Punk Technology Filter Restriction Gauge/Decoker

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Found a case of dialysis tubing sets dumped in a nearby field with some domestic junk. I'd guess someone on home dialysis died/was hospitalised and this was a house clearance.

I put a couple of #22 needles with about a 70 degree bend in them through a washer built up from inner-tube rubber under the air cleaner hold down butterfly.

The passenger side (blue) one runs into a bottle of fridge meltwater (I would normally use aircon condensate but its seasonally unavailable. Might have to distill for a while). The bottle breathes through an inline filter (referred to as a transducer filter in the dialysis literature IIRC). Dunno the specs of this filter but you can blow air through it.



The idea here is that this will suck water so over time it will come to indicate/record the maximum negative pressure generated within the air filter. At the same time it should do some decoking, adjustable by the frequency and amount of topping up.

The driver (red set) side is intended to serve as a real time manometer visible through the windscreen while driving and showing the current filter restriction. The set is bit short so I might have to join two together. The tape is unlikely to hold in the rain (dry season now) and there are likely to be ram or venturi effects causing errors, though these could be checked by disconnecting from the air cleaner.



If I can find or make a hole I might move this inside, but since its mostly for initial evaluation I may just drop it.



I thought of adding potassium permangenate to make the water level easier to see, but decided not to in case it got into the engine.

Not sure when I'll next be driving the car, but when I do I'll let y'all know why it doesn't work.

Bet you can hardly wait, eh?

Alternatively, you can tell me why it won't work now.
 
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Tricky question. Two possible meanings

(a) Is its functionality as a filter restriction guage based on filter restriction?

I suppose so, though ...er...philosophically...a filter restriction gauge would be functional in the abscence of filter restriction..er..I think.

(b) Is its functionality as a decoker dependent on filter restriction.

Yes (though only the passenger side device is intended to have this functionality.)

I assume all filters have some restriction. I could adjust the restriction required by simply adjusting the water level, or I could add to the restriction by supplementing the filtration, which might be a good thing anyway.

If the restriction is excessive, so I need an impractically deep bottle, I probably need a new filter.
 
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Well, it either didn't work, or there's very little filter restriction. Passenger side hardly buged when revved to about 3000 rpm. (didn't want to rev it higher than that without any load) and the driver side meniscus rose less than an inch revving the engine to climb a steep mountain road. I suppose the narrow needle (perhaps narrowed futher by being bent thyrough 70 degrees or so) could be damping out low-pressure transients.

I'll try adding extra filter restriction next time I drive it.
 
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I wrapped 4 layers of paper handtowel (continuous roll, no perforations) around the air filter and Lo, it sucks! (and that's a GOOD thing here)

Seems to be at about 4.5 inches. Don't need that much so I'll take about half the layers off next and see how that goes

The attempt at a manometer visible while driving sucked air, so I shut it off. I THINK this is perhaps because the dialysis tubing is a complex shape with that filter chamber thing in it.

A straight tube might work.
 


Trying to get a picture of the piston top down the plug hole. I used a small Christmas light style 12V incandescent bulb for illumination and an autofocus camera, which probably isn't the best setup.

LED Christmas lights (maybe the innards of one of those novelty illuminated balloons) or maybe a laser or a pen torch, and a manual focus camera might be better.

Nevertheless, it looked pretty clean. I don't have a comparable "before" picture, but given that it was running on, and I could scrape carbon off the piston top with a chopstick, I think it was probably coked.

So some circumstantial evidence that the decoker has done something.
 
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Anybody achieved good pictures of piston-tops without using an endoscope? If so, how so?
 
Originally Posted By: SilverFusion2010
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Anybody achieved good pictures of piston-tops without using an endoscope? If so, how so?


Pull the heads...


Well, that addresses the problem as specified, right enough. Not about to do it though.

Strictly speaking, can't anyway, because there's only one.

So, modified problem specification would run

"Anybody achieved good pictures of piston-tops without using an endoscope or pulling the head? If so, how so?"

Should be possible, surely?
 
Suspend a white led on stiff wire and use a macro lens with manual focus.

Talking about serious coin for that kind of camera though. You can get a usb endoscope type camera for pretty cheap.
 
If you want clean pistons just take the air cleaner lid off and run the engine around 2000 rpms and squirt a little water into the carb. Do this on a hot engine and you will have very clean pistons. I had water inj. on my drag car back in the early 70's and at the end of the drag year my pistons and rings were as clean as new pistons.

When I say a little water thats what I mean. A LITTLE WATER, to much and you can bend a rod or punch a hole in the top of the piston. My neighbor uses water in a spray bottle on his truck at least twice a year and his truck is 46 years old with all original parts, I don't think the heads have ever been off but I've only known him for 36 years.

ROD
 
Originally Posted By: rrounds
If you want clean pistons just take the air cleaner lid off and run the engine around 2000 rpms and squirt a little water into the carb. Do this on a hot engine and you will have very clean pistons. I had water inj. on my drag car back in the early 70's and at the end of the drag year my pistons and rings were as clean as new pistons.

When I say a little water thats what I mean. A LITTLE WATER, to much and you can bend a rod or punch a hole in the top of the piston. My neighbor uses water in a spray bottle on his truck at least twice a year and his truck is 46 years old with all original parts, I don't think the heads have ever been off but I've only known him for 36 years.

ROD


See above (and the thread title). There are also pictures. I'm not willing to make a Youtube video.

(There doesn't seem to be a rolling-eyes emoticon in the set of Smileys. Its needed.)
 
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Thanks. I was thinking a white LED would be better. The reddish light from the incandescent obscures any colour/blackness on the piston top.

I'll see what I can scrounge up.
 
Originally Posted By: rrounds
If you want clean pistons just take the air cleaner lid off and run the engine around 2000 rpms and squirt a little water into the carb. Do this on a hot engine and you will have very clean pistons. I had water inj. on my drag car back in the early 70's and at the end of the drag year my pistons and rings were as clean as new pistons.

When I say a little water thats what I mean. A LITTLE WATER, to much and you can bend a rod or punch a hole in the top of the piston. My neighbor uses water in a spray bottle on his truck at least twice a year and his truck is 46 years old with all original parts, I don't think the heads have ever been off but I've only known him for 36 years.

ROD


To quote the OP

"The idea here is that this will suck water so over time it will come to indicate/record the maximum negative pressure generated within the air filter. At the same time it should do some decoking, adjustable by the frequency and amount of topping up."

This has the advantage for decoking that

(a) Its always in place, and operates autonomously, provided you add some water occaisionally.

(b) Once its self-adjusted its level, it'll only suck water if you reach or exceed the previous highest air cleaner housing vacuum since the last water addition.

(c) This means it'll only suck water at the highest engine rpm. Exactly when you want it, IOW.

Any questions?
 
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