veggie oilcenterfuge

8/13/2019 Veggie OilCenterfuge

1/21

Using a Centrifuge to clean my WVO

I have been using a Dieselcraft centrifuge (CF, designed originally for lube-oil bypass filtering,price= $200 to filter !y "aste vegetable oil (#% and it "or&s great' I no longer need tobuy replace!ent filters, and it de"aters the % ("hich no filters can do - including "aterbloc& types'' I put the % suc&ed right fro! the du!pster through a )00 !esh screen into

the rig, no settling needed' *he % needs to be heated to +)20F and then pu!ped through itat 0psi and 0'gp!' It spins at around 000 rp!s' *he "ay I have the "ater heatingele!ents, it is re!oving "ater both by centrifuge action (the best and by Flash evaporation' Ihave sent sa!ples to a testing lab and it sho"ed good results, both for "ater and particlere!oval' Its easy to clean the rotor of the goop it re!oves' %ne operating tric& I have learnedis to capture the output of the rotor fro! the instant I shut off the pu!p, since it starts to du!p% "ith "ater and dirt as it slo"s' I run it all in a single barrel, and fro! !y testing . passessee!s to get !ost of the particles out, so it ta&es 2-/ hours for a .0-0 gallon batch' *helonger you run, the !ore it re!oves' *his "or&s as a !obile rig very easily and is "hat Iintend to use it for, as "ell as at ho!e'

#ith any version of this you should !a&e provisions to capture the output of the centrifugeright "hen you turn it off' *he output at that ti!e is often very dirty besides containing up to .o1' of "ater (if there "as any "ater' y doing this you are re!oving at least part of the "ateras a true centrifuge does, "hich is better than the Flash evaporating that this also does' *hiscan also !a&e it so you can avoid the !ist"ash step'

Diagram3

I used a closed top barrel, put upside do"n so I could use the /4. threaded fitting, then cut offthe top ("hich used to be the botto!' 5ote that I tilt the barrel to"ards the output so that any"ater on the botto! gets sent into the CF' If you don6t suc& fro! the lo"est point, there couldbe a poc&et of "ater that settles out and &eeps re-conta!inating the de"atered %' 7 conebotto! tan& "ould be the best, but this "as a lot cheaper' 8ere is a good "ay to test if youhave a good barrel drain and tilt, pour an inch of "ater in the botto! and see if it all runs outthe drain pipe' *he suction should co!e fro! the lo"est point, and the pipe should go


2/21

continuously lo"er until the pu!p' %ther"ise you could get a poc&et of "ater in your pipes'*his the !ost co!!on proble! I see no" that !any have tried to copy !y design andi!prove it'

9easons that I !oved the CF belo" the ri! of the barrel (see )0-).-0: pics belo" in theti!eline, "as so it could be li;uid tight if I sealed "here the feed line perforates the dru! "ith

a bul&head fitting, and using a solid lid "ith gas&et, it could be run or at least carry a load of% "hile travelling do"n the road' #hen I run a batch that6s less than . gallons, li&e around20-/0g, it can splash a little and I set a lid on top, "ith it partially open by the CF for "atervapor to escape' 7 piece of "indo" screen also "or&s good to prevent splashes or debrisgetting in there' *he only debris I ever got "as insects flying into the %' *he CF place!ent Iused is also a better height for the "indo" screen tric&, "hich still allo"s the "ater vapor toescape'


3/21

all ti!es, and the ther!ostat "ould ust cycle on and off, even "hen the tan& is drained' If youbuild any type of rig li&e these, you do so at your o"n ris&, don6t bla!e !e>

I &ept all the te?t and dates so you can see its develop!ent as I "ent along3

2 @epte!ber 200:

I ust ran !y first batch of ) gallons of #% straight fro! the restaurant barrel, )00 !esh(). !icron screen on suc&er, through the centrifuge "ith no other filtering and it "or&sgreat' Aasy to clean, no !ore filters to buy' 9uns at 0psi, ) gp!'

