quote:

Did DieselCraft lower the recommended pressure? I've always run at 90 psi, that was what they had been recommending?

Yes. The cover sticker on the CF and the documentation all say 80 psi.

Well I've fiddled with the pressure relief valve a little more and I think I'm pretty well dialed in.

With the current setting at 140F, the CF drains 500ml in 8.5 seconds

(so 17 seconds/L = 68 seconds/1.05 gallons = .926 gallons/min.)

and the discharge fills the carboy in just under 5 minutes. That's like 1.8 gpm at 140F, so it's probably closer to what you suggested at room temp (1.5 gpm give or take).

It's also whirring up louder now.

Based on all of this, do you think I'm set?

Thanks,

Guy

Suggested pressure is now 80 PSI because most people were not paying attention to 90 PSI and were pushing 100-120 at times.

Not to give away the bursting pressure of the rotor...but at 80 PSI we have more room for operator error :-)

90 PSI is fine for the highly trained veg oilers but for the novice 80 PSI is suggested.

Many thanks for all you support.

quote:

Originally posted by guyser:
It's also whirring up louder now.
Based on all of this, do you think I'm set?

Sounds like you're set to me, very good.

Sam

quote:

Originally posted by Mr Dieselcraft:
Many thanks for all your support.

Quite the contrary, many thanks for your support!

Sam

Can anyone suggest a snap disc that has a proven track record of working when attached to the vertical pipe in Sunwizards design? I have tried two different ones only to still be married to the CF. These are the two I tried that didn't shut off the heater elements even when my oil reached 184*
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2FBU4
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2FBU5. I would be happy to operate anywhere in between 120*-170*.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by newtoveggie:
Can anyone suggest a snap disc that has a proven track record of working when attached to the vertical pipe in Sunwizards design? . . . These are the two I tried that didn't shut off the heater elements even when my oil reached 184*[QUOTE\]

Newtoveggie,

First, check the temperature of the pipe at the point where you are setting the snap disc. On our setup, the hottest point on the pipe reads 180 degrees when the oil reaches 220 degrees. So I believe that you need to look at a different range for your snap disc. At $20, perhaps a laser remote thermometer like this one from Harbor Freight would be a good tool for you to use: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93984

Then, you might try this adjustable disc at Grainger: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4E118 . It may be in the correct range and you can adjust it a bit to turn the heaters off just when you think your oil has reached the correct temperature. As I remember, it will not turn back on again until the temperature drops about 30 - 40 degrees. You might be able to verify this with the guys at Grainger.

Good luck.

I have a laser thermometer and my Pipe reads about 10 degrees lower than my oil t-stat. The only thing that appears to be lacking with the ones I used and the one you suggested was the "Element Type - Flush". Is this where I went wrong?

CORRECTION:

The only thing that appears to be lacking with the ones I used COMPARED TO THE ONE you suggested was the "Element Type - Flush". Is this where I went wrong?

I can't speak from experience here, but I've been giving some thought to the installation of 'snap stats' on pipe.

I think that the stat will only function correctly when all, or almost all, the contact face is pressed against the item being monitored, in this case a round pipe.

It seems reasonable that if only minimal contact is made the the stat will under-read the temp as the rest of the contact face will be considerably cooler than small area in contact.

I'm considering welding a flat plate to the pipe on which to mount the stat; or maybe a piece of angle (imagine ^ on top of an O) would transmit the heat better.

Obviously the point made earlier about the actual temp of the oil being higher than the surface temp of the pipe is critical too.

Macc99 I agree with you - it was the first thing I thought when the temp ran above 180* - there is not enough contact for the snap disc. Circle in a square thing.
I haven't heard from anyone who has had success with snap discs. Sun mentioned he just turns off the top element and the bottom one maintains temp at 160*. I will try that next and hopefully I can divorce my 55 gallon drum.

