How much power does it take to drive an oil pump

[oil pan 4]

That is what I would like to find out.
I need to prime the oil system on my new engine. So I will connect a power meter to my drill and turn it.
See if I can get my optical tachometer working to see how fast it's turning.
For the oil I am just going to dump in a quart or 2 of 0w-20 weight oil. Just enough to cover the pickup once the oil system is primed, oil filters and oil cooler are filled.

[JRMichler]

Power to a positive displacement pump is Hp = GPM X PSI / 1714. That's the theoretical power at 100% efficiency. Divide by efficiency to get actual shaft horsepower.

If you measure flow rate at some RPM, and find the drive ratio of the pump (pump RPM vs engine RPM), then you can calculate oil pump horsepower as a function of engine RPM and oil pressure. That would be interesting information.

[oil pan 4]

That's ideal. As we find most things on a vehicle are far from ideal.
This will be real world.
Problem is no one really seems to know the efficiency of an oil pump and actual gpm is no more than wishful thinking compared to published.

[rmay635703]

My Volt has a variable oil pump to save gas, so it must be somewhat energy intensive to pump oil.

But boy does the Volt make the oil black,

I'm starting to monitor gas miles manually so I can change off my own timing instead of the oil DIC .

[oldtamiyaphile]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

My Volt has a variable oil pump to save gas, so it must be somewhat energy intensive to pump oil.

So does my Renault diesel. Renault claim it's worth 0.5% in mpg gain, IRC.

[me and my metro]

I know that back in the 70s we had a small block Chevy come apart at the track. The driver said that when the oil light came on the car gained about 50 hp. This was his guess, we ran Kendall 50 wt racing oil and turned the engine 8300 rpm. He shut it off but the engine was already junk.
If you want to check actual load you will need to use a distributor housing so the complete oil system gets pressure. I assume you are working on a Chevy. The distributor housing completes the oil passages to the lifters. We always primed our new engines back when they had distributor driven oil pumps.

[stovie]

I was just wondering if you could create a pumping system that utilizes springs and a small part of the combustion chamber pressure to move the oil through the motor??

[teoman]

You mean something like hooking it up to the turbo?

[stovie]

Originally Posted by teoman

You mean something like hooking it up to the turbo?

No, I mean like have a 1" cylinder next to the combustion chamber that has some gas from the combustion leak into it at its highest pressure will having a spring to return the piston to the top. Like a piston type accumulator tank with a spring on the oil side for return to the top of its stroke!!

[JockoT]

Originally Posted by stovie

I was just wondering if you could create a pumping system that utilizes springs and a small part of the combustion chamber pressure to move the oil through the motor??

Take the part I have marked in red, out, and is that not exactly what a standard oil pump does? Only it utilises the pressure in the cylinder instead of wastefully leaking it out. You cannot get something for nothing. If any part of the engine pumps the oil then you must use energy (fuel) to drive it. The only way to lubricate the engine for free is to use solar power(!) or the waste heat from the engine.