8ere is !y rig, it goes pu!p+heater+centrifuge+barrel3

*his "as before I added the fittings on the botto! of the barrel for the pu!p inta&e'*he pu!p is a free po"er steering pu!p off a B.


4/21

)2rp! /4. hp !otor I had' 7s s!all as )4. hp should "or&, this is "hat I had laying around(I got a better pu!p later, pics later in this post3

*his pu!p "as easy since it had a rubber line going to the reservoir "hich I ust turnedup"ard and attached !y inlet hose3


5/21

*his goes into a .00" 220v "ater heater ele!ent run at ))0v (=))2" in a tee in thebotto! of the )'2 vertical pipe' *hey are longer than an si!ilar "attage ))0v ele!ent, "hich!eans lo"er "att density, "hich !eans less chance of ther!al poly!eri1ation (burning ofthe %' *he oil started at 0 F and got up to ))0 F first pass' 7n inline heater is !ore efficient

since you don6t have to heat up the entire barrel, it adds 20-/0F right before the CF' If you hadto heat the entire barrel that !uch !ore !eans it ta&es !uch longer, and you get !ore heatloss' lus you get better heat transfer "ith flo" across the ele!ent, and its less li&ely to burnthe % on the ele!ent'I did / passes "ith decreasing a!ounts filtered each pass, lots in the first pass, "ith al!ostno blac& sludge /rd pass'8ere is the blac& gun& that stays in the rotor3


6/21

ou guys "or&ing on the holy grail of !obile flash evaporator and filtering !ight "ant to loo&into this since "ith a little higher te!p it !ight do both' %r you could do a flash or vacuu!

evap' then right into this' 7t )20 F I "as seeing s!all puffs of stea! or ato!i1ed oil "henpu!ping the hot oil through 2 s!all orifices at 0psi' *his oil "as "ater-free to begin "ithaccording to a pan test'

*he oil I started "ith "as blac& and you couldn6t see through it at all' 7nd here is the s"eeticed tea drin&able loo&ing #% after only ) !ins for ) gals3


7/21


8/21

For the pu!p, you "ant a s!all gear or vane pu!p' I al!ost bought an %berdorfer )0009gear pu!p on ebay for $B0 until I reali1ed that po"er steering pu!ps are the right si1epu!ps'


9/21

I hoo&ed up a 2?: concentrating parabolic solar panel to add the e;uivalent heat of !y 2nd))2" heater ele!ent "hich I don6t have installed until the seal is fi?ed' lus I ust li&e solarand had it laying around'

9ight a"ay it for!ed a terrible e!ulsion, "ith ) of beer foa! loo&ing head, and I thought Iust ruined the cleanest #% I had seen (clean since it had previously been through the

centrifuge for about 2 hours = : passes' *he !il&y e!ulsion cleared up in about ) !inutesof running' It started puffing out !any clouds of stea! really ;uic& at about )20 F, !uch !orethan the first ti!e I ran the oil' 5ote -it had not puffed any stea! after ) !inutes into theoriginal run a fe" days ago, "hich is another thing that !ade !e suspect this "as stea! andnot ato!i1ed oil' It also fits *i!6s description of ho" his flash evap' stea! releases, you canhear little rando! puffs ust before each stea! cloud is visible'

@o I left it run for about 2 hours, it slo"ly got up to about 200 F, and I "aited until it "as notpuffing any!ore, then did the pan test' 5o bubbles at all, AH9A7> no "ater' *his thing ust!ight be the holy grail>


10/21

8ere is the first heater ele!ent3

@econd heater ele!ent (sho"ing the !etal "ashers that hold the o-ring in place3


11/21

arabolic concentrating 26?:6 solar collector (not needed "ith the 2 "ater heaters, but fun>


12/21

Pan test for water

8ere is ho" I do !y pan test for "ater

@!ear a finger of "vo accross a fry pan (cast iron preferredas a te!p chec&'

eep the sa!ple of "vo to be tested handy' Anough for )4.-/4B thic&ness covering thebotto! "or&s best'8eat the pan on high te!p until the s!ear begins to really s!o&e then pour in the sa!ple'

5%*A3


13/21

Do not pour in a sa!ple "ith any visible "ater' If "ater droplets are visible no testing isneeded' *here is "ater present in your sa!ple' isible droplets of "ater "ill spatter hot oil outof the pan and !ay cause burns or fire'

oo& closely at the botto! of the pan "here the oil !eets it' 7re there very s!all bubblesfor!ing' *his indicates so!e suspended "ater' *he nu!ber of bubbles indicates ho" !uch

"ater is present in suspended for!'

