So this may be a newbie question, but how is de-watering of WVO accomplished? Does 2-3 days of settling work?

How necessary is de-watering? Especially if you have a Neoteric/Racor Vormax filter, etc.

Thanks,
newbie Dean

check out the "why dewater wvo" thread started by dana (its on page 1 right now)

many answers to newbie questions are found on this site already - especially in the first 2 threads
10 steps to converting to wvo..the basic process
DIY & FAQ's and more.

just take the time to search through the posts (there are years worth) and you'll find many of your answers there

Thanks very much for your quick response Shawn.

That post is a fantastic explanation of WHY dewatering is important. Unfortunately, it doesn't explain HOW to do it, which was my first question.

I did search the posts for some time before asking this newbie question, out of courtesy for more seasoned members like yourself, but perhaps my methods were inept. I apologize.

Could you possibly take the time to explain HOW dewatering is accomplished, or point me to a link that will?

Thank you again,
Dean

HI Dean,

And welcome to the forum.

I have found that the easiest way to dewater wvo is to first prefilter it to 10 microns. For some reason the microscopic particulates which are removed keep the suspended water in suspension for a lot longer than if they are not present.

Then heat the wvo (if is is not already warm) to 80-90*F and hold it at that temp for 6-8 hours. The suspended water will concentrate in the lower portion of the wvo and continue falling out the longer the temp is held. If possible use an insulated tank and cut the heating as the convection currents of heating slow the settling process down.

Then draw clean wvo from above the bottom layer of high water concentration (6-8") and you have nearly water free wvo on a consistant basis. And if you don't want to spend the money and time developing your own design I have two which work very well and are inexpensive and easy to fabricate. Hundreds in use.

sorry about that Dean, I missed the second part of the question. I didn't mean to be short with you.

yeah, so like like Dana said: filtering it, heating it, and letting it settle is what I do too. kind of let the two fluids sort it out as it were

Other options are washing the oil, which there is probably a bunch of info on in the biodiesel section of this forum.

The best thing to do is to make sure that you get good oil. oil that sits in a dumpster outside has the possibility of collecting lots of water, but oil that goes straight from the fryer (after its cooled of course) into a plastic cube (or cubee) has little chance of being contaminated with water.

condensation is an issue as well (for example condensation collection in the heated veg tank of the car due to the heating up and cooling down that occurs). I'm not sure how much of this occurs, but it is an issue

hope that helps ya some

Thanks Dana and Shawn.

I was hoping to not have to set up something more complex than gravity settling, but I want my 2 Mercedes to last as long as possible so it looks like I better do it the right way.

The corn oil I will be collecting will be poured from the fryer *while still hot(200 degrees maybe)* so I need to find a container that will withstand this heat, maybe galvinized steel with a lid? Do you know what the heat rating of HDPE is?
Any ideas?
It needs to be small enough to transport, so a 55 gl. drum won't work.

Dana - YES I'd be interested in your plans. Do you sell them?

I'm glad to finally be doing this. It takes a while to educate yourself, doesn't it?

Thanks,
Dean

quote:

http://vegoilconversions.netfirms.com/

All of dana's plans are available there.

Dean,

I do sell the two prefilter unti designs. Youwill only need the simple handpump prefilter for two cars.

They are here

You may also want to take a look at the free how to file for the wvo sucker. it makes collecting wvo a lot easier and less messy.

It is here