Author Topic: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser  (Read 3375 times)

Offline awemawson

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Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« on: March 15, 2022, 05:16:28 AM »
Some weeks ago  I was servicing the JCB and realised what a pain it was introducing oil to (for instance) the axles via a plug in a vertical face that you can barely see never mind balance a funnel in. This got me thinking that it wasn't only big plant with this issue. Even my humble lawn mower has an oil filler sited in a hard to get at place, and this is a common problem with other engines that I have on small generators, concrete mixers, vibrating rollers etc. So it was worth trying to find a solution.

Hunting about modern offerings are either extremely fragile being plastic, or seem to be made from re-cycled bean cans however there was a design originating in the 1950's many examples of which were being offered as 'man cave decorations' - could one of these possibly be got to work?

Well actually  I realised that I needed two - one for gear oil and one for engine oil. (All my equipment gets fed the same 'Universal Tractor Oil' which is suitable for petrol and diesel engines and wet brakes) So I selected a pair on offer - sight unseen - from opposite sides of the country. Both sold as decorative items - no guarantee.

Looking at the picture below the red one was fine, worked a treat, and had already been used to give my new stand by generator it's initial fill of engine oil.

However the green one leaked like a sieve. The lower part of the reservoir had been covered in tape and painted over to cover up perforating rust holes. This wasn't a recent repair but looked to have some age to it. The damage was extensive enough that I decided it wasn't worth repairing - I'd considered sand blasting and patching but came to the conclusion it wasn't worth bothering - make a new reservoir or re-purpose something else. A 4.5kg butane cylinder looked ideal until I realised that the oil pump body is 16" tall and the cylinder isn't !  OK next size up - 7 kg - tall enough but far too bulky.

So make something !



« Last Edit: March 16, 2022, 05:09:56 AM by awemawson »
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2022, 05:24:28 AM »
Now it just so happens that I have an 'off cut' over 6 metres long of 140 mm diameter 4 mm wall tube left over from making the replacement roller for the big flail mower - if the CNC plasma cutter can be persuaded to make me some ends and feet it just would need a bit of welding.

Ah - first snag - 140 mm isn't enough space on the top plate for the pump flange and a filler hole. OK weld a 2" elbow to the side and you are sorted !

Next snag - that long pipe is buried under lots of other heavy stock - how to get it to the band saw which is in another building. Solution - roughly hack off an over long bit and trim it on the band saw :clap: Not quite as easy as it sounds as access is difficult and rotating the pipe to cut with the torch was a pain using carver clamps to grip it.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2022, 05:32:29 AM »
So now we need two end caps, four feet, and a suitably hacked about 2" black iron elbow. Ebay provided the elbow and the CNC plasma table gave me the other bits - conveniently I already had a sheet of 1/4" mild steel already mounted from a previous job.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2022, 05:40:11 AM »
So now we need a  bit of weld preparation - plate bevelling etc - and glue it all together with the MIG welder

Now my welding isn't pretty enough to leave 'as is', and anyway the bottom plate would need it's welds dressing to fit the feet so I ground the whole lot back to 'smooth' before performing a leak test with hot water.

First leak test revealed a very slight imperfection which was soon fixed by grinding back and re-welding. Second leak test showed it to be fine allowing me to go ahead and fix the feet on.

(Blue workshop towel has the useful property of going a far darker blue if any water gets on it)
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2022, 05:46:54 AM »
After welding the feet on I gave it one final leak test - all good  :thumbup:

So after a bit of a clean up it was ready for paint. Far too cold really in the welding shop so each coat got baked at 100 deg C in the potters kiln for several hours.

First coat was a rattle tin of zinc rich primer

Second and third coats were 'Tractor Enamel' in RAL 1007 JCB Yellow
« Last Edit: March 15, 2022, 10:32:26 AM by awemawson »
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2022, 05:55:14 AM »
Now at this stage I had no idea if the pump works or not ! It's a simple affair with a foot valve a top valve with a rack and pinion moving the piston up and down.

The gland nut for the pinion was painted solid locking it to the shaft so only rotating by unscrewing and re-screwing the gland. Solved with a blast of heat from the propane torch. The two valves were a bit mucky so got a blast of compressed air. So now it should work fine but I will want to flush it a few times before the gear oil is put in to avoid contamination.

Pump re-fitted to reservoir and all 'should be well' but I have to stop now as some friends are arriving soon to help put a new cover on the polytunnel - hope it stays calm wind wise or we'll be flying !
« Last Edit: March 15, 2022, 10:34:58 AM by awemawson »
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline Pete W.

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2022, 07:11:40 AM »
Hi there, Andrew,

Thank you for this thread.

Your Dunny needs a coat of Cuprinol 'Shed & Fence'!!

Then again, maybe your practice is to use a blend of diesel and old engine oil?

Best regards,

Pete W.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you haven't seen the latest design change-note!

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2022, 10:27:39 AM »
That's no Dunny Pete - it's the wife's tool shed !