Removing suspended water in 1 pass2/ %ctober 200:

7 !aor develop!ent to report today' *his rig does re!ove suspended "ater as a truecentrifuge> (but it &eeps it in the rotor #ith only a si!ple change to ho" you operate it3 you!ust capture all the output right after turning off the pu!p' @everal ti!es half the rotorcontents "ere dirty "ater> (even "hile the output "as close to passing the pan test It "illre!ove and collect up to . o1' "ater each ti!e you do this' *his !a&es for very fastde"atering, and !ay solve the issue of re;uiring a !ist"ash beforehand "hich has beendiscussed so !uch'

I ran tests today "hich are getting sent to the lab for testing' I started "ith )2 gallons rightfro! the du!pster, and on purpose suc&ed up so!e crud fro! the botto! of the barrel' 7ndthen I added )4. cup vinegar to !a&e sure "e got lots of acid, and then I suc&ed up a thic&e!ulsion layer in an old settling barrel that "ouldn6t seperate after about a !onth of heat Ksettle' *hese are all things I "ould nor!ally avoid but I "as going for bad conditions' *hen Iran it through all the rig "ithout the centrifuge circulating it "ell and suspending it all in a nice!ess' @aved a gallon of this for testing labeled G)' @aved gallons of G) to process laterbelo"' *his "as dangerous to do a pan test on it pops so bad' 7nd the "ater4acid issuspended, it hasn6t settled out after )2 hours of heat K settle'

9an the centrifuge only (no !ist"ash for . passes on gallons of this !ess' abeled assa!ple G2' *he rotor captured about 2 o1' "ater "ith acid 8' 7nd re!oved lots of blac& goo'It re!oved all traces of "ater in the pan test'

*hen cleaned out the rig, and pu!ped into it and heated the other gallons I had saved of G)to )20F, and did a !ist"ash "ith a !istpro no11le, adding about ) gallon of "ater' *hen I ranthe rig "ithout the centrifuge for about ) !inutes, "hich turned this into and even "orsee!ulsion loo&ing li&e chocolate !il&, and also really "ashed it' *hen I let this settle only forabout /0 !inutes, and drained the free "ater fro! the botto! "hich loo&ed li&e "hite !il&,and had acid 8' *here "as still a large a!ount of "ater suspended and on the "alls of thebarrel' *hen ran the rig for : passes on this !ess' ots of stea! puffing out, and "hen Istopped !id"ay 2 ti!es, the rotor contained . o1' of free "ater "hich I captured the output"hen I turned it off' 7nd about the sa!e a!ount of blac& goo' *ested "ater free "ith the pantest, labeled sa!ples as G/'

*his is so!e very interesting results "hich leads to a ne" "ay to run this "here you couldre!ove the "ater !uch faster "hich I "ill test ne?t ti!e3 9un ) pass, e!pty the rotor of "ater,repeat until no !ore stea! puffs "hich in every case has been a si!ple and accurateindicator that it "ill pass the pan test'


14/21

*his also !eans "ith any version of this you should !a&e provisions to capture the output ofthe rotor right "hen you turn it off' *he output of the rotor at that ti!e is often very dirtybesides containing "ater (if there "as suspended or free "ater'

%perating li&e this could lead to the holy grail - an at ho!e and !obile version that doesn6tre;uire a !ist"ash'

2. %ctober 200:

I ust ran the first test of !y ne" capture !ethod, on !y bad G) oil fro! above that I hadsaved, "hich had lots of suspended "ater according to a pan test' 7nd the filtered % passedthe pan test "ith no bubbles after ) pass at only )20F te!ps' 7nd the stuff I captured fro! therotor is horrible on the pan test, very crac&ly and dangerous, and I see so!e s!all globules offree "ater in the botto! even'

istwash Rig2. %ctober 200:

