Low cost chain oiler assembly
 

I got tired of lubing the chain old fashioned way.

I wasn't too keen to buy automatic oilers (Scottoiler, Tutoro etc..) because of their cost and quite weak seeming nozzles.

I googled some examples how people have used DIY solution by using chainsaw primer bulb as a oil pump. That got me interested, so I decided to go that way.

In case someone else gets inspired I will post here some pictures and short description how I got it done.

I bought all the parts from chinese ebay sellers. Total cost was around $25 and this includes spare parts too, so that I could practically rebuild the complete system again.

Things needed:
-Primer bulb
-5mm OD fuel hose
-3-hole rubber grommet with breather etc..
-Y-shape pneumatic connector 4mm
-4mm OD pneumatic hose
-Self-adhesive 20mm Zip-tie mounts + Zip-ties
-3mm OD copper tube (for refridgerator)
-Some scrap metal and flat-bar for mounting brackets

Pictures and notes


Primer bulb and bracket

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/853...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: Bracket is made of 1.5mm steel sheet using Dremel and small D-shape file. Finished with black spray paint


Dual nozzle applicator and bracket

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MS1...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: Bracket is made of 3mm x 20mm steel flat bar. Finished with black paint. 2mm flat bar would have been stiff enough, but wasn't at hand. Copper pipes are 9cm long. It's not visible, but these pipes are sleeved with bits of 4mm pneumatic hoses, before inserted into Y-connector. Those sleeves needed also some sanding to smaller diameter, otherwise they wouldn't have fit.


Oil bottle and grommet

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BBp...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: The bottle was found from my medicine cabinet. It's cap is tossed away and threaded neck cut off with Dremel-tool. It's capacity is 100ml. Grommet thingy is as it's arrived. Black hoses and filter element were discarded. Breather cap contains one-way valve insert which I removed.


Nozzle fitted

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/EwG...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: Bracket's upper end is fastened to Chain-guard mounting peg, which is located on inner side of swing arm. I had to remove rear wheel to get space for drilling bolt hole.


Oil line fitted

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KoG...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: This is done with zip-tie mounts. Black 4mm hose is inserted here into a 5mm fuel hose


Oil line continues

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/efn...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: One zip tie mount is fitted on inner side of chain guard, not visible on the picture.


Bottle and bulb fitted

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yd8...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: Bottle is fitted beside to fuse box - Zip-tied to thickest wiring harness. All those yellow hoses look a bit messy. One goes from the bottom of the bottle to the bulb. Another one goes to breather cap, which must be vertically above the bottle. Third one is used to fill the bottle.

Filling procedure

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/t1B...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: 60ml syringe for demonstration. When oil gets visible on the breather tube, pull the plunger back about 5ml, to allow thermal expansion without oil spilling out from the breather.

Final location for filler hose

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LEC...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: Filler hose mounted behind the access door. This hose must be plugged immediately after refill.


Bulb from riders view

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d7j...=w1267-h950-no


Oil dripping

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hCT...=w1267-h950-no

Notes: One full press of the bulb gives around 15 drops of oil. Too much for single application, it splatters the rear wheel quite badly. After only 250km test period I think it might be good practise to do 2-3 very small presses at once. And they could be done maybe with 100km intervals. This is going to be investigated further... It seems that both copper pipes are slowly dripping empty after a while. So don't press the bulb if you know you are going to stop soon after.

interesting idea. Love to see DIY'ers getting it done.

Do you think a smaller or reduced opening in the copper tubes would help the oil delivery issue more than the less than full pressing of the bulb? Just a question.

Honestly I'm not sure how smaller or grimped nozzles would behave. I may try that later. Anyways, Y-shape design will always cause the copper tubes to slowly drip empty. It's a law of physics.

I found first real fault today. Those cheap zip-tie mounts I used are useless. At first they grip really hard, so I thought they are safe to use. But just after 3 days they are falling off without any strain. And no water or oil is soaked on them.

I have to pull them all off and replace their adhesive foam pads with better ones. It has to be weatherproof automotive adhesive tape such as 3M. The mounts should stay on place for ages then. I really don't want to drill holes on the swing arm box section.

Edit: I tested those zip-tie mounts with lighter flame. They are made of polypropylene plastic. Nothing will stick to them well. I will have to buy nylon or ABS ones instead.

Pretty cool. You are officially a mad scientist.

This oiler has been working perfectly until now. At first I thought maybe china quality fuel hose had bursted. But hose is not brittle at all. It's still as flexible as it was new. Also there was no possibility it was nicked to some sharp edge. It can't be anything else but some rodent doing what they do best. In fact I can see two holes side by side.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/cbrforu...8cebbd2d54.jpg