quote:

Ever seen the grand canyon?

The other reason I moved to Stainless Steel is for fuel compatibility reasons. Brass really isn't compatible with biodiesel. It discolors and can even leach off into biodiesel. SST on the other hand is inert to it and does really well.

(Yes, I know, we all use Brass ball valves & no one's died, but they do corrode over time & Stainless really would be better).

This is a case where I can justify carrying something in Stainless. Plus the cost to move to stainless steel really wasn't that much more.

-Graydon

I really don't think domestic water supply pressures are going to erode brass. Graydon, do you know what SST alloy they are made from?

The one I have is 303 SS.

The M-187 is 316 stainless.
The Mist pro is either 303 or 316 stainless according to the specs

The Mist Pro's I have are 303 Stainless (I would've had to have waited a long time for the 316).

The M-187's I'm getting are 316 though.
-Graydon

Spray Away !

I got some pictures taken of the new Stainless version today.

Check this bad boy out...

http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/washingsupplies.php#mistpro

I also picked up a really cool fitting that lets you install these things w/ just a single fitting instead of using two fittings. Keeps things nice & leak free.

-Graydon

I just figured I'd give this thread a bump seeing as it was getting close to the bottom of the page, sooo BUMP !

Hey Legal have you figured out a way to make the m187 work with a clearwater( reduce flow?) I tried the one I picked up today and man biodiesel cloud cover I also decided to try a quick wash with it and man what a spray!! How long do you wash with your M187?

Greaseburger;
I use a ShurFlo 115V pump to fire it up. I tried the 90 degree one in teh drying tank hooked up to a 1" clear water pump but that proved a disaster; BD all over the place in a fine mist.Pump was too much.
If you care to see how I regulate the M-187 have a look at my webpage near the bottom.
The water flow is controlled by a second inlet that serves as a fill tube from the settling tank to the wash tank. This fill tube as well as the hose leading top the sprayer share a Y fitting at the pump's outlet port. The Y fittings I use are the garden hose variety that have little individual ball valves included making openig and closing them easy. I open the spray head hose full and then adjust the flow using the ball valve on the fill tube inlet. First few washes are just enough to get the fulld cone to form. By the thrid wash it is time to let 'er rip, so I close the fill tube hose off and allow the spray head to get the full force of the pump running through it. I've left it on this way for as much as 20 minutes when I forgot it once and didn't get so much as a soapy residue on the BD once it all had settled.
I've washed all (100 liters) in one day and transfered to the drying tank the next, dried and filtered ready for use by mid day without really pushing it.
These little beggars are great !

This thing rocks. Thanks Grayon for finding this gem.



A couple of notes.

I always do a 5% Glyc prewash.

Obviously it removes soap much faster, a couple of hours at most.

It does a much better job removing the tiny bit of glycerin you cannot help but get when using a water heater for a reactor. It’s as if the higher volume of water carries away the glycerin. With the traditional low volume mister it appeares to settle out at a much slower rate.

I purposely pushed my titration a bit in order to test if the higher volume of water would create an emulsion. It did not.

After the water cleared, I bubbled with the dial on full blast. I did get a slight emulsion between the water and biodiesel. In the future I will start bubbling slowly as I have in the past.

Reggie...

Can you tell me what kind of flex tube / fitting that is? What's it called?

I'm assuming that you go straight from the mist-pro to the flex to avoid using garden hose couplings. I've been trying to come up with a similar system for my setup (low ceiling)... hard mounted, but flexible.

Reggie;
Save yourself the hastle and toss the bubbler.
Just repeat the Mist pro's cycle a few times.
Or better still, if you really want to rock this thing, hook up the Mist Pro off T's with an M-187 spray head.
First "mist" then spray. You can avoid getting glycerine in the wash cycle with an addition tank for settling w/ a StandPipe in it or if space is a worry, drain the BD into buckets and let the glycerine drop to the botttom and syphon off the top(s)into the wash tank.

