Home Filtering Stations for Waste Vegetable Oil - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

chosenberg · #1 12-11-2006, 02:00 AM

I want to put a home filtering station together for filtering waste vegetable oil but have a few questions.

1) What type of filters do I get? 1 micron? 5 micron? I know I can get them from Mcmaster. Does anybody have a part number?
2) Where can I get a 55 gallon drum? I'd like to get a cheap used one somewhere. If anybody is in the L.A. area, can you recommend a place?
3) Where can I get a rotary hand pump at a reasonable price?
4) Do I let the oil settle for a week, put the good stuff in the drum, and throw the crud in the trash?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to get on it as soon as possible.

greasybenz · #2 12-11-2006, 02:41 AM

this is the proper way to filter veggie.

1. have collected oil sit in container for a week. This will settle alot of the food particles and/or chicken fat to the bottom of the container.

2. syphon off the top of what looks like clean veggie oil and pre-filter it through a 5 micron bag filter into a clean container. heat it overnight in the container to burn out the water. Make sure the container is vented.

You can heat the oil with a high wattage aquarium heater.

3. for final filtration run it though a 1micron bag filter or water filter with a 1 micorn catridge filtering element. and your done.

You can get 55gallon drums for free often times from car wash places. They usually have soap and shampoo's in them that they end up paying to get taken away and recylced. Just ask them for some and they might let you take some.

if not try craigslist.org and see if anyone is selling them or giving them away.

EDIT: as for the leftover crud, if you get chicken fat you can use that as a weed killer. Just pour it on the plant it suffercates them to death. Food particles can be mixed in the dirt or put in the trash.

PatricdeBoer · #3 12-11-2006, 03:11 AM

You know what is really nice if you can find them are 30 gallon drums. Most fertilizer places have them for free. The cool thing is w/ 2 people you can lift them when they are full. I just used a hole saw to cut a hole that was smaller than the metal ring in the filter sock and I hung the whole filter into the drum.

Blevinsax · #4 12-11-2006, 03:12 AM

I'll copy the text from one of my previous posts with info about my filtration system and link to the original post. Check out the linked post for photos - I cannot figure out how to re-post them here. (Maybe someone can show me how to re-use those pics

)

What are the chances Veggie conversion might damage my engine?

I am triple and quadruple filtering my WVO. Here are the different filter levels I am using.

First: Photo #1 - Coffee filter in strainer over bucket (only if oil is really bad - it removes all the big solid stuff and gunk)

Second: Photo #2 - Baja 3-stage funnel fuel filter (with water-separating third element) filters down to 74 microns - I run the WVO through this filter into a 55-gallon drum from which I pump it through the next 2 stages of filtration via a manual rotary pump (I know it's time to change the filter elements when it gets too hard to turn manually - plus I get a workout pumping the oil!)

Third: Photo #3 - ZEE LINE 10-micron filter

Fourth: Photo #4 - Racor 2-micron filter/water separator

Whole system - Photo #5

So far, so good with this setup - I have no overnight sediment and both the VW and the Benz seem to like it.

dannym · #5 12-11-2006, 08:49 AM

HEy,
I posted a picture of my filtering system here:
WVO how to start?
I put some chicken wire over the top of the barrel and filter the oil through pillow cases. They actually filter the oil very well.
Then after sitting for about a week I filter again into cubes. I have since refined the second filtering. I now use a 5 micron bag filter in a coffee can. It's a lot cleaner and easier that way.

You can get a barrel from almost any carwash place.

I haven't had any problems with crud in the barrel. I think most of it gets filtered out. Also I get good oil.

Danny

chosenberg · #6 12-11-2006, 12:48 PM

Thanks for the tips. After I let the oil settle for a week, where would you suggest I purchase the siphon to sperate the good oil from the crud? Where do you get your filters? Where should I get my rotary hand pump?

greasybenz · #7 12-11-2006, 01:20 PM

rotary drum pump $20
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34679

but i use a drill pump with a corded drill.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=08302660000&vertical=Sears&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

You can just pour out the top layer out of the cubie (assuming you will use cubies to collect the oil) and pour them into the barrel.

as for the bag filters i bought my 5micron bag filter from the biofueloasis in berkely for $5. But there are many online sources that sell them. Try ebay.

i use this canister filter

http://cgi.ebay.com/Whole-house-filter-unit-10-water-wvo-svo-biodiesel-RV_W0QQitemZ290059056772QQihZ019QQcategoryZ20684QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

with a 1micron catridge.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-case-10-23-8-5-micron-sediment-water-filters_W0QQitemZ160061062345QQihZ006QQcategoryZ20684QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here are some bag filters for cheap.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-Five-5-1-Micron-Polyester-Filter-Bags-WVO_W0QQitemZ320060608016QQihZ011QQcategoryZ1267QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

spark3542 · #8 12-11-2006, 02:45 PM

Barrel pumps: I recommend the Harbor Freight one specified above. It works well for me.

