I've been on vacation and a kids camp for two weeks. So I missed the discusion about breaking this thread into smaller bits. I started reading this thread because of the dieselcraft website. I started reading from page 1 and I am against breaking it up. Like Sam says it feels like home. If people don't have time to read the whole thing, then maybe they aren't serious about learning the content.

quote:

Originally posted by John Mason:
Thanks for the gear pump information. That's a nice setup, and a sweet barrel too! It looks very well made (sturdy), and yet you can still see through it to tell how clean the oil is becoming.

I John, thanks. I think I'll like these barrels if they hold up for a few years. Now that I've run a couple batches I'm going to insulate them, so I won't be looking at it from the side. It was good to see how the hydrogenated oil was melting, but now I know.

Sam

quote:

Originally posted by Ebacherville:
Nice setup there, looks like 100+ gallons..

I see your temp control there , how much was it and where did you get it.. I need a controller thats cheap and will hold my setup at 190 degrees..

Ebacherville,

I got the controller on ebay for about 40 dollars, I paired it with a relay that was 17 dollars from an electric supply company here in town. Then the weather proof box was 11 dollars from Home Depot, and the wiring I used was just stuff I had around.

All in all it was a good investment. In fact, I'm going to build another.

Sam

just a thought has anyone tried using flour in there centrifuge i read about someone using flour to dewater and tried it on a heavily watered down batch...2 hand fulls of flour mix it good wha-la worked for me centrifuge has no problem getting it out in 2 passes after that no more flour being removed and no more water exept small trace amount next pass or 2 gets it out i empty my rotor 2 times now and have clean dewatered oil really speeds up the filtering process as i run a 60 gallon batch a day i am able to run 2 batches a day now

btw sam i decided to use 2 temp controllers on my next rig thanks for the idea i really think its going to help me be more hands off

Here is a link to a temperature controller that I am ging to use. It's $22 and just may be an inexpensive way to control the hot water heating elements to assure the temperatures that you want. http://mercedessource.com/node/449 Depending on where you place the thermostat and by using it in conjunction with the temperature gauge on the setup, you might be able to maintain just about any temperature that you want. For example if the thermostat is placed on the surface of the tank and adjusted to 140 degrees, then the output temperature at the water heater assembly may be 180 degrees. I have not installed this yet so this is theory.

Again, my thanks to all.

Veggieguy, that looks just like a water heater thermostat you can pick up at Home Depot. I'm pretty sure it costs less than $22. I've used one strapped to the side of my heated oil drum for years.

Todd

That s a water heater thermostat, It has two issues for me..

1. only goes to 150.. I need 190
2. Staps on to the tank, my tank is plastic an insulator... don't know exactly how well this would work...

Maybe the combination of the insulated tanks and the lower temp on the thermostat would actualy allow me to hit 190..

Might wbe worth experimenting..

I know at Home stores there about $10-$15

I colected about 50 more gaoolns of oil today.. this stuff smell like fried chicken.. Cant wait to ge that in the veggie van.. Got it in the CF setup now warming up to operating temp.

quote:

Originally posted by veggieguy:
Here is a link to a temperature controller that I am ging to use. It's $22 and just may be an inexpensive way to control the hot water heating elements to assure the temperatures that you want. http://mercedessource.com/node/449 Depending on where you place the thermostat and by using it in conjunction with the temperature gauge on the setup, you might be able to maintain just about any temperature that you want. For example if the thermostat is placed on the surface of the tank and adjusted to 140 degrees, then the output temperature at the water heater assembly may be 180 degrees. I have not installed this yet so this is theory.

Again, my thanks to all.

A very similar thermost is available at home depot for under ten bucks .. I picked up two of them

Thats what mine looked like, I was dumb founded... found my issue My pre screen that I fill through ripped allowing all kinds of crap in my CF setup.. basically filled the centrifuge up..

I'm re-running that batch through again just to me safe.

