Catch Can - "Mmmm, Tasty!"

CAMS_02 · Post by **CAMS_02** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:02 pm

Any reason why this catch can I made wouldn't work? I made it from a small jar of garlic-stuffed olives (which is where the "tasty" comes from), two 90-degree brass elbows, about a foot-and-a-half of heater hose, 4 small hose clamps, four rubber washers, four steel washers and two brass nuts. The heater hoses help hold the entire unit firmly in place and the upper radiator hose and throttle cables act as bumpers, (hopefully) protecting the glass from breakage. The whole deal cost me less than $10 to make, as the elbows, brass nuts and all 8 washers came from the wife's employer. I have to pop the rubber elbow off from the PCV valve to unscrew the jar to drain it, but for what this thing cost me, I don't mind! I'll take 'er for a 20 minute run on the ol' highway tomorrow afternoon, to see how she handles the heat, but it seems to hold vacuum, so once again, is there any reason this won't work like it's supposed to?

If people are interested, I could write up a how-to for the official how-to forum...

Post by **racer12306** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:18 pm

If it can handle the vacuum and heat, there is no reason why it wouldn't work.

Just keep the stock PCV hose in the trunk just in case.

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:41 pm

lol... yeah. when i made my CC i thought i could just use the stock hose, cut it where i needed to and i'd be good to go. hell no. luckly i was able to take care of fixing it

CAMS_02 · Post by **CAMS_02** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:34 pm

Well, I now know for sure this thing works, because this morning when I fired up my car, one of the hoses had come loose overnight and my little Neon started up, revving to the moon! As soon as I reconnected that hose, she idled right down and ran great the rest of the day.

Not much of a response to this thread so far. There must not be much faith in a cheap catch can made from a garlic olive jar. Maybe an old whiskey bottle would have been better!

1/2 Scottish · Post by **1/2 Scottish** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:26 pm

Hahah nice. Well you might as well replace your fuel tank with a keg mang.

Post by **occasional demons** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:35 pm

Maybe we should call you Popeye, since your trying to catch Olive Oil!

Edit: Garlic breath!

Should've gotten jalepeno stuffed olives, then she'd have a hot little can!

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 7:43 am

Wouldn't a small mason jar seal better?

Say something like an 8oz mason jar designed for jams & such?

Then there are small plastic jars... which would totally eliminate the concerns over the glass possibly breaking.

The glass certain allows you to see at a glance if anything is being caught... unlike the other "cans".

CAMS_02 · Post by **CAMS_02** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 2:22 pm

I know it's been awhile -- I actually looked for a small Mason jar to start with, but couldn't find one small enough to fit where I wanted it to (actually, this jar isn't small enough to fit where I wanted it). Anyway, everything is holding up really well -- no leaks to speak of. At this point, I've got about a 1/4" of oil in the bottom of the jar. I don't use the car that much in the spring, summer and fall, so at this rate, I don't think I'll have to empty that jar even once a year!

BTW, what do you guys do with the oil you empty out of your cans -- dump it back into the engine?

Post by **racer12306** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:50 pm

nah, i just dump it in the used oil container and get rid of it. i'd be curious to see its make up and know if it would harm the engine if poured back in.

Swordfish2Cowboy · Post by **Swordfish2Cowboy** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:59 am

racer12306 wrote:nah, i just dump it in the used oil container and get rid of it. i'd be curious to see its make up and know if it would harm the engine if poured back in.

Send it off to Blackstone.

"We found trace amounts of garlic and part of an olive in your oil..."

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:59 am

You're not going to get a ton of oil in that bottle unless it just flows in. Since there's no filter media in there, the oil doesn't get the chance to condense out of the vapor, it just flows straight thru for the most part.

cbjones26 · Post by **cbjones26** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:28 am

i know this is a noob questtion but what does a catch can do? can it be hooked up on n/a cars that are stock.! ?/ thanks!

all_motor_mike · Post by **all_motor_mike** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:41 pm

Wenuden wrote:You're not going to get a ton of oil in that bottle unless it just flows in. Since there's no filter media in there, the oil doesn't get the chance to condense out of the vapor, it just flows straight thru for the most part.

thank u....... i was reading each post waiting for someone to mention that and at the very bottom there u were............ brilliant. to the OP........... u need to have some kind of baffling in there along with some steel wool or some other kind of mesh material that the vapor needs to flow through to help pull the oil from the air, otherwise its just a glass jar with hose sticking out of it in ur engine bay.

mike

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:38 pm

all_motor_mike wrote:
Wenuden wrote:You're not going to get a ton of oil in that bottle unless it just flows in. Since there's no filter media in there, the oil doesn't get the chance to condense out of the vapor, it just flows straight thru for the most part.
thank u....... i was reading each post waiting for someone to mention that and at the very bottom there u were............ brilliant. to the OP........... u need to have some kind of baffling in there along with some steel wool or some other kind of mesh material that the vapor needs to flow through to help pull the oil from the air, otherwise its just a glass jar with hose sticking out of it in ur engine bay.

mike

That's why I run mine through an old radiator tank ATX cooler(mounted in the cowl). The scary thing is the amount of water I get, also. If I don't drain it weekly I'm in trouble.
Edit: I used to have an oil separator w/filter, but the filter was wicking the oil through it, and it wasn't collecting anything till I removed the filter. So I guess there's an argument for both. The oil cooler seems to work the best.

