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Any one connected the breather to the exhaust to reduce oil on the belly of the plane? How are you dealing with the heat?
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At the risk of sounding stupid, what engine are you running and what oil level do you fill to?
Bill -
I have not heard of anyone doing that.
I do know that gas dripping on an exhaust will probably not start a fire
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I am absolutely positive that oil dripping on the exhaust will start a fire.Stan
Austin TxComment
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I've seen crank case vent tubes set up so the oil drips onto the exhaust stack. Burns off what comes into contact with the pipe...resulting in a little less oil on the belly.
Sent from my iPad using TapatalkComment
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I am running an O 360A1D lycoming. I usually run 7 - 8 qts. I get a small amount of oil on the belly and on the top of one of my gear legs. When it goes below zero it is not fun to clean the belly and wax.Comment
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Well, I'm glad I haven't burned up yet, I've been running the breather to the exhaust for years and know others that also do that. It does help, just not 100%. What makes the most difference is keeping the oil level in the 9 qt range, instead of 12, in the 540. The exception is unusual attitudes or turbulence, then all bets are off.
Simply Green for Aircraft works well to remove belly oil, in my experience. Not fun when cold for sure so I don't like that either.Last edited by Blackrock; 12-26-2015, 09:21 PM.Comment
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The first plane I built was a taildragger, with a Continental IO520D. Full oil, on the dipstick, was 12 qts. When filled to 12, it would promptly puke 4 qts, then it stabilized and used very little. My current plane has a Lyc O360 A1P. Full reads 8 qts. When filled to 8, it blows out 2. It's happy at 6, so that's where I run it. Uses very little oil. Just a thought.Originally posted by tailwind View Post
Not sure who makes it, but I use "Belly Wash" to clean mine. Best stuff I've ever used! Below zero, mine would stay dirty...
BillComment
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Breather TO the exhaust works fine, as in just above the surface of the tailpipe. The oil mist will burn off, I've never heard of it being a fire hazard. Breather INTO the exhaust may not be a good idea, there is some evidence that the exhaust flow could create a vacuum on the breather system, not good. Let that O360 leak down to 6 qts and I bet the oil will stop blowing out.Comment
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Hi everyone, as I build exhausts for a living (Vetterman) I'll weigh in. Putting the oil breather into the exhaust is an idea that is quite old. It can be a great way to keep your belly clean but..... you run the risk that you might blow out your front main seal too. There was a fairly high profile case of this happening on an rv8 awhile back that was discussed on the vans forum if you are curious.
As every engine does blow some oil by, most of it will get burned up by the exhaust, but over time, they always tend to plug up. At the very minimum, the tube that is welded into the exhaust needs to be inspected and cleaned every 50 hours at the most. I've heard of several rv's that were nearly plugged in 80-90 hours. How fast they plug up is directly related to how much blow by you have. Your mileage may vary, but we don't recommend doing this. ClintComment
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Thanks for the input Clint. What problems would it cause to bring the breather to within about 1/8 inch away from the exhaust but without contact. Burn the vapor over the outside of the exhaust close to the exhaust exit???Comment
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That will help, but it won't completely burn the oil up. There will still be a gooey residue that you will have on the pipe. The best solution is a good air/oil separator.Comment
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I've been considering a simple solution which should work well with very little attention. Of course the air/oil separator would probably work best out they are fairly pricey. What I'm thinking of is a simple vented can with a drain that the vent tube runs into. Once you know your engines happy oil level, the level where is stops venting so much, just keep it there and now and then empty the can. I'm thinking something simple mounted to the firewall with the vent tube running into it and a small j tube vent on the top of the can and a fuel drain on the bottom. The issue you could run into is if you over fill the engine, the can will fill quickly and overflow out the vent, which will be no worse than if you had nothing installed.Rollie VanDorn
Findlay, OH
Patrol Quick BuildComment
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I have been told that the Cessna Aerobat with the O-200 continental had a tube extending out of the breather fitting about two inches into the case greatly reducing the amount of oil coming out through the breather.
I have actually seen Rollie's solution used on an airplane and the owner claimed it worked well. I have never tried it, though. The one I saw had a top on the can with holes in it; probably to reduce spills with negative G's.
BobComment
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I looked into the Aerobat breather when I had my 150. It solves a problem specific to the O-200. The front oil slinger sprays oil on the inside of the case right above the breather fitting. The extended fitting allows the oil to run down and drip off the extension instead of running out the breather. With the standard one, I used to have oil literally dripping off the belly after a long cross country. I don't think the Lycombings have that problem.
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Clint - great to see you on the forum here!Originally posted by Clint B View Post
I can't say enough about how much I liked my Vetterman exhaust system for the IO-540.
The kit had everything I needed and was one of the easiest and most trouble-free installs I did. Still looking great and not a single issue after 400hrs of service so far. You guys were also great to deal with on the phone, very, very helpful!
I hope you guys keep building those systems for Bearhawks, and gets lots of continued business your way.
Jonathan - New Zealand (shipped ex. Mark Goldberg).Comment
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X2 on the Vetterman exhaust. The muffled version is on the 540 and like Jon's, mine was an easy install and has held up very well with no issues.Comment
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