Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion How do you prime a lubester?

I have an old lubester that I just cleaned out and when I had the pump out it lost its prime and now it won't pick any oil up. How do I prime it? There is a 3/8" bolt on the very top of the pump, do I remove it and prime it from there? I am not sure of the brand or I would post it.

Thanks,
Jim

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Hi Jim welcome to oldgas....Depends on what kind, on most of the lubsters you would make sure the ball is loose on the end of the suction pipe and pour the product into the pipe for your prime.
The bolt on top adjusted the amount of product per turn.
.............
REX LIKES THE SMELL

Thanks,
I'll pop the pump back out and pour some oil in the pipe and see what happens. It had been working and then when I pulled the pump out and layed it down on its side a good amount of oil ran out the exit end and then when I put it back in the tank it just blew air.

Jim

Funny I just went thru that on my glass lubester!

I was trying to prime thru the calibration bolt with a hand pump oil can. My mistake however was that I could see what was going on and utimately was doing wrong!

First off the packing is likely shrunk. Put in a few squirtcans of oil thru the top bolt, now it must be a few ounces or about 1 inch deep, and inch out of a quart would work. My mistake was oil leaking past during the stroke when I upped the amount it caused suction thru most of the stroke and started to draw right away. Once you get a few inches below the piston it cannot help but pump if the seal is mostly intact.

However the packing on the handleshaft now leaks quite a bit, I tightened it a bit but it may need new packing. So the lubester is a bit oily even with a cup under it. Sorta messy is why people dont use them much.

I did get to see my vintage glasstop work with 60 year old aeroshell red oil, it is so dark you must hold a light behind to see!. When the packing was loose it would suck air bubbles in thru the shaft, quite entertaining!!

I was thinking of putting aquarium hose over the barb where the oil exits, then looping it a few times then going in to the lid or the dipstick, then you could see the oil flowing...

What are you trying to do with it, actually use it??

[This message has been edited by dodogas (edited 11-23-2005).]

Yes, I want to use it in my shop. I have 30 gallons of oil and I use bulk oil and bottles when changing the oil in my cars. I may have been mistaken as to it working properly before. I will try to take the pump apart and check the seals, the check ball on this one is not at the very bottom of the pipe but at the bottom of the pump where the pick up pipe screws in.

Thanks,
Jim

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If anything gets between the ball and seat it would probably not pump...

Found the problem, the guy I got the lubester from had tipped it over and bent the top a little, when it bent it cracked the pick up pipe right at the base of the pump in the threads. I fixed it and it's all straight and working like a champ.

Thanks,
Jim

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Jim, looks like you have a lot of nice old one lunger engines. If I save your web site, would you be open to a car tour stopping by your place next summer. Do you know the fellow up on Whidbey Island who has hundreds of these engines both small and big? I like to set up tours with the old Model A club over on Vashon as a excuse to see some of my family history on the Island. My mother's grandmother was a Van Olinda. Thanks for sharing your web site with the old gas guys.

Craig

Absolutely. I sent you an e-mail.

Jim

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