glad to help, you're welcome
AltFuel La Tortuga VO Build (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter danakittilsen
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- #22
The majority of the oil I've collected so far.
There's another dozen pails or so, off camera. Most have about 15 liters in them.
I'm starting to build my cold up-flow settling filtration system.
Already out one 4"x 2" i.d. close nipple because the exhaust guy press fitted the 2" o.d. exhaust tube and pushed it out of round.
He didn't charge me because he said he thought something didn't look right about his work but didn't know what.
By the time I tested it, went and bought another nipple and made it back to his shop, he was closed early for a Saturday.
There's another dozen pails or so, off camera. Most have about 15 liters in them.
I'm starting to build my cold up-flow settling filtration system.
Already out one 4"x 2" i.d. close nipple because the exhaust guy press fitted the 2" o.d. exhaust tube and pushed it out of round.
He didn't charge me because he said he thought something didn't look right about his work but didn't know what.
By the time I tested it, went and bought another nipple and made it back to his shop, he was closed early for a Saturday.
If you pour the VO out of the buckets/cubies into the upflow before it gets above 5°C, the PHO and crud will stay in the bottom. The less crud that gets in the upflow drum, the less you eventually have to pump out. Once I start seeing crud in the flow from the spout I dump the rest into a big tub of sawdust. When the greasy sawdust gets about the consistency of mortar it goes into milk cartons for winter stove fuel.
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- #24
I receive the oil mostly in the little square white containers and pour two of those into one larger white pail. I get to leave a lot of the crud behind there. But there is still a lot of cleaning left to do.
I don't think my oil is as clean as what you collect, and I'm eager to see how well the upflow works.
I read about the cold upflow setup and your sludge and sawdust trick on the make-biodiesel website. I'm also very eager to try that as i'll be at least partially heating my new place with a wood stove!
I don't think my oil is as clean as what you collect, and I'm eager to see how well the upflow works.
I read about the cold upflow setup and your sludge and sawdust trick on the make-biodiesel website. I'm also very eager to try that as i'll be at least partially heating my new place with a wood stove!
If you haven't already purchased a stove, have a look at the Pacific Energy Summit, just about the most efficient stove on the market, and made in Canada.
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- #26
I'll look it up for sure!
Cobbled together my upflow settling system and put just over 45 gallons into it.
Figure while I'm off to work for 2 weeks that can settle again after getting a little stirred up from pouring.
And then when I get back I might start introducing the rest of my stockpile through the upflow system.
That's a good looking set-up.
I've found a flow rate of about 1 GPH [or less] for added oil gives the best result for clean dry output.
I've found a flow rate of about 1 GPH [or less] for added oil gives the best result for clean dry output.
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- #28
I can already think of a few things I would like to add or modify. The overflow pipe through the filter into the second barrel could use a quick disconnect of some sort.
I would like to have a valved spout at the bottom of the settling barrels to make it easier to pump out the sludge.
I also think some sort of sight glass would be helpfully added to the settling barrels. So help see how much particulate and or water is settling out, and how much oil is rising to the top.
However my barrels are closed top, so the addition of these might be a little tricky and would have to wait until a tear down/cleaning period.
I would like to have a valved spout at the bottom of the settling barrels to make it easier to pump out the sludge.
I also think some sort of sight glass would be helpfully added to the settling barrels. So help see how much particulate and or water is settling out, and how much oil is rising to the top.
However my barrels are closed top, so the addition of these might be a little tricky and would have to wait until a tear down/cleaning period.
it's easier to use a translucent HDPE barrel.
MrMoMo
That's not rust, it's Canadian patina...
Never ended up doing that... Didn't really seem worth it.
Think about it this way. You almost always know where your destination is, so switch back while you are still driving. You can do a rough calculation of how much fuel you go through while driving (use your MPG) then you can figure out how long it takes to purge the filters. My veggie is pre-3way valve, and my purge doesn't return anywhere (as the 3B fuel pump returns to the pump, not the tank)
The veggie filter is going to get most of the crap out, and I usually go through 3-4 veggie filters before I have to swap my diesel filter, so you're not really clogging 2 filters at once. Besides that, you should be filtering your oil to be cleaner than anything that would get caught in your on vehicle filters. If your diesel filter is 2micron, and your veggie filter is 5 micron, but you filter to 0.5micron when you process, your filters will last a long time.
**First post in the "new" mud!!"**
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MrMoMo
That's not rust, it's Canadian patina...
Agree!! I have the same stove in my house, it kicks ass. I also had the same one in my old house.
