I feel like I asked this before but did not find it on search. I have a customer with a Mitsubishi 3 liter turbo engine mounted indoors with the radiator blowing out. The radiator periodically gets plugged with oily fumes from the crank vent which they just have going to a pail at the moment. I would like to find some sort of cyclone separator or whatever you guys think good to catch the oil from this thing. Thoughts?
Would putting it into the turbo inlet be a possibility? If the blow by is too bad I suppose it could cause a issue. I seem to remember 3208 Cats had it ran into the intake to be burned. I think Mack had a separator on the E-7 engines.
Some turbo engines did in this size class but not many. All the NA engines did though. So if they did not route it to the turbo I assume there is a good reason. I have heard it tears up compressor blades over time.
Google the term "catch can". The 4wd guys around here like to fit them so that crankcase fumes aren't sent through the intercooler as in the factory setup. They seperate the oil from the fumes and drain it back into the sump. A popular one is the Mann Provent.
An sos type pad, the coarser, the better, in a can, attached to the pipe was all the old tractors had for crank case ventilation, in the old days...
Nothing better than steel wool for a condensing agent for oil fumes.
Is there some kind of cyclonic one that does not have a filter element to plug up? Maybe a Mann filter with no element installed. Otherwise that is what I am going to buy. Total efficiency is not so much of a concern here as much as a best effort, and I fear the maintenance practices may not be the best here. I also recall something about Detroit Diesel having something similar installed on a few, does that ring a bell with anybody?
Cyclonic filters by definition need a "cyclone" which implies a high velocity airflow which you're not going to get from blowby. (Unless the engine's absolutely boogered, but then you've got bigger problems.) If an owner can't bet bothered to do, or pay for, basic routine maintenance they only have themselves to blame.
This might do what you need. It has a filter but mounted on the top, I don't think it would plug up. Looks like you can just pull the end plug to clean it out. They have fancier ones for marine gensets but they all have filters. this one looks like the intake lines are sized just for airbox drains, not sure what size you have. http://www.walkerairsep.com/product_detail.asp?id=565
This is a little bigger set up they sell specifically for gensets, but does have a replaceable filter. http://www.walkerairsep.com/product_detail.asp?id=564
Good find Crane Operator.. looks like that's exactly what he needs..