Dyeing Oil

weirdjim

weirdjim

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weirdjim
I apologize right up front for posting a lawnmower question in an aviation group. Please forgive me.

I can't read the oil level on my lawnmower because it is so thin it just barely registers on the dipstick. Is there some sort of dye that I can use to just bring the oil back to visible without screwing up the oil system of the lawnmower.

Thanks,

Jim
 
weirdjim said:
Is there some sort of dye
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Put some of the infamous MMo in the oil. The MMo red dye aids in sight and IMHO aids in overall ops of these type engines. But YMMV.;)
 
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I hate those dip sticks!
Bill Jennings said:
Do what my dad did and never change the oil. Easy to see on the dipstick. And then curse “Those damned cheap engines” when blows up on the third cutting season.
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That's been my method....of course on cheap lowish end mowers...but they run a lot more than three seasons.

I've never tried it, but I wonder about instead of the oil, coloring or changing the dipstick to make it more visible. Any ideas there?
 
Use a file to crosshatch the area. The light reflections on the crosshatching will make the level easier to see.
 
Depending on the size of the dipstick you could drill some small holes in it or use a file to put some tiny notches in the sides. Another method is to take it out and place it against a napkin and use that to see where the damp level on the stick is at.
 
Dry the dipstick well so there is no residual oil, dip it, then look at it under bright light, like sunlight. Works for me.
 
Some brands of oil are colored. Presumably it doesn't start that color so there must be a dye of some sort in it, but I don't know what it is. Perhaps the easiest solution would be to use an oil that is dyed to start.
 
at times we use a leak detector that is visible with a black light. other times we use a dye that changes the oil blue. dye is a CAT product
 
Brad W said:
I hate those dip sticks!
That's been my method....of course on cheap lowish end mowers...but they run a lot more than three seasons.
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Well, dad never checked the oil level either. Just run it until it conks and buy another. At least on his cars he had the oil changed twice a year, but that was the extent of his MX plan. Drive it until it breaks, have it fixed.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Well, dad never checked the oil level either. Just run it until it conks and buy another.
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yeah I guess I run my mower with a touch more finesse. I listen for the knock...then add oil. Kinda like a stall buffet before the stall, a briggs will knock long before it conks :)
 
Daleandee said:
Depending on the size of the dipstick you could drill some small holes in it or use a file to put some tiny notches in the sides. Another method is to take it out and place it against a napkin and use that to see where the damp level on the stick is at.
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I was going to suggest a part of a paper towel, and match the wetted part to the dipstick.

Checkout_my_Six said:
blue food coloring?....not sure if that's water based, if so, don't do that. lol ;)
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No, don't do that. The different blue colors (brilliant blue, indigotine, patent blue V) aren't soluble in hydrocarbons such as oil.
 
John Deere sells some dye for the hydraulic/transmission oil of tractors. I'd not hesitate to use it in a lawn mower.
 
There is dying, which is generally bad, and there is color dyeing.

Blue food coloring. Blue was the last petroleum-based food dye. Some time ago I was hired as a consultant for a Seattle-based biotech, Lumen Bioscience. They had a method to produce food-grade, plant-based blue food coloring from pond scum (spirulina). It worked. They are using the proceeds from spirulina-blue to finance their vaccine development. It was one of my favorite gigs.
https://www.lumen.bio/
https://www.lumen.bio/lumen-raises-usd13m-dec-5-2017
 
Domenick said:
There is dying, which is generally bad, and there is color dyeing.

Blue food coloring. Blue was the last petroleum-based food dye. Some time ago I was hired as a consultant for a Seattle-based biotech, Lumen Bioscience. They had a method to produce food-grade, plant-based blue food coloring from pond scum (spirulina). It worked. They are using the proceeds from spirulina-blue to finance their vaccine development. It was one of my favorite gigs.
https://www.lumen.bio/
https://www.lumen.bio/lumen-raises-usd13m-dec-5-2017
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Just because the dye is made from petroleum doesn't mean it is soluble in oil. The ones listed in post #15 all have sulfonic acid groups and aren't soluble in hydrocarbons.

Are you describing phycocyanin (a water soluble protein complex, and not water soluble), or phycocyanobilin (which may have some solubility in oil)?
 
Omg, that’s way too much trouble. I run into this all the time with my equipment. Simply put a rubber glove on your hand. Use the other hand to remove the dipstick. Keep the stick in a vertical position until ready to check to prevent creeping of the oil level. Then lay the stick horizontally across the palm of the glove hand. Roll the stick over to the other side but keep it on the glove. You will be left with a solid oil mark on the glove and a dip stick parallel to the oil mark to use as as a reference
 
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