Base plate 13 is attached to the oiler cover by three stud bolts, thus permitting the removal of the entire oiler mechanism from the housing.
The quantity of oil in the oil tank is shown by gauge glass 44.
On the starting of the machine to which the oiler is attached, the pump shaft and the cam disks that it supports are set in motion through worm 24 and worm gear 23. A direct reciprocating motion is given to the pump plunger and to the piston valve by the rotation of the cam disks which have a movement similar to that of the “wobble saw.” The relation of the cam disk is such that the piston valve movements are 90° in advance of the movements of the pump plungers. The pump will run in either direction without alteration.
To secure this effect a play of 90° is provided between the cam disk. When cam 22 is driven clockwise, cam disk 20 is driven by the lug which meshes with a lug on disk 22. The cams are then in such a relation that the cam valve disk is 90° in advance of the pump cam disk. When reversed, cam 20 remains at rest until cam 22 catches the lug and cam 20, when the drive continues as before. The cams are then in the same relation as previously for as the valve disk 22 has traveled through 180° it is evident that it is 90° in advance of the pump disk.
(119) Castor Oil for Aero Engines.
Castor oil is used almost exclusively in the Gnome and other rotary engines of the same type, but has not been particularly successful on stationary cylinders.
Chemically, castor oil differs from all other vegetable or animal oils in containing neither palmitin or olein. It is soluble in absolute alcohol, but practically insoluble in gasoline. On the other hand, the castor oil is capable of dissolving small quantities of mineral oil, the more fluid they are the less it absorbs of them. But the insolubility of castor oil in mineral oil disappears completely when it is mixed with even a very small quantity of another vegetable or animal oil, such as colza or lard oil. An adulteration may thus result in a serious reversal of the oil’s best qualities; in fact, in serious seizures, Castor oil does not attack rubber, but it contains 1 to 2 per cent of acid fats; sometimes more.
“In my opinion says a writer in ‘Autocar’ castor oil can only be used in fixed cylinders with impunity for short distances and then with repeated cleanings between runs, but on rotary engines of the Gnome type cleaning is almost unnecessary. The reason is that one cannot consistently use castor oil over and over again, for the fact is indisputable that it has a far greater tendency than mineral oils to absorb oxygen, and so gradually to increase in body and finally to gum. When once it commences to gum the carbonization becomes more rapid, because the thickened and pitch-like oil acts as an insulating covering on the top of the pistons and of the cylinder, and cannot get away with sufficient rapidity to avoid decomposition and baking to a coke. Therefore if castor oil is to be used on the ordinary stationary cylinder type of engine, it is necessary to wash out the crank chamber and to replace with fresh oil at frequent intervals. On a rotary engine such as the Gnome this cleaning is unnecessary, because there is a continuous stream of fresh castor oil brought into the crank chamber and then thrown by centrifugal force past the pistons and through the cylinder into the exhaust. Thus the stream of oil never has sufficient time to oxidize fully, gum or decompose. This action of centrifugal force accounts for the large consumption of oil on the rotary engine, and also for the fact that the pistons and cylinders keep comparatively clean.
“In thus criticizing the use of castor oil I do not wish it to be inferred that it is not an excellent lubricant. What I wish to suggest is that in the case of an internal combustion engine it must be made with discretion. A point in favor of castor oil is the fact that it maintains its viscosity in a remarkable manner at high temperatures, and that at those high temperatures it has a peculiar creeping or capillary action which enables it to spread uniformly over the whole of the metallic surfaces, whereas under the same conditions a similarly bodied mineral oil would be unevenly distributed in patches. Another point is that the specific heat of castor oil is considerably higher than that of a pure mineral oil. This is in its favor, insomuch that it shows castor oil to be a better heat remover than a mineral oil.
“Motorists and aviators have from time to time informed me that they are using castor oil, but have apparently been under some misapprehension. I find that they have been using a brand of prepared oil under the impression that it is a specially refined castor oil, or that it is a blend of castor oil.”