quote:

Originally posted by seabirdmusic.com:
I have 2 spinner II's one is a model 36SE and the other is a 60SE. They seem considerably larger than the OC-20. Should I be running them at more than 90psi?

You should run them at whatever the specs say. Its probably not higher than 90, and may be lower. If you got no instructions with them, their website may say.

I found these links for the 36SE and for the 60SE
it doesn't say what the recommended PSI is, but at the top it says 2GPM at 60PSIG for model 60 and 1GPM at 60PSIG for the 36se. But if you scroll down they have a chart showing higher GPM at 90PSI, and the graph doesn't go any higher than that. So..I'm guessing they dont recommend higher PSI than 90.

How did you guys plumb up your releif valve?

quote:

Originally posted by dwoloz:
So what kind of total cost am I looking at here if I decided to setup a CF rig from scratch?

.

I have about $400 total invested in my setup.
You can see pics of it on page 50.
Thanks
RichC

.

quote:

Originally posted by Spectre32:
How did you guys plumb up your releif valve?

Its shown on my summary, top of page 1.

I think I have finally got my new rig up and running for the long term.

The idea was to run larger batchs so I could do more settling and spend less time handling. Not have to worry about all draining all the piping I previously had to drain during the winter and use higher temperature parts so I could run at 180 degrees F without worry. The whole idea was to "set it and forget it".

I also replaced my old heating system in my settling tank with more of a design change than with the heat exchanger I originally tested. To make a long story short, my heat exchanger idea failed since it would overheat after it got to temp.

Below is my new setup, sitting on top of a 100 gallon high temp plastic tank. (FWIW, next time I'm just going to get two 55 gallon drums and weld them end to end).

I ran into a series of problems to get to this point, again to make a long story short...I used a LoveJoy coupling between my motor and pump rather than the braided hose and hose clamps I used previously, I also went to a fluid filled pressure gauge rather than the cheaper Home Depot model.

I tried to label the photo so you can see the parts, hopefully it will be large enough to read. (next post for photo)

Sam's new cleaning rig:

Let me add some comments that didn't make it with the photo:

The clamp on the left side of the photo keeps the 2X8 with the mounted pump and DieselCraft from moving due to vibration. The wooden handle of the clamp blocks the view of the LoveCraft coupling between the motor and pump.

On the right side of the photo is the temperature controller, covered in a quart ziplock bag to keep oil from splattering on the cover. It is probably not necessary since it the controller is in a all-weather electrical box.

The compressed wood top that covers the oil came with the plastic tanks so I thought I'd just use them. There are 4 inch slots on each side of the 2X8 the pump sits on, so all the piping sits above the oil. In this photo there is 85 gallons of WVO, and my hand gets a little too close to hot pipes and the top of the hot oil when closing/opening the valve to regulate the bypass (thus the pressure to the CF). I might change this.

Sam

I've read most of the thread and am about to start plumbing.

Quick question: I got the pressure release valve that Sun suggested from Grainger. There is a small opening and a larger one with an arrow pointing out of it. I am assuming that this valve should be mounted on a tee on the main line. The oil that *passes* (doesn't go through) the valve is the oil that is 90psi and should go to the CF. The big opening (the drain?) with the arrow should be looped back before the pump right? The stuff that comes out of the port with the arrow is not at 90psi - it's the excess.

Is all that correct?

The other confusion I have is the ball valve that is mentioned in the CF instructions that came with it. I imagine that's it's a bad idea to block pressurized flow as it would distort the pressure reading. Still, I understand that it makes sense to keep oil from going through the CF if it is at too much pressure. Can someone explain this part of the plumbing in great detail for me - maybe with a drawing. Keep in mind I've never done any plumbing before and am new at this.

I would appreciate your help.

quote:

Originally posted by veggiecar300:
Quick question: I got the pressure release valve that Sun suggested from Grainger. There is a small opening and a larger one with an arrow pointing out of it. I am assuming that this valve should be mounted on a tee on the main line. The oil that *passes* (doesn't go through) the valve is the oil that is 90psi and should go to the CF. The big opening (the drain?) with the arrow should be looped back before the pump right? The stuff that comes out of the port with the arrow is not at 90psi - it's the excess.

