New design eBay snorkel

We can all make up scenarios to support our opinions.. that doesn’t mean they’re based in reality, past, present, or future.

 

No, most of the people here are only using one brand. And besides, comparing a set of lights with an engine intake system is not even a fair comparison from a logical risk/reward standpoint.

Speaking personally:
Every time I order a chinese part off ebay, I am always afraid of what I'm going to get. I know that I may have to modify or alter it to work correctly, or it may fail prematurely. At that point you have to weigh your money vs time, because you might not be pissing away your money, but you are likely to piss away your time (and possibly more money over the long term).
Whenever I order a quality product, my wallet hurts, but I don't wince at the thought of getting a shoddy product in the mail. That's not to say there aren't some shady vendors out there who might send you something cheap in a name brand box; that happens also. You have to be careful these days about ordering items that could have counterfeits floating around... something as simple as batteries could be generic.

If you're going to buy it, I guess you have already set your expectations to a certain level; i.e. you are willing to risk $100 for a product that may or may not be of any quality, may or may not need additional modification, and likely will not have any company backing or warranty. Your odds are anyone's guess since there aren't any people that seem to have installed them or had them installed for a long term period besides the one guy from the previous page.

 

I'm fully aware of how long it takes plastic to break down. Thousands of years in most cases - that doesn't mean your cheep-o snorkel is going to last 1000 years.

I'm not making anything up. I'm making an assumption that these cheap snorkels save money the same way nearly all cheap knock offs save money: by using sub-standard materials, cheap labor, and not having to recoup R&D costs by copying other proven designs by proven manufacturers. The additives used to make certain plastics UV stable are fairly expensive (relatively speaking), and are an easy cost saving measure, especially when there are basically zero repercussions for the seller if you have a problem.

It's not rocket science. It's materials science, actually.

 

My washer reservoir is breaking down after 10 years lol damn GM sourced plastics!

FWIW here is what the listing says:

Built from premium quality LLDPE Polyethylene, which is much better than fiber or ABS. And it is incredibly resilient and UV stable.

An awfully bold claim for a product without a warranty (at least from what I can tell on the listing page). But there are no consequences for false advertising on ebay/Amazon, or at least, it's a game of whack a mole that the two companies are losing.


Another tricky thing is some knockoff items can be quite good, while others are quite bad, and it's hard to tell the difference from the listings alone.

EDIT:

I stand corrected, in the "item specifics" portion there is this:


Warranty: Yes


No additional info on the warranty though

 

Actually for the snorkel the best material would be the same they make plastic gutters and downspots off. They are exposed to the exactly the same environment as snorkel and they still last 20-30 years. Proven.

 

brb making a snorkel out of this




lol jk

 

I saw a guy a few days ago with basically this. It was 4" (ish) black pvc with some 45 fittings. Probably used flex fittings under the hood.

 

I'll give you $200 for it

 

Saw an old Subaru Outback (I think) running a homemade PVC snorkel at a local OHV park once...must have worked too because in order to get into the park, you needed to cross a water crossing that was always at least a few feet deep, if not deeper. Was pretty cool if not totally ghetto looking.

 

I think it's important to note that the primary function of a snorkel is to reduce dust intake. Also anyone who thinks that putting on a snorkel is all you have to do to waterproof their engine will be in for an expensive surprise.

Also everyone runs their snorkel in the wrong direction... it should suck air from the rear of the vehicle not the front. Let the thread war begin.

 

Do you know how much ram air the snorkel gives at 50mph? You gain at least 50hp if not more - much more than by supercharger.

 

I mean I guess.. but why is it called a snorkel?

 

I can't count the number of times I've gone down this road with people. I've also upset many people by installing tuned length intakes and big helmholtz-resonant air boxes on various engines and "ruining the sound and aesthetics".

Because Germany.

snor·kel
/ˈsnôrk(ə)l/
noun
noun: snorkel; plural noun: snorkels; noun: schnorkel; plural noun: schnorkels; noun: Snorkel; plural noun: Snorkels

1. 1.
   a short curved tube for a swimmer to breathe through while keeping the face under water.
   • a tube used by a submarine just below the surface as a fresh-air intake.
2. 2.
   TRADEMARK
   a type of hydraulically elevated platform for firefighting.

verb
verb: snorkel; 3rd person present: snorkels; past tense: snorkelled; past participle: snorkelled; gerund or present participle: snorkelling; past tense: snorkeled; past participle: snorkeled; gerund or present participle: snorkeling; verb: schnorkel; 3rd person present: schnorkels; past tense: schnorkelled; past participle: schnorkelled; gerund or present participle: schnorkelling

1. 1.
   swim using a snorkel.
   "the sea is incredibly clear, which is ideal for snorkeling"

Origin

1940s: from German Schnorchel .

 

Well yes, I know the definition, but it disproves your idea of the primary purpose of a, ahem, snorkel.

 

Originally they were developed for air intakes on engines submerged in water, granted. But considering that very few rigs are built to ford water that deep, the primary benefit of running a snorkel is keeping the intake air away from the low lying dust kicked up on the trails. Of course, for a lot of people they do nothing more than allow the owner to go "yeah, im an overland guy... camped out in a walmart just last week! Couldn't you tell by my snorkel?"

 

see below..sorry James

HAHA

 

I know right?

Why are they called Jerry cans? I have a friend named Jerry, and there's now way he could fit inside!

But a snorkel is just a tube that moves the source of air to a more remote location, it doesn't *have* to be in water.

 

Might want to tell Merriam, though...

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snorkel

 

I'm not going to take advice from any book that believes it's necessary to route an exhaust pipe above water for a vehicle to work correctly.

"a tube housing air intake and exhaust pipes for a vehicle's engine that can be extended above the water's surface so that the engine can be operated while the vehicle is partially or fully submerged"

 

/threadderail