Barrels: In addition to Car washes, I've gotten some nice 30 gallon barrels from a dairy. They get the bellywash concentrate in these containers, and dispose of them frequently. They are food grade (and smell like blue-raspberry).

Filtering: If I'm filtering to react into biodiesel, I do very little filtering. From raw WVO, I was using a 200-micron paint-bucket type filter, and I even backed off from there to just using a kitchen strainer to remove the clam strips and chicken bits. My wash tank (after the reaction) has a standpipe about 2" high. I drain off wash/soaps/crud until the BD level is below the standpipe. Then I pump the BD from the standpipe through a 5 micron whole-house filter from Lowe's/Home Depot (about $16). It's now finished BD, ready for furnace or Mercedes.

When I run pure, unreacted WVO into my Mercedes, I selectively choose the best oil from my sources (I have one Japanese restaurant that cooks tempura and changes their oil very often, so I limit it to that source). I filter the WVO through a 30 micron whole house filter, then blend with 15% RUG and a couple of ounces of Power Service cetane boost.

I've been doing this for 6 months and reacted about 750 gallons of BD so far, and except for the obligatory fuel-filter-changing-early-on, I've experience no problem in 6k miles in my 83 300SD.

Mark in MA

dougk · #9 12-11-2006, 04:17 PM

I agree with the above comments. The harbor freight works awsome. I like to use a clearwater pump to pump the oil through house water filters. A good setup is a metal 55 gallon drum with a heating element welded into the side. Then a pipe sticks out of the tank a couple of inches away from the bottom. This will make sure that any water wont be sucked up from the bottom fo the tank. Then the pipe goes to the clear water pump and from there the oil goes through 2 house filters. 1 10 micron and 1 5 micron. Then there can be a long hose that allows for filling up your car.
The best to do is get the oil in the cubes and let it settle for a couple of days and then pour the top three quarters into the 55 gallon drum. Then just turn on the pump and (open any valves that there might be) fill up your car quickly and without a large mess. It is also pretty inexpensive. drum: free, heating element: about 12 dollars, clearwater pump: about 30 dollars, 2 filter housings: 30 dollars, some filters: around 5-6 dollars, some cord: couple of bucks, a variety of fittings and clamps: about 10 dollars, and some hose: 10 dollars. About 90 dollars for a good setup that makes very little mess and allows easy fillup. Not to mention that the heater element makes the veggie go smoothly through the filters.

DK

dannym · #10 12-12-2006, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chosenberg

Thanks for the tips. After I let the oil settle for a week, where would you suggest I purchase the siphon to seperate the good oil from the crud? Where do you get your filters? Where should I get my rotary hand pump?

I do like someone else posted and just pour out the good oil from the top of the cube into my barrel.
I have my valve about 2" from the bottom of the barrel which leaves about 1.5 gallons of oil left after I pour it all out. I don't get much crud but you can always pour out that last 1.5 gallons and dump it.

You can buy filters from McMaster or www.filterbag.com

I use a drill pump that I bought from Home Depot attached to a cordless drill. Works very good.

Danny

firemediceric · #11 12-12-2006, 11:51 AM

For filtering I first pour my oil through a pillow case. It then gets heated for several hours, settles for weeks and then is pumped through a 15-20 micron GE whole house filter from Home Depot, then the 1-2 micron whole house filter and finally a Goldenrod water block. This deposits the oil into the second drum in which I mix my blend.

I roughly blend in 20% K-1 and 5% RUG. I set the pump to re-circulate this mix for a while and then put it into my vehicle of choice.

For a pump I'm using an old irrigation pump I had.

If you want more details from me, just let me know.

newagon · #12 12-13-2006, 11:48 AM

got free 30 gallon drums at car wash, let oil settle for 2 weeks in cubies, then pour off clear stuff into one drum with 40 micron nylon filter bag for big particles, then pump with harborfrieght hand pump into second barrel. the second barrel has two side by side 5 micron glazed polyester bag filters from mcmaster-carr. (two since it lets me filter more oil at once.) then i pump from another harborfreight pump from second barrel straight into car.
i don't heat oil. maybe i should.
lately my oil needs more settling, new source chinese restaurant changes oil every 2 days, but still dirty.
I live in LA so cold isn't so much an issue.
I tired the mcmaster 5-in-1 (5 micron inside lining, 1 micron outer lining) filters but they got blocked up each week and got expensive to replace. so i do the 5 and let settle for at least another 24 hours.

mplafleur · #13 12-13-2006, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougk

Not to mention that the heater element makes the veggie go smoothly through the filters.DK

Smooth while hot = slow while cold.

Better to do it at room temp.

Blevinsax · #14 12-14-2006, 12:38 AM

It is much more difficult to turn my manual pump when the WVO is cold like it is now (yes, it gets pretty cool in Las Vegas in December - my garage gets down in the 40's overnight) but I know it is filtering better because I can see more stuff being filtered out. My filter elements don't last as long, but that's okay with me - it's not filter element life I'm concerned about... it's engine and injection pump life I'm concerned about.