Hi Veggiecar. If you can follow the plumbing from my photo, two posts above it might be of some help to you. In the photo, to the left of the pump, there is a label that says Oil to CF, this is where the oil exits the pump and begins its trip. It hits an elbow and starts down into a Tee, on the left side of the Tee is another elbow and the oil turns back down into a ball valve that isn't in the photo since it is below the cover. That whole path is the bypass, that oil has either free flow back into the barrel or gets forced into the other side of the Tee when the valve is partly closed. So on the right side of that same Tee is another ball valve. with it I can cut the supply of oil going to the CF, remember one or the other needs to be open while the pump is on or you can wreck your pump/plumbing. After that valve is a 90 degree down turn, (and it is hard to see since there is an 1/2 elbow off the pressure regulator blocking the view) the oil hits the elbow and turns down then another 90 degrees and goes into a Tee right below the pressure regulator. You can see the arrow on the regulator, this is where the oil goes when the pressure is too great and it diverts back down into the barrel. This doesn't happen much. The oil goes through the Tee below the attached regulator and turns across the 2X8 on its way to the CF.

To start the whole process, all the valves are opened and the oil pump turned on. When the oil gets to the proper temperature the bypass valve is closed very slowly, which starts to cut the freeflowing oil and force it back toward the CF, since the oil has restricted flow going through the CF, as more and more oil is forced that way the pressure rises and the rotor starts spinning, after the rotor comes to speed with the pressure, the bypass valve is shut further until 90psi is on the gauge.

Maybe this will help begin to clear the confusion, it is understandably hard to follow.

Sam, I like your set up. I have the smaller version cf. I have mine set up like Suns, with the heater in a 2" pipe. How long are you running your machine between batches? I've been thinking about changing mine to the OC-50, or just adding another OC-20 teed off of my other cf. My pump puts out 2-3 gpm and I bypass alot of oil. Concerned that some oil is not getting cleaned because I bypass right into the same barrel that the cf dumps into.

quote:

Originally posted by Diesel Steve:
.... Concerned that some oil is not getting cleaned because I bypass right into the same barrel that the cf dumps into.

HUH??? I hope you said that wrong. If that is what you really did; your right, you are sending dirty oil into your clean oil. Thats notta part of da plan der budy

Reroute that bypass to send that dirty oil back to the container your drawing your dirty oil from. It's not suppose to be sent to the container of clean oil.

quote:

Originally posted by jeepin, moggin Jessup (coachgeo):
HUH??? I hope you said that wrong. If that is what you really did; your right, you are sending dirty oil into your clean oil. Thats notta part of da plan der budy

Reroute that bypass to send that dirty oil back to the container your drawing your dirty oil from. It's not suppose to be sent to the container of clean oil.

Most of us process in 1 barrel, for reasons debated many times in this thread. In 1 barrel, your bypass always goes in the same barrel. Which is fine, proven over many thousands of gallons to get the VO very clean.

With a CF, the barrel is always well mixed anyway so its not "dirty oil" in the bypass, its the same VO as the rest of the barrel, slowly getting cleaner the longer you run it.

Hi Steve. No, you can't have too many trucks. Trucks are like s*x and money. As long as it isn't negatively impacting your spirituality, there's no such thing as too much.


You need more trucks, not less!

quote:

Originally posted by Diesel Steve:
Sam, I like your set up.
Thank you Steve, I think I'm going to like it too, just too a lot longer than I thought to get it going. I think my intake is sucking some air, so that will give me something to tinker with.

[QUOTE]I have the smaller version cf. I have mine set up like Suns, with the heater in a 2" pipe.

It is hard to go wrong if you follow the Sun.

quote:

How long are you running your machine between batches?

I'm figuring every other week to every 3 weeks. If necessary I can run two batches in the same weekend.

quote:

I've been thinking about changing mine to the OC-50, or just adding another OC-20 teed off of my other cf.