But obviously it shows the thing is worksing

quote:

Originally posted by ONADAY:

quote:

Originally posted by veggieguy:
Here is a link to a temperature controller that I am ging to use. It's $22 and just may be an inexpensive way to control the hot water heating elements to assure the temperatures that you want. http://mercedessource.com/node/449 Depending on where you place the thermostat and by using it in conjunction with the temperature gauge on the setup, you might be able to maintain just about any temperature that you want. For example if the thermostat is placed on the surface of the tank and adjusted to 140 degrees, then the output temperature at the water heater assembly may be 180 degrees. I have not installed this yet so this is theory.

Again, my thanks to all.

A very similar thermost is available at home depot for under ten bucks .. I picked up two of them

Duh . . . thanks for the input.

Two questions as we zero in on our setup:

1. Does the barrel that has the hot oil under the CF have to be open or can we guide the output of the CF through a smaller hole? Could we make only part of the top exposed to help keep debris from entering?

2. We are going to mount the CF to the outside of the garage wall. Is this o.k. to do or will it make the whole house vibrate?

Again, thanks. (I guess that was three questions.)

yea thats all the flour i used to dewater..ran the centrifuge again for 4 hours got a small layer of goo you could still see the rotor in places wasnt thick at all but after this first run th oil has barely any water in it ran it for maybe 1 1/2 and when i started the oil had alot fo emulsified oil and suspended water in it normal for my sources...it doesnt make sense why the flour gets the water out like this i know if i didnt use flour i would empty my rotor about 6 times full of water the flour does something i dont knwo what yet maybe it catches it and cooks it out of the rotor i know the outside layer was very dry and when i scrapped it out alot of steam came out...i am turning my centrifuge into a one step filtering process i quit settling all togther since i could never keep it in the settling drum long enough i plan on adding a bucket of salt and a 100 micron filter before i put the oil in this but thats later on

yes u cant have too much restirction on the output of the centrifuge it will fill the centrifuge housing very fast and wont allow it to get up to speed..as for open top or closed it dont matter i would do a closed system to get rid of the splattering when it comes out of the centrifuge my floor is a mess..and why mount the centrifuge on the house??? why not mount it above your drum?

I run 1" pipe from the botton of my CF, Mine is a not the dieselcraft its the spinclean type.. almost exactly the same.. FInctions exactly the same.

I had 3/4 " pipe and it filled up the CF with oil, the bigger the pipe the better shorter the run the better, mine is a drop of about 1.5 inches into a T with one side dumping back into the tank via a 6" piece of 1" pipe and the other is a valve to to dump to a pan on the floor.

It has never filled up since I went to 1" pipe.

As for being open, I woul recomment soem part of it being open as the airation when the oil pours back in will release water vapor..

One big thing I found it that you need to go above 180 on the temp to get really good RPM's..It must have to do with the oil thinning to a certain point at this temp and then you get really good really nicely packed cake in the CF.. This thinning also maked the seperation of the oil better and ensures your getting out all the water as you oil going into the CF is near boiling point, I no longer run anything under 180 degrees.

With this process running above 180, I get all my oil, even the nastiest stuff to look like new oil.. I'd even cook with it again if I was in a pinch. Its amazingly clean.

Hey SunW, Sam and the other CF contributors. Excellent work!
Yes I did read the whole thread, twice the sun was coming up when I dragged myself away from the thread after pulling an allnighter the only other thing that can get me to do that is a good Texas Holdem Game.
SunW I would love to see your CF in action, since we're practically neighbors (Deer Trail, CO.).
Ok Here's my DAQ's (Dumb Azzed Questions).
Would this CF work well with a Frybrid type still in front of it or is that overkill?
Several of the larger oil sources in my area use PH Oil and I have not found it to be worth the effort to clean up, will this CF make it worth the trouble?
Just a bit gun shy of electricity and wiring HW Elements (probably stemming from my cousin betting me to pee on the electric stock fence (hey I was 6 but it did leave a lasting impression on me ((try that one all you "jackass" thrill seekers out there))) , so is there a "CF for Dummies Kit" ready to assemble out there for us time and skill challenged WVO'ers? I have pretty much satisfied my need to tinker with the filtering system that I have constructed and remodeled several times.
Your parts list is excellent, but since the nearest Home Depot/ Lowes is 60 miles away I would like to do a one stop shopping instead of chasing each part down (spending all day looking for a 1/16 thick washer instead of an 1/8 thick washer is'nt really my bag), especially when I really don't know a good pressure relief valve from a bad muffler bearing, filling an open-ended straight draw is more up my alley.
Mobile cleaning is not really a priority since five of my six oil wells load the 5 gallon buckets I supply and I'm usually in the 300CD, on the upside all my oil wells do have beer on tap and mediocre cheeseburgers.
Thanks in advance.



