Interesting, thanks Dana. Where do you find out all this stuff? Is there a good dependable source of WVO info you could share?

EDIT: DOH! I just looked on your site and there's a lot there. I'll start with that..

Thanks

hey folks... just a few questions. (1) how long should the rotor be spinning after i turn off the motor, to ensure its running properly? (2) i have been watching my pressure gauge and it will sometimes all of a sudden spike up to like 150psi. what does this mean?

As far as spiking goes, your oil may be too cold. I always wait until my oil is around 120 before starting to avoid spikes

quote:

Originally posted by cambro5:
(1) how long should the rotor be spinning after i turn off the motor, to ensure its running properly?

>90 seconds.

quote:

(2) i have been watching my pressure gauge and it will sometimes all of a sudden spike up to like 150psi. what does this mean?

Cold VO or clogging jets due to chunks (>300 micron.)

Hello all:

I am a first time poster.

My question is; does anyone check their used motor oil, from oil changes for poly by centrifuging it? Could you tell if you did and then refrigerate it?

Thanks

Ray

1995 Ford F-350 7.3L

quote:

Originally posted by waterguy:
My question is; does anyone check their used motor oil, from oil changes for poly by centrifuging it? Could you tell if you did and then refrigerate it?

Not that I know of. The simple test for motor oil poly is to put a sample in your frig. or freezer and compare to the thickness of a new oil sample at the same temp. No CF needed.

poly = polymerization?

Yes.

Hello,

I bought a DC 20 earlier in the year and have just gotten around to installing it. It feels like it is not working and I need some opinions on it.

The main problem is that it doesn't feel like it is spinning. The pressure gage registers 90 but I don't feel/hear the spin. Here are some issues I might have introduced:

1. I am testing the whole system with water now to avoid having to clean up any messy oil leaks. Will the DC 20 not spin with water?

2. To see if the spin was happening but I just couldn't hear it, I took off the cover and put a 1000ml glass beaker over the who DC20 and started up the pump. The psi meter read 90. I noticed that water was shooting out between the bearing on top of the bowl and the vertical axel. Also water was shooting out from underneath the nut that keeps the bowl screwed down onto the jets. Is this normal (or am I the only idiot who was willing to risk the glass beaker shattering in my hand?) As for spinning - the first few times, the bowl didn't spin but then did. I didn't let it spin more than a few seconds as the beaker really didn't give a good seal and water was leaking all over the place. (Also fear/common sense alerted me that I was pushing my luck with this possibly dangerous test.)

3. I set up the inlet slightly differently then from what is pictured on the DC website. Functionally I think I have it the same way... heck I will need to take a picture instead of describing that here.

In case there is some obvious solution, please let me know.

Thanks
Doug

It takes about 45-90 seconds to get up to speed. If you turn on the pressure up to 90, then rest your hand on the cover, you should be able to feel it slowly spin up to speed. I've never tried it with water. I'm not sure how it would work. I don't think there would be an issue?

Wade

Call Dieselcraft 530 889 5590 9-4 Pacific time.

Bearings are designed to run with oil as lubricant not water. We have never tested with water...possibly you have discovered that it will not work...call us. :-)

Post the photos.

Mr Dieselcraft -- For your consideration - A small centrifuge that is compatable with water may have a market for removal of algae from water, limited for now, but if it was succesfull the small-user market may improve over the reasonable future as more folks begin experimenting with growing algae as a source of plant oil for making biodiesel.

Using filters to remove the microscopic algae from water is not practical, a small pump powered centrifuge to seperatee the algae from the water would remove one of the main problems facing small scale experimentation with growing practical amounts of algae.

this links to a news story that referances doing this but does not describe the type of centrifuges they are using.

Micro-algae actually are microscopic in size so should not pose a plugging problem to anything in the system, they also contain 3-30% oil in there cells, don't know how there cells react under mechanical load, they may lubricate directly if placed under a shearing load, I suspect actual bearings rather than bushings would work out better though?

hi everybody. just wanted to ask... as i was filtering today there was steam comming out the the "bungholes" of my drum. what does this mean? (water present in oil? or is this flash evaporation? or something else?) the humidity today was right around 70%, so could this have played factor? thanks for all the help!!! this forum rules!!!

quote:

Originally posted by cambro5:
what does this mean? (water present in oil? or is this flash evaporation?

Yes and yes. A hot pan test before and after you run the CF would confirm this.

BTW, anyone wondering, the Acura/Honda powersteering pumps DO NOT like pumping Biodiesel. Mine started leaking after sitting for a few days. I opened it - it has rubber looking seals and they were starting to expand. Couldn't get them back together again. Humpty Dumpty.

So I went to the junk yard and got 3 more for $32...

howdy:
i've been running about 12 gal through the CF now for about 5 hrs, cleaning the rotor about every hour. i just took the rotor off and there was still a real thin layer of gunk on the inside. how do i know when the batch is clean? thanks!!!

How long I run it depends entirely on how dirty the VO is to begin with. I stop when a 50 gallon batch at 160F and 90psi has <1/16" layer in the bowl after 2 hours running since the last cleaning. All 5 of those numbers are important.

I mistwash and settle my oil for a few days to a few weeks. I get some dirty oil - full of gunk and water and gawd knows what. Titrates at 16 with KOH (ie well used)

Running it for 6 hours peaking at 160F for an hour or 2 I only have to clean the bowl every 4 barrels or so and then only a 1/8" black crud in the bowl. Mostly I'm just getting the water out.

I'm pretty sure it's clean because my 2micron polishing filter only clogs up every 10 barrels or so and it has passed the HPT whenever I have done it.

quote:

I stop when a 50 gallon batch at 160F and 90psi has <1/16" layer in the bowl after 2 hours running since the last cleaning. All 5 of those numbers are important.

Sunwizard, to clarify (perhaps again sorry), your formula above is referring to using an OC20, correct?

If so, then using an OC50 would change it to safely stopping when there is less than 1/16" layer in the bowl after running just 1 hour since the last cleaning. Would you concur? Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by movo:
your formula above is referring to using an OC20, correct?

Correct.

quote:

If so, then using an OC50 would change it to safely stopping when there is less than 1/16" layer in the bowl after running just 1 hour since the last cleaning. Would you concur?

Yes if the other numbers are the same. And thats assuming the OC-50 removes particles with the same 2000xG force, I haven't tested one to compare, it could be faster or slower. Or maybe due to 3x the surface area in the rotor, the similar spec would be 1/3 of 1/16" layer. You would need to test to see what level you like, its not a safety issue, its life of your vehicle filter.