i just started collecting WVO.

everything i have read here says to only take the good oil from the top of the barrel.
what do you do when the barrel is full of the stuff you dont want ?

wouldnt it be a better idea to take everything, pour it into a setteling barrel, and dispose of what you dont want?

by better idea, i mean for the resturant. since the renderers will take it all, shouldnt we also?
if i were the resturant owner i would rather deal with the guy that takes everthing, even if i had to pay for it.

I do take it all. and I give what I don't want to the renderer.

can you take off the top until nothing but junk is left then collect the junk into a seperate barrel and dump that in a renderer's drum that wants it?

thanks for the response,im6under, but my problem isnt how to get rid of it, but should i take it at all.

everything i have read says dont take it, just wondering what the people who dont take do with the drum when it is full.

I think you are misunderstanding the, "only draw off the top" that you've been reading.

If the oil has been sitting in a drum for a few weeks behind the restaurant it is already settled. "take oil off the top for processing"

The bottom 6 inches probably has water and junk in it. leave it. leave it as in don't take it to process... but yes you will eventually have to do something with it.

this means sitting a barrel out back and just "harvesting" the best for processing but everything in the barrel is yours.

my bottom of the barrel garbage goes to a renderer... some use it as compost and some toss it in the land fill.

I first read an "only take off the top" quote from dana.

I'm sure his intention wasn't take only the good oil and expect the restaurant to figure out what to do with the rest of it. that would make getting legitimate clients near impossible.

I've also heard check the oil before you even ask to haul it off. This is to be sure you don't set up a contract with a guy and get 15 gallons of good oil and are left with trying to dispose of the other 40 gallons of garbage.

me personally I suck the barrel dry and re-settle at home. some guys take the top (good oil) only and go home and filter/process that then will go back when the barrel is full (beyond reasonable use) of junk and dispose of just the junk.

I'll quit typing now... to much coffee...

I collect the best oil drawing from the top down. Eventually this means that the drum is 1/3 full of less desireable water rich/high fat wvo.

So every now and then I make a circuit just to collect the stuff on the bottom of my drums. This time I stick my hose all the way to the bottom and take only the cruddy looking stuff...leavng the nice clear stuff from the top. I then take this home and settle it in drums or cubees for a few weeks...which usually means that only about 5% (about 1% of total volume collected) is nearly unusable.

These "dregs" I take to the local waste oil collection facility. From there the waste lube oil (mostly) along with my "wvo dregs" goes to a asphalt plant for use in a very heavy duty burner for drying/warming sand to be used in making pavement.

Great plan Dana. Folks, remember that in most cases, if the oil is in the renderer's dumpster, it belongs to them. Is it fair to take the valuable oil and leave only the crud to them?

This gives us all a bad name. Either provide your own container or leave their's alone. And if you have your own drum at the restaurant, Dana's idea is great. Get the good stuff every visit and periodically get dregs.

A clear suction hose makes this easy. Pull the suction hose out until you get above the 'crud level'.

Todd

thanks guys.

i got my answer.

i knew that the idea is to let the junk settle to the bottom, wether you use a settleing drum or the cubies or the collection drum behind the resturant. i just couldnt figure out what the people who dont take all of it do when the drum is full.

im6under -

you can use that stuff as compost? just dump it in a pile ? it doesnt attract rats and insects ?

if you make a 4x4 foot square wooden box from four old pallets...

you can mix the left overs with grass clippings (1 to 1 ratio by volume) then put a 4" layer of grass/dregs. add 4" of dirt.

every weekend you do this and by the end of summer you have gotten rid of a few hundred gallons of dregs and made some really good garden compost.

weed seed free... because the stuff gets hot!!! like 180 degrees worth.

oops... oh yeah... everytime you top with dirt water it down with about 5 gallons of water...

brew time: 6 weeks after last layer was added.

im6under -

and you dont have a problem with animals digging it up to get at the dregs, which smells like food to them ?

no... it's all surrounded by wood...

nail 4 pallets togather to make a box...
(4 foot square fenced in area)

cover each layer with dirt.

my dog is too fat and lazy to jump on the pallets and the squirrels don't seem to want to.

I compost my junk as well but not as scientifically as 6 foot under.
Mix in garden/yard junk w/ soil and settlement at a ratio dictated by the ammount of settlement I have....the side w/ vo waste produces better dirt than the side w/out.

No animals have been digging up my 'compost' heap but that may be due to my dogs.

I collect in cubies. Around here we have to pay to get rid of our oil in the restuarant biz. I have no problem finding owners willing to put back in the cubie to avoid the rendering charge. I then just pour it all through my filtering setup. The crap that clogs the filters I put into a container and in a year has only been about 20 gallons. Not bad for (based on mileage of truck) about 3500-4000 gallons through my vehicles.

even with a fence, i cant belive you do not have a pest problem. i have seen resturants that spilled WVO on the ground, and it attracted everything. maybe the dirt on top of the compost kills the smell.

anyway, thanks for the help everyone.

quote:

Originally posted by xfrank12:
even with a fence, i cant belive you do not have a pest problem. i have seen resturants that spilled WVO on the ground, and it attracted everything. maybe the dirt on top of the compost kills the smell.

anyway, thanks for the help everyone.

Good composting does not smell...well it smells like fresh dirt.
If in doubt as to proportions (I have no clue) I overload w/ dirt.