I am looking at the different valves available, and I'm a bit confused. I'd like to use an electric one.

I am looking at their website and they recommend that for road race use, when the refill rate needs to be the highest, that the Electronic Pressure control valve be used. Basically, from what I understand, the valve opens automatically when the pressure drops below a certain value. When pressure is above a certain level, the valve lets the accusump fill back up.

questions:

- so from what I understand, the EPC valve is the one one that controls both the in and out flow? All the others are just open or closed?

- Do most people get a drop in oil pressure while the sump is refilling?

- which valves do most of you guys use? while is the electric one recommended for light and medium duty use, and the manual one is for 'hardcore racing', when they function the same way?

thanks.

 

 

The electric valve is open when it's switch is selected... That could be a manual switch (most likely) or some other.

An oil pressure switch is a BAD idea.

Why?

Well, when do you want it open? At low pressure right? So, it opens in turn 1 when there is a little slosh and the PSI drops to about 30 (lets say you have a 40psi switch). Now, the sump drains a little while the pressure is low, you hit the next straight and the psi increases. Now your sump valve *closes*, well, it had just equilibrated in the system at 30psi, so next time you need it, the sump hasn't recharged.

The claimed advantage of the electric valve is that it is smaller bore than a manual valve and acts as a restrictor, that means more oil goes to the engine than to charging the sump.

With my sump (3 quart) I do use the electric valve. I have a 3 way toggle switch for it. In the up position the sump is open. Middle is closed, down is actually an RPM switch. Below 3000 rpm the sump is closed, above 3000 rpm it is open, I put this in for around the town driving where I don't want the sump open all of the time.

The RPM switch is *almost* useless, and just adds a point of failure. In a race car you are always over 3000 rpm, or sitting in the paddock not moving. My understanding is that most racers prefer the manual valve. some have reported the sump doesn't charge fast enough (or release) with the electric valve.

With my car, it had ZERO oil pressure in right hand turns (the sump was a bandaid for the baffled pan that I needed to make). With the sump charged at my peak oil pressure (60 psi) I would see a constant 20 psi of delivery (roughly 2 quarts of oil) for almost 10 seconds. The electric valve wouldn't allow it to discharge any faster.

Keep in mind that you need some air pressure in the sump to begin with (I chose 20 psi), with 20 psi air I actually only get 2 quarts into the 3 quart sump (since my peak oil pressure is 60 psi, this is just pV=nRT ideal gas law).

Even with the electric valve I would see a drop in oil pressure while charging the sump, I never watched it too closely, but I would say 10 psi is a reasonable figure. A higher volume oil pump would have combated the pressure drop nicely.

Hope that helps...

And, for the curious, yes, I could round turn 9 at Roebling Rd and make it to the main straight before I ran out of oil...Of course it was 20 psi the whole way, exiting turn 9 at about 5800-6000 rpm in 4th gear... I blew a head gasket before I spun a bearing...

Final note, my car (without the accusump) takes 5 quarts to "F" on the dipstick. I would run 4 quarts in the pan and 2 quarts in the accusump (less windage on the straights, and only +1 quart overfill on a totally empty sump).

Scott

 

I really don't understand the electronic oil pressure switch.

Is it a one-way valve that switches direction at a certain oil pressure? The website says that it 'lets oil out when it drops below a certain pressure, and fills the tank when above a certain pressure.' how does this happen?

Also - do you have to charge the canister with an air compressor?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Greyout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I really don't understand the electronic oil pressure switch.

Is it a one-way valve that switches direction at a certain oil pressure? The website says that it 'lets oil out when it drops below a certain pressure, and fills the tank when above a certain pressure.' how does this happen?</TD></TR></TABLE>

What website are you reading? The only valve I'm aware of is open or closed, it is not one way. The engines oil pump charges the canister, and if it is at 80 psi it will remain there so long as the oil pump is creating 80psi of pressure. If you have oil starvation then the oil pressure drops and the stored oil in the Accusump is forced back into the system. The *maximum* pressure the accusump can provide is whatever your oil pumps maxium is. After that instant of maximum pressure it drops steadily untill there is some equilibrium.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also - do you have to charge the canister with an air compressor?</TD></TR></TABLE>

A bicycle tire pump will work fine (it uses a standard Schrader valve), I happened to use an air compressor...

Scott

 

http://www.accusump.com

E.P.C. Valving (#24-271, 24-273, 24-275)

Our E.P.C. valving has the convenience of an electric valve and the rapid refill rate of a manual valve. The E.P.C. valving allows the Accusump to quickly charge with oil when the engine's oil pressure is above a predetermined level and discharge when the engine's oil pressure drops below that level.

Comes with an electric valve, regulator, toggle switch, wire, terminals, and a pipe nipple.

Part #:'s
24-271 E.P.C. valve kit for a discharge of 20-25 PSI

24-273 E.P.C. valve kit for a discharge of 35-40 PSI

24-275 E.P.C. valve kit for a discharge of 55-60 PSI

 

It just looks like a higher-flowing electric valve. Why not call Accusump and ask them?
-Adam

 

I take that back. So it provides some additional regulation of when the Accusump will be allowed to discharge. So I guess instead of discharging when the system is below equilibrium, it must drop past a certain point. So if your usual pressure is around 80psi, this valve won't discharge the Accusump until some arbitrary pressure is reached (say, 50psi, not simply anything less than 80psi.)

That seems like a decent idea if you're not running flat-out with maximum oil pump pressure all the time. Then the question is how long do you want it to wait (in terms of a lower pressure threshold) before it discharges the oil reserve?

-Adam

 

The EPC valve is a newer valve that controls pressure. They still have the basic manual and electric "on/off" type valves as well. So now you have 3 options.

 

Cool! I did my Accusump less than a year ago and teh EPC valve didn't exist at that time (not in any catalogs or on te web).

I haven't researched it since then, it looks like they have addressed many of the concerns of my original post! Time for me to spend more money. Thanks for the heads up.

Scott

 

Good timing on this thread as just this week I have been wondering about hetting the electric valve for my unused Accusump in the new racecar.

I have a manual valve but my problem is that there is only so much room next to the driver that I can reach while belted in. Currently the Accusump sits there but I really need to move my entire electrical panel with various ignition, fan, pump, etc. switches there so this means that the Accusump will probably have to move out of my immediate reach. I was hoping the electric switch option would eliminate the need for it to be close to me. I was also hoping the switch would be a little cheaper than the $99 that I saw at racerpartswholesale.com.

On Dec. 4-7 I will be at the Performance Racing Industry tradeshow and I know Accusump maker Canton has a booth there. Looks like I need to pay a visit and get a refresher on how exactly they work, what the electrics do, etc. If I can sort it out in my pea brain, I'll try to pass it on.

 

Do you *really* want something with pressurized oil inside the passenger compartment? It seems one huge advantage of the electric valves is that you can put the cylinder in the engine bay, where stuff like that belongs. I'm not sure how much room you have under that hood, but I think I would try my darnedest to put my Accusump in there, not sitting next to me waiting for a hydraulic line to burst.
-Adam

 

There is not any room at all under the hood for the Accusump, not even close. Just having the big lines to and from the oil-cooler, inline washable oil filter and the anti-reversion valve for the Accusump is taking up any extra space already. Having the big line that leads into the Accusump and keeping it restriction free with minimal bends plus the sizeable cylinder that is the Accusump, there is simply no room. Even though the oil is hot, having that is a large diameter steel braided line at up to about 80 lbs. of pressure doesn't worry me at all. Actually I can't recall seeing an Accusump not in the cockpit. Mine is currently in what used to be the passenger seat area.