Breather for crankcase ventilation system

A breather for a ventilation system of an internal combustion engine, comprising:

• a housing forming an inlet, an outlet and an internal manifold in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet, wherein at least a first portion of the housing forms a flow passage separate from the internal manifold for receiving a heated fluid that warms the internal manifold and the at least the first portion of the housing;
• a baffle positioned in the internal manifold;
• a plate positioned in the internal manifold, wherein the plate includes a plurality of apertures;
• and
• a filter media in the internal manifold adjacent the plate,
• wherein the plate has an increased density of the plurality of apertures along a first portion thereof as compared with a second portion thereof, and wherein the first portion is not covered by the baffle.

An engine system comprising:

• an internal combustion engine having a crankcase configured to have a blow-by gas passing therethrough;
• a breather remote from the crankcase and configured to be in fluid communication with the blow-by gas, the breather having a breather housing with a breather inlet and a breather outlet, the breather inlet configured to receive blow-by gas from the crankcase and the breather outlet configured to discharge blow-by gas from the breather, wherein the breather is configured to separate oil from the blow-by gas within the breather housing between the breather inlet and the breather outlet with a first filter media;
• and
• an oil separating apparatus having an oil separating apparatus housing with an oil separating apparatus inlet configured to receive blow-by gas from the breather inlet and an oil separating apparatus outlet configured to discharge blow-by gas from the oil separating apparatus, the oil separating apparatus configured to be in fluid communication with the blow-by gas discharged from the breather and configured to further separate oil from the blow-by gas with a second filter media within the oil separating apparatus housing between the oil separating apparatus inlet and the oil separating apparatus outlet;
• wherein the breather and the oil separating apparatus are coupled directly together at the breather outlet and the oil separating apparatus inlet such that the breather outlet of the breather fluidly communicates directly with the oil separating apparatus inlet of the oil separating apparatus with no intermediate component therebetween facilitating fluid communication.

A method of filtering oil from a blow-by gas of an internal combustion engine, the method comprising:

• passing the blow-by gas from a crankcase of the internal combustion engine to a breather remote from the crankcase, the breather having a breather housing with a breather inlet and a breather outlet, and a first filter media within the breather housing and fluidly between the breather inlet and the breather outlet, the blow-by gas entering the breather through the breather inlet of the breather;
• separating a first amount of oil from the blow-by gas with the first filter media within the breather housing;
• passing the blow-by gas from the breather outlet of the breather directly to an oil separating apparatus inlet of an oil separating apparatus, the oil separating apparatus having an oil separating apparatus housing with the oil separating apparatus inlet, an oil separating apparatus outlet, and a second filter media within the oil separating housing and fluidly between the oil separating apparatus inlet and the oil separating apparatus outlet;
• separating a second amount of oil from the blow-by gas with the second filter media within the oil separating apparatus housing;
• and
• passing the blow-by gas from the oil separating apparatus outlet of the oil separating apparatus back to the crankcase.