need tips on home oil oxidation/sludge study

[friendly_jacek]

I'm planning to bake some oils samples in oven (on alumimium foil) to test oxidation/deposits/sludge formation. I'm planing to use various oil samples from my stash that covers engine oils groups I-V and I will throw in some oils mixed with additives and a few ATF fluids as well.

Now the question is what conditions do I need to use to mimic the ring area? I'm talking temperature and time as I'm not planning to use gasoline/water contamination or or blow-by gasses.

Did anyone do anything similar?

 

[MegaCorp]

Some guy tried the same thing on a BBQ a while back. Not sure it can really prove anything..

 

[CharlieJ]

I hope you plan on doing that in an oven you do not use for cooking food. Yep, someone did that a couple years ago on their BBQ. It ended in flames.

 

[labman]

Maybe work outside with something controllable such as an electric griddle. Try different temperatures, maybe 250, 300, 400. Put a measured amount of different oils at different spots. Repeat with the oils rearranged to see if the results are the same.

 

[NateDN10]

Yeah... make sure you limit temperature to well below the oil's flash point. You don't want oil smoke (or worse, flames) in your house.

Another thought: oil sees different conditions depending on where it is: in the head, cylinder walls, bearings, etc. You won't be able to reproduce them all very accurately.

Other than that, I'm interested in seeing the results!

 

[mechtech2]

I'd do this outside, somehow.
Why trash your oven or home?

 

[ps49556n]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
I'm planning to bake some oils samples in oven (on alumimium foil) to test oxidation/deposits/sludge formation. I'm planing to use various oil samples from my stash that covers engine oils groups I-V and I will throw in some oils mixed with additives and a few ATF fluids as well.

Now the question is what conditions do I need to use to mimic the ring area? I'm talking temperature and time as I'm not planning to use gasoline/water contamination or or blow-by gasses.

Did anyone do anything similar?



Honestly you are wasting your time doing this without proper scientific equipment and tools. The best commercial food-grade ovens and grills have trouble maintaining consistent heat at every spot inside and the thermostats controlling the temps are given a good amount of +/-. Unless this is just to fill your free time and give you something to do, the results will be worthless as the testing conditions will not be consistent without the real testing equipment.

 

[friendly_jacek]

So far it's ney here. I'm still not decided. You guys seriously think oil with catch on flames at 200C?
After some research I decided ~200C is the temp at rings in gas engine. As for uneven temp, I can place control oil spots all over the grid, in a DNA chip fashion.

 

[labman]

As far as I know the oil never caught fire inside any of my engines. The crankcase and area below the piston is filled with air in 4 cycle engines. In 2 cycle ones, it is filled with the air and gas mixture.

I think you would get more uniform temperatures using some kind of heavy plate, not foil.

 

[NateDN10]

At 200C, it probably won't catch fire, but since that's above the flash point of most oil, it'll start to evaporate and maybe smoke. Definitely not something you want to do indoors, or in an oven you want to cook food in later.

 

[Burt]

Obviously you are not married...

 

[labman]

Maybe for now.

 

[Sayjac]

IIRC, I've seen something like this done here or posted to a link where it was done. I seem to remember pics and all, but with my lack of skill with search feature, I doubt I could find it.

I don't remember any mention of additives.

 

[Tom NJ]

The results will be scientifically meaningless. You will have inconsistent variables such as temperature, air flow, and surface area/volume ratio, and be missing important variables such a metallurgy, blow-by contaminates, aeration, and agitation. And for this you may contaminate your oven, stink up your kitchen, and risk a fire. You may want to pass on this one.

Tom NJ