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 1:13 pm

my bwoody can worked like a champ. It's kinda small tho, had to empty it every 2 weeks.

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:35 pm

Swordfish2Cowboy wrote:
racer12306 wrote:nah, i just dump it in the used oil container and get rid of it. i'd be curious to see its make up and know if it would harm the engine if poured back in.
Send it off to Blackstone.

"We found trace amounts of garlic and part of an olive in your oil..."

I'm not curious enough to spend $20 to analyze it.

CAMS_02 · Post by **CAMS_02** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:38 pm

all_motor_mike wrote:
Wenuden wrote:You're not going to get a ton of oil in that bottle unless it just flows in. Since there's no filter media in there, the oil doesn't get the chance to condense out of the vapor, it just flows straight thru for the most part.
thank u....... i was reading each post waiting for someone to mention that and at the very bottom there u were............ brilliant. to the OP........... u need to have some kind of baffling in there along with some steel wool or some other kind of mesh material that the vapor needs to flow through to help pull the oil from the air, otherwise its just a glass jar with hose sticking out of it in ur engine bay.

mike

Really? So I assume the BWoody catch cans have some sort of filter media or baffling in there? All I have to do is throw a wad of steel wool in there and I'll be golden? Should it fill the jar or does it only need to fill maybe half to 3/4 of it? I do have almost a half inch of oil in there now, but I wouldn't put it back in my engine, because it looks like it's mixed with some other stuff as well (probably condensation and what-not from the cold). Would a courser steel wool work better than the finer stuff (a 1 or 2 versus 00 or 000)?

Post by **racer12306** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:50 pm

Yes the BWoody cans have something in there. They have a strip of perforated steel/aluminum in there that starts out a little more than twice the length of the can. It is bent in a wishbone like shape and stuck in there.

Steel wool will be fine. IIRC Vitors piece had steel wool. I wouldn't think the coarseness of it would matter.

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:56 pm

It may help, but I would also solder a length of copper tubing to the inlet port to increase the distance between the two openings. then the vapors would have to travel up through the wool. Just don't get it (wool) too close to the top or it may allow the oil to be drawn back into the outlet tube to the intake. I would also recommend stainless steel wool, as with the moisture, it will cause a beautiful rust blob in your olive jar.

CAMS_02 · Post by **CAMS_02** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:00 pm

So, maybe run a tube to the bottom of the jar and throw a courser stainless steel wool in there, that only fills half the jar?

Thanks for the help, you guys!

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:10 pm

I don't know if I would go all the way to the bottom, prolly not much lower than to where you let it fill to.

sxmania · Post by **sxmania** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:06 pm

the one i saw had the engine output line going down to the bottom of the jar and the jar filled 3/4 the way with marbles lol seemed to work as well.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:30 pm

I have nothing in mine, it's just an empty container and I throw away several teapsoons of Oil all the time

CAMS_02 · Post by **CAMS_02** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:37 pm

Yeah, that kind of surprised me that my setup wouldn't work or would be more effective with some sort of baffling in there. When I set this up, I was thinking it would work just like a MityVac brake bleeder works. I don't drive this car much in the warmer months, so in the few months I drove it since I installed this thing, I've got probably a half inch of oil and moisture in there. It wouldn't take much to throw a rubber hose on the end of the inlet valve and we have some copper scrubby pads lying around. I also have a handful of marbles that I don't know what to do with, but I don't know if glass marbles in a glass jar is such a good idea, especially through our frigid Wisconsin winters!

I do want to once again thank y'all for your input and suggestions though. Obviously, I don't spend a lot of time here, but when I do come around, everyone seems to always be willing to help!

Post by **occasional demons** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 10:09 pm

Marbles in a glass jar + vibration = fail!

CAMS_02 · Post by **CAMS_02** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 6:50 pm

Imagine those babies bustin' loose on the highway and bouncin' around underneath my car at 70 mph! It'd probably scare the doo-doo out of me!

sxmania · Post by **sxmania** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 1:18 am

i dont know if its a valid worry but i wouldnt want steel wool in the jar for fear of some small piece getting sucked through the motor, maybe a sponge or something?

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:18 am

need to use coarse steel wool. Pot scrubber type. I've been considering adding something inside my eBay catch can, since i've been noticing, i still get some oil in my manifold. Just only like 1/10 as much as before the Catch can. Thinking some coarse steel wool should help separate the oil from the air.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:12 pm

CAMS_02 wrote:we have some copper scrubby pads lying around.

The best suggestion yet. Those things are formed into shape, and there shouldn't be anything comming loose from them, as long as they haven't been used.

UNDERGROUND6T9 · Post by **UNDERGROUND6T9** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:52 pm

that looks like a POS. just buy one from ebay.