Pre oiler?

G'day.
There is an old thread on pre oilers here but l can't find it.

I've been looking for info on lnfinity aerospace pre oiler but can't log onto their web site to ask about it.

Is there anyone here that has fitted one?

I have an RV4 built 1990 io-320 160 hp light speed ignition and Bendix mag.

Because l can't fly much through winter l have to pickle it for up to four months each year as my strip is too wet.

I'd like to hear from anyone who has fitted a per oiler on an RV4 to stop corrosion and for pre start oiling.

There are some other changes I'd also like to make, like a P Mag to run with the Light speed ignition, but the way the US/AU dollar is that's not likely to happen unless there is a good used one around.

I just replaced my old tail wheel with a light weight one from Blake at Fly Boy, $800 AU dollars but worth it.

Thanks in advance to any reply's.

It sounds like your objective of the pre-oiler is internal corrosion prevention. If that is the only reason, you should consider a crankcase dryer. Either the desiccant or the Peltier type to pull the residual crankcase moisture out before (and after) it condenses on the naked interior parts. The desiccant type is easy to make but needs attention to ensure it is always working: maintenance required. The Peltier type is less maintenance and no periodic regeneration is required as it is a small solid state dehumidifier. More $, but more robust.

Two ways to pre-oil - accumulator and separate electric pilot pump just to tick the pressure gage. The accumulators are fraught with potential issues and can result in a failed/ruptured accumulator and loss of oil. The cause/solution is a deeper subject.

I am sure a small gear or gerotor style electric pump can be sourced for the electric design but will certainly add weight and take additional battery energy from the start.

Bottom line is that, IMO, a pre-oiler will do little to prevent internal corrosion from sitting. This too is a longer subject to fully explore.

I have a DIY desiccant dryer, and an accumulator for 7-10 sec of inverted, but it is not for pre oiling.

An easy oil circulator for stored engines. Engine pickling
Hartstoc.

Posted today general discussion, could be what I'm looking for.

Well

As stated, the pre oiler won?t do anything to stop corrosion, but after sitting that long it isn?t a bad idea to pre lube before starting. I built a cheap preoiler out of pvc using 1 1/2? of 2? pipe, glued a cap on one end and a threaded cap on the other. I fabricated a hose off the cap end that I plumb into the engine using one of the 1/8? plugs on top of the engine over the front main bearing area. The threaded cap has a air chuck screwed into it, fill the pvc with a quart of oil, hook your air hose up and your pushing oil in. Cheap and easy.

It would be interesting, but has anybody fogged their engine?

Thank's for the replies, the link below is what I'm interested in, if read carefully there is a statement regarding anti corrosion through forced oiling.

The way l read it, it seems that if the oil is force pumped through the engine with the aid of nozzles into the cylinder's
(and l presume the cam also) this would keep the engine lubricated, and then could be turned over with the prop while under oil pressure.

Especially if the oil is droped and filter changed before the plane is put up during winter, then just put three liters of light weight oil in the engine for forced circulation.

And oil changed before next flight

The other benefit to this system is a back up oil pump and pre oil starting.

I'm just looking for maximum engine protection, the cost of the product plus instalation is acceptable considering the benefits.

I was hoping to find someone that has this product installed in their aircraft for their comments.

http://infinityaerospace.com/product/other/pre-oiler-and-back-up-engine-oil-pump/

Hi Jim,

Whilst I agree a pre-oiler is a good idea to use before every start (if you want to take engine longevity to the enth degree) you may be overthinking this from an engine preservation perspective.

The best place to begin regarding long term storage is the manufacturers recommendations:
https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/Engine Preservation for Active and Stored Aircraft.pdf

The main gist of their long term storage philosophy is keep the humidity levels inside the engine as low as possible. If you can keep the humidity levels below 40%, you're not going to get any corrosion.



Therefore, best bet is run the engine briefly on the preservation oil (I even question the need for this if you run W100+ and use the dehumidification techniques below), tape off the intake and exhaust to stop airflow into cylinders that may have valves open, remove the top spark plugs and bung in some desiccant spark plugs instead. You then need to install an engine dehumidifier like that discussed in the thread below, which should keep your engine crankcase at about 10% humidity.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=157922

By all means, install one of the lube pumps, but this should only be used prior/during each start (I would get the smallest model possible, as it does not need to be continuous duty) but it will not give you any additional protection if you run it 24/7 during storage if there is moisture in your engine. There will be many parts of the engine that will not get splashed with oil unless the engine is actually running. You just need to get the moisture out.

I install my engine dehumidifier after flight because it's as simple as removing the dipstick and sticking a nippled plug in its place, then another up the breather to close the loop. After shutdown air inside the crankcase is at around 75-80% humidity, so it's hot and carrying lots of moisture. As the engine cools, this settles out on all the surfaces inside the crankcase, because cold air can't hold nearly as much moisture in suspension as hot air.

You may need to dry the dessicant in the spark plugs every month or two, but 2kg of dessicant circulating around the crankcase should last 12 months or more before you will need to bung it in the oven to dry it out (assuming you have the engine sealed as well as you can). During operation, I find that the dessicant in the crankcase dryer lasts about 30 flights before I need to dry it in the oven (simple procedure, takes about 2hrs on a baking tray at 100degC, but be sure to have the kitchen extraction fan on and your better half out of the house, as your kitchen will smell like a Lycoming engine for a while).

As Lycoming say, try not to turn the crank during storage, as it wipes the lubricant off the cam lobes. If you do have to turn the crank, you can always just re-mist the engine using ACF-50 sprayed down the dip stick tube with a long reach air driven sprayer (100psi does nicely), then eventually drain the excess ACF-50 out with the preservation oil before you replace it with the real deal.
If I was about 20 years younger and way more hip, I'd be ending this with something like #KeepTheMoistureOut.
It really is that fundamentally simple when it comes to corrosion protection.

Tom.
RV-7
IO-360M1B