Lister Engines > Listeroid Engines

I got my first Lister

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quinnf:
Gerry,

I don't think multigrade is relevant to filtration, but the decision whether or not to use detergent vs. non-detergent certainly is, and that's probably what you really meant   ;) 

The advantage of detergent oils is that they keep particles in suspension, so they can be picked up by the oil filter within one pass through the engine.  When Lister-type  engines were made, most engines were splash lubricated, so high pressure oil pumps and pressurized oil filters were not common as they are today.  In order to get the crud out of the engine sump, you would have to run the engine up to temperature, then shut it down and drain the oil quickly, then remove the crankcase access plate and wipe or scrape out any accumulation in the bottom of the sump.  The advantage of using detergent oil is that the crud stays in suspension even after shut down, which makes it easier to ensure you are getting most of the dirt out of the engine at each oil change. 

I believe all multiviscosity oils are also detergent oils.  The multiviscosity feature is an advantage in climates with large temperature swings.  A 10W-40 oil, for example, has the viscosity of 10-weight at 32 F (0 C) and of 40-weight at 212 F (100 C).  If your engine is used for standby power, that is a distinct advantage because it's easier to crank over an engine that uses multivis. oil at low temperatures, and the engine will have proper lubrication immediately after startup, with no need to allow the engine to warm up before applying a load.

Be careful about runnin any oil filter in line with the oil supplied by the Lister/Listeroid type oil pumps.  They're not designed to develop any appreciable pressure like the gear-driven oil pumps in a car engine that can develop 80 psi.  Modern spin-on oil filters usually are intended to be installed on cars, and the design assumes that there is a pressure bypass valve before the inlet to the oil filter.  So if the filter were to become restricted, oil would be diverted from the filter and continue to lube the engine components.  With a Listeroid, there is no such bypass filter.  If your filter clogs (unlikely) or restricts flow (likely), the oil flow to your bearings could be affected.

Were I you, I'd consider getting a small gear pump and running  it off an electric motor driven by the generator.  The pump would take oil from the sump, run it througha  spin-on oil filter element, then return it to the sump.  That way, you still have oil filtration, but you haven't compromised the design of the system by adding a filter that Lister never intended the on-board oil pump to run.

Does that make sense?

I'm going to cross-post this to the Lubrication forum here.

Quinn

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