I suppose I never really did have a "bubbling withdrawal" as I never used one. Firts batch stir mix/stir wash. Then I used a lawn sprinkler
held upside down, but the dag fagarnit(<-put THAT in BabelFish and see what comes out,ha!) things kept getting eaten by the BD and needed replacing.
Then came along the answer; the M-187 Stainless Steel 120 degree full cone spray head. YES !
Once you are satisfied that your reaction is complete and that no glycerine (none,zero,zilch) is in the wash cycle, then traditional misting and/or bubbling is only good for nostalgia's sake, but it is really just wasting time.
On the other hand, if you are NOT sure of the completness of the reaction or the potential for glycerine in the wash then misting is a really really good idea 'cause it won't churn up the soaps.
My washes last minutes, not hours or days. The first I get the cone to form and then back off the pressure.This wash is about 2 minutes worth.I will settle and repeat it using the same water about an hour or so later.
Second wash takes about the same amount of time, 2-4 minutes with settlingt ime of about an hour or so. Third wash is where it gets fun; full on blast for several minutes (~10). And that's all folks (usually).Settle out the water and purge the StandPipe and send it to dry.

Speaking of....the M-187's arrived. Boy do they look cool!

I just have to photograph em & up on the site they'll go.

I gotta tell ya, the reviews from customers though on these MistPro's are just amazing. No BS here, just straight answers. Call after call, email after email..."Where the heck did you find these things? They're amazing!!!"

Yep. They are. I love em!
And am equally as excited to try out the M-187's....

-Graydon

That flex tube looks like a standard flexable gas line.

Keep the testing results coming, I am still not convinced but it looks good. My old and slow way works for me since I am in no hurry, however I do like the quickness.

Legal Eagle thanks for the advice. I started out bubbling then stopped then started then stopped and started again. I still have very mixed feelings about “should or shouldn’t I”. I don’t have the time to get into why right now, but at some point I would like to start a thread on why I still bubble. I would appreciate you comments. Some of it has to do with the humidity we as Texans and others have to deal with. The variations between humid and dry climates are not discussed much but there are some very real differences.

I recently read your comment about how you use a purging valve to remove the water before pumping from one tank to another. I had to smile because I do the exact same thing. From start to finish I never have to change a hose anywhere in the system.

Caddytd

It is a flexible copper pipe used to install a hot water tank (one is used for cold another for hot). You will find them at almost in any home center. This is an 18 inch one. They also make it in 24 inches. They are very rigid and you will only have so much play when adjusting the mega mister. Be very careful not to kink the pipe.

I got my m-187 yesterday and have been playing with it since then, you are right what a piece of workmanship and that spray is a site to behold.

Yea ! We're gonna revolutionize washing, we're gonna revolutionize washing
If you hook up the M-187 to a tapped water source (city water) then you can easily adjust the flow rate and subsequently the force with which the water hits the surface.
I do my first wash with the full cone just formed, leave it for about a minute and that's it,done.I mat give another shot later with the same water,although technically it is not necessary as enough water has been dumped on teh fuel to get whatever is in there for a first pass.
Like I keep saying, washing is a matter of minutes not hours or days.Just be sure there is no glycerine and the reaction is complete, which it will be with proper titration using the right base amounts.

I took a bunch of pictures AND VIDEO!!!! of the MistPro's in action today (got to go & visit my demo guy who's been testing these bad boy's for a few months now & is loving them).

Here's what they look like when they're running:


(It's REALLY hard to photograph this sucker)

Here's a link to all the pic's I took of this thing.
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/photos/products/mistpro/index.htm

The video is just over 8Mb, is in QuickTime format, and isn't the greatest, but you can see it misting...

Here's the link to it:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/photos/products/mistpro/mistpro.MOV
(WARNING!!! NOT FOR THE "BANDWIDTH CHALLENGED")

-Graydon

The M-187's just came in too & I finally had a chance to photograph them.





These are the "Really raw" photo's of the thing (ie. I took the pics, pulled them off the camera & made a quick photo gallery out of them).

I'll have some nice, cleaned up one's for the website to present them with.

I've given them a nickname:
The WashPro...

I've even has a tagline.
The "Professional" Way To Wash Your Biodiesel"

Pictures are here:
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/photos/products/washpro/

I'll get it listed on the site as an item early next week.

-Graydon