5ote after testing !any batches "ith !y *D@ !eter (belo" I have sho"n that the CFre!oves the conta!inants so "ell that I don6t !ist"ash any !ore' 8ere is "hat I built to!ist"ash so!e very bad % I got' I use the sa!e CF barrel sho"n above, and this dru! lid$'2B fro! grainger'

*hen I drilled a hole in the top center and stuc& this .*2/ .gph !ist head in it $22'). fro!here at !c!aster

Lust add fittings to connect to a garden hose' I !ist"ash until the "ater co!es out clear' I a!testing using a *D@ (total dissolved solids !eter on a !ini-!ist"ash of about a cup of the% to deter!ine if a !ist"ash is needed and if its re!oving anything'


15/21

botto!, I open the valve and "ater goes into the hose and up the side' *hen "hen the "atergets high enough it co!es out the hose auto!atically !aintaining "hatever level I choose byho" high the hose is' I cla!p the hose in different positions onto the rigid CF pipe that goesup the side' ou could use any pipe or board for the sa!e function' *his is nice since it allo"sadusting for different batch si1es'

#hen its done, I close the valve, let it sit overnight for good separation, then lay the hosebelo" the barrel on the ground, and use the sa!e valve to drain all the "ater off the botto!by "atching "hen % starts to co!e out'

!D" meter testing to decide whether to mistwash) 5ove!ber 200:

I ust co!pleted the first tests "ith these !eters, and they are very sensitive' I thin& the *D@!eter is best since its sho"ing acids and salts and soap' *he *D@ !eter is sensitive enoughto give a reading of )0pp! "ith only a fe" grains of salt added to a glass "ith /4. ofdistilled "ater' (distilled = 0pp!' *otally repeatable, and it also responds accurately to a tinya!ount of vinegar, and a single drop of soap (reads )0pp! added' 7nd it "or&s ust asreliably "ith !y tap "ater "hich starts at :0pp! *D@, the sa!e tiny additives increase it toaround 200pp!' I thin& *D@ is !uch better than the 8 !eter, "hich has trouble "ithrepeatablity, and drifts around, and only detects the vinegar'

I then did !ini !ist"ashes on several batches of !y %, "ith sa!ples that "ere straight fro!the du!pster, as "ell as !ist"ashed and centrifuged batches' *hey all "ere clean, 0-/0 pp!*D@, "hich proves I have a good % source, and could probably avoid the !ist"ash'

8ere is ho" I do a !ini !ist"ash, I add )42 cup % and )4. cup distilled "ater to a ;uart ar'*hen I sha&e "ell, and leave it settle for a fe" hours to seperate the "ater' *hen I use asyringe to suc& the "ater off the botto!, put it in another glass, and !easure "ith the *D@!eter'

I thin& this is an accurate, cheap and ;uic& "ay to see if a !ist"ash is needed, and if you testthe !ist"ash "ater after, if it "or&ed' It "ould be interesting to see so!e other results "ithnasty %, I only have good sources' 5o" the tric& is trying it on enough batches to &no" "hatthe threshold of a bad *D@ is'

*he A7 says for drin&ing "ater 00pp! *D@ is their reco!!ended li!it, so its alsointeresting to chec& your tap "ater, !ine "as :0' Its "ell "ater "ith the !inerals calciu!,!agnesiu!, and iron being the !ain parts of *D@' (I had a engineer friend "ho did tests forA7 on far! "ells run lab tests on !y "ater a fe" years ago'

Fro! the instructions that ca!e "ith the !eter3 *D@ includes any inorganic ele!ent presentother than the pure "ater !olecule'

#a$ test results0 5ove!ber 200:

ab test results are in for the first sa!ples I sent'
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170047123585&rd=1&rd=1http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170047123585&rd=1&rd=1


