Tapping Into The Vortex
S&B Helmet Particle Separator
Story By: Kyle Callen
Photos By: Brandon Bunch
Dust sucks! There is no arguing it, but it’s something that all of us have learned to deal with when riding or racing in UTVs. Whether you’re chasing a car through the blinding dust, impatiently waiting for that spot to pass, or just running with a group of friends out on a high spirited weekend ride, you do not want to be inhaling all of that particulate matter into your lungs. We have tested the majority of the fresh air systems on the market and they all essentially work the same. They pull air through a filter element and stuff fresh clean air into your helmet, making your ride more enjoyable throughout the course of a long dusty day.
S&B Filters have now taken their race-proven engine air particle separator system and created a scaled down fresh air helmet system. In true S&B fashion, instead of just thinking outside the box, they threw it (and the industry standard filter) away, and started from scratch. Using the same basic science behind their other particle separators, fans pulls the dirty air through the front of the housing, and through some very specially designed vortex generators. The centrifugal force of the spinning air slings 99.36% of all particulate matter against the sides of the tubes. As the fresh air enters a center cavity, the dirty air is pulled through slots in the side by the scavenger fan, and ejected out the bottom of the unit.
The fresh air doesn’t stop there. It hits the second fan that pushes the flow of clean air through the hoses and to your helmet, ultimately making it into your smiling face as you enjoy the ride. The S&B Particle Separator is a compact unit that can be mounted virtually anywhere, and with the provided stand-alone wiring harness, it was a breeze to install. Our only real complaint about the system is the fan noise that projects into the helmet, but we have this same complaint with every system we have tested. Thinking about it, we are in off-road vehicles and not a Lexus, so maybe we need to stop being sissies.
It is great to see a new player in the market, and especially one that comes in with a whole different approach to providing the user with a great experience. While it can be said that all fresh air systems work well, the amount of air actually flowing into helmet seems to have increased with the S&B unit, and this is the only system on the market that is truly maintenance free. Not only can you ride or race all day long without a filter clogging up and reducing your airflow, but there’s no filter to clean when you get home either. UTV’s already require a ton of maintenance to keep them running smooth, so it’s nice to not add more work to the load with our beloved fresh air systems!
