My filtration system

[Floridianson]

She is not in operation yet but here she is. I got 8 of the smaller military filters and 4 of the large type. I just plan to curculate till the cat comes home or till the filter show to much restriction.

 

[Beyond Biodiesel]

I am not sure what you are planning on filtering, but if it is WMO, then most of the particle load in WMO is below 1 micron in size, so either a centrifuge, or an extended settling period works best. I found it take about 2 months for most of the carbon to settle out of WMO.

 

[oddshot]

She is not in operation yet but here she is. I got 8 of the smaller military filters and 4 of the large type. I just plan to circulate till the cat comes home or till the filter show to much restriction.

Neat!


Can you give a bit of a description of what we're looking at?

 

[Jeepsinker]

That is still some nice equipment.

 

[rolling18]

That is still some nice equipment.

Agreed!
How do you find the specs on the government equipment?? micron size and where to get replacement filters?
I'm mainly asking about the filter/ seperator units in pictures 4 and 5......

 

[John S-B]

I am not sure what you are planning on filtering, but if it is WMO, then most of the particle load in WMO is below 1 micron in size, so either a centrifuge, or an extended settling period works best. I found it take about 2 months for most of the carbon to settle out of WMO.

Can you elaborate on the comment on particle load? I'm planning on filtering to 1/2 micron, and my first batch has been settling for about a year. (other priorities) But is 1/2 micron acceptable?

 

[rolling18]

where do you get bag filters under 1 micron??

 

[Beyond Biodiesel]

Can you elaborate on the comment on particle load? I'm planning on filtering to 1/2 micron, and my first batch has been settling for about a year. (other priorities) But is 1/2 micron acceptable?

I am not sure what waste oil that you are dealing with. I find pre-blend WVO benefits by long settling periods, 2 weeks warm works for me. But, WMO does not seem to benefit from long pre-blend settling periods.

If you are working with WMO, then blending it with gasoline at 20%, then leaving it to settle for 2 months, or more, will result in a fairly clean fuel blend. Otherwise 1/2 micron filter is not going to buy you much more than 1-micron filter, because the carbon in WMO is sub-micron, and very probably molecular, so only settling for long periods, or a centrifuge, or distillation, are going to remove it effectively.

 

[DeucesWild11]

I was going to mention mixing in a little gas. I always add gas to my WMO, mainly because if any water is mixed in the oil it helps to separate it and let the water settle to the bottom. A little gas mixed in will also help with your fuel pump. I won't run straight WMO because I don't want to burn out my fuel pump.

 

[John S-B]

where do you get bag filters under 1 micron??

Duda filters.

 

[rolling18]

o ok guess i didnt look close enough! thanks.

 

[John S-B]

I am not sure what waste oil that you are dealing with. I find pre-blend WVO benefits by long settling periods, 2 weeks warm works for me. But, WMO does not seem to benefit from long pre-blend WVO settling periods.

If you are working with WMO, then blending it with gasoline at 20%, then leaving it to settle for 2 months, or more, will result in a fairly clean fuel blend. Otherwise 1/2 micron filter is not going to buy you much more than 1-micron filter, because the carbon in WMO is sub-micron, and very probably molecular, so only settling for long periods, or a centrifuge, or distillation, are going to remove it effectively.

I've basically been getting a bunch of used motor oil from friends and neighbors, along with a little stale gas, and about ten gallons of clean fuel oil taken from a tank that was being removed from a house. I've thrown in some old diesel treatment left over from when I had a Cummins Dodge.
I have about 150 gallons of WMO, a couple is gear oil. So far I've filled up one barrel (55 gal) by running it through a 100 micon screen into a funnel with a doughnut magnet. That's what's been sitting for about a year. (like I said, been a little busy) I'm planning on building a rack in the next week or so to hold 4- 5 gal buckets with 10, 5, 1, and 1/2 micron sock filters to gravity filter. I'd like to try and put a heat blanket on the barrel to have the WMO fairly warm, (above 100 degrees) so it flows better. I've got two hand pumps, one for the first barrel, and a second for the finished product barrel. The 5 gal buckets will have an ABS or PVS bulkhead fitting in the bottom with a valve, and a 4" cap in the top lid to hold the filter sock. I'll do 5 gallons at a time, maybe 10-15 gal per day. I'm in no big hurry as I'm restoring my deuce and it's not road worthy right now. Any thoughts on this set up?? I may add some more gasoline, but not 20% as I probably won't run WMO at more than 50% in the fuel tank.