MrMoMo
That's not rust, it's Canadian patina...
Hey John, do you do that with a restricted orifice? How do you control the rate?
The valve on the output of the black upflow barrel controls the flow
Filter between the barrels is 30µ
Filter on pump outlet 5µ
First design with bag filter after upflow barrel
I'll just reply to you here as its easier.
I have heard mixed things about the DI vs IDI and running WVO, can't tell you why...
The IDI can handle crappier quality fuels and I think take WVO better because of the single stage injectors.
I seriously looked at converting my first cruiser over to a WVO system but it never ended up happening for a number of reasons.
First off, make 100% sure your oil is DRY and does not contain any water. Hot Pan test everything....
Next pre filter everything, make sure its settled, decant and get a centrifuge to seriously clean the oil if you care about your injection system...
This is the 100% most crucial thing that you have clean oil.
I'll give you my advice on how I would run my system at least in my truck.
Have a completely separate tank for your WVO.
two 3 way valves to make sure you do not contaminate your WVO with diesel and vise versa. Start up on diesel, run VO when the temps are good, purge lines with diesel before shut down.
Run a in-tank heater/pick up, Heated filter, heat exchanger, vegitherm and a temp probes in your tank and before it is injected into your engine to make sure you are hitting correct temperatures as this matters for VO viscosity. I even looked into making my own heated lines.
You can get valves from Hydraforce, I called them directly in the past.
There is a ton of info out there.
delica.ca has a bunch.....
I have seen horror stories of running crappy oil and it will cost you s*** loads of dollars if you slack on this. In the end is it truly going to save you money with buying all the stuff to convert your truck and have a home storage/filtration system. Its a whole lot of pain in the ass in my eyes yet again I am willing to pay whatever the pump says at this point. Not to mention I don't have access to oil here that I would want to run in my truck period. I guess you have to see how long it would truely take you to pay off your system, even if its free oil and your system is paid for its still cheap fuel as there is still costs involved with processing....
It really depends on what the restaurant cooks in the oil. Different fats have different melting points.
I have heard mixed things about the DI vs IDI and running WVO, can't tell you why...
The IDI can handle crappier quality fuels and I think take WVO better because of the single stage injectors.
I seriously looked at converting my first cruiser over to a WVO system but it never ended up happening for a number of reasons.
First off, make 100% sure your oil is DRY and does not contain any water. Hot Pan test everything....
Next pre filter everything, make sure its settled, decant and get a centrifuge to seriously clean the oil if you care about your injection system...
This is the 100% most crucial thing that you have clean oil.
I'll give you my advice on how I would run my system at least in my truck.
Have a completely separate tank for your WVO.
two 3 way valves to make sure you do not contaminate your WVO with diesel and vise versa. Start up on diesel, run VO when the temps are good, purge lines with diesel before shut down.
Run a in-tank heater/pick up, Heated filter, heat exchanger, vegitherm and a temp probes in your tank and before it is injected into your engine to make sure you are hitting correct temperatures as this matters for VO viscosity. I even looked into making my own heated lines.
You can get valves from Hydraforce, I called them directly in the past.
There is a ton of info out there.
delica.ca has a bunch.....
I have seen horror stories of running crappy oil and it will cost you s*** loads of dollars if you slack on this. In the end is it truly going to save you money with buying all the stuff to convert your truck and have a home storage/filtration system. Its a whole lot of pain in the ass in my eyes yet again I am willing to pay whatever the pump says at this point. Not to mention I don't have access to oil here that I would want to run in my truck period. I guess you have to see how long it would truely take you to pay off your system, even if its free oil and your system is paid for its still cheap fuel as there is still costs involved with processing....
It really depends on what the restaurant cooks in the oil. Different fats have different melting points.
A FPHE is the easiest way to get reliable heat to your svo. Be sure to plumb it such that you do not create a negative pressure loop for you IP with your purge line otherwise you IP will 'starve' for fuel under throttle. The 3B has no return line to the stock tank so I used a ball valve.
I would avoid multiple valves in the cab. Once you figure out how to make your system do what you want you will not be changing the valve positions. Make sure you can get at your filters for changes easily and without making a mess.
A permanent in cab vacuum/pressure gauge is very helpful for knowing when you need to change your filter BEFORE you clog it and have to change on the roadside at -30C! Similarly, the same gauge will give you a very good idea how long it takes to purge. I used to use a piece of clear line like John said but I've not found any clear line that was fuel grade. Over the long term clear lines get very hard through heat cycles. The gauge allows you the same info. It will also let you know how your plumbing design is. Perhaps install this first and use it's info to help your build. Then you know how to adjust any fuel line valves.
