Engine Oil/Air Separator

[Bad Sheila]

I want to fit an engine oil/air separator to my RV6 with a Lycomong 320 (160 hp) I am close to deciding on the ANDAIR one but would like some feed-back on this one or any other that works or doesn't work?

Some mention an oil port for the oil to return to the engine which is not high pressure. Where can I find this on my engine?

[mike newall]

We have an Andair separator on our engine and it works fine.

It is mounted on the firewall, the outlet from the breather goes into the side - the vanes inside slow the air/oil mix and allow the oil to drop to the bottom, the air goes overboard down by the exhaust.

At the bottom of the unit, there is an outlet which we route through a tube to the right side of the engine to an unused port in the crankcase. It is below the top right engine mount - I am not sure what it is used for - however, with luck a Mahlon sort of chap will tell you

It gives us about 2 seconds of inverted protection - much more and you are cleaning the belly !!

[swisseagle]

Hello Mike

I was thinking about the same, to route the oil back into the engine. But after a discussion with Andy from Andair, he could not recomend that.

There is beside the oil thats collected in the separator also condensated water and other stuff that for sure you would not want to have back in the engine.

They have a "trap" that you put onto the bottom drain of the separator.

I have this setup, ready to install, but I'm unsure if I really want to use. The system gets more complex, heavyer and at least there flying a few thousend RV's without.

So i hope others join in and give there comments, thanks!

Dominik

[mike newall]

Sorry - forgot to mention, we have the trap as well.

Collects about a teaspoon of milky stuff in a couple of hours flying.

[Greg Arehart]

You can also make your own - see Bingelis book for this. Simple can with some steel wool in it. Much cheaper and just as effective as the expensive ones.

greg

[Bad Sheila]

Could I put the trap at the bottom of the firewall low enough to be abel to reach inside from below and empty the trap?
2) Should I run a pipe from the outlet of the trap to dump overboard if it gets full?

Originally Posted by mike newall

Sorry - forgot to mention, we have the trap as well.

Collects about a teaspoon of milky stuff in a couple of hours flying.

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by swisseagle

There is beside the oil thats collected in the separator also condensated water and other stuff that for sure you would not want to have back in the engine.

That sounds like good marketing by someone looking to sell you another part. The only things that can get into your separator came out of your engine in the first place. Yes, a little moisture could collect in there, in small quantities. But a lot more moisture condenses in your engine every time you shut it down. You get it out by running the engine the next time you fly.

[swisseagle]

Hello Rob

Hmm ... I was thinking the same

That sounds like good marketing by someone looking to sell you another part

when I was writing my comments.

But as I have seen by Andy's RV, when he open the collector cup,

a teaspoon of milky stuff

thats not oil, so I do not want to have this back in the engine.

So the question is still, is it really better than the Vans standart setup?
How many times it can help to not cleaning the belly from oil?

I'm really not sure if I mount mine, but I have to deceide soon.

Yes, the output of the collector cup has to be plumbed down to the other lines that go out by the exit area in the cowl.

Regards Dominik