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Cylinder OilingMany of us have horizontal stationary engines with an external drip oiler which drips oil at a regulated rate onto the piston (usually through a tube right down into the cylinder). The oil serves two purposes, it keeps the piston and rings lubricated so they can move freely and enough oil falls through a hole in the piston barrel to lubricate the wrist pin and crank journal.The big questions are what kind of oil, and how much oil?
What Oil>There are two schools of thought on what kind of oil, many people recommend 90 wt, but I personally find that plain old car engine oil (20w-50) works just fine. Quite a few people I know stick with 30 wt. The problem with 90 wt oil is that it can gum up the rings on the engine. Once this happens, no more oil reaches the top ring(s) and the engine will seize.How Much Oil?The general consensus on how much oil seems to be a drop or two per minute per horsepower. I used this when setting up my Ottawa and I find that it is about perfect. I use 3 drops per minute.Blow byOne thing to watch is that if your oiler suffers from blow-by (combustion gases entering the oiler) you will need to alleviate this problem or you're not going to get enough oil down onto the piston. The usual culprits are no vent hole in the oiler stem, or a clogged vent hole and no check valve, or a clogged check valve. If your oiler has a check valve open it up and clean the ball, the oil gets pretty hot after a few hours running on gums up the valve. An oiler which has been sitting unused will also likely have a gummed up valve. Most oilers either have a vent hole, or the glass in the inspection stem is loose allowing the pressure to dissapate. If your oiler does not have one, you can drill a small hole in the stem. Note that not all oilers are supposed to have one!The Right OilerIt is important to use the right kind of oiler for the situation. Find out what kind of oiler your engine had (size, pipe size, vented or not, pressurised or not, etc) and stick to that type (or as close as you can get). Oiling is not an exact science, get close enough and you'll be fine. Where you can really get stuck is if you need a pressurised oiler and you use a normal one. A pressurised oiler has a pump on it to build up pressure inside the oiler body. This forces oil out of the oiler under pressure to the parts needing lubrication. This sort of oiler is normally only used to overcome positive pressure such as on a steam cylinder and does not (usually) apply to stationary engines. Some of the larger older engines with long cylinder strokes had two or more oilers along the cylinder length, with these engines the oilers within the combustion space will usually be pressurised.Bernie Carter Had Some Problems With His IHC-M SeizingOn Fri, 8 Feb 2002, Bernie Carter wrote:> speaking of which, i have been having problems with my "M" Siezing up. It > would actually heat up and start seizing up enough to actually shut itself > off. Then i would wait about a half hour and be able to start it again. I > always keep lots of water in it, and LOTS of oil. Infact when it seized up > the first time it emptied an entire oiler. I dont run it really loaded, > just a gear reducer and a butter churn. Maybe its time for a rebuild??? > > It feels like the piston is swelling since the cylinder wont shrink when > heated. > > Any ideas what happened?? > > Bernie Carter Arnie Fero responded...From Arnie FeroA friend of mine had a similar experience. He was running a 5 hp FBM Z at rated speed. The water hopper was boiling nicely. He was feeding 90 wt. gear oil in the cylinder oiler. Engine seized right up. He pulled the head and with a liberial application of "weasel piss" was able to get it "unstuck" and the piston removed. The piston and rings had a very gummy / varnished look to them. He spent about a half hour cleaning the piston, rings, and bore. Cleaned the 90 wt. out of the oiler and replaced it with plain vanilla 30 wt. oil. The engine ran perfectly the rest of the rally. If I were you, I'd pull the piston and give it a good cleaning. Then check what sort of oil you're using and set the drip rate at a drop or two per horsepower per minute. I think you'll solve your problem.
See ya, Arnie
Disclaimer:It should be noted that the information
given in this document is considered to be good advice by the people who give
it, however any legal liability lies strictly with the reader. The contributors
are hobbiests not professionals.
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Last modified Sunday, 20-Jul-2003 15:28:00 BST |
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