Oil catch can ideas?

[facthunter]

You don't need it messing up your plane. Some people were feeding the (condensed matter) back into their engine. You obviously seem to be aware of the undesirability of that. Nev

 

 

[skippydiesel]

You don't need it messing up your plane. Some people were feeding the (condensed matter) back into their engine. You obviously seem to be aware of the undesirability of that. Nev

I would only ever consider feeding the best to my engine - never something that may contain elevated levels of corrosive byproducts from combustion.

 

 

[Yenn]

Not being a red bull drinker I am not aware of how good the can is, but I guess it is thin aluminium. You may have trouble fixing and holding it in place. I have built a rectangular can for my plane, but an aluminium tube would work well. You need something fairly solid to attach the inlet and breather pipe and the drain valve, plus attaching to the plane.

 

After I wrote this all the posts between  1 and Skyppy's above appeared so this is way out of date.

 

 

[skippydiesel]

Not being a red bull drinker I am not aware of how good the can is, but I guess it is thin aluminium. You may have trouble fixing and holding it in place. I have built a rectangular can for my plane, but an aluminium tube would work well. You need something fairly solid to attach the inlet and breather pipe and the drain valve, plus attaching to the plane.After I wrote this all the posts between  1 and Skyppy's above appeared so this is way out of date.

Never mind Yenn - better late than never.

I originally thought I would be able to procure a cylindrical metal (tin/aluminium/whatever) container with a screw top. I imagined something 40-50 mm diam x 120-150 mm high. Such containers were common (in my youth) for storing kitchen bits & bobs, medicines, small mechanical parts etc. A metal can of this dimension would, I believe. lend itself to the making of a small catch can (fit neatly in my engine compartment).

 

Sadly a search on the internet did not find a single supplier (unless I was willing to buy in the hundreds). 

 

Then one day I noticed my local corner store / servo had on sale Red Bull, in alloy bottles with alloy screw top. A little narrow (particularly the top) but "the possibilities". Commissioned a son to acquire the "stuff" - outright refusal - ungrateful whelp! So on the next fuel run I, somewhat red faced and squirming with embarrassment, slyly added a bottle to the fuel cost  (the shopkeeper was discretion incarnate).

 

Some days later - too tight to just empty the stuff down the toilet (I understand the Feds can still detect elist substances disposed of in this way) I drank it - UGH!!!!! It should be a crime to sell that stuff to an unsuspecting public. Anyhow all good - I have fully recovered from my unpleasant experience and I have an empty alloy bottle shaped can with a screw top - what next???

 

2 - 3 suitable 10mm spigots and some suggestions on how to affix them. Possibly one drain valve.

 

I imagine one spigot in the screw top (probably the inlett) with an internal hollow pipe ending about half way down the bottle.

 

A second spigot  in the side about 2/3 of the way up (the outlet).

 

The drain valve would either be affixed to the bottom of the bottle or a third spigot to facilitate a short pipe with in line valve.

 

The hardest spigot to attach will be the second 2/3 of the way up the bottle wall ?????

 

Bottle would have steel wool introduced to about 1/2 way to act as a condensing medium/baffle.

 

I do have a Plan B and C

 

 

[facthunter]

The Rotax will leave most of the muck in the oil tank anyhow. The return system uses the blowby to move it back from the engine so there's plenty of opportunity for it to be incorporated during that process. The more "normal system uses a positive displacement scavenge pump slightly bigger than the supply one. or a WET sump. The fumes can go out somewhere else or you could even have a flow through (best ) system with clean air being put through the motor to clear the impurities.  Nev

 

 

[skippydiesel]

The Rotax will leave most of the muck in the oil tank anyhow. The return system uses the blowby to move it back from the engine so there's plenty of opportunity for it to be incorporated during that process. The more "normal system uses a positive displacement scavenge pump slightly bigger than the supply one. or a WET sump. The fumes can go out somewhere else or you could even have a flow through (best ) system with clean air being put through the motor to clear the impurities.  Nev

All true. However my interest in a catch can has absolutely nothing to do with saving/reusing engine oil - it is purely cosmetic, I want to prevent then occasional oil spatter on my baby's belly.

 

 

[spacesailor]

F H  said,

 

"Some people were feeding the (condensed matter) back into their engine"

 

how about piping it to the air cleaner to act as "upper cylinder lubricant" then its burnt off & any residue goes out of the exhaust.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[skippydiesel]

F H  said,"Some people were feeding the (condensed matter) back into their engine"

 

how about piping it to the air cleaner to act as "upper cylinder lubricant" then its burnt off & any residue goes out of the exhaust.

 The sort pf plumbing required to do this is really only suitable for single air supply.  It would not suit my twin carb twin air filter sytem.

 

spacesailor

[facthunter]

 It's got too much rubbish in it to go anywhere near the engine . It's done on cars through a PC Valve but that's a pollution thing that requires quite a bit of servicing and can make the engine run rough if the valve doesn't work properly and put deposits in the air cleaner. A paper element wouldn't want that.. Unless it was a  requirement you wouldn't put this stuff on an aero engine. Nev

 

 

[Yenn]

Run a pipe to the tail of the aircraft. You just have to be careful that it can't get blocked and cause increased crankcase pressure

 

 

[skippydiesel]

Run a pipe to the tail of the aircraft. You just have to be careful that it can't get blocked and cause increased crankcase pressure

Definitely a KISS principal solution but as you alude  - could get blocked and as I am concerned with cosmetics a long pipe from engine compartment to tail would look rather out of place. Thanks anyhow

 

 

[facthunter]

 Most Rotax 912 's don't have a lot of blowby. As I mentioned, turbulence may cause some oil to escape.  Nev

 

 

[skippydiesel]

 Most Rotax 912 's don't have a lot of blowby. As I mentioned, turbulence may cause some oil to escape.  Nev

 

 

Agreed - its as you say, probably the occasional extra nasty turbulence that results in some unsightly oil droplets, leaving streaks on my baby's belly (probably just looking for another project).