Patent ID: 8048299

Claim:
A filter assembly for mounting in a filter housing having a liquid inlet and outlet through which process fluid is flowable, said filter assembly comprising: at least one generally tubular elongated filter element having first and second element ends, and an outer mesh cylinder extending lengthwise from the first element end to the second element end and having an exterior face extending between said first and second element ends which faces outwardly so as to be exposed to a feed liquid zone in a filter housing, and an interior face bounding a filter chamber in said filter element; and each said filter element having a generally tubular adapter at the first element end, said adapter extending endwise from said filter element and having an adapter length, said adapter having an enlarged inlet portion with an inlet inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of said filter element defined by said exterior face, said inlet portion defining an inlet end of said adapter, the inlet end engaged with said mesh cylinder to tight-fittingly receive said first element end therein with said exterior face nested within said inlet inner diameter to receive process fluid from said filter chamber, the adapter further having an elongated flow tube defining an outlet end of said adapter from which said filtered process fluid is discharged and having a flow tube inner diameter smaller than said inlet inner diameter, and a reducer passage that reduces the cross-sectional flow area between said inlet portion and said flow tube, said flow tube having a length, a first end, a second end, and an elongate portion that has a unitary single outer diameter along substantially the entire flow tube length and a unitary single inner diameter along substantially the entire flow tube length, the length comprising a majority of said adapter length.