 

[Beyond Biodiesel]

I was going to mention mixing in a little gas. I always add gas to my WMO, mainly because if any water is mixed in the oil it helps to separate it and let the water settle to the bottom. A little gas mixed in will also help with your fuel pump. I won't run straight WMO because I don't want to burn out my fuel pump.

Yes, I too find gasoline is very effective at removing water, and radiator fluid from motor oil. It also seems to make the dirt fall right out, if there is enough gasoline in the blend. The carbon is the hard thing to get rid of, because its density is so close to the specific gravity of motor oil that it can take months for it to settle out with gravity alone.

I've basically been getting a bunch of used motor oil from friends and neighbors, along with a little stale gas, and about ten gallons of clean fuel oil taken from a tank that was being removed from a house. I've thrown in some old diesel treatment left over from when I had a Cummins Dodge.
I have about 150 gallons of WMO, a couple is gear oil. So far I've filled up one barrel (55 gal) by running it through a 100 micon screen into a funnel with a doughnut magnet. That's what's been sitting for about a year. (like I said, been a little busy) I'm planning on building a rack in the next week or so to hold 4- 5 gal buckets with 10, 5, 1, and 1/2 micron sock filters to gravity filter. I'd like to try and put a heat blanket on the barrel to have the WMO fairly warm, (above 100 degrees) so it flows better. I've got two hand pumps, one for the first barrel, and a second for the finished product barrel. The 5 gal buckets will have an ABS or PVS bulkhead fitting in the bottom with a valve, and a 4" cap in the top lid to hold the filter sock. I'll do 5 gallons at a time, maybe 10-15 gal per day. I'm in no big hurry as I'm restoring my deuce and it's not road worthy right now. Any thoughts on this set up?? I may add some more gasoline, but not 20% as I probably won't run WMO at more than 50% in the fuel tank.

Sound like a nice waste oil processing system you have made for yourself. I also process in 5 gallon batches because that is how I get my waste oils, and I like to see the oil stream as I am pouring it from one container to the next, because I can see the dirt layer through the pouring stream, if I am careful.

I use a fairly coarse screen to start the cleaning process with, which is about the same mesh as a common kitchen screen/bug screen, which I thing is something like 500 microns. That gets the leaves, bolts, parts, etc. out of WMO, and the french fries and corn chips out of WVO without that stage taking hours or days.

I then pour enough gasoline on top of the coarsely screened waste oil to make it 20% of the whole solution. I find agitating the blend does nothing. I then leave it to sit undisturbed for at least 2 weeks for WVO-blends and 2 months for WMO-blends. After the settling period, then I pour it again carefully into a blending tank And, again I watch the pour stream very carefully, because I can see that there will be dark and/or thick fluid at the bottom of the bucket, so I stop pouring when that dark and/or thick fluid at the bottom starts coming through.

I have a 20 gallon blending tank, so I leave the 20 gallons of settled blend to sit together for 2 days, then I extract a sample from the top and one from the bottom, to make sure it is uniform, which it typically is, except in the cold. I also examine the bottom sample for any additional sediments. At this time I keep drawing off the lower sample until it runs clean.

After the 2 days of additional settling I use compressed air at about 5 PSI at the top of the blending tank to push my blend out of a valve at the bottom of the tank through a line that goes to a series of filters 250-micron, 100-micron, then 1-micron. For settled WVO-based waste oil blends that is all I seem to need.

WMO, is another issue. It either needs to be settled for 2 months, or centrifuged about 10 times to remove the carbon.

If carbon is not removed from WMO, then it will result in coking your engine.

 

[DeucesWild11]

Beyond Biodiesel, you sound extremely knowledgeable in this field. I mainly use gravity filters, a little gasoline and time. As far as carbon goes, is there a fuel additive that you recommend like Seafoam or others to add to the tank to help clean out the engine of the carbon so it stays clean and "worry free"? I am concerned that my oil may still have a decent amount of carbon in it.

Also, for all you WMO users out there a great source of relatively clean WMO is from people who service Generators. I have a guy that gives me about 15 gallons every other month. Most of the time its still a dark honey color. It goes right through my filers very nicely.

 

[Beyond Biodiesel]

Beyond Biodiesel, you sound extremely knowledgeable in this field.

I did a year of post graduate research in petroleum refining at Chevron Research, and I have making my own diesel fuel out of waste oils for more than 7 years.

I mainly use gravity filters, a little gasoline and time.

