Autolube vs Pre-mix

[DarkHelmet]

Seems I am on a roll today with the Pro's and Con's posts I will try maintain them if anyone is interested? Please contribute

Autolube

Pros
1. You do not have to pre-mix
2. Mixture is always right

Cons
1. More points of failure

Pre-Mix

Pros
1. Less points of failure

Cons
1. You can forget to premix

[Big-D]

Autolube uses considerably less oil than pre-mixing - Don't know if this should fall under pro's or cons.

You can carry 2l oil in Autolube, instead of having bottles in saddle bags - Pro

[tsotsi]

Hi DH

Agree with Big D. Mine use about 50% less oil and I often wonder if this is not a bad thing?

[Thatchman]

Autolube - Con

It stops working.....you can die. I know they are reliable, but i know two pilots who have had it stop on them. One 6 months to recover and trike a write-off.

When I had a 582, I disconected the autolube.

I think this issue comes down to your personal view as there are good reasons either way.

DH, ask Flo.

[Wargames]

Hi Tsotsi,

You say that the autolube uses less oil,

Is there a difference in the EGT and CHT with autolube than when you premix??

[Slabfish]

Auto lube
1.Why not just use the system that was engineered BY engineers
2.New technology (the days of reading by candle light is long gone)----or maybe not ---eeeijhkom . So I use auto lube .My first Autolube was a Suzuki AS 50 in 1969, since then many more Bikes and Outboard motors have given me TROUBLEFREE service over the last 46 jears.3 With premix there is space for what causes 90 percent of our accidents, ,human error.I have seen some one forget ,and convinced himself that he did put oil in----or did he not 4. You can die flying low but you still do it ,don`t you Thatchman ,so like you say--
{I think this issue comes down to your personal view as there are good reasons either way}

[Wargames]

Hi Guys,

Seems like there is a couple of guys forgetting to premix.

These days the guys that should be forgetting to premix is those poor souls that is colour blind!!

I always make sure that I pour in some lovely blue 2 stroke oil that will colour the fuel to a nice blue/green colour that is easily recogniseble.

I like to premix for the main reason that I have peace of mind that my fuel is 50:1. That is a big pro for me personaly.

Regards,

[Rudix]

Hi Guys,

Seems like there is a couple of guys forgetting to premix.

These days the guys that should be forgetting to premix is those poor souls that is colour blind!!

I always make sure that I pour in some lovely blue 2 stroke oil that will colour the fuel to a nice blue/green colour that is easily recogniseble.

I like to premix for the main reason that I have peace of mind that my fuel is 50:1. That is a big pro for me personaly.

Regards,

The problem is that the 95 octane I use IS BLUE ! Can be confusing.....

Have to admit I prefer pre-mix, one less thing to go wrong, that is unless I get it wrong

Fly safe,
Rudi

[Duck Rogers]

Have to admit I prefer pre-mix, one less thing to go wrong, that is unless I get it wrong

Ditto for me.

[DarkHelmet]

I have a strict regime about my premix, also have a thing for stale fuel... I will leave it unmixed until I put it into the aerie - If I end up not throwing fuel in on a particular day it goes into the car.

Premixing causes a lot of smoke at low revs and I know the consistency of the smoke by now so I always check the smoke after starting up.

[Thatchman]

Slabfish, there is a difference between low flying and autolube or not and this is not about me but a general issue of interest.

You should acceot responsibility for what is within your control. So if you want to fly low or premix which requires you to remember to put in oil then you should follow your own routine to ensure that you limit the risks.

For me when I was flying a 582, I chose to eliminate a risk that I perceived as out of my control and replaced it with one that was within my control. My control was that I always bought my fuel myself and I always put the oil in the container before fuel went in.

Do not forget that when you have an autolube you can also forget to put oil in as it is not a requirement for each flight and although it should be part of your preflight, on long flights you may run out.

So there are risks both ways and like I said no way is wrong, its just a matter of personal view.

[Wargames]

So there are risks both ways and like I said no way is wrong, its just a matter of personal view.

I Agree.

As long as we all agree to fly safe, no one can ever be wrong about premix.

Just for interest sake: Is there a difference between R100/litre two stroke and a engen 500ml for R13??

What do you guys prefer to use???

[Slabfish]

Thatchman , nothing I said was meant to be personal ,especially the low flying bit . After all , I don`t even know you , how will I know you fly low . Anyway , all this is meant to be our personal opinions and most of what I said was tong in cheek because this topic has been flogged to death already before .I think as long as we all are serious about safety we will be OK .

[Duck Rogers]

Just for interest sake: Is there a difference between R100/litre two stroke and a engen 500ml for R13??

What do you guys prefer to use???

Another can of worms.........

I don't really care what anyone else says or favours. As long as it meets the Rotax recommended specification and says 2-stroke, API-TC on the can, then I use it
Engen 500ml/R13.00 works for me.

Flack-jacket on.................... :D

[Aerosan]

Im with the Duck on this issue, wether you forget to put oil in the bottle for your autolube or to premix piont is if you are going to forget, youll forget. IMHO you are more likely to forget the one that you do least and not the one that happens as you get e-petrolli Yes I pre mix as it is a ritual, get fuel get oil.................premix cant fail in the air without you knowing.