Remote Oil Filter & Cooler Install

[Sebastian]

I started back on my 4place again after Oshkosh. It was great getting to put faces with names.

Friday I decided to work on the oil cooler and remote filter placement. I was going to place it on the engine mount on

the co-pilots side on the outside of the mount. Bad move. Didn't work, not enough room. I finally decided to put it turned to the inside of the mount and that has worked so I will share some pics and give you a list of the parts I used.

One thing that threw me off was the mount I had built for hanging the cooler on the outside of the engine. The mount had to be retro fitted by moving the 3" scat tube connection from the right side to the left side on top of my mount.

I used: Aero Clasics P/N 8000216 cooler, Summit Racing Perma-Cool oil filter mount 13/16"-16 thread P/N 1213, Aeroquip fittings -8N size 4/90s, 1/45, 1/straight, 2/8N hose to 1/2' pipe (straight), 2/-8N hose to 1/4" pipe, and 10' -8N Kevlar braid hose (very lite), I think I only used 5' of hose. Oil filter is not correct just for the pic.

IMG_2216.JPGIMG_2218.JPGIMG_2222.JPGIMG_2225.JPGIMG_2226.JPGIMG_2224.JPGIMG_2241.JPG

[Mark Goldberg]

Morning CJ. Your installation is a little different than mine. Until you get flying, you will not know how well this set up will cool the oil. And with the heat in Houston's summers - you will need all the cooling you can get. I hope this does the trick for you. Mark

[Sebastian]

I hope so too Mark. But your right I won't know till I can fire her up.

[tailwind]

You may be a little small on the scat tube diameter. I think a 4 inch tube will be more in order.

[Battson]

The SCAT duct is a considerable restriction.
I went from direct airflow over the filter (baffle mounted) to a SCAT tube, and the oil temp increased by 30%.

[schu]

Looking at this way of installing the filter, it looks like the screen and vernatherm are retained in their original housing, and the filter is in line with the cooler, but wouldn't that mean that the filter is bypassed until the engine warms up? Wouldn't you want the filter on startup more than any other time since the dirt isn't as suspended?

[Sebastian]

Maybe I'm missing something or do not understand exactly how all the oil system works but before I plumed my system this way I called "Bob" (since he is the man that built this engine) and described to him what I was planning and was told that is exactly how most folks ran a system like mine. Engine to filter, filter to cooler, cooler to engine.

Should I be pulling the oil from somewhere else? If so where?

If I'm doing something wrong please tell me straight up

. This girl is not ready to run yet so I can change what ever is needed. I know y'all have option's, all anyone has to do is read a few post to figure that out.

I'm adding a pic of the inlet to the scat tube for the oil cooler.

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[schu]

Sebastian.

I recommend reading about how this works: https://www.lycoming.com/content/understanding-oil-flow

specifically: "The Thermostatic Oil Cooler Bypass Valve was designed to provide better control of the engine oil temperature while also maintaining the safety of the oil system by bypassing oil around an oil cooler which is plugged for any reason. The thermostatic oil cooler bypass valve may be used on engines which use the pressure screen system and on engines which have a full-flow oil filter. For most engine models, an oil filter also requires an oil filter adapter. While the oil is cold, this system allows oil to flow through the oil filter without passing through the oil cooler. As oil temperature rises to approximately 180Ëš F, the valve closes and forces the oil to pass through the oil cooler. The oil then returns to the accessory housing where it is routed through the oil filter adapter, the filter and then again through the filter adapter, accessory housing and finally into the crankcase."

Also look at: http://wiki.velocityoba.com/index.ph...se_Oil_Cooling

All of this information leads me to believe that your oil filter won't be used until your oil temp hits 180F.

