Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0

582 Rotary Valve Lubrication

17 posts in this topic

Posted

My understanding is that the rotary valve is basically sitting in a "bath" of oil. It does not circulate through the lines into the tank. The tank is there to replace by gravity flow, any oil that may go leak out of the rotary valve area. Acceptable limit 1cc/hr. If this is so, then the tank size, and hose diameter is not too important, other than 310cc has to go into the engine/tank, and the line has to be a diameter that would allow at least 1cc/hr to go down it.

This is my understanding, but am actually asking if this is correct or not.

The lines on my set up are monstrous, and has a huge bend radius, taking up way too much room. Older sleds had a small bottle tank with 1/4" lines, (fuel line type). I would like todo this, or use 5/16 line to clean things up considerably.

Thanks for your input. A guiding source would be great too!, as I have not been able to find any.

larry

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

The tank also acts as a heat sinc, the flow is by convection.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

What ever you do, you want to make sure you don't end up with air trapped in the rotary valve area. That is less likely to happen in an engine that is mounted plugs up, but can happen in an inverted engine fairly easy. I always filled the valve area by pouring oil down the hose that connects lower on the engine. Eventually oil starts coming out the top connection, and it pushes out the air ahead of it. Jim Chuk

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

Thanks for the replies. Do you think a 1/4" id fuel line and more than the required 310cc of oil would still do the trick?

Jim, I do have an inverted engine, and I fill bottom up, and the bleeder open. I turn it over a bunch, then open the bleeder again, and top up the oil.

My primary desire is to get rid of the big honkn hose and also relocate the bottle to the firewall or at least further aft, and higher.

larry

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

I don't think I would mess with smaller lines, that gives you a much greater chance on getting an air bubble trapped. When I rebuilt my engine, I bled the heck out of it and still got air trapped in it. 15 minutes into the break in, the brass gear stripped thanks to the air bubble. I would just live with the bigger lines and stock tank. Rotax made it that way for a reason. Cool Temps = thick oil and easy to trap air.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

There is a vent screw of that oil circuit to the side opposite to the oild pump. When you fill the oil circuit you are supposed to loosen this screw and let trapped air escape.  Juan

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

I think that vent screw was designed with a plugs up engine install in mind.  Also, on the 532 engine, the vent screw is not there.  I'm not saying don't use the screw, but when I tried just using it with the bottle full, I still had air in there.  (with an inverted engine)   Jim Chuk

1 person likes this

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

I would use the oil line size recommended by Rotax and configure the tank as shown in the rebuild or installation manual for inverted operation. There is a copy of the rebuild manual on this site.

 

It is very important to bleed all air out as described by others here. I found the easiest way to accomplish this was to loosen the bleed screw but not remove it. Eventually ALL of the air will exit past the threads and oil will very slowly creep around the threads. That way you can do other tasks while the air is bleeding off and it win't make a huge mess. Just place a towl around the bleed screw to collect the small amount of oil that works its way around the threads and starts slowly dripping once all the air is gone.

 

You might be able to rig the system differently and it work just fine, but I figure the rotax engineers gave it more thought than me and probably took things into account I might not consider.

 

Chris

1 person likes this

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

Yes, agree. What is the size recommended? I could no find a thing except for the sleds and skis, which has a much smaller size. They use 1/4 fuel line (Bing type) I have tripple walled sriffer than ?!* with no abilityto bend on mine. I was planning, if I can't find otherwise, just make myown with aluminium tubing. Seems like a pretty easy system, and no pressure pump, etc. The sled would indicatei that the gearsits in a bath of oil, and the tank repenishes the oil thatmay be lost out the seal. (acceptable for aircraft at 1cc/hr)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

The install and repair manuals have the tubing sise recommendation. It's metric. I think I bought mine from Lockwood at outrageous prices.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

I used clear reinforced hoses from the local hardware store so I could see the oil and any possible air bubbles trapped.

 

:BC:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

I used the clear vinyl tubing also. It is 1/2" ID if I remember right. Jim Chuk

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

Hey Jim,

When you fill the rotary valve through the bottom tube, how long does it take to fill up? I tried it last night and thought I must be doing something wrong because it was not filling up. Thanks, Bryce

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

Hi Bryce, I don't remember it taking to long, I unhooked the lower tube at the bottle and slid a larger diameter tube over the regular tube that stuck up in the air higher, and that gave more head pressure and volume, and after a bit of time, oil started to come out of the other hose into the catch bottle. Jim Chuk

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

Thanks Jim, I'll try that. Bryce

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

Jim,

I Filled the rotary valve as you explained. I stuck a funnel in the down tube and filled from there. Might have taken 5 minutes. Thanks, Bryce

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted

Great! I knew it worked for me. And best of all it gets the air out. Jim Chuk

1 person likes this

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!


Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.


Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0