Means of retrieving WVO from oil dumpsters
 

The only thing holding me back so far except me building a filtering system (should be the easiest and most enjoyable part for me) is somehow getting the oil. I've spoken with at least a half dozen restaurants and they all empty into a dumpster. Well, within a month of me being born my dad sold the Coney Station which he used to own. I talked to the guy who bought it from him and he said I could have as much oil as I want. He said he'd try to put some back in a cubie put it would be hard because he'd have to wait for it to cool down. He said they empty hot since it cleans it out better. Also, they empty twice a week. How could I get iol out of the dumpsters? I've tried desperately to find some sort of hand pump I could use. I've tried two different Do It Best hardware stores and tried Tractor Supply which I thought for sure would have something like I was looking for. All these places have had are the little hand siphons with a plastic bellow smaller than my fist. Do you guys know of a place I could find some sort of hand pump? I can get free plastic 55 gallon drums so the potential exists. Please fill me in with any insight.

Thanks
David

Oil Retrieval
 

The cheapest way:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=7737&R=7737

Harbor freight has a similar one for $4 less but they tend to fall apart, I use one of these with some slight modification, I put a PVC pipe cap on the bottom and drilled several holes in the tube the highest being about 3" up. I wrapped screen around the holes to keep heavy debris out and some finer mesh around that. It works great for retrieving LIQUID oil.

a friend uses this one:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=508&R=508

he says it works great and saves him lots of time too, I will get an electric one eventually.

When I worked in a Cafe we always dumped the oil into a bucket, after it had cooled a bit. The landlords would get pissed if you through it in the dumpster because it is a fire hazard and would make a mess.

Search for WVO collection.

This is the link from the FAQ at infopop:

WVO collection threads at infopop

Furnish the restaurants with your 55 gallon drums. When they are full or half full pick them up with a trailer.

LABEL your drums to discourage grease rustlers.

You can pick up the full drum and leave an empty one, or if this is too heavy transfer the grease with a pump, takes longer but not as much risk of a hernia LOL. That's why I suggest picking them up when they are half full, or whatever you can lift.

The pro's use a 3/4 ton pickup with a hydraulic tailgate lift.

MBZ, I like that hand pump! I assume I could attach a large hose to the top and bottom to make getting grease from the dumpster to the container easier? I will also need this anytime I want to move the WVO anywhere. I am so happy with the way that thing looks. It looks to be very sturdy unless it's suppose to look like thai in the picture.

Thanks
David

try home depot or sears or menards, lowes or ace and truevalue. they all have 120 pumps that have a filter at the end of the 6 ft hose. get a lth of hose for the front of the pump and fill your containers. power can come from either the restaurant or from a portable 120v charger available at sears.

12v pumps are also available for the same job along with 12v portable power units.

you can also get a used/new oil pump from your favorite vehicle and use that 12v but the hoses will be smaller and take longer.

thje whole house water filter will filter the oil after you have warmed it to about 100f. then use the pump to push thru the filter and another lth of hose to go to the container.

go to greasecar and look at owner profiles. find randall webbers jetta and look at the thumbnails he has for filtering oil. so good i am copying him.
warming the oiul prir to filtering is best as it mixes the heavy oil with light and after waiting for cold oli to flow thru heavy shop rags heating is the best way to filter.

I use,,,
 

A submersible pump hooked to a garden hose. Believe it cost like 60 or 70 dollars, then to be mobile, I purchased an 800 watt inverter (Inverter really came in handy when the lights went out a few years back, we were the only ones on the block that were watching TV!!!)

I then plumbed the garden hose to a "GE" home water filter with a 10 micron wound filter. The oil gets pumped through the filter right into my WVO tank in my truck.

Pictures at www.benzbonz.biz


marty

Hand Pumps
 

I use the Harbor Freight version, its pretty sturdy once properly put together, had to stamp the drop tube on the threads with a punch to keep it together. It is designed to screw into the bung. My strainer will not allow anything below about 3" in the bottom to be picked up, less water for me to clean out later :) I have a 8' long 1" ID clear vinyl hose from Lowes that I run from the pump output, I like to see my oil.
It is strong!, I have pumped oil at 40*F with a lot of arm work, it takes 100 strokes to fill a 5gal cubie if the stuff is flowing well, more if it is cold.
I tried to set up an electric belt drive on it using a lawnmower starter motor but even with a 6:1 drive ratio the little motor couldnt push it, I have some other gears laying around (from the same mower) that I might try to set up on it, I like the shape but would prefer a 12vDC electric one, my arms get tire when picking up 50 gallons or so.

Be very carefull. I don't know how it works everywhere, but around here once the oil hits the dumpster it no longer belongs to the resturaunt, but the company they have the contract with to collect the oil.They can get real nasty about people taking their property. I have a place that saves oil for me in 5 gal bucketts. Once a week I pick up the full ones and drop off some clean ones.

Instead of a 55 gallon drum try the 30gallon type. Easier to move around. To make the restaurant owner really happy build a small "doghouse" type enclosure with a hatch to contain the drum for them. Will keep critters away, rainwater out of the barrel and prying eyes. Forget the hand pump, get a gear oil pump like this http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=200129174&R=200129174 Most other pump types are vane style and won't hold up to continous use with cold thick oil. RT

rw, I'm doing this more as an experiment and to keep me occupied. I'm going away to college in the fall and won't be taking the SDL with me so this is just ofr the summer, thus my not heating it. I'm going to run it as a blend depending on the ambient temps.

Thanks
David

I'm surprised no one mentioned the simplest method. Cut the top of a gallon milk jug and dip it in the oil and pour it into your container. With the handle, you don't have to dip deep enough to get any oil on your hands.