16/21

@a!ple ) "as the original %, suc&ed fro! du!pster "ith )00 !esh screen'@a!ple 2 "as ) pass, -)20F'@a!ple / "as heated, !ist"ash, : passes, )20-)B0F' I did so!e calcs' on the particlenu!bers, M reduction3

+). !icron, +)0 !icron

) pass = :0'0M, /2'.M: pass = B'M, /'M

*he +)0 !icron reduction loo&s very good, and that is the si1e that !ost people are filteringto' 7lthough a )0 !icron no!inal filter "on6t co!e close to this, since they often only re!ove0M + )0 !icrons'

I a! surprised at the no reductions in N)0 !icron category'


17/21

) -o"er @teering u!p fro! un&yard $20) -P 8 or greater ))0v electric !otor )2rp! (Lun&yard or 8arbor Freight cheapie $20) -)'Q pulley "heel for the electric !otor $) -0' -belt%r for an off the shelf pu!p4!otor3http344"""'!c!aster'co!4nav4enter'aspJpagenu!=/)B

pu!p only loo& at loo& at partG .2)) $22/*hese should "or& "ith an %C-20 or 0, and ff2 and :03pu!p only loo& at loo& at partG .2))2 $2/)pu!p4!otor ready to go partG .22/) $/:B

8ere is another source that offers both the CF and pu!p4!otor co!boshttp344"""'vegpo"er'co!4order4catpage'cf!JcatEselected=))

) pressure relief valve 2-20psi (grainger part :D) $ or !c!aster partG B0BB). $2)ft ength of hydraulic hose (get it fro! the car you pull the @ pu!p fro!Bft ength of )42Q or bigger hi-te!p hose to attach to input of @ pu!p) -2.Q ? )'2Q steel pipe (for heating ele!ent R$) or 2-.00# 2.0v "ater heater heating ele!ent (at ))0v = ))2# R$B) -)'2Q steel * (use 2 tees if youSre putting 2 heating ele!ents in R$.) -BQ ? )42Q steel tube to attach to centrifuge input R$.) 9educer to attach CF )42 to )'2Q R$) 9educer to attach @ output to )'2Q input R$)0

lu!bing fittings to attach to the botto! of the barrel to flo" to the input of the @ pu!p R$)) ressure Tauge (grainger G#U/., $B'B R$)4): thic& by )'2 ID !etal "asher first on the ele!ent, then a )' ID "asher "ith a )4B ?)'2 %-ring inside (to seal the heating ele!ent fro! a *ractor parts counter

&ot a new pump2: Lanuary 200

@everal people have reported the vanes stic&ing in their po"er steering pu!ps, !a&ing it not"or& until its disasse!bled and cleaned' 7 gear pu!p is better since it "on6t have thatproble!' 8ere is !y ne" pu!p4!otor co!bo, its an %berdorfer )5 gear pu!p closecoupled to a )4/hp )2rp! !otor that I got on ebay for $2/'00 "hich is "or&ing nicely3
http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?pagenum=314http://www.vegpower.com/order/catpage.cfm?cat_selected=119http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?pagenum=314http://www.vegpower.com/order/catpage.cfm?cat_selected=119


18/21


19/21

'dded a switch panel:

I added a s"itch panel "ith e?tension cords and . s"itches connected to . outlets, "hich I

use to turn on and off the pu!p and 2 heaters separately' *his saves !e fro! unpluggingthose / plugs each ti!e I shut do"n' #ith an e?tra s"itch and outlet for future ideas'


20/21


21/21

o$ile ()oly &rail( version of this rig:

I !ade a !obile unit out of this sa!e rig, to use "hen I a! travelling long distances so I don6thave to carry hundreds of gallons of eg' %il' I run it "ith a little, ;uiet honda 2000"attgenerator, or plugin po"er if I a! stopped "here I have it, "hich I prefer since then its easierto chec& and clean the CF rotor' I put a sealed lid on the barrel so it can carry % "hile

!oving, or have the CF running to process it' *his is "hy I have the CF !ounted belo" theri! of the barrel'

#ith the lid, it de"aters at about /0-0M of the speed of "hen the lid is off the barrel'

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