Quick drain oil plugs

[Vlad]

On my O-320D2G there are two oil drain plugs on the bottom of the sump. Do I need two quick drain plugs for convenience of oil change or one is enough? If one is OK where it should be? Left or right side?

[Steve]

I installed one quick drain on the right on my 9A. Its the most accessable to slide a plastic 3/8 tube over at oil change time.
Steve

[Vlad]

Thank you Steve

[chrispratt]

Originally Posted by Vladyspassky

On my O-320D2G there are two oil drain plugs on the bottom of the sump. Do I need two quick drain plugs for convenience of oil change or one is enough? If one is OK where it should be? Left or right side?

You only need one. The engine maker includes multiple locations in an attempt to accommodate a variety of engine mounts and equipment configurations. Choose the one that is at the lowest point on the aircraft or the one with the easiest access.

Chris

[Vlad]

Now I understand Chris. Looks like both plugs are level. I put quick drain as Steve suggested on right side for easiest access.

[Andy Hill]

We bought a "quick drain" but never installed it due reports that it's slow etc.

Having just done a change with a conventional drain plug, it was not really an issue. The real problem becomes the oil screen, where a load more oil drains out rather messily, after the plug has finished (NB as a taildragger).

Or have we got it wrong?

Andy & Ellie Hill
RV-8 G-HILZ

[mrreddick]

It has been my experience on my ECI Titan that the left plug is just a bit lower than the right side. After draining the oil thru the quick drain installed on the right side I can get more oil out if I remove the left plug.
I get much less oil out the oil screen during removal if I have drained from both of these locations making the oil screen check less messy.
Not sure if a taildragger would see the same results.

[chrispratt]

Originally Posted by Andy Hill

We bought a "quick drain" but never installed it due reports that it's slow etc.

Having just done a change with a conventional drain plug, it was not really an issue. The real problem becomes the oil screen, where a load more oil drains out rather messily, after the plug has finished (NB as a taildragger).

Andy & Ellie Hill
RV-8 G-HILZ

The advantage of the quick drain plug is convenience not speed (irony in the name, eh?). Plus you don't need to safety wire the quick drain after each oil change so you pick up some time there. I place a plastic tube around the quick drain nipple when I'm ready to drain the oil and place the other end into a plastic oil drain pan I purchased at an auto supply store. This way I have only a few drops of spilled oil by the time I'm finished. I use Van's quick drain. It works fine and costs half of what the one in the Spruce catalog costs.

Regarding the oil screen, this can be a real mess because of its location, usually there is something like a cable bracket in the way that will keep you from doing a clean job. Depending on whom you talk to, the oil screen doesn't have to be drained each time. In fact some people do it only once to check that there are no tailings in there from the manufacturing process. Of course if you don't have a spin on oil filter, then you drain from the oil screen every time.

If you have a taildragger, you might consider getting a "Tail-Mate" or some other method of leveling the airplane. Using this, I can change the oil and filter on my RV-8 without having to climb up on a ladder. The level position seems to make changing the filter easier and cleaner, too.

Chris

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by mrreddick

I get much less oil out the oil screen during removal if I have drained from both of these locations making the oil screen check less messy.
Not sure if a taildragger would see the same results.

A larger amount of undrained oil is left in a tail dragger because of the tilt of the engine and the portion of the sump that is aft of the drain plug bosses.

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by chrispratt

The advantage of the quick drain plug is convenience not speed (irony in the name, eh?). Plus you don't need to safety wire the quick drain after each oil change so you pick up some time there. I place a plastic tube around the quick drain nipple when I'm ready to drain the oil and place the other end into a plastic oil drain pan I purchased at an auto supply store. This way I have only a few drops of spilled oil by the time I'm finished. I use Van's quick drain. It works fine and costs half of what the one in the Spruce catalog costs.

Regarding the oil screen, this can be a real mess because of its location, usually there is something like a cable bracket in the way that will keep you from doing a clean job. Depending on whom you talk to, the oil screen doesn't have to be drained each time. In fact some people do it only once to check that there are no tailings in there from the manufacturing process. Of course if you don't have a spin on oil filter, then you drain from the oil screen every time.

If you have a taildragger, you might consider getting a "Tail-Mate" or some other method of leveling the airplane. Using this, I can change the oil and filter on my RV-8 without having to climb up on a ladder. The level position seems to make changing the filter easier and cleaner, too.

Chris

I agree with Chris, I think it makes oil changes much easier. If you follow the normal procedure of changing the oil when it is warm (I try and do it after the airplane has returned from a flight) it drains pretty quickly since it is much less viscous and it does a better job of draining other contaminants out of the engine since everything is freshly mixed/stirred up.
The oil suction screen is typically only checked during each condition inspection. This would be the case whether your engine has a spin on filter or not, because any Lyc. model used on an RV that does not have a spin on filter still has a different filter screen that is a much finer screen that the suction screen. This filter gets removed and cleaned at every oil change.
The housing for this filter uses a gasket and bolts, and was a huge mess to change, which is why the engines were redesigned many years ago to use a spin on filter.