How much oil do you fly with?

[helitim]

My J has the Lycoming I0-360 A3B6D engine. The manual calls for 8 qts max and 6 qts minimum.

Trying to go "by the book" I had been keeping the level at 8 qts. for the first 25 or so hours after purchasing the plane. When doing this, it seems to "burn" about 1/4 qt /hr. Knowing that most engines have a level that they like to run at, I decided to let it go and see where, or if, the consumption levelled out. When the level reached 6 qts, the consumption stopped. I now have 9 hours on the engine and it has consumed less the 1/4 of a qt. It would appear that anything I put in greater than 6 qts is just going to be blown out.

In there any real reason to keep the level above the recommended 6 qt minimum from Lycoming? Would it be reasonable to alter my acceptable oil level down to 5 qts and not add over 1qt at any time?

Thanks,

Tim

[Tommy]

That is precisely the same observation that I have made on my J too. So now I just put in 6qts - no more no less. And I only need to add in 1/4 qt every 5 to 6 hours or so. But the oil is not expensive so I would hate to cause far more expensive damage to the engine by trying to save couple of dollars. 

 

Therefore, I am all ears to any expert opinions!

[MHemperly]

I put no more then 6 1/2 quarts and usually no less then 5 1/2. Seems to burn anything over 6 qts. Pretty quick

[bonal]

6.5 seems to hold pretty steady for my O360 then I get a real slow rate of loss to 6 qts

[philipneeper]

This may seem nieve of me but I think GA engines are a lot like the turbine engines I work on in the military. They can hold 13 qts but they piss it all out to a certain happy spot.

[ArtVandelay]

When I fill her up to 7, after the flight I have oil dripping from the breather hose

[ryoder]

I just recently started running with more than 6.5 quarts and I now have oil drips after flight.  When I first began flying I was told by my instructor to run it at just over 6 or it will burn it off.  Then when we changed the oil we put in 8 quarts and I have been keeping that level up more or less by running at around 7.5.  Its messier now.  I think I will go back to 6.5 for short flights and 7 for longer ones.

[PTK]

Cleaning the belly of my Mooney is not one of my favorite past times!

I keep mine at 6 qts. It's happy there. I add half a quart maybe at 7-8 hours.

For longer flights I'll add a quart bringing it to 7+ qts.

By regulation it can be as low as 4 qts!

[rbridges]

I used to keep mine at 6, but it seems to settle at 5 1/2.  For flights over 1.5 hrs, I'll usually bump it over 6.  

[Hank]

When I change the oil, I put in 7 quarts [1 for the filter, 6 for the engine]. Somewhere around 5½ I'll add a half a quart. The closer I get to changing, the less time between top-offs. Right now I'm about 10-12 hours post-change and haven't added any yet, but 5½ is coming.

[BigTex]

When I change the oil, I put in 7 quarts [1 for the filter, 6 for the engine]. Somewhere around 5½ I'll add a half a quart. The closer I get to changing, the less time between top-offs. Right now I'm about 10-12 hours post-change and haven't added any yet, but 5½ is coming.

+1... My plane seems happiest right at 6 quarts.

[Bob - S50]

J model also.  We fill to 6 or just over that.  Wait until it gets to 5 then add a quart.  If I'm leaving on a long flight, I might fill it to 6.5 rather than take off with 5.5.

 

Bob

[aaronk25]

Fill to 6qts add when at 5qts....easy less cleaning.

[Piloto]

My M20J at 8qts is about 11hrs/qt. I have an M20 oil separator that returns blow by oil back to the case and keeps the belly clean. Having 8qts helps on engine cooling. Oil consumption also creates a dark exhaust stain on the belly. While a white/yellowish stain is a sign of no burning oil.

 

José  

[Seth]

My former F was that way.  It liked 6.5 quarts  I'd keep it at that level and not put in 8.

 

My current J/Missile takes 10-12, and likes to stay at 10.5.  So I put in 10 at the oil change and then a bottle of camguard.  It settles out at 10.5 after some time, and when it hits 10, I fill it back up to 10.5, usually once, maybe twice between oil changes (I change the oil every 35-40 hours).