I would avoid multiple valves in the cab. Once you figure out how to make your system do what you want you will not be changing the valve positions. Make sure you can get at your filters for changes easily and without making a mess.
A permanent in cab vacuum/pressure gauge is very helpful for knowing when you need to change your filter BEFORE you clog it and have to change on the roadside at -30C! Similarly, the same gauge will give you a very good idea how long it takes to purge. I used to use a piece of clear line like John said but I've not found any clear line that was fuel grade. Over the long term clear lines get very hard through heat cycles. The gauge allows you the same info. It will also let you know how your plumbing design is. Perhaps install this first and use it's info to help your build. Then you know how to adjust any fuel line valves.
- Thread starter
- #36
I can really understand and appreciate the vacuum/pressure gauge on the fuel line. I rely on a similar gauge at work for the chemicals I pump. I'm trying to think about the placement in the fuel line:
I will have a coolant heated fuel filter at the rear of the vehicle just out of the tank, and the stock electric heated fuel filter in the engine bay. It seems to me if I place it between these two, somewhere around my switch's and FPHE then a higher than normal pressure would indicate stock filter clogging and lower pressure could indicate rear VO filter getting clogged and starving everything downstream?
Or would these read such only with an auxiliary pump at a similar point in-line.
Which leads me to the question, do I need a second pump? I have a small one that came with my aux tank, though I don't know how it will handle VO.
I will have a coolant heated fuel filter at the rear of the vehicle just out of the tank, and the stock electric heated fuel filter in the engine bay. It seems to me if I place it between these two, somewhere around my switch's and FPHE then a higher than normal pressure would indicate stock filter clogging and lower pressure could indicate rear VO filter getting clogged and starving everything downstream?
Or would these read such only with an auxiliary pump at a similar point in-line.
Which leads me to the question, do I need a second pump? I have a small one that came with my aux tank, though I don't know how it will handle VO.
I didn't need a 2nd pump. I don't think you will need one but that's my first impression.
The vac. gauge goes just down stream from your svo filter so you can tell when it's clogging with high in/hg readings ........ie. pulling really hard. I didn't bother plumbing a vac. gauge downstream from my common filter.
The vac. gauge goes just down stream from your svo filter so you can tell when it's clogging with high in/hg readings ........ie. pulling really hard. I didn't bother plumbing a vac. gauge downstream from my common filter.
- Thread starter
- #38
Put together a portable pump. Was cavitating, so i had to reverse the lines. Put the filter on the discharge. Works great now.
- Thread starter
- #39
My oil has been settling for months and months. I'm adding to the cold up-flow from my oldest first. The first 45 gallon drum is filled through bug screen. The second 45 gallon drum is filled through a 200 micron bag filter. This is all gravity.
I have a rotary hand pump to move the oil into a third drum through a 5-10 micron filter. A fleetguard fuel/water filter I get from work (same filter as on the milk crate pump assembly).
I think I will put the 10 micron filter between the first two barrels. And put a 1 micron bag in the wholehouse filter, and put that before I pump into my tank.
I have a rotary hand pump to move the oil into a third drum through a 5-10 micron filter. A fleetguard fuel/water filter I get from work (same filter as on the milk crate pump assembly).
I think I will put the 10 micron filter between the first two barrels. And put a 1 micron bag in the wholehouse filter, and put that before I pump into my tank.
- Thread starter
- #40
I've been talking with magnus_heydoc a lot about his system and experience. I became convinced that blends were the way to go.
Today one of my dispatchers at work showed his 0.8L (I just can't help but write it like that) 3 cylinder Diesel Smart car that he is running on hydraulic oil, something like 70% used Ho, 30% diesel.
He wants to add VO to the mix.
He put it in my head to try a very light ULSD/WVO blend without any of my modifications. Much as I've heard others using less than 30% VO in a diesel blend.
As such, tried my first hot pan test.
Smoke but no bubbles. As in none. I know false positives are possible with the HPT. But could my oil just be that dry?
Today one of my dispatchers at work showed his 0.8L (I just can't help but write it like that) 3 cylinder Diesel Smart car that he is running on hydraulic oil, something like 70% used Ho, 30% diesel.
He wants to add VO to the mix.
He put it in my head to try a very light ULSD/WVO blend without any of my modifications. Much as I've heard others using less than 30% VO in a diesel blend.
As such, tried my first hot pan test.
Smoke but no bubbles. As in none. I know false positives are possible with the HPT. But could my oil just be that dry?
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