12.4 Oil breather line

This entry is part 37 of 50 in the series 12 - Engine / Propeller

One of the benefits of a custom exhaust is the addition of a oil breather tube port. Normally, the breather tube is plumbed to the bottom of the fuselage. The downside to this is an oily belly and another (this time a big one) tube poking out the bottom of the fuselage.

The other alternative is an air/oil separator which dumps the oil back into the engine. The engine guys I’ve talked to HATE this. They say that oil tends to be acidic not that it’s not a good idea to plumb it back into the engine.

This solution will dump the oil into the exhaust where it will be burnt (supposedly) leaving only a trace film that will just wipe away.   We’ll see about that.

One of the challenges is how to connect the breather tube to the exhaust.

At Oshkosh I ran across some “High-Temp silicon hose”. I picked up a piece not knowing if it would even fit. To my surprise, not only is it the correct length, but it’s also the correct diameter.

Even though it’s “high-temp”, I decided to create a shield. The tube itself shouldn’t get too hot for this hose, but I decided to go belt and suspenders. So I got some of the leftover titanium and built a little shield.

2013-08-04 IMG_20130804_111539_825b

It might not even be necessary, but it can’t hurt.

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