Oil!

[timill]

The reason the Rayburn has been going out (brrrr...) is water in the oil tank. Apparently this is a problem with metal tanks - water condenses on the inside walls when the tank is only part full, and runs down into the oil. After a while, there's a layer of water at the base of the tank. After a longer while, there's enough that it is being sucked into the inlet. Water doesn't burn too well...

So there's a drain tap at the base of the tank. But it's clogged, so it's only dripping instead of running, so it's taken several days to extract about 12 pints of water from the tank. But today, there was a layer of oil in the glass I use to catch drips!

Now if the service people would only answer their phones, we could get it relit.

In other news, the Escort is back with a working clutch pedal. Things look a bit brighter for once...

Comments

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, Water In The Fuel, a well-known problem for aircraft. Exactly the same process, but made much worse by low temperatures and pressures at altitude which greatly encourage condensation. Not only do aircraft not run on water, but there is a mould, cladosporium resinae or 'fuel fungus' that grows on the oil/water interface and excretes compounds that catalyse metal corrosion.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Big problem with my previous motorbike - I kept having to drain the carbs if it was out of use for more than a couple of days. For some reason this one isn't so bad, I think because the fuel cap fits a bit tighter so less humid air circulates.