1982 300CD "Greasela" came with Lovecraft kit installed, adding Inj. Line heaters and the 2nd tank before winter, 85% WVO, 10% K1, 5% RUG.
1997 F250 PSD came with a Greasecar kit and a superchip. Needs a FPHE.
1980 300SD Ebay rig that I bot in Vegas that I may have overheated and killed coming home over Vail Pass.

quote:

Originally posted by Beefsteak777:
Would this CF work well with a Frybrid type still in front of it or is that overkill?

Not needed.

quote:

Several of the larger oil sources in my area use PH Oil and I have not found it to be worth the effort to clean up, will this CF make it worth the trouble?

Yes about half my VO is nasty PHO and the CF cleans it up great even in the winter.

quote:

Just a bit gun shy of electricity and wiring HW Elements (probably stemming from my cousin betting me to pee on the electric stock fence (hey I was 6 but it did leave a lasting impression on me ((try that one all you "jackass" thrill seekers out there))) ,

Ouch.

quote:

so is there a "CF for Dummies Kit" ready to assemble out there for us time and skill challenged WVO'ers? I have pretty much satisfied my need to tinker with the filtering system that I have constructed and remodeled several times.
Your parts list is excellent, but since the nearest Home Depot/ Lowes is 60 miles away I would like to do a one stop shopping instead of chasing each part down (spending all day looking for a 1/16 thick washer instead of an 1/8 thick washer is'nt really my bag), especially when I really don't know a good pressure relief valve from a bad muffler bearing, filling an open-ended straight draw is more up my alley.

No one stop shopping. You could call or email Dieselcraft and request it since they could make one and mentioned they had considered offering a ready-made rig.

Thanks SunW.

FYI just found this http://www.simplecentrifuge.com/index.html.
Anybody tried this one yet? Looks very simple.

quote:

1982 300CD "Greasela" came with Lovecraft kit installed, adding Inj. Line heaters and the 2nd tank before winter, 85% WVO, 10% K1, 5% RUG.
1997 F250 PSD came with a Greasecar kit and a superchip. Needs a FPHE.
1980 300SD Ebay rig that I bot in Vegas that I may have overheated and killed coming home over Vail Pass.

Yes there are a few who have tried it, do a search for it. Please don't talk about that CF in this thread (its too long already) and its quite different. Only 1 person (fuelfarmer) has reported sucess in building one and has not tried WVO.

quote:

Originally posted by Beefsteak777:
Several of the larger oil sources in my area use PH Oil and I have not found it to be worth the effort to clean up, will this CF make it worth the trouble?

I agree with SunWizard, and would add if you have a heated system, PH oil may be even more valuable since it won't polymerize as easily.

quote:

Your parts list is excellent, but since the nearest Home Depot/ Lowes is 60 miles away I would like to do a one stop shopping instead of chasing each part down (spending all day looking for a 1/16 thick washer instead of an 1/8 thick washer is'nt really my bag), especially when I really don't know a good pressure relief valve from a bad muffler bearing, filling an open-ended straight draw is more up my alley.

I was in close to the same situation, my mistake was thinking I could do it all in CPVC, which eventually all cracked or broke. If you really want to do it, either draw out your setup, or better, cut out paper pieces to represent each plumbing part you will need, and then put it all together so you will know exactly what you will need and where each piece will go. After you have a list you can buy everything over the internet, dang close to one stop shopping.

I also agree with Sun, you can't go wrong contacting DieselCraft about putting something together that you can attach to, or put on top of a barrel. There wouldn't be too many more parts beyond having the pump and motor, you can attach the intake hose directly to an element (via black pipe) that can be dropped into the tank so the setup would be simplified and efficient.

Sam