Most people have a general idea what a catch can does. Dirty crank case gasses pass through it and oil collects in the bottom of it, oil that would otherwise be digested by the engine combustion. But we thought we could explain it in more detail, so people can really understand what is happening inside their engine.
Piston rings do not seal 100% and as a result, pressurized gasses from the combustion process will leak out into the crankcase area of the engine, this is known as "blow by". This is just a fact of our modern internal combustion engine. Pressurizing the crankcase is, of course, not desireable. It can lead to blown out crank seals, oil leaks, etc. So the crankcase gasses have to be vented through the PCV system, which recycles the air back into the intake stream. The vented gasses contain oil vapor, water vapor and other nasty stuff that, if not dealt with, can coat the intake tract of the engine with oil and sludge.
So what makes one catch can better than another? Why can't I just use a soda can?
If PCV gassses are routed to a non-sealed reservoir in the engine bay (like a soda can), then a film of oil will form in the area around the soda can, and there is nothing preventing back flow of oil/water/sludge/dirty air back into the engine. Furthermore, an open container of oil in the engine bay is a fire hazzard.
Radium catch cans are machined in the USA from solid aluminum rod.
The Radium Oil Catch Cans feature stainless steel filtration media to help condensing of the oil and water vapor into liquid form. This media is removable washable and re-usable, without the need to disassemble the whole catch can.
These beautiful components are machined from 6061 billet aluminum, then anodized and laser engraved. It is a two part design, with a removable bottom that can be unscrewed and easily drained. O-ring sealing is the standard.
Benefits:
-Increased engine performance through cleaner inlet air
-Prevents oil buildup in the intake or intercooler system walls, throttle body, and intake manifold
-Excessive oil collection can be an indicator of a damaged engine
-Lowers hydrocarbon emissions
Features:
-CNC billet 6061 aluminum
-Powder coated aluminum mounting bracket
-Anodized & laser engraved finish
-O-ring sealed two-piece design
-Integrated oil separator
-Canister body unscrews for easy dumping of fluids
-Stainless steel cleanable and reuseable filter media
-Safe to use in pressurized applications
-Accepts 7/8-14 (-10AN) fittings
-Capacity: 7 fluid ounces
-Height (without fittings): 4.9 inches Outside Diameter: 2.45 inches
How does the oil separation in the Radium Engineering catch cans work? Keep reading to find out....
Gasses enter the catch can through the top port and immediately pass through a stack of stainless steel condenser media. This provides surface area for the hot oil vapor to cool and condense. This creates a phase change within the oil makeup converting it from a vapor to a liquid. All of the liquid oil collects and drips down to the bottom of the canister. Remaining gasses continue through the catch can chamber where they slow down allowing time for more oil vapor to condense on the interior surface walls. Then "clean" gasses exit through the front port and back into the engine's intake stream.
Close up view of flow analysis, condensing media not shown.
When designing our turbocharger kit for the Lotus Elise, we searched the market high and low for a catch can with built-in oil separation, removable fittings, the ablility to handle turbo boost pressures, and contained in a small package. We did not find any that matched our criteria, so we designed our own. While this was originally designed for the Lotus Elise, it is a universal part that can be used with any engine. It has the flexibilty to be plumbed with -AN fittings, or traditional hose barbs.
We usually design an installation kit using two catch cans, one on the PCV line, and one on the crank case ventilation line. We do this because an engine can see gasses flow into and out of either port, so having a catch can on each side ensures maximum protection.
We recently designed a kit specifically for installation on the Lotus Elise/Exige. Shown below is the kit which consists of mounting bracket, two Radium catch cans, fittings and hoses. Over the years we have added more application-specific kits that allow easy bolt-in installation.
Dual oil catch can kit for the Lotus Elise/Exige
E46 BMW Catch Can Kit
Honda S2000 Catch Can Kit.
Installed on a superchaged Exige. Also compatible with all Elise models.
We continues to add more application specific installation kits.
We hope this has been helpful in understanding more about our catch cans and all the function they provide in a small package.