Does anyone gets frustrated when trying to read the oil level on your generator with a yellow dipstick? It does me. What idea to make a yellow dipstick when fresh oil is kind of yellow too? Easy solution. Used some heat shrink. The black part is the Min/Max oil levels. So now I can clearly see the oil level.
Dipstick frustration
- Thread starter Bigmau
- Start date
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Frank B
Well-known member
But now, when the oil is black and dirty, how will you know? LOL!
Just a joke. Good idea!
Just a joke. Good idea!
Gizmo100
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I can't help but wonder what effect the hot oil may have on the heat shrink. I'm thinking it may come off and end up in the crankcase. :-\
SarniaTricia
Well-known member
I just had to click on this thread and read..... "Dipstick Frustration" definitely caught my interest.... was seriously surprised the content of the tread actually contained information about an oil dip stick!!!!
Waiting for the not so serious comments to start!
And GO!
Waiting for the not so serious comments to start!
And GO!
Unrelated to the color of the oil; keep in mind how you are suppose to check the level. Sometimes you have to screw the dipstick all the way in and then unscrew it and sometimes you just set the dipstick on the "tube", then pull it out to check.
thesameguy
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Bigmau said:
I don't the suggestion about it "unshrinking," but rather what happens to heat shrink material with long-term exposure to petrochemicals. Personally, I would expect that over time a common polyolefin heat shrink tube would become hard and brittle, and the risk would be it shattering. Will it happen? Who knows, but it'd suck to find out the hard way it failed and you've got pieces of plastic floating around in the sump.
Frank B
Well-known member
Thesameguy:
>Personally, I would expect that over time a common polyolefin heat shrink tube would become hard and brittle, and the risk would be it shattering.
<
I'm not familiar with that. Have you seen it happen? Does engine oil affect shrink tubing like that?
>Personally, I would expect that over time a common polyolefin heat shrink tube would become hard and brittle, and the risk would be it shattering.
<
I'm not familiar with that. Have you seen it happen? Does engine oil affect shrink tubing like that?
Utclmjmpr
Well-known member
What I HAVE seen is the tubing continue to "shrink" until it splits and falls off.>>>Dan
Frank B
Well-known member
Utclmjmpr said:
THAT is indeed a possibility, as I have seen that as well. Now it remains to be seen if that would cause any issues, or if the tubing would just get flushed out with the next oil change. The OP says he is monitoring the situation.
thesameguy
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Frank B said:
I have not, but I have never (and would never) put something in the sump of an engine that wasn't explicitly supposed to be there. I'm *not* a materials engineer, and I'm not well-suited to evaluate what will survive submersion in hot engine oil so I just wouldn't take the risk. I *have* seen what happens when poorly chosen plastics fail in an engine. Like a Jaguar's plastic timing guides ruining an entire engine, or a GM high feature V6 losing pieces of its PCV system into the combustion chamber. I just wouldn't take a risk with a plastic of unknown properties in an engine. :shrug:
Frank B
Well-known member
>I'm *not* a materials engineer, and I'm not well-suited to evaluate what will survive submersion in hot engine oil so I just wouldn't take the risk.<
Yeah, neither am I, so I wondered about that. Thanks for the clarification.
Yeah, neither am I, so I wondered about that. Thanks for the clarification.
grashley
Well-known member
I guess there are no admitted dipsticks here! 
Frank B
Well-known member
grashley said:I guess there are no admitted dipsticks here!
OK, then I will nominate myself as Forum Dipstick! I have surely done enough dumb things in my life to qualify for that title.
Gizmo100
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Frank B said:OK, then I will nominate myself as Forum Dipstick! I have surely done enough dumb things in my life to qualify for that title.
;D ;D I'll second ;D ;D
Are we ready for a Vote?? ;D
