The definitive WVO residue thread
 

I've heard a lot of people taking about problems associated with WVO residue, call it polymerized WVO, mainly how to get rid of it.

There's been a lot of claims about what works to desolve WVO residue.

I had a bit of time while at work yesterday to put various substances to the test and see if we can figure out what works and what doesn't. If the info can be used to help anyone keep an old MB on the road it will be worth it.

Objective: test various substances ability to desolve WVO residue.

Method: I took a sample of polymerized WVO from one of our filter housings at the plant and broke it into physically equal size pieces.

I measured out equal amounts of the test substances into a 80ml beaker and put it on the magnetic stirrer.

Testing each substance one at a time I dropped in a piece of the WVO and let it stir for 20 minuets.

I observed the state of the WVO after the 20 min stir and took pictures for us all to use to draw some conclusions.

Substances to be tested:
Acetone
Naphtha
Potasium hydroxide solution ph 13
99% pure methanol
Cascade dishwasher soap with dawn
Lacquer pain thinner
Pure biodiesel
300 degree f clean penut oil

Any ideas which one worked best?

Stay tuned for results

Heated peanut oil?

Yes. There was some claim that more hot VO would dissolve WVO residue

Pure biodiesel

Potasium hydroxide solution ph 13 is my guess.

I'm looking for some LA Awesome to add to the test list.

I'll go out on a limb. I'm rational enough to know that being wrong is part of learning.

I would not expect heated peanut oil to dissolve the sludge. I would expect that heat will soften it, like it will soften petroleum based plastic, but I would expect almost any medium that conducts heat to the sludge to be as effective.

I usually use a strong base to clean up veggie mess. Superclean is lye based and I've been known to let parts soak in it for days. It works. The end result is usually a cloudy mess that's a mix of soap, water, veggie sludge, and whatever other chemicals were in the cleaner. I don't know how it will fare in a 20 minute test.

Methanol won't work. I use it for helping dry water out of my cubies after rinsing them out. It does nothing to clean them by itself.

In a 20 minute test, acetone might look very effective. Spray cleaners such as Brake cleaner with acetone will get cloudy when sprayed on veggie sludge but when left with the expectation that a large amount of sludge will be softened or removed, acetone does not seem to be effective. I wonder if the acetone can only dissolve a certain amount of the sludge before it's saturated. Additionally, it can damage some plastics so use as a cleaner might not be appropriate.

Dishwasher soap can be some complex stuff. Some versions have heat activated agents that can coat a container or part if applied with low heat and will only come off with physical removal. I only know this because one of our drivers used dishwashing detergent as a carwash and we ended up having to buff the van to remove the junk. As a cleaner, though, it's relatively mild. Dishwashers use heat and water jets to do most of the cleaning. The detergent's main job is to keep food from sticking to the dishes and aid in rinsing. I would not expect the Cascade detergent to be effective.

Lacquer thinner is not defined by ingredients but by expected use. Lacquer thinner composition can vary from brand to brand and from one region to another. Most LT contains Ketones, Esters, and/or glycol based solvents with toluene, xylene, or naptha. Lacquer thinners do not react with most cured finishes and I would not expect it to have much effect on VO sludge.

I'm having trouble predicting the effectiveness of BD based on lack of experience using it as a cleaner or a solvent. I'll hazard a guess and say it was "fairly effective" in your testing.

Add carburettor cleaner, simple green, citrus cleaner to the list also if possible.

The carb cleaner was very effective in disolving/cleaning stubborn carbonized buildup in siphon nozzles used in wvo burners.

Problem with base cleaners like sodium hydroxide is it dissolves aluminum and darkens steel. Simple green also discolor metal if in contact long enough. La Awesome does not have any of the above negatives and is my polyed wvo cleaner of choice. Does not eat your skin like sodium hydroxide either.

Of the substances I've tested so far one, in particular, is by far the most effective.

I've got a handful of others to add to the test list this morning.

Stay tuned for full results..

Bio diesel would be my favourite.

Please do tell pronto. I can't stand it anymore I'm pissing in my pants! :D

That's a plus!

Sorry for the delay. I've had my nose to the grindstone busting out a production run here at the bio plant for the past couple weeks.

So, to pick up where i left off..

I tested quite a few substances with the method describes previously and have ranked them accordingly

0 - No effect what so ever

1 - Some physical breakdown and some chemical breakdown. Possibly more if exposure time was increased.

2 - Definite chemical breakdown

First the 0's

Water(for reference)
Acetone
Naptha
Sulfuric Acid ph 1.5
Dish Soap
Pure Bio Diesel
Generic Orange Cleaner/Degreaser

There are more pictures but they all look the same for this category