Triumphrat

IrlMike · 03-15-2011, 02:21 PM

...over the last couple of years.

Started out with the 'Loobman'

http://www.chainoiler.co.uk/

Cheap, manual pump system. Oil in a 'squeezy' bottle. Squeeze some into the delivery tube before the off, gravity does the rest. Good 'nozzle' thingy, oil drips along two prongs either side of chain wheel - kept this bit.

A bit feast & famine tho', esp if I forgot the slightly tedious procedure of squeezing some oil into the tube. Stops & short journeys not so good - no 'off' mechanism, so dripped on the floor as it carried on if there was oil still in the tube when stopped.

Next up, the Scottoiler... stupidly overpriced, so bought s/hand on fleabay.
http://www.scottoiler.com/uk/vsystem/vsystem.html

Carb vacuum operated on/off & a flow adjuster wheel...so far so good. Scottoiler's own oil pricey & far too thin - nicely oiled back tyre. Not ideal.

So began using chain saw oil - dirt cheap, thick & sticky. But...still a gravity system & quite sensitive to temperature & often too much, more lubricated rubber

, or too little - constant fiddling with flow wheel...until one day it packed up altogether. Nice clear plastic bottle tho' - easy fill & could see at a glance how much oil left - kept this bit..

Next up, the PD Oiler

http://www.pdoiler.co.uk/

'PD' stands for 'positive displacement' - as in the mini electric pump which squirts a fixed amount of oil down the line every 30 secs to a minute or so, determined by a timer control box. Great! So far so good, tho' underwhelmed by the wick & tube 'nozzle' resting on the lower chain run.

However, the pump holder & oil reservoir bottle is opaque, so no easy level check & is made of alu nearly as thin as a coke can. Result, zip ties holding it to frame tube collapsed the 'can', whence it dropped down on to the top chain run, ground a hole in itself & sprung a leak

Liked the pump system tho' so kept this bit....

Fortunately the pump mechanism bolted straight into the sturdy clear plastic scottoiler bottle. Thin PD oiler delivery tube slides inside the wider Loobman tube to use their chain wheel thingy.

Introducing the Franken-oiler....that hasn't fallen apart, can use any oil you like without delivering nada or pi&&ing it over the tyre & is easy to check & fill

Darien · 03-15-2011, 03:12 PM

Impressive!

TBirdVI · 03-15-2011, 03:12 PM

Ha! Good story. Don't you just love salvaging stuff and making something new out of the remnants? Especially if it's better than the original!

Legend JJ · 03-15-2011, 03:40 PM

+1 Determination!

R0B · 03-15-2011, 03:42 PM

Very interesting.....................would the scottoiler dual injector be compatable with the setup?

Rob

ssevy · 03-15-2011, 03:44 PM

Hi Mike,
I love the way you can never leave your bike alone for any amount of time without doing some tweaking! Having read other discussions of automatic oilers,I do have a few questions, and your answers always make good sense to me. Here goes:
I always assumed most of the chain wear actually came from the thicker oils attracting dirt which got through the o-rings and started working abrasively on the joints (not to mention the sprockets)? A constant supply of fresh oil would tend to help this flow off through centripetal force, so I can see the logic of these automatic oilers. My question is, do they really extend chain and sprocket life as opposed to someone who is conscientious about lubing the chain using a canned lube? How much oil do these things use, and is it practical on a longer trip to carry extra? A can of the teflon is pretty light and easily packed without making a mess. Having used chainsaws for many years, I can say with confidence that chain oil is like having honey spattered on your clothes, and it doesn't clean off. I can't imagine anything this thick actually penetrating the tight clearances in a motorcycle chain for lubrication purposes, so your comments would be most valuable.
Thanks for the info!

Slinky · 03-15-2011, 04:17 PM

Rumour has it that Scottoiler oil is ATF with a little molybenum added. I use anything and everything in mine.. there is quite a lot of adjustment to allow for different viscosities.

I got 25k miles out of an X ring chain using a Scottoiler- probably could have got the same with diligent use of a spray lube.

With the dual injector it's possible to fine-tune the flow to get better than 1000 miles out of a refill.

IrlMike · 03-15-2011, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R0B

Very interesting.....................would the scottoiler dual injector be compatable with the setup?

Rob

Yes, I'm sure it would. But the thinner delivery tube of the PD oiler is needed at least for some length at the chain wheel end or there's tendency to drip when standing. An easy adaptation tho'.

I like the PD pump system & compared to Scottoiler his price seems very reasonable. It looks to me like he's designed & making the little pump/solenoid gizmo himself, so there's a bit of cost there - not as if it's made in zillions by slaves in China. (I did look to see if I could find such a pump on the web, being a cheap b&*^d

- nothing doing!) But the rest of it, well, less than stellar imo.

R0B · 03-15-2011, 04:39 PM

I saw this on E*** http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...T#ht_500wt_715 and wondered if the cheaper pd gubbins might fit in, and then use the grotoiler delivery tube etc.

Rob

IrlMike · 03-15-2011, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssevy

Hi Mike,
I love the way you can never leave your bike alone for any amount of time without doing some tweaking! Having read other discussions of automatic oilers,I do have a few questions, and your answers always make good sense to me. Here goes:
I always assumed most of the chain wear actually came from the thicker oils attracting dirt which got through the o-rings and started working abrasively on the joints (not to mention the sprockets)? A constant supply of fresh oil would tend to help this flow off through centripetal force, so I can see the logic of these automatic oilers. My question is, do they really extend chain and sprocket life as opposed to someone who is conscientious about lubing the chain using a canned lube? How much oil do these things use, and is it practical on a longer trip to carry extra? A can of the teflon is pretty light and easily packed without making a mess. Having used chainsaws for many years, I can say with confidence that chain oil is like having honey spattered on your clothes, and it doesn't clean off. I can't imagine anything this thick actually penetrating the tight clearances in a motorcycle chain for lubrication purposes, so your comments would be most valuable.
Thanks for the info!

Haha, you have me there Ssevy - I nearly wrapped up the post with:

...um, yeah, ok, I've too much time on my hands right?

Anyhow, to respond to your question. 1st off, I wouldn't claim chain oilers are any better than spray cans. (The Dupont teflon stuff seems to have a lot of fans, but it's not available here.) But regular lubing of any kind does make a difference.

As regards weight of oil, I take a cue from what the chain makers use inside the rollers - grease. So a thick lubricant is fine I then assume. And beyond the grease they put in the rollers - which does the main lube job (sealed in so no external lube involved here)- all's left to do is keep the O/X rings moist & put a bit of lube maybe on the roller outer/sprocket tooth.

However...probably the biggest factor (I've heard) is clean surfaces. But I'm far too lazy to clean the chain! And, anyway, 5 miles down the road it's picked up another load of dirt. (<- my excuse!)

Sooo....chain saw oil, besides being dirt cheap round here (almost next to tins of beans on the shop shelf!), is somewhere in the middle between a thinner oil that might 'wash' (a bit) as it flings off, & a grease that wouldn't much.

For long trips, I've found a 500ml bottle of refill (scottoiler bottle with it's tube/nozzle bit) - little bigger than a spray can - can get me round Europe fine, 3 or 4k miles. (Chain saw oil is sold pretty much anywhere too.)