Home made Chain Oiler, 5 Euros!
 

OK, here it is! it was a doddle to make, and it works pretty good, more testing to be done in Daylight tomorrow.....
here are some pics of the various steps. took me less than 1 hour start to finish (ok I had a break for lunch to let the glue dry, but actual build time less than an Hour) enjoy!:thumbup1:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...leposition.jpg
bottle cable tied in position, awaiting addition of tubing, 250ml bottle, would prefer 150ml or 100ml
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...stickbetwe.jpg
above: there is a piece of plastic lolly stick jammed between the cable ties to separate them and keep them firmly in the end of the tube, i am just enlarging the hole to allow better oil flow
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...ndbendtoro.jpg
here you can see the piece of brazing rod i used ( you could use copper wire or a bit of Coathanger)
this makes it easier to position the end "feeders", the inside edges of the "feeders, which are made from cable ties are grooved with a Stanley knife blade , 3 grooves lengthwise, to aid with the flow of oil to the tip

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...ONpisition.jpg
Above: the tap here is in the "ON" position, if the lever was straight up, it would be in the "OFF" position
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...hesprocket.jpg
In the above picture Inoticed the end was too near the sprocket so then adjusted it, that is why there is wire inside the tubing, so it can be bent and keeps its shape..... Note: Oil is visible just a drip, right on the very Tip, the grooves are working!
so far so good......... if anyone wants step by step instructions I will post all the pics ( about 35 and instructions) on instructables.com with a link

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...monthebike.jpg
Above: Finished Installation.

cheers

Martyn :mchappy:

Nice work Martyn - you might remember this thread about the same topic:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...in-oiler-28074

So, one question - why do all of these systems go to the back sprocket and not the (nearer) front drive sproket?

If they were put on the front sproket you would have the oil splashing all over your engine block just after it hits the chain, causing that horrible smell and smoke.

Where as if it's on the rear then it just goes over your tires when your riding slowly, something you have to watch out for.

plus you want the oil to be driven into the chain from the sprocket by centrifugal force, putting the oil on the rear sprocket allows the chain to be in contact with the oily sprocket for longer - and if you mounted on the front you would have to get it onto the top of the sprocket for it to work at all, which would be logistically difficult.

My DIY oiler, that I posted about some time ago, originally went to the rear sprocket but from day one had a problem with oil dripping onto the tyre when the bike was parked.
I moved the outlet to the top of the front sprocket back in the summer and so far so good. There is a bit of overoiling splash but it drips onto the bashplate and away from the tyre

thats why this is here.........
 

Thats why I fitted this little tap!.....no more drips unless i forget to turn it off.......and knowing myself that will be 90% of the time!:oops2:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...ONpisition.jpg

Back of Beyond, can you make it so that the oil line gets an air bubble in it while the bikes parked over night, just route the line above the oil reserviour the pressure difference will pull air into the line when your stopped.

That's what I've done that way the oil only starts to come out after about 5-7 minutes riding, only thing is slow riding through traffic or when stationary and the bikes running, then I normally get a few drips.

I've not checked since I put on my Touratech Chain Guide last week as I now have it running down into that first then going on the chain, I'm hoping it would stop some of the mess, I will check it once it's light again.

Hope that helps.

erm, is this a gravity fed system or is it powered off a manifold spigot?

If it is gravity fed then I'm afraid putting the resevoir lower would cause it to stop alltogether

I think drips are inherent in my design because of the long tube that goes from the reservoir to the sprocket. In martyn's design the tap is located close to the sprocket and will probably have minimal drip from the tube (if he remembers to turn it off!).
His bike has the stand on the same side as the chain so that when parked the sprocket leans away from the tyre and drips go on the floor, mine unfortunately has the chain on the other side so drips fall onto the tyre. The oil for these drips come from tube drainage and with a long tube going from the reservoir it takes a fair while to drain. Using one of martyn's taps would have been a good idea but I made the oiler out of scrap lying around in the garage and didn't find a tap.
I can see the principal behind your "block it with a bubble" idea, I'm just not clear on how I could make it work in practice.

I need a rethink!
 

Backof beyond, after todays run out, im going to change my design! to front sprocket oiling like yours........ Because..

1.) the oils oversplash on rear tyre caused some amazing sideways nearly brown trouser moments today!:helpsmilie:

2.) when I fiddled with the end of the tube to try to move it away from the sprocket it made the problem worse.

3.) I think I am going to go back to the drawing board, remove the lot and redesign with brackets rather than cable ties and a better oil delivery system. for safetys sake if nothing else!

Martyn

Too much oil.

And possibly the wrong place?

On an old bike I had .. the oil was contained in the swing arm, a needle valve controlled the flow - both on and off and its rate. The flow was directed to the chain just before it contacted the rear sproket. I think this is the longest run of chain where it is most stable (whre it goes around teh sproket, so the oil has a chance not to be splashed off. As the chain/oil went around teh sproket the oil would be centrifically flug towards the outer surface of the chain - having been delivered to the inner surface - if did get good coverage. You don't need much oil at all, I used to leave it on for a cup of tea... may be a drop afterwards. The side stand was on the side with the chain so drops if they fell - fell away from the tyre.


Before you build it permant - experiment as to

1) rate of flow.
2) where to put the oil.

Good luck - and let us know how it goes.

It's not clear from the pics but I can't see anything in your system that limits the rate at which the oil flows down the tube. I jammed a piece of plastic with a 2mm ? hole (mig welder liner) at the end of the clear tubing to limit the flow rate. This makes sure the oil doesn't flood out. The reservoir end also has a 3mm outlet to limit the flow rate down the tube. These holes are really too small for my normal 90 grade gear oil in the winter but fine in the summer. You're only looking for a drip a minute or so.

What it comes down to, I suppose, is how much time and effort you want to put into these things. I did consider knocking up a needle valve based control system on the lathe using carburettor jets / needles and calibrating it against temperature and oil viscosity but it would have been easier just to go and buy one - secondhand scottoilers come up regularly on ebay.

An electronically controlled pumped system is probably the way to go and there are several designs to crib on the internet (mainly in german for some reason), some of them looking like they cost more than the bike they are fitted to. I tried to convince my son that building one of them would be perfect for his gcse electronics project - particularly as he was doing german gcse as well, but I think he saw through the ploy.

flow rate adjusters!!!! lol
 

The little chrome "TAP" is actually an aquarium air-flow adjuster, used to adjust the rate of air flowing to an air-stone from a pump....... therefore it SHOULD also limit the flow of oil. I just need to practice how far to turn it.:thumbup1:

Martyn

Im interested!!
 

Hey Martyn, :thumbup1:

please send the step by step guide. (is it completed yet?)
Im the type that likes to forget/lazy to oil my chain:nono:

Had my DID snapped in the midlle of a back road, during a 400km ride, Luckily I was still in the area where public buses & workshops were still
nearby.:(



:scooter:
Ride Safe/Save/Sober

Step by step
 

Hiya Osama, still a few pics to add and some more revised instructions ( such as try using thicker oil if you value your ass/bike/sanity) will get it finished before the weekend, if you PM me your email addy I will send it off to you ASAP.

Martyn