Oil Fill Funnel

[Bob - S50]

I think I've finally made a funnel that works the way I want.

On our J, unless you remove the top cowling, you can't get a quart of oil to the fill spout without spilling a bunch.  I tried the extension that screws on the bottle then twists open and closed but I could never get it to work right (operator error).  Even if it did work, when I was done, there was oil inside the could not be wiped out which required me to put a piece of paper towel in both ends to keep it from dripping in the plane.

So I made this contraption from parts I bought at Home Depot.  From left to right:

1/2" threaded cap

6" x 1/2" riser threaded at both ends

1" to 1/2" reducer with threads for both sizes

1" coupling with threads at both ends

1" threaded plug

Checking the oil is the first thing I do when I get to the plane.  If I need to add oil, I wipe of the dipstick and set it aside.  I hold the funnel small end up and remove the cap.  I then place the riser into the fill spout.  On our J it goes in about half way.  It sticks out of the door by a couple inches.  I then remove the plug from the large end.  I do not simply put the bottle into the large end, but rather I pour the Camguard and oil in at a rate that allows air to come back up the riser.  If I fill too quickly it will back up and overflow the funnel.  Still, it only takes about a minute or two to add all the oil.

When I'm done I leave the funnel in and start my preflight, making the walk around the last thing I do.  I start the walk around at the leading edge right wing base.  When I get back to the oil fill door I've finished my walk around and I finally remove the funnel.  This allows the maximum amount of time for oil to drain out of the funnel.

To stow, I screw in the plug, pull the funnel out, screw on the cap, and wipe it all off.  I can then put it back into the baggage compartment without worrying about drips and continue my trip.

 

[N601RX]

I've been using the twist on extension from Wally World that has the 1/4 turn valve. I always just leave it on the last bottle of oil I used and screw the cover back on the top of the spout. 

[ArtVandelay]

The case of Philips 50-20 XC oil came with a extension.

[Bob_Belville]

Just now, teejayevans said:

The case of Philips 50-20 XC oil came with a extension.

I have several of these basic spouts but find it hard to not spill if the top cowl is in place. But at oil change since the cowl is off to change filter I use the blue spouts. 

The yellow type with the ball valve is better for topping off and is what stays in the plane. I plug the ends and wrap with shop cloth inside a zip lock in the supplies backpack that stays in the baggage area.

Good idea from Ed Kollin of CamGuard. I now add the ~1.6 oz CG to each bottle in a new case of oil and mark the bottles "w CamG" with a felt tip marker so I know the quart is ready to go. 

[Culver LFA]

19 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

I have several of these basic spouts but find it hard to not spill if the top cowl is in place. But at oil change since the cowl is off to change filter I use the blue spouts. 

The yellow type with the ball valve is better for topping off and is what stays in the plane. I plug the ends and wrap with shop cloth inside a zip lock in the supplies backpack that stays in the baggage area.

Good idea from Ed Kollin of CamGuard. I now add the ~1.6 oz CG to each bottle in a new case of oil and mark the bottles "w CamG" with a felt tip marker so I know the quart is ready to go. 

On my F, I put the Phillips blue spout into the dipstick tube and then pour/snap in the 1 qt oil container into that.  The spout stays on the engine until all the oil is put in.  No spills!  Plus you can walk away for a few minutes and drain every drop (so you don't really need the PVC oil drain contraption in the other thread)

Edited January 29, 2016 by Culver LFA

[Culver LFA]

1 hour ago, Bob - S50 said:

To stow, I screw in the plug, pull the funnel out, screw on the cap, and wipe it all off.  I can then put it back into the baggage compartment without worrying about drips and continue my trip.

 

I like the capped ends for travel, good idea

[OR75]

there are plenty of ways of making a funnel ... simplest one being to cut in half an empty oil can.

The most difficult is to keep that funnel clean and free of dust and dirt.. I keep it wrapped in a cloth.

 

Edited January 29, 2016 by OR75

[chrisk]

2 hours ago, OR75 said:

.

The most difficult is to keep that funnel clean and free of dust and dirt.. I keep it wrapped in a cloth.

 

I find a zip lock bag works wonders for keeping the funnel free of dirt and dust.   However after a while the bag fills with oil.  Toss the bag, clean the funnel, stick clean funnel in a new bag.

[Bartman]

I use the screw on twisty extension. After use wrap a couple of folded paper shop towels around it. Put the wrapped funnel in a zip lock, and put that zip lock in a second zip lock. 

[N201MKTurbo]

I just use a black plastic funnel I got at Autozone, I cut the end off so the oil flows faster. On the road I use the paper funnels I get from the gas station that look like a snow cone cup smashed flat.

[Yetti]

Being able to stop the flow of thick oil in a down angle seems to be the key to eliminating drips.   I cut half off half the flexible tubing.   You can bend the tubing to cut the flow along with the valve at the bottle. I learned not to have the dipstick in while trying to add oil

[1964-M20E]

I use the screw on 1/4 turn variety and I just wrap it in a rag after and I have a small plastic tote in the baggage compartment where I keep extra oil and rags.

[FlyDave]

I'm going to bed.

[Bob - S50]

On 1/31/2016 at 6:30 AM, Yetti said:

Being able to stop the flow of thick oil in a down angle seems to be the key to eliminating drips.   I cut half off half the flexible tubing.   You can bend the tubing to cut the flow along with the valve at the bottle. I learned not to have the dipstick in while trying to add oil

That is exactly what I bought before I made my last attempt.  I also bought a rubber plug to put in the large end to keep residual oil from dripping into the airplane.  I abandoned it for a couple reasons.  First, it took forever to add the oil because the tube was too small.   Air couldn't come back up and into the bottle.  I had to tip the bottle back down multiple times to 'burp' it and allow air into the bottle.  Second, my rubber plug did not stay in very securely so I ended up having to put it in a ziplock bag.

Being able to screw it onto the bottle made me think it had potential.  It just didn't perform the way I wanted.

The only reason I want a funnel that won't drip oil in the plane without rags stuffed in the end is so that I have one to use when I'm adding oil on the road.

[Cap-Head]

You should try the No Spill Oil Cap www.nospillcap.com