Oil Tank Fluid Level

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MustangUSA
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Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 3:05 am
Location: Cuyler Airpark (FD27)
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Oil Tank Fluid Level

Post by MustangUSA »

Hi Folks,

Please forgive a double post on this topic.... I mistakenly also initially posted this in the Sport SX section. I won't double post anything again... sorry.

I fly an Earthstar JT2 with a Rotax 582 that uses an Oil Injection System (not pre-mixed oil/fuel). I am currently installing the Sport SX 8.4" with AOA, fuel Qty, and several other sensors.
I am also using GRT's EIS 4000 unit, mainly because of needing the extra aux ports.

My question is... is there a way to install any kind of probe in the exterior mounted oil tank to keep track of oil quantity while in flight? These oil injection systems
have been know to fail, not often, but enough to cause me concern. Obviously when the EGT spikes in flight, one cause may be there is no oil being injected into
the fuel when it is supposed to be. So, since I am going the full yard with installing a new Sport SX unit and a new EIS 4000, plus many other upgrades... I was hoping
for a way to monitor the liquid quantity in the oil tank.

Any ideas would be most appreciated.

Best Regards,

John Wanamaker
N701SY
Cuyler Airpark FD27
JimB
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:52 am

Re: Oil Tank Fluid Level

Post by JimB »

John,

You can use any of the available fuel quantity devices to measure oil level. I use a pressure transducer to measure fuel qty. You could do that, for example look at the Belite fuel qty sensor, even a float sensor might work. The Belite measures pressure relative to ambient pressure so your oil tank cannot be pressurized or vented into the airstream. I don't think a capacitance probe will work given the viscosity of oil. Wire it to an Aux input on your EIS - you can even name it there. It can be displayed on your Sport too.

To decide which sensor, what are the dimensions of the tank, are there openings in it, how viscus is the oil etc? Do you have any ideas from other Earthstar owners?

JimButcher
MustangUSA
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Re: Oil Tank Fluid Level

Post by MustangUSA »

Jim,

The Rotax Oil Tank has a built-in probe with 2 spade connectors protruding from the cap of the tank probe. I have read every manual Rotax has about the 582, and not one mention of this oil level probe, with the electrical leads coming from it. The probe looks to be authentic Rotax, not an after-market installation. Very curious.... Thanks for responding, and any other advice, or suggestion you may have,

Regards,

John

JimB wrote:John,

You can use any of the available fuel quantity devices to measure oil level. I use a pressure transducer to measure fuel qty. You could do that, for example look at the Belite fuel qty sensor, even a float sensor might work. The Belite measures pressure relative to ambient pressure so your oil tank cannot be pressurized or vented into the airstream. I don't think a capacitance probe will work given the viscosity of oil. Wire it to an Aux input on your EIS - you can even name it there. It can be displayed on your Sport too.

To decide which sensor, what are the dimensions of the tank, are there openings in it, how viscus is the oil etc? Do you have any ideas from other Earthstar owners?

JimButcher
JimB
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:52 am

Re: Oil Tank Fluid Level

Post by JimB »

John,

I found in my Lockwood Rotax catalog (p 34 582 oil injection tank) that the tank is equipped with a 956 360 oil level indicator. When I searched on the Lockwood site, it appears that part number is a switch that is actuated by the oil level. If you call Lockwood, they can verify that. Probably the easiest solution is to use the switch to actuate a light. You could attach it to a aux input on the EIS and make it display a low oil warning, but a light is easier.

Hope this helps.

Jim Butcher
MustangUSA
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Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 3:05 am
Location: Cuyler Airpark (FD27)
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Re: Oil Tank Fluid Level

Post by MustangUSA »

Thanks,

I don't know how I could have missed it in any Rotax manual... thanks for the heads up about it all... sounds like an easy fix. I'll give Lockwood a call. I have spent a ton of money there as well as GRT <G>

Much Appreciated....

John
JimB
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:52 am

Re: Oil Tank Fluid Level

Post by JimB »

John,
If you have a spare aux input available on your EIS, it wouldn't be all that difficult to use that and make Low Oil appear on your Sport screen. Let me know if you need help.

Jim Butcher
MustangUSA
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Re: Oil Tank Fluid Level

Post by MustangUSA »

Thanks Jim,

Much appreciate your offer... I'll keep everyone informed as to our efforts.

Regards,

John

JimB wrote:John,
If you have a spare aux input available on your EIS, it wouldn't be all that difficult to use that and make Low Oil appear on your Sport screen. Let me know if you need help.

Jim Butcher
MustangUSA
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 3:05 am
Location: Cuyler Airpark (FD27)
Contact:

Re: Oil Tank Fluid Level

Post by MustangUSA »

I have resolved this minor issue by just running wiring to a red light on the panel. This tank is obviously checked in pre-flight. I just wanted to be able to know if a fitting or hose developed a leak during flight because I would only have minutes to put the plane down before the engine seized if it ran completely out of oil.

Thanks Jim, and everyone for their input on my tank issue... much appreciated!

John
JimB wrote:John,
If you have a spare aux input available on your EIS, it wouldn't be all that difficult to use that and make Low Oil appear on your Sport screen. Let me know if you need help.

Jim Butcher
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