 

-Seth

[dooleypster]

My J has the Lycoming I0-360 A3B6D engine. The manual calls for 8 qts max and 6 qts minimum.

Trying to go "by the book" I had been keeping the level at 8 qts. for the first 25 or so hours after purchasing the plane. When doing this, it seems to "burn" about 1/4 qt /hr. Knowing that most engines have a level that they like to run at, I decided to let it go and see where, or if, the consumption levelled out. When the level reached 6 qts, the consumption stopped. I now have 9 hours on the engine and it has consumed less the 1/4 of a qt. It would appear that anything I put in greater than 6 qts is just going to be blown out.

In there any real reason to keep the level above the recommended 6 qt minimum from Lycoming? Would it be reasonable to alter my acceptable oil level down to 5 qts and not add over 1qt at any time?

Thanks,

Tim

As mentioned by others, most engines seem to have a sweet spot somewhere around 5-7 quarts.  The POH puts the minimum oil level quite a bit lower, but that would be after flight....not before.  I find with my engine, that if I put 7 quarts in initially....I can fly 10-15 hours before I get down to 5 quarts.  At 5 quarts (or thereabouts) I bring it back up to 7 again.  Anything over 7 just gets blown out during flight.  Oil dripping from the breather tube in moderation is really quite normal.  The engine breathes, gets hot and cold, and drips a small amount normally after flight.  I usually see a 1-2" spot in the tray i keep under the breather tube after flight.  Seldom anything in excess of that.  My engine currently has 400 hours since overhaul, and I'm just now starting to feel pretty good about it's reliability.  New engines give me pause.  Just my observations, your mileage my vary considerably.

[Marauder]

You would also be surprised at the Lycoming spec for minimum oil level.

[rbridges]

I read an article and it basically said you're fine as long as the engine temps are where they need to be.  I don't know if that's an absolute, but it made me realize that being slightly under 6 qts isn't going to hurt anything.  Especially when you consider lycoming's minimums.

[chrisk]

My M20J at 8qts is about 11hrs/qt. I have an M20 oil separator that returns blow by oil back to the case and keeps the belly clean. Having 8qts helps on engine cooling. Oil consumption also creates a dark exhaust stain on the belly. While a white/yellowish stain is a sign of no burning oil.

 

José  

I've got a 231 and no separator.  White soot on back.  Oil on the belly.  Life is good, but cleaning both is a pain.  --I almost think cleaning the soot off is worse.

[Jeff_S]

My J would reliably settle in at 6 quarts on the dipstick, and I would only add it 1/2 quart at at time when it got to 5.5.  I did have the M20 air/oil separator installed on that engine and I think it helped keep oil off the belly and in the crankcase.  I know that not all industry experts agree with using such a device...Mike Busch in particular seems to rail against them whenever he gets the chance...but it was on the plane when I bought it and I never had any trouble with it.

 

I'm still learning the tendencies of the Ovation. I just finished the first oil change after break-in, but I went 24 hours with only 1 quart added during that process, and it seemed to like hanging out at 6 quarts as well.  I will reserve judgment on that until I've had a few more cycles.

[rbridges]

 

 

I'm still learning the tendencies of the Ovation. I just finished the first oil change after break-in, but I went 24 hours with only 1 quart added during that process, and it seemed to like hanging out at 6 quarts as well.  I will reserve judgment on that until I've had a few more cycles.

 

that is a sweet looking plane.  heck, I thought your J model was awesome.

[carusoam]

Jeff, the IO550 doesn't vent the excess overboard like an O360 does...

Best regards,

-a-

[triple8s]

Best thing I've found for cleaning the is belly the cheap white hand cleaner that has no pumice or grit of any kind. Gets the oil or lead off no problemo.

[Guest]

I add 16 quarts of oil and 2 AvBlend plus a long 48111-1 filter at every oil change. About the same as change oil on 2 IO-360's.

Clarence

[helitim]

" I have an M20 oil separator that returns blow by oil back to the case and keeps the belly clean. "

 

José