quote:

Originally posted by artesp:
I guess the first 55 gallons of WVO doesn't start to pay off untill you start going over that amount? Seems like you would always be behind 55 gallons?

Winter was a good time for me to implement this system for that reason.

Forgive me if you've mentioned this before but, would the sludge build up at the bottom of the barrel act as a filter? Would there be an advantage to the down tube actually introducing WVO into this layer and allowing it to pull water out and the cleaner oil float up? Will it work in this manner?

There's been some theorizing and discussion that sludge attracts water, PHO, fats, food bits, etc.
At the cold temperatures I prefer for processing, the sludge tends to solidify, so I kept the end of the drop tube off the bottom. I also didn't want the added oil stirring up the sludge when the temperature was warmer. Perhaps having it lower might work better. I couldn't say for sure.

john, i've read just about every thread i could find on cold upflow. it wont work quite right for me based on my temperature range, but im using a lot of the principles you've described. just wanted to thank you for all the time and effort you've put into explaining this system over and over.

PS- tell dagny and hank i said hello

I was just reading back over this thread and the comments I made 8-9 months ago.
We have been through winter here and I'm now smelling the thing I love most of all, that certain aroma that comes in the afternoons just before sunset that signals the onset of summer. :0)

I was filtering on good warm days back in jan /feb and made mention of the fats. Even though the temps dropped 30-35o C, the amount of fats I had drop out in the tank of finished oil was very minimal, easily less than 100L. I can only assume with the oils I'm getting, even when warm the fats tend to still drop out which is not what I would have expected. Confirming this theory is the fact that my settling tanks have loads of fat atm, completely disproportional to the finished oil that is in a cooler place that the settling tanks.

I did have to do another full run a couple of months back but the oil having been pre settled twice was very clean although drying took a lot longer in the cold that what it did in the heat. I'm not doing upflow settling these days as it is easier just to batch settle due to the location of my tanks and processing setup in my yard and the fact I have a very good reserve now that means I don't touch the oil for over 4 months before getting back to it after topping up the tanks. I found with using IBC's that the oil had to be added VERY slowly to avoid stirring them. I did have a 250L water heater tank and due to the height, could pump the oil in that faster without affecting the output than I could the IBC's.

For me its easier to fill them over a couple of weeks and then leave them rather than try and top them up every day or week but for others with space and capacity restrictions, I think upflow offers advantages they could not have otherwise.
I was going to try to add another ( or should I say YET another) IBC over this summer, but considering the minimal fat I had dropping out from the hot weather processed oil I ran, I might dedicate this tank to the end of the line and fill it with finished oil instead of making it another dirty settling tank.

At present I am using about 400L a month of oil so 2K L would give me enough to get through the coldest part of winter without having to do any processing at all. Summer is the best time for collecting for me and I usually get enough to fill all my reserves and load all my veg friends up with all the oil they can hold as well so moving more reserve to the end of the process rather than holding it at the beginning will work well from that respect.

It was really good this winter to pump the finished oil into cubees and see the clear, shiny liquid gold that easily flowed even though we had some of the coldest days on record here.
There certainly is no substitute for settling oil and it simplifys and speeds the cleaning and drying so much.

The cold upflow system does not seem to dewater the oil that I collect . I will convert in to a heated system soon.

Another link to the upflow system -

http://www.frybrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9630