Amazon’ Fleetguard LF1400NN

[JimT]

(04-14-2024 )walterk Wrote:  JimT, you bring some valid points - my Fleetgurad fuel water separator filter from Amazon mentioned before.
But, this whole thread started with a knockoff of Fleetguard LF1400NN that had very different internals. I would love to hear what you found out when you cut one of your filters.

This whole thread has gotten me very curious as well.

Outwardly the items I've been receiving from Amazon have been identical to ones that I've bought from Peterbilt (in a weird twist the dealer was actually the cheapest place I could find locally). So now it's time to compare the internals. My busy season has recently kicked in so expect a few weeks to go by before I can find the time to acquire, try and post results.

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Attached are pictures of the Amazon purchased filters that I received today. They are, to the best of my recollection, identical to the ones I've received in the past. At the moment I don't have any filters from "authorized" distributors with which to compare. If someone else does maybe they can post similar pictures for comparison.

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The following is greater detail about counterfeits based on MY understanding. I'm not claiming to be an expert or to have first hand knowledge about the sources of any filters, legit or not. I'm just sharing my understanding.

From what I understand of the Asian counterfeit market (which is mainly based on information collected on the internet) there are basically 5 types of counterfeits:

* different physically internal products made to look outwardly like the original - your traditional cheap knockoffs

* outwardly (near) identical physical products but with some cheaper internal materials

* officially produced products that failed QC testing

* 100% identical products that were simply manufactured off the books without the client company's knowledge.

* same as above, 100% functionally identical, except with completely different branding, maybe slight packaging changes

The first could come from anywhere and are usually the easiest to spot. The second could come from the same factories as the original or from somewhere else that somehow obtained official outer shells. The latter 3 typically come from the same factories and product lines as the official product. The 5th was usually only destined for local markets where the legit company has no knowledge of the product or no way to legally enforce it's IP protections, although the internet marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay have become flooded with these products in recent years (dash cams and portable fridge/freezers are the first things that comes to my mind here). Similar to the 5th one, the 4th entry exists because the base materials/components themselves are cheap and not worth swapping out OR the retooling is impractical. I learned about this many years ago when I was briefly considering a business venture making custom android phones. These off the books production runs are a big problem in the computer chip sector. These products are often initially sent to countries that don't enforce the blatant IP violations. Similar to the 5th one, the internet has made getting these products to consumers much easier and harder to catch.

In addition to the 5 above there's also a 6th scenario: Official produced products originally destined for non-US markets that are later imported to the US, legally or not. For the consumer this usually results in a cheaper cost to buy with the only real downside being a lack of valid warranty or OEM service. I've seen this first hand with computer NAS hard drives I bought on amazon. I have a feeling the filters I've been getting on Amazon fall into this category, or perhaps the 4th category above. I'm now curious to see what's inside.