I was quietly confident I’d ironed that issue out.
I did however, find the ball valve got knocked a couple of times off road and opened up enough to let the oil out, and the brass cap without thread tape was not enough to stop the oil from leaking out.
One day I got back from dropping the Dmax off and found an oil stain in our garage, which was from this. I’ve since put another hose clamp in place to lock the ball valve shut along with some thread tape on the brass cap, and have had no further issues.
Other than this, its been flawless, and asides from having to drain it more often than I’d like, its working really well, and doing its job perfectly.
Speaking of which, how often do you need to empty your catch can?
Would we get another Provent Catch Can?
If we were going to fit a catch can on another vehicle, it would be a Provent 200, or a Ryco. I have no issues with the quality of the Provent, but would re-consider the need to install one if the time came around again.
This is two fold; it costs a fair chunk of money to purchase a Provent and then replace the filters regularly, and I have to wonder if you are better off just leaving it off and doing a manifold clean more often. I’m certainly not unhappy with the Provent Catch Can.
If you replace the filter every 30,000km, that means its costing you about $90 for a genuine filter each time. Call it $30 for every 10k, and after 200k you’ve spent $600 in filters.
Is that money better off going towards an intake clean, or the filters? I’m not really sure.
The second thing that I’d really like to see is some proper, researched data on the difference that a good catch can makes to the longevity of a motor.
I chuckle when I hear some mechanics rave about them, and suggest they are a good idea, and then hear from other mechanics who say they are a waste of time, and cause issues. Sometimes both are diesel mechanics too, and they both can’t be right. What’s the definitive answer? It can’t swing both ways.
I know the Provent Catch cans can cause a restriction if the filters aren’t replaced often enough, and this is a common problem that people face because they don’t maintain them properly.
I’ve met people who didn’t even know they had to replace the filters, and that’s a bit of a worry when it can cause such a problem down the line, but it makes it far more likely for people to have issues with them.
There seem to be a number of people who have crankcase pressurization problems with the Provent catch can, and in my opinion a lot of this comes down to the wrong size unit (like a Provent 100 in a 200 series V8), not draining the oil enough (like leaving it for 5000km before you drain it!), or a lack of changing the filters on time.
They now have an internal bypass so if the filter blocks up it will just run straight through (they used to go to atmosphere).
Why don’t we get an EGR delete?
In a perfect world, there’s not really much wrong with oil going through your intake. On a vehicle without an EGR, I would never bother with a catch can as the only thing they do is reduce the amount of oil going in, which marginally improves the efficiency of your intercooler. That is it.
When you have an EGR though, your soot and carbon mixes with the oil and forms a lovely vegemite like paste on your intake, and causes all sorts of issues with air flow down the line. So, why not do an EGR delete and completely (either electronically, or mechanically) and be done with it?
The truth is this is what is really common, and is done by thousands of people in Australia every year. There are two reasons I don’t do this. The first is that its illegal, and the fines for tampering with environmental controls on a vehicle are astronomical, and in my mind not worth the risk.
The second is that those environmental measures are put in place for a reason. It might be a load of rubbish, but the idea of looking after this planet is something I do where possible. For these two reasons, I refuse to do an EGR delete, which would eliminate the need to run a catch can all together.
Overall, I can’t really say anything bad about the Provent Catch Can, but know this; if anything changes we’ll be the first to write about it.
Do you run a catch can? Are you happy with it?
Hey mate,
Thanks for your thoughts. Interesting that you’ve found the Provent 200 filters for cheaper. I’ll look around more next time.
I do it at 30k, as the specifications are based around hours, and don’t factor in any particular operating conditions. Some resellers say 20k, and others say up to 40k. Given our Dmax works quite hard towing, I err on the side of caution.
People run Provent 100’s on the VDJ V8 Land Cruisers, which I reckon is a recipe for disaster in terms of restrictions, and collection of oil, so appreciate the thoughts on Ryco inlet/outlet sizes.
All the best mate
Aaron
I don’t know where you’re getting your filters from but that’s absurd pricing. I get my genuine ones as cheap as $70-82.31 sometimes or around that price (I’ve only used 2 in the past 5 years). Especially if you bulk buy them on sale. Have a quick google search and find genuine ones reasonably cheaper than $90. Especially with discount codes from time to time. But watch out for the knock off china cheapy ones which aren’t genuine German made. Also I don’t know why you’re doing them at 30k because they were made for 40k which is exactly when I’ve done mine at.
All you need to do is check on the filter membrane once every 2 to 3 months by unscrewing the black ProVent 200 lid off and popping it out to inspect it (I usually have the engine running doing this inspection to hear the sound of restriction if there is any when popping the filter off and back in listening to the vortex suction).
