Bruce Tuncks Posted December 21, 2019 Posted December 21, 2019 I was asked recently what the oil catching bottle was there for. We certainly don't empty it back into the engine, so I reckon its a good question. If it was discarded, there would be a weight saving, so why not ditch it? The only useful thing I guess is that it would keep the underside of the fuse a bit less oily. Does everybody use this catcher-bottle?
Litespeed Posted December 21, 2019 Posted December 21, 2019 It is there to catch oil vapour and droplets. It is vented from the engine. Much better in the bottle than dripping places, making smells, stains and a potential fire risk in extreme cases. Better to have than not, if its too heavy- make a lighter one. 1 1
Tasmag Posted December 21, 2019 Posted December 21, 2019 I would think a big part of it could be to see what your oil has been doing. Without a bottle you wouldn't know if it was burning or expelling it. 1
kgwilson Posted December 21, 2019 Posted December 21, 2019 Wikipedia says "An oil catch tank (oil catch can) is a device that is fitted into the cam/crank case ventilation system on a car. Installing an oil catch tank (can) aims to reduce the amount of oil vapors re-circulated into the intake of the engine." I originally had a fibreglass oil catch bottle and it got a leak in it. When I emptied it there was only condensed water vapour but it was brown & smelled like oil/fuel mixture. Then the leak appeared unbeknown to me & the stuff that was in it leaked down the firewall & had solidified into sticky greasy goo that eventually went hard. It was really hard to remove. Degreaser wouldn't budge it but after several attempts I got rid of most of it. I then got an aluminium drink bottle & epoxied inflow & outflow tubes. The good thing is that it has a screw in top which I can take off to have a look at what is in there. I have another 4 hours before my 100 hourly so will check then advise what I find. I don't top up between oil changes so the engine isn't throwing any oil. I have heard that if you overfill a Jabiru engine it will throw the excess out into the catch bottle. Aircraft engines don't use any recirculation of engine vapours thereby eliminating any possible problems. If you didn't have one the underside (and firewall in my case) would get pretty dirty. 2 1
Bruce Tuncks Posted December 21, 2019 Author Posted December 21, 2019 What a good idea to use an aluminium bottle. The existing frp is real heavy.
Litespeed Posted December 21, 2019 Posted December 21, 2019 Great use of available alloy bottle. Now we have a use that will be fine for the alloy "welding" rods. 1 4
facthunter Posted December 22, 2019 Posted December 22, 2019 Yes. You don't want a trail of gunk on your planes underside, to wreck the finish you tried so hard to produce. Prevention being better than cure in this instance. Nev
Lou R Posted December 28, 2019 Posted December 28, 2019 Hi Bruce, i am in the process of restoring a minicab (0200) and have purchased an aluminium catch can on ebay for $30. It is well made and lightweight and like other comments will keep the underside clean of oil smear. It can be used as open or closed circulation. 1
skippydiesel Posted December 28, 2019 Posted December 28, 2019 From an erlier conversation/thread: ............................................................................................................... .................................- I now present my, under $10, Catch Can. Made from a spice shaker (from Woolies), beer can (donated by generous son), chemical spray fittings (local irrigation shop) & two sump plug washers. The beer can is to act as a "baffle". So light, kitchen scales unable to give a consistent value but well below 100 gms My Rotax 912ULS does not require engine oil top up between services, so the capacity of the Can should be more than adequate. /monthly_2019_12/IMG_0910.thumb.JPG.605e73ec507d055770a756dd0b122a71.JPG /monthly_2019_12/IMG_0911.thumb.JPG.10b7f58ac0a3a65ead732c6ea85f7ac0.JPG /monthly_2019_12/IMG_0909.thumb.JPG.13c351d55ff7e1ccce9370b08c2e7160.JPG /monthly_2019_12/IMG_0912.thumb.JPG.5e9d1c30ac30f1924c846c30fab2d2e4.JPG /monthly_2019_12/IMG_0913.thumb.JPG.d05cf633a81768c8a32d0458a9bf513c.JPG Please Note: This fun project has never been installed, as my aircraft/engine has no real need for it . It should work, as all the correct design elements are included. 1
kgwilson Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 I have just completed my 100 hourly & annual inspection. I tipped about 25ml of oil out of the catch bottle. It was black and fairly thin. That is from 25 hours of operation. Swished it with a bit of petrol to clean it, let it dry & replaced it. The firewall & bottom of the plane was only dirty from runway dust etc. Just as an aside, the total cost for the maintenance was $139.54 which included a new oil filter, new air filter, new fuel filter, 12 spark plugs & 3 quarts of Aeroshell W100 plus. Labour of course was free & I know absolutely that everything was done. I could probably add $5.00 for consumables like degreaser, torque seal, brake fluid & anti seize but it sure beats paying a LAME. 5
skippydiesel Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 I have just completed my 100 hourly & annual inspection. I tipped about 25ml of oil out of the catch bottle. It was black and fairly thin. That is from 25 hours of operation. Swished it with a bit of petrol to clean it, let it dry & replaced it. The firewall & bottom of the plane was only dirty from runway dust etc. Just as an aside, the total cost for the maintenance was $139.54 which included a new oil filter, new air filter, new fuel filter, 12 spark plugs & 3 quarts of Aeroshell W100 plus. Labour of course was free & I know absolutely that everything was done. I could probably add $5.00 for consumables like degreaser, torque seal, brake fluid & anti seize but it sure beats paying a LAME. Whats with the "3 quarts" ??? 3.5 litres, or thereabouts, sounds very much better to me. 1
Old Koreelah Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 Skippy I agree, but The Good Oil only comes in strange medieval bottles.
kgwilson Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 Aeroshell comes in quart bottles. 3 quarts is 2.838 litres and this brings the oil level to about 3/4 up the knurled OK range on the dipstick which is about the maximum level it should be. The 3300A engine holds 3.5 litres according to the book but this must also include the oil cooler & if I put this much in it would be overfull & throw the excess out into the catch bottle. My oil cooler is a fairly large 7 row Positech & sits at the bottom of the firewall with its own NACA duct air supply & the lines are a metre or so long so there is probably half a litre at least in that part so that just gets mixed in with the new oil.
jetjr Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 Inspection and measurement of catch oil is a key thing to monitor on Jabiru I think. Subtract volume in can at service to what was added and you get real oil burn That's whats going past rings etc Colour of and water in there important too. 1
kgwilson Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 Black, no water that I could detect but probably condensate/oil mix as it was thin & I did not top up at all between changes. The oil level dropped about 2mm from start to finish.
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