Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
One of the concerns would be keeping the oil level in the engines crank-case at a proper level. Assuming that you are only going to use proper filling of the (original engine and add on section(s))so the level of oil in the crank-case is at the normal proper oil level, and you are not going to have any system that would keep the oil at the proper level even if a significant amount of oil was lost to burn-off within the engine. Because you will be increasing the run time between oil changes, and or oil level check. When the oil gets low you will be relying on the low oil shut down switch to protect your engine. And low oil shutdown switches can go bad and not shut down the engine. If that happened it would cause severe engine damage.
And what do you know, the appropriate post has just arrived.
Let me explain my current thinking as of now (BITOG has changed several of my first thoughts). The purpose of the system is to increase OCI without harming the generator in any way, to that end I must plan for the system to fail since all systems fail given enough time. I suppose that it would help if I just explained what I was thinking of and then giving as short a description of the theory as possible.
There is an oil fill port that sets the fill level of the crankcase by the drip method (when it drips from here you are full assuming you are on a level surface, stressed in the manual)
There is an oil drain port (To drain the oil from the bottom of the crankcase)
Now, to ensure that there is always a full, to the proper level, crankcase; we have to keep the fill port open while delivering oil to the drain or some other port that I would have to make/install. This reverses the normal thought on oil flow and has one distinct problem, namely, that deposits would accumulate in the bottom of the crankcase since they can't drain normally as during a regular oil change.
The very distinct advantages are that even if my system failed to deliver ANY oil, the crankcase would have the recommended level at the the time of failure and would continue to have it except for normal usage, just as if it had just been filled so that would be my safety factor - About 100 hours since I will be using good oil and burning Natural Gas.
I am still thinking about the plumbing. There are splashing concerns, the afore mentioned build up of [censored] on the bottom of the crankcase, breathing and much else.
I am eyeing an Internal Gear Pump as my pump of choice: I have not chosen yet.
http://vikingpump.com/pumps_internal_gear.asp
Please consider this just at the level of my current thinking, nothing is set in stone until I buy it. I would really like some advise on sealed oil tanks with ports appropriate to my use (1.5 Gallons, Approx.), cost appropriate tubing, fittings and other associated things like valves. I am soliciting any and all advise in this and any other matters or concerns.