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Wick Feed Oilers

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Wick Feed Oilers Empty Wick Feed Oilers

Post  DavidH Wed 13 Jan 2010, 1:06 pm

Could someone offer some words of wisdom on the subject of wick feed oilers?
Is the thickness of the wool wick at all critical? 2/3/4 ply wool?
How far down the tube should the wick reach? Right to the bottom? Poking out at the bottom?
What sort of feed rate should one expect? I set up an oiler in a jar lid (as Julia did) with a length of thin (2 ply) wool and it's taken 2 days to all feed through.

DavidH

DavidH

Number of posts : 33
Location : Warwick
Registration date : 2008-11-14

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Post  Steve Traill Wed 13 Jan 2010, 11:02 pm

If you ring up for a catalogue from Heritage Steam Supplies (Tel:01489 570737) on page 93/94 there is a lot of info and products that they sell for this. They reckon Worsted wool is the best as most of the wool you buy from 'wool shops' has all the natural oils washed out of it and often contains polyester. It also shows you 3 different ways of fitting the wool in the bearing cup depending on where it is on the engine. It is an excellent catalogue and very informative and the best thing is it's free to genuine customers.
What I would do though for the Burrell oil pots is to take a 3" length of fairly thin copper wire, bend it in half and twist it to make an eye at one end. Thread the piece of wool halfway through this and then carry on twisting the copper wire so that it holds the wool firm and you end up with a stiff copper tail to hold. This is then pushed down the centre pipe in the oiler until it either hits the bearing or can go no further. It needs to go at least just below the bottom of the oil pot. I find that the oil pots with a single folded strand empty quicker than some I have fitted with a double strand. When it is fitted snip the copper off about 6mm from the top and bend it over so you can refit the lid. This ensures that the wick stays put, I have seen on large & small engines the wick gets sucked down onto the bearing and completely out of the oil pot. One then thinks that it has dissappeared and fits another one not knowing that the old one is acting as a pretty good stopper as it's all jammed in the oil hole.
All the best
Steve
Steve Traill
Steve Traill

Number of posts : 800
Age : 67
Location : Illogan Redruth Cornwall
Registration date : 2008-06-29

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Post  DavidH Thu 14 Jan 2010, 3:28 pm

Many thanks for that, Steve.
Yes, I've seen HSS's advert many times and have now requested a catalogue. I've just had a look at it online. Most illuminating.
Thanks again.
David

DavidH

Number of posts : 33
Location : Warwick
Registration date : 2008-11-14

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Post  Wallace Wed 27 Jan 2010, 12:03 pm

I was finding the same problems with my oilers, so I wipped out the tube inside the bowl and replaced it with sheeps wool. this improved things enormously, although the feed of oil could become a bit fast once the engine is run in. I always think that too much oil is more preferable than too little.

Danny

Wallace

Number of posts : 2
Location : Nottingham
Registration date : 2010-01-27

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