Why are they so damn expensive? $100 for a welded aluminum can? thats kinda nuts..

There is more than Al involved in making it.

talon2gbuyer said:

Why are they so damn expensive? $100 for a welded aluminum can? thats kinda nuts..

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really? They are actually cheap compared to other functional catch cans out there. Look at Greddys catch can which is just a empty tank and they cost over $130, it has no filters or baffles just a metal can. I suggest you read all the pages that Calan has made then re-think your statement.

talon2gbuyer said:

$100 for a welded aluminum can?

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I wish that's all they were sometimes. It would take a hell of a lot less time and money to make them, and I wouldn't have to battle with delays on getting filter material and sight glasses.

talon2gbuyer said:

Why are they so damn expensive? $100 for a welded aluminum can? thats kinda nuts..

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don't worry about it brosiff... good thing you wont ever need to buy one of these.

Ok after two days of reading I am picking up one going to weld the vc from the top. And close off the PVC valve I am always under my engine.

Do these come with the AN fittings to and from Valve cover and intake as well as the SS braided lines or do you have to get those separate?

PrimerPLus said:

Do these come with the AN fittings to and from Valve cover and intake as well as the SS braided lines or do you have to get those separate?

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You select what type of connection on the can such as 1/2 npt or welded on AN adapters. As for fittings and hose I'm sure he could set you up but you would need to know what length hose, what angle fittings are needed for your particular set up exactly, and the location the can is going to be sitting in the engine compartment.

talon2gbuyer said:

Why are they so damn expensive? $100 for a welded aluminum can? thats kinda nuts..

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Its actually pretty cheap, the greddy and HKS cans are more expensive, and less functional.

talon2gbuyer said:

Why are they so damn expensive? $100 for a welded aluminum can? thats kinda nuts..

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Lol that's funny. Its far more than just a welded can. If you want a welded can get a $20 one off ebay with no site glass, no baffle, no filter, no AN fittings. Keep in mind aluminum isn't exactly cheap, it's not expensive either. The other elements add up rather quick. You can't expect to pay for someone to not do any R&D. I've been doing research and such on catch cans for a long time and let me tell you, Calans catch can is BY FAR the best catch can on the market for any platform.
Be thankful someone like Craig is part of the community and providing us with such awesome parts.

Gamble97 said:

I've been doing research and such on catch cans for a long time and let me tell you, Calans catch can is BY FAR the best catch can on the market for any platform.
Be thankful someone like Craig is part of the community and providing us with such awesome parts.

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Thanks for the kind words.

If I ever start a marketing department, you're hired.

Calan said:

Thanks for the kind words.

If I ever start a marketing department, you're hired.

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Haha no problem.
I sell catch cans for the cheap people, but if I had a car at the moment and needed a can I would no doubt buy one of your! Filter down to what 1 micron; that's insane!

I thought you guys might find this interesting, or at least amusing.

I started collecting more fluid in my VS3 can while running higher boost on E85 in the cooler temperatures, so I decided to let the can fill up a little more than normal, and watch how it performed under these harsher conditions.

BTW - Please don't stop reading there and attempt to do this yourself.

I made some tuning pulls during one very cold evening last week, and drove the car to and from work every day as usual. Long story short, I totally forgot about the can filling faster until this weekend. By the time I got around to popping the hood, the can had filled way past the point that it is designed for. In fact, fluid was well up into the filter chamber and greatly limiting the can's ability to flow air.

Here is a shot of the can's inlets when I first pulled the lines from the VC. There is always some buildup here, but in this case the crud was backing up through the coarse screens and almost into the inlets:



And here is what came out of the can when I drained it. As usual, this is a mix of water, gas, oil, and other nasty combustion by-products. I'm not sure how much it actually was, but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of a quart.



And finally, here is what came out of the can after I removed the filter and ran simple green and water through it. I filled the can about 1/2 way, sloshed it around, and dumped it into this tub a few times. Yuk!



