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....
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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