i suppose we ought to start out on the right foot, and perhaps develop some hypothesis to work from, then set out to gather data and info from research and experimentation, to see if we can either prove or disprove the various hypothesis
and maybe come up with some sort of theory that explains what it is that is happening.
lets see what we know for sure from the start
1. wmo can mean just about any waste oil of petroleum base, beit from a motor, hydraulic, trans, gear lube, etc,, mainly because unless you generate it yourself you really have no idea what it is made up of.
2. i think it is safe to assume that burned waste motor oils produce both carbon and ash in varying amounts and probably varying compounds at least with the latter.
3. there appears to be some engine wear issues with some engine's while others don't seem to have the same issues at least to the same extent, we probably ought to figure out why that is.
a. it might be engine loading that has an effect
b. it might be engine rpm that aids in blowing the ash out of the cylinder?
c. it might be that injection pressures, timing might have an effect on the production of ash, and/or production of carbon
d. it might be that the production of carbon has an effect, in that the vaporized additives might bind with the carbon and be expelled if we use water injection, rather than collect on the piston and in the combustion chamber to be further reduced to ash and then liberated in the cylinder.
e. we need to determine just how abrasive this ash is, as compared to carbon,
how abrasive is it vs. the cylinder/piston/rings, how abrasive vs. the bushings and brgs once it gets into the crankcase, cam/crank wear issues, etc.
f. what kinds of parts seem to fair better to the ash abrasion, are hardened liners more able to stand up to the abrasion?
g. is there a temperature component? do higher coolant temperatures have an effect on ash wear? if so why?
h. does frequency of oil changes have an effect on longevity? is it beneficial to change the oil more frequently when burning wmo?
i. are the additives responsible for the ash? which additives are the predominate
producers of this ash? can these additives be removed by a reasonable process?
chemical? or distillation?
j. does combustion chamber temperatures have an effect on the production of the ash? does a lower combustion temperature produce less ash? more ash? does
higher or lower temperatures alter the composition of the ash or its abrasive nature?
this list could go on and on, the point being basically until such time we actually develop such a list, put it up on a big black board, develop a diagnostic flow chart,
and start with what we can answer, do the experiments to find answers to the easy questions, maybe the picture will come into focus so that we can determine what the process is from start to finish. then we can determine how best to address the issue, and do an analysis of a cost/benefit ratio among other things.
i am hip to getting into the weeds on this one, if there are others that want to get involved and try to help with adding more questions, and help to find some answers to any of the questions that they are able to via personal experience, observation or because of their career position.
we have folks from all across the spectrum , from mechanics to rocket scientists, chemist to medical doctors, students to retiree's, we ought to have enough brain power to clearly identify the problem, quantify it, and come up with a solution
that is not only plausible but workable by everyone. at the very least we ought to get close enough to the answer and have enough good data so that we could then go
find the expert that is needed to get the answer and be able to ask an intelligent question and likely have all the information/data that the expert might ask for.
does this make sense?
this is a hell of a lot of work for one or two guys, however it becomes much more manageable with more folks involved. more brains to think, read, and search for
answers as the questions come up and are more refined.
either that or we can just burn the stuff and deal with the outcome whatever it might be and never really know what the real problem is or what if anything can be done about it?
if there is enough interest, like i said i would be all over getting into this problem in depth. if there is enough interested folks that want to work through this issue with wmo, i can setup an area over on microcogens (somrad group) to really do it up right.
if we do it however we really ought to try and follow some sort of scientific method, and by that i don't mean we need to be phd's to do it, rather we ought to follow at least what was taught as basic scientific method back in 7th and 8th grade.
so how many folks wanna get involved with this project? on this level?
keeping in mind that attitudes such as the one we experienced earlier in the parent thread will not be tolerated at all. there is no room for attitudes or being married to an idea or theory, that is if we are going to try and actually find the truth.
don't be shy fella's, or try to duck down in the back, i know who you are!
bob g