Actually blowing air with your mouth powerfully through the top of the middle opening of the filter cartridge and see if air passes through to the outer side using a finger for feeling it can also work to see if the air running through it. If it does and it’s black, it’s still being an effective filter. The more black oil on it, the better as long as air is passing through the membrane. People think the opposite for some reason. It means it’s doing its job of trapping blow-by oil on the follicles of the membrane medium and dripping down the filter to catch. People think because it looks dirty it needs replacing. It’s the opposite affect to what you would do with a K&N reusable air-box filter. I’ve heard of some guys dipping it in petrol which is a big no no as you could be ripping the 2 micron air follicles off the membrane without having a microscope to see it (the human eyes think it’s clean but can’t actually see the damage you just did with a non polar solvent before putting it back in the housing and it now becoming inefficient at capturing oil particles). Chuck them out guys and replace with new.
I’d recommend anybody buying one of these ProVent 200’s for their Dmax which I have been using for the past 5 years (they updated the top lid around the time I bought mine so mine is the newer version I think they called the old 200 version 150 or something before the pressure spring valve on the top lid of the housing got removed updated). Maintain the emptying of the catch can every 3 to 5 thousand K’s. Now this is also a recommendation. If you live in North QLD which we get absurd summer moisture in the air due to stormy weather. Bring those figures down a bit to be checking it regularly at 1500 intervals. Even though it’s a closed system you’ll still get pressured moist water particles pushed into the cans system and will mix slightly more with the oil blow-by. I notice the amount to empty goes up during humid months. Even winter months with condensation overnight will get caught too.
The other thing I might mention in your facts and figures is the fuel consumption due to leaner air being sucked into a clogged manifold intake (a diesel engine will need full open air). Your fuel consumption might slightly go up over time if you didn’t have one of these fitted for the efficiencies in the air intake system especially with regards of a clogged intercooler core with more blow-by oil stopping heat dissipation as it flows through to cool. So that extra costs in fuel consumption can also outweigh the costs of filter pricing if you’re regarding a $400 manifold clean out cheaper.
You’ll get more engine inefficiencies due to the blow-by oil clogging everything up along its path. Everyone thinks it’s just the intake top manifold that gets clogged up with the EGR soot mixing together but you’ll actually get blow-by going from one place to another along the walls of the intercooler hose and etc. Guys who have actually upgraded their intercooler top pipes on the Dmax for example will actually notice before fitting this catch can the amount of oil weeping from the silicon joints of the munji clamp fittings. This, this right here is blow-by oil sweating through these spots as it coats down the slippery inner hard intercooler pipes on top and drips down with gravity and pressure. It got rid of it soon as I fitted my ProVent 200 and had a full clean out with an upgraded new intercooler too replacing all the hoses. I’ve seen people wonder what this was in the Isuzu forums actually in the past. But this is blow-by oil congregating at the bottom end joints where the clamps go on the new hard pipes.
I wouldn’t trust Ryco’s offering in regards of their universal catch can. They advertise as it being engineered in Australia but don’t tell you they’re made in China with the filters. Quality standards between German and Chinese made is way different taking things into consideration. Mann+Hummel are engineered and made in Germany. I looked at the Ryco one the other year back when they started offering them universally. And noticed they don’t even include the inlet and outlet pipes to your engine size such as an Isuzu. Especially since the 4JJ1 needs to breathe properly regarding crankcase pressures. I am just hoping guys are selecting the most biggest diameter hoses to fit their PCV pipes to the catch can and return with their Ryco kits. Ryco have 1inch” to 3 different reducers so I am hoping guys are selecting the correct biggest sized reducer due to suffocation restrictions and blowing seals if it’s smaller sized piping they’re using aftermarket.
One last thing, the pressure valves are there for precaution to prevent pressure build up in the PCV system, but you need to have the can emptied below the certain line at the bottom of the housing for the valve to emergency actuate properly on the ProVent 200. Which makes emptying the top priority no matter what, before even regarding the replacement of a clogged filter.
“In a perfect world, there’s not really much wrong with oil going through your intake. On a vehicle without an EGR”
I wouldn’t want any oil going through my air intake system. It wasn’t made for it they just get away with it, especially the intercooler core and turbo fins as air is sucked and pressure pumped through. These engineers do it for costs because they can at the assembly line keeping failure rate from oil blow-by insignificant and warranty issues get iffy if you’re allowing the customer to look after a delicate process like a PCV separator to empty it. Most people don’t even get their cars serviced at the set intervals. Also especially when some people owning even these ProVent kits don’t even realize you have to replace the filter at intervals. Just introduces negligence on a larger scale if car manufactures implemented these on a consumer built scale. Isuzu actually make PCV separators for their trucking division because they know businesses buying these have them more likely to be emptied during services (under work place laws they have to be serviced).
Just as I am typing this, I’m actually emptying mine now and she’s trickling out oil. All this crap is being caught properly. The owning of one of these outweighs the costs of all the components being clean and efficient even with a EGR. I do highway driving and know how to keep a diesel clean. Using Fuel Doctor for cleaning is another story for another day. Try it out if you haven’t mate.
Hey Ted,
Yep, they’re a good thing!
I stopped collecting mine in bottles as we are travelling but would be up to 3 or 4 litres collected so far!
All the best
Aaron
Great Honest review Aaron ..
yes , I have a provent 200 on a v6 Amarok .. During a paid inspection, my intake came out clean as a whistle after 90,000 km .
Maybe sucked out half to a litre of oil since 10 ,000km ..
cheers
Ted