Still Not Sold On A Catch Can? Check Here...

[High Country 6.2L/8]

Agreed, put my near second battery compartment and it seems to be catching lots of crap much like yours in winter. Still believe there worth there weight in the longterm.

[flyingfool]

i wonder if you installed a cheapo "transmission cooler" inline before the catch can, would this cool the PCV vapor to a liquid state and thus allow more recovery of oil into the can?

[Doublebase]

On 12/6/2019 at 11:28 AM, High Country 6.2L/8 said:

Agreed, put my near second battery compartment and it seems to be catching lots of crap much like yours in winter. Still believe there worth there weight in the longterm.

I have my catch can mounted in the same place and I seem to collect a pretty good amount, especially in the winter.  I didn't realize that once the engine and oil is heated, the can losses it's ability to "catch" oil vapor. I figured the baffle system would cause the oil to condense regardless of oil temp and have it fall into that can. Am I wrong about that? Looked all over the internet for answers...didn't really find much literature out there about catch cans losing their efficiency when the oil is hot (but that does make some sense if the oil mist vapor can't condense on the baffles). It would seem like we're wasting our time if these things stop working once the engine reaches operating temps.

Edited December 8, 2019 by Doublebase

[High Country 6.2L/8]

Never heard of adding a transmission cooler or oil being warm affecting the way oil and vapor will being caught in catch can.

[TXGREEK]

I’ve got a couple buddies of mine that have catch cans, admit to getting more fluid mixed with oil vapors during winter, cooler months due to condensation building up. They usually get a tea spoon worth once a month during summer and spring.


Sent from Above

[High Country 6.2L/8]

Same as mine the odd amount during the warm months

[TXGREEK]

Same as mine the odd amount during the warm months

Apparently, only gets this condensation due to the catch can.


Sent from Above

[flyingfool]

I found a small radiator type cooler in my storage, I will test the theory out and see If cooling the PCV gases will condense out more oil into my catch can.. I do find my CC to PCV lines are very hot durring a 10 mile trip, and i never see any residual oil in the lines, it's always in the CC or the Manifold.

Edited December 8, 2019 by flyingfool

[High Country 6.2L/8]

Never heard of rad cooler doing anything and I checked with many people and sites

[flyingfool]

2 minutes ago, High Country 6.2L/8 said:

Never heard of rad cooler doing anything and I checked with many people and sites

similar idea to making moonshine, the oil always evaporates when heated, this contributes to oil consumption, and it's a normal part of heating petroleum products

[High Country 6.2L/8]

That's a unique way of looking at it makes sense. Truck hasn't burned any oil and its almost 3 years old. Maybe a rad cooler would be in the future if needed

[Grumpy Bear]

The lightest component in a Group III lubricant is C15H32 (Pentadecane) It has a boiling point 518 F and a flash point of just under 270 F. Thing is the flashpoint of finished motor oils in this group exceed 370 F because lube oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons with a much higher vapor state partial pressure. Flash point is the minimum temperature that a liquid will give off enough vapor to create an ignitable mixture. Well below it's boiling point. Literally motor oil has a low enough vapor pressure so as to never be in the vapor state under 'normal' operating conditions. Oil in your catch can is therefore not condensed vapor. So what is it? 

 

Oil Mist. Oil atomized by the rotating assembly and carried by crankcase vapor traffic created by vacuum via the PCV system source from the inlet manifold. Thing is high vacuum and high rpm only happen under deceleration. Anyway, in the Ecotec3 this atomized oil is separated by the demister system within the valve cover. This system has an orifice to limit traffic to a level the demister can function at yet high enough to be effective in removing what the system is designed to remove; water and fuel vapors and trace amounts of ring gas leakage.

 

'Trace' and 'normal' are functional terms. The way many treat their equipment is anything but normal. 

[flyingfool]

yeah, your right oil temp is not hot enough to vapor off

[L86 All Terrain]

When talking about oil, Grumpy Bear be like 

[BigBlueLB756]

Y'all be careful.  You "might" learn some schidt.