Gravity filtration is good, because I find slow processing, and no pump, means less turbulence, which produces a better product. Gasoline content at 20-30% seems to be critical, because if there is not enough gasoline in the blend, then coking is likely, and rapid.

As far as carbon goes, is there a fuel additive that you recommend like Seafoam or others to add to the tank to help clean out the engine of the carbon so it stays clean and "worry free"? I am concerned that my oil may still have a decent amount of carbon in it.

I do not believe in diesel fuel additives, because most diesel fuel additives are just oil. Since we are making diesel fuel out of oil, then we do not need to spend a punch of money adding more oil to our fuel blend. If your waste oil is black, then your end product fuel will likely be black, which means there is carbon it your fuel, and carbon on your fuel results in coke.

Also, for all you WMO users out there a great source of relatively clean WMO is from people who service Generators. I have a guy that gives me about 15 gallons every other month. Most of the time its still a dark honey color. It goes right through my filers very nicely.

Good tip. Someone else on another forum had found a source of WMO that came from natural gas compressors. He said the oil looked new. Any waste oil that is not black should be considered good, but you will still need to add gasoline to any waste oil to think it out, and the end product still needs to be filtered before going into your tank.

 

[skinnyR1]

Thank you for this descriptive write up. So what color is the end product, assuming you settle out the carbon from the WMO? Does it look like clean motor oil?

I am still trying to figure out my final configuration.

 

[John S-B]

Well I don't have my system up yet, but I did make a second settling tank yesterday. I got a 3/4" bulkhead fitting from TSC so I can drain off the water and settled goo from the bottom. I don't have that feature on the first tank. I'm starting to fill that one now. I have to clean the 100 micron screen after about every 5 gallons or so, I just use brake fluid cleaner for that. Any goo goes into the fire pit on wood to burn off in the future. It's a small amount, so no big black clouds of smoke to PO anyone.

 

[Beyond Biodiesel]

Thank you for this descriptive write up. So what color is the end product, assuming you settle out the carbon from the WMO? Does it look like clean motor oil?

I am still trying to figure out my final configuration.

The color of your final product depends upon the color of your waste oil source. If you have a clean source of waste oil, and your fuel-making practice is good, then your fuel can come out looking like diesel fuel. I make fuel out of WVO, which has been used too long, so my fuel comes out dark amber. See photo.

Well I don't have my system up yet, but I did make a second settling tank yesterday. I got a 3/4" bulkhead fitting from TSC so I can drain off the water and settled goo from the bottom. I don't have that feature on the first tank. I'm starting to fill that one now. I have to clean the 100 micron screen after about every 5 gallons or so, I just use brake fluid cleaner for that. Any goo goes into the fire pit on wood to burn off in the future. It's a small amount, so no big black clouds of smoke to PO anyone.

If you mean the product BrakeKleen, then it is TCE, which is toxic. I recommend using gasoline or kerosene as a solvent, which will just go into your next batch of fuel.

On other forums there has been some discussion about disposal of the mountain of dirty rags we make, and the sludge residues. Some have reported using them as fire starter, so I tired it. I was surprised to see that my oily rags and sludge did not burn smoky, and burned for quite a long time, so it indeed makes good fire starter.

 

[bigugh20]

We've talked in the past about keeping the gasoline percentage below 30 to keep the ethyl alcohol in check. Do you think that " washing " the gas diluted oil with regular water would be a good practice as it should bind with the ethonol and sink to the bottom easily? I also wonder what effect that would have on dissolved solids in suspension.

 

[John S-B]

The color of your final product depends upon the color of your waste oil source. If you have a clean source of waste oil, and your fuel-making practice is good, then your fuel can come out looking like diesel fuel. I make fuel out of WVO, which has been used too long, so my fuel comes out dark amber. See photo.
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If you mean the product BrakeKleen, then it is TCE, which is toxic. I recommend using gasoline or kerosene as a solvent, which will just go into your next batch of fuel.

I'm doing this outside, and I wear gloves. I like the spray because it forces out the particles in the screen, and it's fast. It vaporizes quickly too. All the fuels are "toxic" to some extent, I try to avoid fumes as much as possible.

On other forums there has been some discussion about disposal of the mountain of dirty rags we make, and the sludge residues. Some have reported using them as fire starter, so I tired it. I was surprised to see that my oily rags and sludge did not burn smoky, and burned for quite a long time, so it indeed makes good fire starter.

I'm out in the country so that's exactly how I do it. The firewood that gets the goo on it is STRICTLY for the bonfire pit, never the fireplace inside. But then again it should be obvious, at least to most guys here...