saf-air oil drain

H. Paul Shuch is a Light Sport Repairman with Maintenance ratings for airplanes, gliders, weight shift control, and powered parachutes, as well as an independent Rotax Maintenance Technician at the Heavy Maintenance level. He holds a PhD in Air Transportation Engineering from the University of California, and serves as Director of Maintenance for AvSport of Lock Haven.

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rcpilot
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Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2015 4:32 pm
Location: Mastic, NY

saf-air oil drain

Post by rcpilot »

It appears that I have one of these on my Rotax 912 ULS oil tank. From what I've read this allows draining the oil without having to remove the drain plug. Does anyone have any experience with one of these? Do they really work or should I just remove the tank and clean it? Being my mechanic moved back to Texas I figured I'd try doing my next oil change myself. My mechanic use to clean the oil tank each time(because I use mostly AVGAS) but I see that Rotax does not require it be cleaned each time so I figured for my first time I'd just drain the oil and change the filter.
roger lee
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by roger lee »

I personally don't like the quick style drains. They drain too slow and you do not get a decent flush on the oil tank. It just isn't that hard to remove the stock plug, get a good tank flush and it's done in less than a minute. Quick drains are just slow. I would switch to Auto fuel if you can. If not oil changes every 25 hrs. and tank cleaning every 200 hours. There will be lead sludge in the bottom of the tank. Rotax doesn't like quick drains either.
Roger Lee
Tucson, Az.
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RV12Heal
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Location: Northern California

Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by RV12Heal »

If you use the standard oil tank drain plug, just be careful to not over-tighten it when replacing it. Check the ROTAX maintenance manual for the correct torque value.
Wm.Ince
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by Wm.Ince »

RV12Heal wrote:If you use the standard oil tank drain plug, just be careful to not over-tighten it when replacing it. Check the ROTAX maintenance manual for the correct torque value.
Additionally, when replacing the crush washer, center it before tightening, to ensure an even seal. An offset installation can lead to an oil drip.
As per R.O.A.N. (Rotax Owner Assistance Network), *Oil change for the Rotax 912, 912S and 914 series aircraft engines":
"Install gasket [crush washer] with parting line towards the plug head."
Bill Ince
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snaproll
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Location: Southern California - OXR

Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by snaproll »

I have used a Curtis quick drain valve for the past 7 years with no problem on my Remos. Due to configuration, use of standard drain plug slops oil on mount and firewall. Quick drain keep job clean and allow me to place vinyl tube from drain to a one gallon jug. Everybody has their own preference. Don
RV12Heal
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by RV12Heal »

I have the Curtiss quick oil drain on my RV-12's 912ULS. It's leaking a bit. I gather that Curtiss wants you to buy a whole new valve ($$) instead of replacing the inexpensive "O"-ring. Does anyone one out there know what size and where I could buy just the "O"-ring for the big Curtiss valve? It may be a special "square cross-section" type of "O"-ring????
3Dreaming
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by 3Dreaming »

The Curtis valves take a special pancake type seal. It is pretty unusual for them to leak. I would remove it and make sure the seal and mating surface are clean. Dirt is the number one cause of a Curtis valve leaking.

If you can determine the size you might be able to order one of these seals http://www.mcfarlaneaviation.com/Produc ... =CACCA1269& . mc Farlane also has a good price on the Rotax drain valve.
rcpilot
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by rcpilot »

So I finally did the oil change. The saf-air drain worked as expected. Apparently whoever installed it put a small hose clamp right above it that prevents it's accidental(and intentional until I removed it) engagement. The oil drained out pretty quickly. I closed the drain, put the hose clamp back on and that was that. After putting oil and changing the filter did a run up and no leaks. Good for another 25 hours or so.
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Jim Hardin
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by Jim Hardin »

If I were changing the oil, why wouldn't I open the tank and look inside? Might find that crankshaft piece that is missing 8)

If I look inside, why not clean the lead out of the bottom ~ lots there even at 25 hours.

My cars have 10,000 mile oil change intervals but I do them at 5,000, w/filter. Why scrimp with my plane?
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MrMorden
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by MrMorden »

Jim Hardin wrote:If I were changing the oil, why wouldn't I open the tank and look inside? Might find that crankshaft piece that is missing 8)

If I look inside, why not clean the lead out of the bottom ~ lots there even at 25 hours.

My cars have 10,000 mile oil change intervals but I do them at 5,000, w/filter. Why scrimp with my plane?
For most it's just not necessary. It's a bit of a pain to take off the safety wire and pull the whole thing apart. To get mine off, I have to pull it off the firewall. I did it for the first time at the two year mark, almost no sludge in the tank. But then I don't use leaded fuel unless it's unavoidable, because it's terrible for the 912-series engine. Maybe that's why you are worried about crank pieces in your oil... :lol:

Any metal being made by the engine will leave traces in the filter and the magnetic plug, which I do check every change.
Andy Walker
Athens, GA
Sport Pilot ASEL, LSRI
2007 Flight Design CTSW E-LSA
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Jim Hardin
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by Jim Hardin »

Justifications...

I'll continue to do it the way I have :wink:
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MrMorden
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Re: saf-air oil drain

Post by MrMorden »

Jim Hardin wrote:Justifications...

I'll continue to do it the way I have :wink:
Not sure I understand what the "justifications" line is supposed to mean. It seems you are being snarky about how I perform maintenance, but I'm not sure in what way.
Andy Walker
Athens, GA
Sport Pilot ASEL, LSRI
2007 Flight Design CTSW E-LSA
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