making a chain oiler. any other plans?

[desertjoe]

decided that with new chain/sprockets, and automatic oiler seems a good idea, but as none available here, and im not prepared to pay silly money for something i think i can bodge, im gonna give it a bash. read some threads on other attempts/sucseses, and think im gonna go for the pure manual gravity feed idea, either using drip irrigation valves, or IV drip system. any updated new attempts anybody know of, plans will be welcome AND, any advice on the drip-rate in these conditions (hot,dry,dusty,misty,salty) and oil type to be used? seems like chain-saw oil could be a good idea? promise to post photos of attempt!

[Lutin]

Can't offer any advice on the making of a chain oiler as I chickened out and bought a Scottoiler. But the type of oil is a relatively easy one - you don't want it too thin as it will be difficult to regulate and it would fling off the chain anyway. On the other hand too thick an oil will not flow. Your elevated ambient temperatures (over those here in Ireland) will also be a factor. Chain saw oil or EP90 gear oil would be a good starting point, I would imagine.

I think I remember someone posting up details of a home made chain oiler and the use of valves meant for aquarium use (air supply?).

[Nickel Arse]

Chain saw oil for yourself would be too sticky, great in the wet climes of Eurostan but no good for you.
Use a standard engine oil, fairly light so it washes the sand and dust off before turning to grinding paste. flow rate as high as you can before the wheel and tyre get manky.
Good luck with making one
There is a Dutch plunger fed oiler on the market fairly cheap I believe

[Nickel Arse]

and these
LOOBMAN - manual chain lubrication system for all motorcycles with regular, O-Ring and X-Ring chains
TUTORO Chain Oilers

[desertjoe]

ok, cheers chaps. will have a look at the other designs available. just ben mucking about with IV drip pipes, and it looks promising! used brakefluid as a test and it worked a charm so far. simplicity must be the answer. have a look at the experiment so far, maybe it could be the way forward, easy and cheap!

so the reservoir. must have sealed cap with feeder exit and breather pipe to blow into when priming.

drip vacuum. should be placed in position to do quick visual inspection of drip rate.

rate control wheel. must put a stopper above the wheel to max open setting so i dont open it to much by accident. also used to stop flow completely.

end result. will put y-link at bottom to target drip more accurately. comes with nice silicone nipples that can just touch chain.
lets call it @lube first aid!
well thats one plan, sure in practice itll have the usual bodge gremlins. will keep you posted

[Lutin]

Looks like you've got it sorted already. Just needs fitting to the bike.

[desertjoe]

oh, and drip rates anyone? more of less what would a scotoiler deliver?

[Zenarchy]

I think the recommended drip rate for a scottoiler is two drips per minute when the bike is idling which in the africa twins case would be around 1300 rpm (though as it's using a vacuum takeoff from the engine, I would expect this goes up in relation to the revs?, so you might be better with a bit of trial and error).

As Snapphappy says, if you're riding a lot through dirt and sand, it might be better to have it higher than the usual scottoiler recommendation to wash off more (though I'd heard it's better not to oil a chain at all if it's used in sand?).

I'd imagine the other issue in africa would be that there'd be such a wide variation in temperature at different times of the day/night (on a scottoiler the change in oil viscosity with temperature has a significant effect on the flow rate which might be a factor in any continuous flow? - I haven't been to africa yet but I get the impression that it can be very hot during the day, but very cold in the evenings?).

Maybe some sort of button your could press or something while riding to let out a specific amount of each time might work better than a fully automated system in your case?

Or something like the loobman where you squeeze a bottle to deliver a set amount every so many miles just as you would lube the chain manually (only with the advantage of it being semi automated).

[desertjoe]

wel it aint pretty, and it aint expensive (cost zero) but it works!
so i give you the @firstoilaid
step one, find that old slime bottle you did not throw away. rinse. cut end bit of nozzle of.
2. pretend to have accident. wait for medics to arrive. once drip is installed, run of with drip.
now you have what you need!

the IV drip bits you need. What? you dont have stuff like this lying around in your house? refer to previous note.

looks like the slime bottle wants to fit here. fuel pipe fitted through tight hole (as the vicar claimed) extra little hole drilled into cap for breather/priming hole. just blow in little pipe, and system primes. easy to check and refill. gonna secure it with a small bungee, as it fits pretty snug behind cover.

the drip counter wants to live here. i can check the drip rate easily in the handy little tubular window (them doctors are smart chaps hey!)

the flow regulator likes this spot, and i can reach it easy peasy with my free left hand whilst dodging goats with the other. seems stiff enough to keep its setting, and set it easily to give me 4 drops a minute. will fit a max locking splitpin so i cannot open it to wide by accident.

ok, i cannot seem to flip the image? so these drips come with handy junctions to plug extra drugs if you feel the need. so either the splits gonna sit here, or under the swingarm, just touching the sprocket to deliver oil on both sides of the chain. (i hope!)

just to clarify, i undone the junction, and slipped a bit of thin binding wire bent double (bend sitting at the top of Y) now i can shape the delivering pipes the way i need them
so lads, sod that scott ting, trust medical tehc! well, will see soon enough if it works in practice hey? promise ill admit if its a f-up!

[Neal6677]

Just to add to the input. From previos experience in the desert I believe the less oil the better, definatley nothing sticky like we would use in the UK otherwise the sand sticks to it and you end up with a grinding paste that wears away at the metal work, you may end up going through chains quicker. In your conditions you really need a balance due to the salt you mention.

Zenarchy said that he had heard not to use oil in the sand and I would agree, doesn't matter how light the oil is dust will stick, increasing the flow rate to clean it off will just increase the mess.... The finer the dust the more you have to watch as that gets into all the o ring seals and starts wearing away. Wheel bearings that had excess grease suffered aswell.

Regular cleaning giving it a wipe with a light oil that drys off in the sun was the best what we did, kept the rust at bay and the sand from sticking.

Mind you I do like the use of the IV, seen them used for many things but thats a first as a chain oiler