The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 30/03/2025 21:28, No mail wrote:

It's time to change the oil filter on a Kawasaki FS481V engine. The
"mower shops" want up to £52(!!) for what they say is a "genuine"
Kawasaki filter, whereas a 2 pack of filters is available from Amazon
for £13. In the "good old days" we bought oil filters (and just about
everything else) without much of a thought about quality because
everything was assumed to be OK. Now, with so much from China, there
doesn't seem to be a way to know whether a filter is any good. Unless
you know differently ... ?

I bought my mower in 2002

I mow an acre and a half every fortnight in summer,
I top up the oil, but I have never changed it
Engine starts first time.

I usually change the oil every 2 or 3 years, and the filter every other
year ... ignoring the nonsensical filter price I mentioned earlier it
isn't much cost and time for a small amount of comfort. It doesn't use
oil so there's no natural replenishment.
OOI the previous owner had an annual "professional" service that cost
several hundred pounds (400, I think) :eeek!
I've just finished the other work: change a bearing in the grass
collector, 54 new bristles, a bit of welding on the sweeper arm, replace
the PTO belt, adjust the brake and throttle linkages, straighten and
reinforce a panel on the PGC. But now back to finding a believable
filter at a reasonable price ...

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No mail <[email protected]> wrote:

It's time to change the oil filter on a Kawasaki FS481V engine. The
"mower shops" want up to £52(!!) for what they say is a "genuine"
Kawasaki filter, whereas a 2 pack of filters is available from Amazon
for £13. In the "good old days" we bought oil filters (and just about everything else) without much of a thought about quality because
everything was assumed to be OK. Now, with so much from China, there
doesn't seem to be a way to know whether a filter is any good. Unless
you know differently ... ?

You can get a Mahle one for £5.84 (+p&p from whereever autodoc deliver from, EU I think), or £9.27 for a K&N, or £7.88 for a Mann, etc etc:

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/s/kawasaki-oil-filter-49065-0721-cross-reference-chart

All those are decent brands. That also gives you part numbers you can cross reference on other sites (ebay?) if the autodoc postage is a problem.

Theo

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On 31/03/2025 16:07, Theo wrote:

You can get a Mahle one for £5.84 (+p&p from whereever autodoc deliver from, EU I think)

Last time I ordered from them, it was snail's pace (weeks) I think from
a Polish warehouse to their German warehouse to UK

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