My opinion would be to go do another OC-20, and I wouldn't necessarily tee off your first one, just put them over the same barrel and let them have at it. Or, better have a second barrel and connect them.

BTW Steve, if you need to find a new home for a truck, I happen to have one!

Sam

quote:

Originally posted by SunWizard:

quote:

Originally posted by jeepin, moggin Jessup (coachgeo):...Reroute that bypass to send that dirty oil back to the container your drawing your dirty oil from. It's not suppose to be sent to the container of clean oil.

Most of us process in 1 barrel,....

My bad Sun I was reading his comments to be saying he was doing a two drum arrangement.

quote:

Originally posted by Sam Crowe:
[QUOTE]If you can follow the plumbing from my photo, two posts above it might be of some help to you. In the photo, to the left of the pump, there is a label that says Oil to CF, this is where the oil exits the pump and begins its trip. It hits an elbow and starts down into a Tee, on the left side of the Tee is another elbow and the oil turns back down into a ball valve that isn't in the photo since it is below the cover. That whole path is the bypass, that oil has either free flow back into the barrel or gets forced into the other side of the Tee when the valve is partly closed. So on the right side of that same Tee is another ball valve. with it I can cut the supply of oil going to the CF, remember one or the other needs to be open while the pump is on or you can wreck your pump/plumbing. After that valve is a 90 degree down turn, (and it is hard to see since there is an 1/2 elbow off the pressure regulator blocking the view) the oil hits the elbow and turns down then another 90 degrees and goes into a Tee right below the pressure regulator. You can see the arrow on the regulator, this is where the oil goes when the pressure is too great and it diverts back down into the barrel. This doesn't happen much. The oil goes through the Tee below the attached regulator and turns across the 2X8 on its way to the CF.
.

Thanks, that helps, but I have some more questions.

I understand the proper plumbing of the pressure regulator now. Thanks for that.

Would I be able to connect the "pressure regulator discharge line" directly to a tee before the pump? So, in other words, can I have the pump pull from the barrell AND directly from the Pressure Regulator Discharge line? I am using rubber tubing (which is expensive) and am setting up my plumbing so that most of it is lower, towards the bottom of the barrel, so it would be expensive for me to get that pressure discharge to go all the way back to the top of the barrell.

BTW, what size of threaded pipe can I use to fit the out-port of an oc-20? I understand that I can't put anything that impedes the flow out... I just want to move it over a couple of inches to fit in my setup.

Hey everybody me and Decibalclearity assembled our CF kit and we ran into a few pressure issues. We are running a 1/4 hp motor with a power steering pump off of a Mitsubishi. You'll be able to tell what we are referring to in the pictures. The tube connection that is directly attached to the first heating pipe burst off of the brass connector and shot vegoil all over us both. At the time the highest that the gauge was reading was 40psi. My theory is that the right angle leading into the heating pipe combined with the heating element directly in it's way was causing a massive delay of pressure and forced the tube off of the connector. Any thoughts?

Pics-

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o239/Blaize2000/DSC02563.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o239/Blaize2000/DSC02562.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o239/Blaize2000/DSC02564.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o239/Blaize2000/DSC02565.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o239/Blaize2000/DSC02561.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o239/Blaize2000/DSC02560.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o239/Blaize2000/DSC02559.jpg

It looks like the braided hose you are using isn't rated to handle the pressure after the pump. I use that same hose before the pump, but use a expensive 250psi rated hose after it. Try some better hose.

Do you have hose clamps on all the connections? Did you test the pump with open flow to see what kind of flowrate you get? You probably need a smaller pulley on the motor.

The tubing didn't burst or break, it just popped off the connecter. So we're going to try moving the heaters to see if they might have been restricting the flow somehow. The reason we have two pipes with one heater each is because when we bought all the parts listed on your page (Sunwizard) our heater elements were too long to fit in the one piece of pipe. We'll let you know the results. We're so close! Thanks for the quick response last night Sun.