I used an 80oC snapdisk in my rodeo to switchover to oil it was just clamped to a 1" copper pipe with a hose clamp. never actually measured the temp acurately but was about where I expected 80 to be on the (Unmarked)temp guage
worked great for the year I had it.
If you want too divorce that drum I think I'd be putting a couple on like they use (well here in australia anyway) on a hot water system, one to control the temperature and one a bit higher as a redundant safety switch.
John

Can anyone suggest a good prefilter before using the DC CF? I am currently using a 55 gallon EZ Strainer but have found that they rip easily under the weight of the WVO and they are difficult to clean. I searched around but did not find any viable alternatives. Is there a better alternative out there? Something stronger and more cleanable? What do you guys use as a prefilter? I am looking for something that gets the WVO to between 100-200 micron so it can be put into the CF. Please advise a better way than the EZ strainer on top of a 55 gallon barrel. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Ferraz:
Can anyone suggest a good prefilter before using the DC CF? I am currently using a 55 gallon EZ Strainer

Hi Ferraz,

I tried using those drum stainers once, you're right, they are a pain in the butt, and waste of time.

I got a 100 (maybe 150 micron?) pickup strainer that came with my Fill-rite pump. That is all you need, if the oil is warmed so you don't have saturated clots and somewhat settled. Way easier, quicker and cleaner.

Sam

I've had an interesting thing happen.

I've been running this batch of oil, and this morning I cleaned the rotor, figured I could shut the heat off, but let the centrifuge run. The oil was at 175 degrees.

I came home around lunch and checked the temp and pressure, just to be sure everything was ok. Strange, the temperature was 177. I thought maybe I didn't remember it right.

So I return home at 5 and the temp was up to 179, sure enough the heat was turned off. I check the controller, everything set right, I get a thermometer and it matches the temp of the controller.

I go back into the house, come back out and my controller reads 180, so I shut down the pump.

Apparently my motor or pump is going out, but neither sound any different than normal

Dang, and I have enough to do this weekend.

Sam

so i now have Dieselcraft OC-20 set up... last night i ran about 17 gal at 135-140 deg. and at 75-80 psi for about an hour. when i took apart the rotor there was hardly any gunk in it. i get rice oil from a sushi place that looks really clean to begin with but is this possible? before i ran the oil i took the spring out and when i turned off the motor i could hear the CF spinnig. doesn't this mean it was working?

If the oil is clean to begin with and the rotor is spinning what you see in the rotor is what is being removed.

It is simple physics...the heavy stuff goes to the outside...if there is no heavy solids then there will be no or limited deposits in the rotor.

We take out the dirt not make it appear:-)

I ran some oil I bought from a guy that was filtered down to 5 micron. I had very little "junk" inside the bowl of the centrifuge.

Then I ran some more from him that was filtered down to 25 micron. There was a lot of gunk in the bowl that time.

I just ran a batch last night that was oil from a chinese restaurant which was used to fry the meats, and there was minimal gunk. I sucked the good oil out of the top and left the settled fat and other gunk in the bottom of the cubies using the 12 V diesel pump with filter from Northern Tools. I was very surpised how little gunk was in the centrifuge. Apparently, that filter screen on the pump from Northern Tools is pretty good.

I only did about 12-15 gallons, and left it clean for about 3 hrs, meaning the oil circulated thru the centrifuge about 12 times (overkill, I know).

Wade

so do you guys think i'm good to go? i mean, is there anyway that i'm doing anything wrong? it all seems so simple. maybe i'm just being paranoid but... is there anything that i can do just to be sure that its all working the right way?

I think you are good to go. I had the same questions after I did my first batch of oil which was the stuff I bought that was prefiltered to 5 micron. The 25 micron stuff had a nice layer of gunk to ease my mind on whether it was working or not. The stuff out of the nasty chinese fryer buckets was like the worlds nastiest glue.

Wade

My teel pump 1p1825B is now leaking at the shaft. Apparently it is the lip seal that is gone.

Anybody else had this problem and/or know a good place to get a replacement. Or, even better, a quick, cheap, generic substitute?

That would make my miserly heart warm....