I don't think that's worth the $365 savings. I'll by buying a B&C filter adapter which replaces the screen and mounts on the back side of the case.

schu

[Bdflies]

C.J. (SEBASTIAN) and I had a lengthy conversation about the oil cooler / filter piping. I also questioned the oil path, which led to the discussion. When he told me that Bob passed his seal of approval on the proposed system, I had to think real hard about it. I, too, was reluctant to bypass the filter until the vernatherm opened. Because I didn’t have the discussion with Bob, I can only surmise that he's treating the oil filter as an added accessory, not required by Lycoming. After all, Lycoming ships a bunch of engines without filters. I suppose they feel (as the result of lots of experience) that their engines will perform reliably, with the oil screen alone. I figured that Bob agrees with Lycoming. In that event, operating on the screen, until the vernatherm directs oil to the cooler, is acceptable. I've heard that Bob is a stickler about weight. In that vein, I wonder if his planes have spin on filters. Talking the situation through, with C.J., left me with an understanding of the proposed system. It's not how I set up my cooler/filter system, but I cannot say it would be the source of problems. Lots of planes flying a lot of hours without filters.
C.J. certainly doesn’t need me to explain his system, but I can assure y'all that he didn’t arrive at this point by not exploring the function of and recommendations of such systems. Because we spoke at length about this, I felt compelled to pipe in. Further, I can assure all that saving $365 was not a factor in the decision.

Bill

[Sebastian]

Thank you all for the comments. I will also go to the links provided and try to educate myself more fully. Bill is right the $365 is not a factor with all the money I already have in this project and knowing I will be hauling friends and family. I would put 2 filters on if I need to.

Since Bob didn't specifically say to replace the screen with a full flow filter on the engine he built I wasn't worried. I am going to put my mind to rest and call Bob and ask him specifically about a filter. I will post what he tells me soon as I get an answer.

[schu]

Plenty of people have talked to Bob about it. He likes the screen, which may explain why we was perfectly fine with the filter not operating all of the time.

[Sebastian]

I said I would post my conversation with Bob about the filter installation.

I spoke with Bob this morning about the concern of my filter not being where it would filter the full flow of oil. As "SCHU" stated correctly "Bob likes the screen" and said he has never ran a filter on any of his planes. He said he likes the screen because it is easier to see if his engine is making metal without having to cut a filter open and go thru 15' of paper to see if there is any metal. Also he said that with the oil in plane engines being so thick before it warms that the bypass valve will open letting oil go to the bearings without being filtered because the filter can't pass all the oil while cold. He also changes his oil every 25hrs and checks the screen every other oil change.

He does see where putting a filter before the oil cooler would help prevent any cooler fouling and could also help with oil cooling due to cooling of the filter.

My take away from my conversation is that I may have the best of both worlds, a screen that is easy to check and a filter when flowing helps as an extra cleaner for my engine oil.

[jaredyates]

Something I'll throw out there... when I was deciding these things, I was thinking about the oil change interval. I also observe a 4-month oil change, regardless of engine hours. And I can tell you that in nearly 5 years of flying, I've never come close to 25 hours in 4 months. Several operators probably have, but not me.

[Bcone1381]

I talked with Bob about a few things including this topic at Oshkosh. I thought I would show a photo of his firewall/engine accessory case area. Its clean! No cooler, no filter, no alternator, no battery. Just Magnetos, prop governor, Brake Fluid reservoir, and a cabin heat box, Minimal scat tube. The exhaust is simple straight pipes.

IMG_5884.jpg

[Battson]

You may be a little small on the scat tube diameter. I think a 4 inch tube will be more in order.

Just another data point here:

Increasing the diameter of the oil cooler air supply duct, in an installation very similar to the above, from 3" SCAT duct to 4" SCAT duct (with all other aspects remaining the same).

In that case, the builder might expect to see an oil temperature reduction of around 10*C / 20*F, or in other words around 10% cooler oil temperatures in the normal operating temperature range.

Obviously that would vary with ambient conditions, air duct to oil cooler plenum design, etc. But you get the general idea. Based on practical experience.