The filter was completely saturated and nasty as hell of course, but I only had a total of about 1/4 teaspoon of oil in the turbo inlet that made it past the can. I wasn't logging CC pressure, but I know it was rising due to signs around the dipstick clamp that it was trying to push up a little.

The bad news is, I had to spend an hour or two cleaning up that mess. The good news is, the can managed to prevent all of that ^ from reaching the intake even when filled beyond capacity and pushed well beyond what it was designed for.

After cleaning everything up and bolting the can back on, my CC pressure is back to averaging just below 0psi as normal. I really should replace the filter since it wasn't designed to be soaked in (and clogged up with) that ^ crap, but I just cleaned it and continued running it for testing purposes.

Moral of the story - Check your catch can often, and don't let it fill past the sight glass...especially if you run E85 in cold climates.

Good advice I will have to remember that.

Hey Calan, I'm about to order one of your can. Last summer I was running a G-Reddy vented one, never filled more than half and my lines where looking just like yours after the season. I tough that since I have no vacuum it might be why the line where cloging but yours did the same and you have vacuum ...

Am I missing something ?

Mine looked the exact same as yours, except not as full. It did have the nasty goo inside of it though. I poured gas into it and let it soak a bit to clean out the filters. Seemed to work pretty well, and of course no fluid in the intake. One of my best purchases, it works exactly as it should.

DSM4LIFE-AWD said:

Hey Calan, I'm about to order one of your can. Last summer I was running a G-Reddy vented one, never filled more than half and my lines where looking just like yours after the season. I tough that since I have no vacuum it might be why the line where cloging but yours did the same and you have vacuum ...

Am I missing something ?

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You'll always have some buildup, especially with E85 + cold weather. As the air coming out of the VC cools, the water vapor condenses out and mixes with the oil and other vapors, and forms that nasty brown snot that sticks to anything it touches.

The further away from the hot VC you get, the less build up there usually is...since most of the water vapor has condensed out the further downstream you go. That is the main reason that you want decent sized lines (a couple of -8AN's at least) coming off the VC.

Dyesuperman said:

...it works exactly as it should.

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Good to hear Caleb. Thanks for the update!

Craig - I received the catch can last Thursday as promised. This thing is a work of art and I cant wait to complete my winter rebuild and finally address my crankcase pressure concerns. Although my pressure issues were very minor it still warranted a PROPER fix. I captured before and after data-logs of my crankcase pressure with every modification and found that venting CC to atmosphere was the absolute worst. Simply running a single 5/8 link to the pre-turbo plenum made a world of difference under load. I cant wait to have my baby up and running again for the sole purpose of logging CC pressure with the new setup.

If it means anything to anyone:

1: My decision to run Craig's V2 catch can (recirculated) was based on hard numbers (CC pressure logs under varying conditions).

2: Condensation and its resulting oil contamination due to one way air exchange is a risk im not willing to take.

3: Anything that I can do to lower my CC pressure which in turns assists with turbo oil return flow is a good thing.

4: I don't trust anyone from the "Dirty P"...


PS: Im such a firm believer in Craig's cans I sent him an extra $20 as a token of thanks for supporting the DSM community.

Glad you like it.

Please post your results and let me know if there are any issues.

great info, my can as been performing great just a question in case the filter does get soaked where can we find a replacement,

2gdanny said:

great info, my can as been performing great just a question in case the filter does get soaked where can we find a replacement,

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If the filter somehow gets damaged or clogged to the point that it can't be cleaned out, I can supply a replacement for a couple of $$. (For the newer VS series of cans with the removable filter modules.)

Send me an email if this is ever the case.

Calan said:

If the filter somehow gets damaged or clogged to the point that it can't be cleaned out, I can supply a replacement. (For the newer VS series of cans with the removable filter modules.)

Send me an email if this is ever the case.

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sounds good i keep a eye on it every time i open the hood i dont think ill ever have to replace it but thank you, great service as always

Here's mine! Got it painted today, I'll be installing it tomorrow.

I really like that color scheme

Thanks! It will match the bay perfect, along with replacing my mildly effective eBay can. I've seriously been counting the days until I could get rid of that disaster.