Donaldson mileage update

[powerstroke73L]

Hey guys-just thought I'd give an update on my Donaldson mileage. I hit 10,000 this morning on the way to work and I just happened to be climbing a 12% grade at the time so I floored it-the green light stayed nice and solid. I should probably pick up another one on my way home just so I'm prepared though...

[Jack_Toepfer]

I've maxed @ 3k. Avg for me is 1.5k 10k is awesome.
I haven't invested into any filtering, and my filtered oil is cheap enough not to bother.

[lancaster,pa]

Hey guys-just thought I'd give an update on my Donaldson mileage. I hit 10,000 this morning on the way to work and I just happened to be climbing a 12% grade at the time so I floored it-the green light stayed nice and solid. I should probably pick up another one on my way home just so I'm prepared though...

Amazing!! Basics of your filtration system? - Patrick

[fiveohpatrol]

I'm about 6500 right now on mine, and very surprised that it's still goin. I pre-screen through a 100micron barrel screen and then gravity feed through a 5micron water filter.

[powerstroke73L]

Amazing!! Basics of your filtration system? - Patrick

Basically my system revolves around a Dieselcraft 0C-20 centrifuge, but I've kind of customized the process. I used to use cold upflow settling to pre-treat my oil, but I found that it was overkill. Now I simply have a pre-treat drum which is basically a steel 55 gallon drum with a hand pump inserted in one bung and a large drum funnel inserted in the other. I stretch a t-shirt over the drum funnel and pour through that for initial "rough filtering." I add 5 gallons of diesel to the drum every so often so that the oil mixes with the diesel and makes for easier hand pumping in cold weather. It also helps PHO and fats to stay mixed up in the oil. Other veg oil users tend to shy away from these but the V3 gets hot enough to turn even the thickest Crisco type stuff into usable fuel.

Once I have a full drum of of diesel/veggie mix I hand pump it into the centrifuge barrel. The centrifuge is powered by a 1/2 HP motor coupled to a Haldex hydraulic pump. I heat the oil by passing it through a 1-1/4" steel pipe with two 5500 watt/240 volt hot water heater elements in it. Pressure to the centrifuge is controlled by a relief valve set to 90 psi so operation is totally hands free. I simply plug in the pump/heaters and let it run. My run times have drastically increased in these cold temperatures as I've found that I get the best results holding the oil at a temperature of 160 degrees F for at least two hours. It's taken longer and longer as temperatures in my garage have been approaching zero lately However, it's not bad as I'll usually start it up when I get home from work, eat dinner, watch TV, do stuff around the house, etc...and shut it down before I go to bed. Due to the amount of pre-filtering I do I typically get no more than a 1/16" layer of black gunk on the inside of the rotor.

To get the oil out of the centrifuge barrel I have a second ball valve that I can open to divert the flow to a Goldenrod Waterblock 15 micron fuel filter. The purpose of this is more to catch water than particles and I simply use them until they plug. I'm going to see how much life I can get out of this Donaldson as I changed my last one just for the hell of it at 8000 miles. I had no signs of it plugging, etc...

[skyskijason]

I'm about 6500 right now on mine, and very surprised that it's still goin. I pre-screen through a 100micron barrel screen and then gravity feed through a 5micron water filter.

Careful, water filters are not 'absolute' rated filters. IOW, they let particles much larger than their 'rating' thru. It is generally considered a good idea to use a real fuel filter, such as a fuel tank transfer pump may use (ie, the goldenrod filters) as your 'final' filtration.

[powerstroke73L]

Careful, water filters are not 'absolute' rated filters. IOW, they let particles much larger than their 'rating' thru. It is generally considered a good idea to use a real fuel filter, such as a fuel tank transfer pump may use (ie, the goldenrod filters) as your 'final' filtration.

The Goldenrod elements are relatively cheap and last a while. The waterblock elements are $11.99 at Tractor Supply. They may be cheaper if you buy in bulk through NAPA or any other large parts chain.

[greasyX]

I too have a dieselcraft(oc50) and love it,9200 miles on this filter

[skyskijason]

The Goldenrod elements are relatively cheap and last a while. The waterblock elements are $11.99 at Tractor Supply. They may be cheaper if you buy in bulk through NAPA or any other large parts chain.

FYI

Goldenrod water-block = 15 mic
regular Goldenrod (not water-block) = 10 mic and about 1/2 the price!!

Also, the non-water block will plug up just as fast if there is any water present in VO. The water-block will NOT stop emulsified water in VO. There is no advantage to using water-block IMHO.

[Marv]

Wow...10K is definitely impressive! Congrats!

[Clay]

I just change mine at 5k miles when i am changing the crank case oil....why mess with longevity on a $11.00 filter. But then again i only spend about 10 minutes on a 50 gal batch when filtering/dewatering...

[lancaster,pa]

Powerstroke,
Were all of those 10,000 miles on oil filtered after you made those changes to simplify your filtering process? - Patrick

Fiveo,
Also great mileage you are getting on your filters with a simple process as well. Can you describe the type and condition of the oil you are collecting (kind of oil, how used it is, color, stored inside or out and what type of container until pick-up, etc.)? - Patrick

[powerstroke73L]

Were all of those 10,000 miles on oil filtered after you made those changes to simplify your filtering process? - Patrick

It's probably about half and half. I started with the cold upflow because I was being overly cautious. Cold upflow was designed by a guy who was blending canola oils with diesel in the stock tank and only using a heater filter/injector line heaters so he only wanted to use pure un-hydrogenated oils because any PHO/fats in a situation like that will cause problems. I was settling the PHO/fats out and setting aside for use as woodstove fuel. I've been making "bricks" by mixing the heavy PHO/fats with sawdust from chainsawing wood in 1/2 gallon paper milk cartons. Once the bricks dry out they're great for getting a good hot fire going first thing in the morning, etc...

Anyway, what I eventually realized is that unlike other conversions where PHO and fats can cause lots of problems due to lack of adequate heat, the V3 can heat and burn pretty much anything without a problem, so in essence, by using cold upflow I was throwing away good usable truck fuel. So now I just blend my oil with a small amount of diesel to start with and CF it, PHO, fat, and all.

I just change mine at 5k miles when i am changing the crank case oil....why mess with longevity on a $11.00 filter.

Curiosity mostly. If I find that I can go to 15K without a problem I think I'll stick to that as my change interval. I know it's not exactly apples to apples but isn't that the recommended stock filter change interval?

[fiveohpatrol]

Fiveo,
Also great mileage you are getting on your filters with a simple process as well. Can you describe the type and condition of the oil you are collecting (kind of oil, how used it is, color, stored inside or out and what type of container until pick-up, etc.)? - Patrick

I definitely think the quality of the used oil is the key in my setup. It's all canola oil that's really pretty clean when I get it. It's never stored outside, and never sees water. One of the places puts it in clean 5gallon buckets, another puts it back in their cubies, and another leaves it in small metal pots to cool until I get there and dump it into buckets. I only get about 15-20 gallons a week like this though.

[lancaster,pa]

I definitely think the quality of the used oil is the key in my setup. It's all canola oil that's really pretty clean when I get it. It's never stored outside, and never sees water. One of the places puts it in clean 5gallon buckets, another puts it back in their cubies, and another leaves it in small metal pots to cool until I get there and dump it into buckets. I only get about 15-20 gallons a week like this though.

Clean canola and never outside, that's something to hold onto. Good to see you have such a great source. - Patrick