RE: Radial engine experiment: What do you think?
The exhaust has a complicated flow. You could be seeing high or low pressure at the drain outlet. The pressure at the oil line exit could very with RPM. Pressure in the exhaust is going to be above ambient, it may even be significantly above crankcase pressure. It's possible venturi effect is inadequate to reduce the pressure below the ambient pressure which would otherwise be present at the oil discharge line.