But I agree she needs to treat it, but not Cuprinol so much as genuine Creosote. It's there - it's in the bucket ready - the brush is there - I've even filled a spray with it - she just needs to do it or that 'sentry box' will go the same way as those chicken sheds I ended up re-building.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2022, 01:37:20 PM »
Well I'm glad to be able to report that the pump pumps  :thumbup:

I've been flushing it with clean but cheap oil and filtering the result before repeating using the same oil. Quite a bit of debris being filtered - mind you I'm using paint spraying filters so they are quite fine. A few more cycles to do before I'm happy that it's clean and ready to use.

The poly tunnel cover went on with the usual heaving and pulling and shovelling of earth to hold it's edges down and the breeze thankfully never got up to much, just need a warm day (forecast for next week) to pull the last wrinkles out of it before making the end doors and their sliding gear. I still reckon to buy veg at the supermarket is cheaper and easier but I don't win brownie points saying it  :scratch:

Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2022, 07:46:35 PM »
You always do a neat and thorough job rebuilding or remaking, Andrew, and this is no exception. I like the shaped feet of your pump among other things. That cnc plasma cutter is awfully handy. Excellent job!  :clap:
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2022, 03:27:18 AM »
Thanks Steve I  appreciate the comments.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline nrml

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2022, 01:08:37 PM »
Very cool project and nice result.
However, the skinflint in me feels the need to ask the question: wouldn't a £12 submersible electric diesel transfer pump have done the job for less money, time and energy?

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2022, 01:21:42 PM »
We obviously think along the same lines  :clap:

But no - I tried that - even on 24 volts my transfer pump couldn't manage thick gear oil in cold weather.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2022, 04:48:04 PM »
Well these projects are rarely over when you think that they are - and this one is no exception !

Having constructed the new reservoir, and given it all a jolly good clean out, I decided that it would be sensible to 'flush' the dispenser to make sure it's nice and clean before filing expensive gear boxes and axles. I happen to have a stash of brand new speciality oil that I was given, that all though very high quality and expensive is in a far greater quantity than I will ever use. So it got pressed into service as flushing oil. Scandalous really but it was expedient to use it.

So I rigged up a large funnel and a paint spraying filter, and put about 2500 mL in the tank. A clean filter at this stage so no contamination in the source oil.I then rigged the hose to direct oil back into the filter and proceeded to pump the oil out and back in.

To my horror the filter collected all sorts of particles. Non were magnetic but what the heck were they :scratch:

I 'rinse and repeated' this process ten times and although the particle count had gone down there were still far too many - so what to do next?

I decided that the issue must be the pump itself - I hadn't dismantled it, and reportedly it wasn't serviceable but I obviously was going to have to dig deeper.

My plan was to pull it all apart, put some clean red diesel in a bucket, and use my 12 volt 'diesel transfer pump' as a 'parts washer' to give everything a good old going over. This would have been fine until I found that it had died a death - probably when I tried it on 24 volts in an attempt to move thick gear  oil a few weeks back.

Admit defeat, chuck it in the bin and order another one -so I did. Well actually two to have one in reserve for the future. Amazon delivered them this after noon so play could be resumed.

Pulling the pump totally to bits revealed that the inner machined parts above the pinion housing as pretty foul, and the top valve in the piston was covered in crud. All got a very thorough washing in red diesel followed by a blow out with an air line and wipe with a clean rag to reveal anything missed. . . . All seemed well.

So putting it all back together having cut a new gasket for the top of the reservoir (thank you laser cutter!) I once more filled it up with the clean brand new oil through a paint filter which remained clean.

Imagine my horror when repeating the 'pump the oil round' trick the filter once more was catching particles - less than before but still too many. Again I repeated the flushing with a clean filter and on the third time round the loop very minor particles were caught - I'm sure that if I carry on repeating this process eventually it'll come good.

So at the moment it's on the bench and when passing I give the handle ten cycles of pumping (= 2.5 litres) and hopefully eventually all will be well - but what a pain.

The rack and pinion (both steel) are immersed in the oil, as is the aluminium  piston and it steel ring. The particles are not magnetic so I can only think perhaps bits off the piston, or just maybe some coating that had been applied to the steel tube that I used for the reservoir - all a bit strange.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline hermetic

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2022, 05:05:48 AM »
Is it particles from the inside of the delivery pipe? time and  oil has rotted the rubber?
Phil
« Last Edit: March 24, 2022, 05:43:54 AM by hermetic »
Man who says it cannot be done should not disturb man doing it! https://www.youtube.com/user/philhermetic/videos?

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #15 on: March 24, 2022, 09:03:00 AM »
I don't think so Phil. The majority is newish pvc of the nylon reinforced variety, leading to a small tap and finished with about 4" of flexible moulded rubber to put in the actual oil filling hole of whatever you are filling. The whole hose assembly has been repeatedly flushed and also blown out with an airline.

If things persist I'll remove that final moulded rubber bit and try again but I think that's in the straw clutching arena !

« Last Edit: March 24, 2022, 09:39:47 AM by awemawson »
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Re-Birth of an Oil Dispenser
« Reply #16 on: March 24, 2022, 09:38:24 AM »
Prompted by Phil's last post I've just gone over to the workshop and fitted a clean filter paper and pumped a further 2.5 litres 'round the loop' and I'm glad to report no particles.

I did remove the flexy end of the hose and inspect it but it was clean as a whistle.

Picture of the hose end assembly for clarity:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex