New Oil Pump

[Terry Burtz, Calif]

We have received many requests to design a new oil pump that meets the requirements for the Burtz engine. A new oil pump has been designed, tested, and will be available in September 2025.

The new oil pump looks like an original oil pump by using the same screen, bottom plate, and screen cover used on an original Model A oil pump, but the housing and gears are different to deliver 4 ½ times as much oil. To relieve the excess oil, there is a large relief valve within the screened area.

A lab model of the new pump was manufactured and tested by an independent laboratory, and volume delivered measurements were taken with the following variables: gear length, oil viscosity, and oil pump speed. For safety reasons, the laboratory used motor oil thinned with a ratio of diesel to simulate the viscosity of hot motor oil.

From the laboratory test results, a gear length and relief valve port area were chosen to meet the requirements of the new engine.

The independent laboratory then made a prototype oil pump with the chosen gear length and relief port size, and this pump was tested in a Burtz engine, where the oil was hot and not simulated. The test results matched the laboratory-thinned oil and were as expected.

The new oil pump design was documented and presented to a factory in China that specializes in making oil pumps for many engines. We accepted their quote, and they made the tooling and sent a couple of pre-production pumps to us for engineering evaluation. One of these pumps was sent to Fhane Jones (Stuart Model A Parts, Stuart, FL) because his mechanic, Frank, had a new engine on a test stand waiting for an oil pump.

With cold oil, the new pump maintained 30 PSI at 600 RPM, 30 PSI at 1000 RPM, and the pressure was never over 33 PSI at higher RPMs.

With hot oil, the new oil pump maintained 10 PSI at 600 RPM, 24 PSI at 1000 RPM, 31 PSI at 1500 RPM, 33 PSI at 2000 RPM, 33 PSI at 2500 RPM, and 33 PSI at 3000 RPM. The relief vent is large enough that even with a blocked outlet, the pressure will not exceed 33 PSI.

John Lampl traveled to China on July 5, 2025, to award the production contract, and the new oil pump should be available in September 2025.