- Joined
- Aug 3, 2022
- Messages
- 5
I thought I would share an idea that I have used with other lathes to make the oil change a little easier and cleaner.
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Oil change a little easier and cleaner.
- Thread starter BillHowell
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2015
- Messages
- 359
Fulmoto valves are another solution, very compact and you can not accidentally opent them. If you get one of the S series valves it has a short special nipple.
The sell a little 2 dollar accessory that goes in the end of some 3/8 clear tubing and snaps over the short nipple. Put it down into an empty oil jug and open the valve, wont spill a drop.
I have them on all my cars, mowers, tractor, and put them on a lot of the machine tools at work. Every one loves them.
The sell a little 2 dollar accessory that goes in the end of some 3/8 clear tubing and snaps over the short nipple. Put it down into an empty oil jug and open the valve, wont spill a drop.
I have them on all my cars, mowers, tractor, and put them on a lot of the machine tools at work. Every one loves them.
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2022
- Messages
- 5
Good idea... thanks for the additional information.Fulmoto valves are another solution, very compact and you can not accidentally opent them. If you get one of the S series valves it has a short special nipple.
The sell a little 2 dollar accessory that goes in the end of some 3/8 clear tubing and snaps over the short nipple. Put it down into an empty oil jug and open the valve, wont spill a drop.
I have them on all my cars, mowers, tractor, and put them on a lot of the machine tools at work. Every one loves them.
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2015
- Messages
- 359
I should note you won't spill a drop if you use your head.
At work I take three empty 2 gallon jugs out to three machines, lock them out, and start draining oil into them.
I let them drip empty if I have scheduled time and the hose is clear.
Well one other guy would take one jug, open it and talk to a nearby operator.
Move to another machine withe the 3/4 full jug, open the valve, and invariably talk again to someone and forget, spilling a gallon of oil over the floor. It happened again, and again.
At work I take three empty 2 gallon jugs out to three machines, lock them out, and start draining oil into them.
I let them drip empty if I have scheduled time and the hose is clear.
Well one other guy would take one jug, open it and talk to a nearby operator.
Move to another machine withe the 3/4 full jug, open the valve, and invariably talk again to someone and forget, spilling a gallon of oil over the floor. It happened again, and again.
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2022
- Messages
- 5
I have had the same experience with a previous lathe. I have started putting a 5 gal. bucket under by drain set up and leaving it for the the night (headstock in particular).
That's basically what I was thinking about doing. You could take the handles off the valves completely, you'd basically have a skinny wrench flat that would be real difficult to move by accident. Shouldn't really affect the valve since the seals are on the ball.
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2021
- Messages
- 357
I used to own a boat with an inboard motor (can't get to the drain plug), and for that I bought an oil pump like this:
It wasn't that one, just one like it... anyway, what I do is take the top cover of the lathe gearbox off and pump it out. It's a simple process to take the "lid" off, and I've done it twice now and have not yet worried about using any sealer on when replacing the cover and I've had zero leaks/seapage.
These oil pumps are very clean to use, as you can pump the oil out of any compartment and when you need, you can pump it back into any container you desire for disposal. The only thing you have to deal with for cleanup is the oil in the tube. I just put the tube in a corner on top of a rag and let the residual drain out for a few days.
An advantage as I see it with this method is that you get to look inside your gearbox each time and see what's up. On my lathe (1440GT) there is a channel that runs around the top edge of the casting (just under the outer lip of the lid), that takes the splashing oil from the lid and carries it to the channel which then carries it to a weep hole that moves the oil to the spindle bearings on each end. It's nice to be able to clean that channel out at each oil change so that it does not get filled up with shavings that would reduce the flow to the spindles. I purchased my lathe used, and I am fairly certain that I did the first oil change on it ( I suspect there were not 20 hours on the machine) but there was a fair amount of very fine silver shavings in that upper channel. If you've never opened the top of your gear box I am willing to bet that your channels have some crud in them.
It's also just fun to take a look in there and see what makes the thing work!
Now that I have the pump I use it for most of my other machinery oil changes, it's way better than draining oil into pans and then trying to transfer that to a container. As well as rarely having to remove a drain plug!
It wasn't that one, just one like it... anyway, what I do is take the top cover of the lathe gearbox off and pump it out. It's a simple process to take the "lid" off, and I've done it twice now and have not yet worried about using any sealer on when replacing the cover and I've had zero leaks/seapage.
These oil pumps are very clean to use, as you can pump the oil out of any compartment and when you need, you can pump it back into any container you desire for disposal. The only thing you have to deal with for cleanup is the oil in the tube. I just put the tube in a corner on top of a rag and let the residual drain out for a few days.
An advantage as I see it with this method is that you get to look inside your gearbox each time and see what's up. On my lathe (1440GT) there is a channel that runs around the top edge of the casting (just under the outer lip of the lid), that takes the splashing oil from the lid and carries it to the channel which then carries it to a weep hole that moves the oil to the spindle bearings on each end. It's nice to be able to clean that channel out at each oil change so that it does not get filled up with shavings that would reduce the flow to the spindles. I purchased my lathe used, and I am fairly certain that I did the first oil change on it ( I suspect there were not 20 hours on the machine) but there was a fair amount of very fine silver shavings in that upper channel. If you've never opened the top of your gear box I am willing to bet that your channels have some crud in them.
It's also just fun to take a look in there and see what makes the thing work!
Now that I have the pump I use it for most of my other machinery oil changes, it's way better than draining oil into pans and then trying to transfer that to a container. As well as rarely having to remove a drain plug!