OK, so the other day, I was out at the airport, done with my Saturday flying and waiting for Louise to arrive from Virginia. Looking for something to do, I ran across my cache of Exxon Elite oil spouts. Back when I received my band new Mattituck Engine, I was shipped a couple of free cases of Exxon Elite oil, and I was amazed to find that some genius had designed a plastic bottle whose opening was too large to fit in a Lycoming oil filler neck. Brilliant! But, not to be outdone, Exxon included a fancy little oil spout in each case which (after you removed several adapters that fit who-knows-what) screwed on to the bottle. Of course, the end of the adapter/spout was STILL too big to fit in the Lycoming oil filler neck, so you were back where you started....and Since you got one in every case, I had quite a collection!
Never quite satisfied with my box of oily funnels, none of which are perfect for the oil filling job through the oil door on my -8, I studied the problem, and realized that what I needed was a hose attached to the end of the spout. I looked around at the local builder's supply store, and found some Poly tubing with an O.D. of 1" - and it made a tight interference fit wit the inside diameter of the spout! I cut off a chunk and forced it up into the opening. Next, I found a chunk of thin-walled tubing - the remains of a folding chair I had bought and destroyed at an air show - and cut off a 6" length that fit perfectly in the engine's oil filler neck. It also slid tightly into the poly tubing. A couple of pieces of heat shrink tubing that I had lying around fastened everything together and ...voila' ! A no-cost alternative to the funnel!
Since the red spout actually has a shut-off capability, I can mount it on the oil bottle, shove the end of the spout into the engine, then tilt the bottle up and open the valve. Slick and neat! Now I just have to make a little cap for the end so that I can put it back in the baggage compartment without spilling extra oil all over everything....
Hey, it's a trivial project - but it was free! And, I got rid of one of those silly spouts that came with every case of oil....![Roll eyes :rolleyes: :rolleyes:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Paul
Never quite satisfied with my box of oily funnels, none of which are perfect for the oil filling job through the oil door on my -8, I studied the problem, and realized that what I needed was a hose attached to the end of the spout. I looked around at the local builder's supply store, and found some Poly tubing with an O.D. of 1" - and it made a tight interference fit wit the inside diameter of the spout! I cut off a chunk and forced it up into the opening. Next, I found a chunk of thin-walled tubing - the remains of a folding chair I had bought and destroyed at an air show - and cut off a 6" length that fit perfectly in the engine's oil filler neck. It also slid tightly into the poly tubing. A couple of pieces of heat shrink tubing that I had lying around fastened everything together and ...voila' ! A no-cost alternative to the funnel!
Since the red spout actually has a shut-off capability, I can mount it on the oil bottle, shove the end of the spout into the engine, then tilt the bottle up and open the valve. Slick and neat! Now I just have to make a little cap for the end so that I can put it back in the baggage compartment without spilling extra oil all over everything....
Hey, it's a trivial project - but it was free! And, I got rid of one of those silly spouts that came with every case of oil....
Paul
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