My filtration "still"

[Clay]

I need to update some pics here as i have modified the system a little so keep an eye out here...


This is the whole unit... prefilter barrel on the right, HWH (hot water heater) in the middle and the filter is shown on the left. The pump is behind the filter. I just changed a few things on the system, went with this new filter housing and some new clear tubing.

The strainer in the top of the prefilter barrel - oil goes in here from the cubies.



The pump...the hose seen going up is the outlet up to the valves that direct the oil either into the HWH for when i am pumping from the barrel or adjusting the valves i can draw the oil from the HWH and direct it through the filter durring the final phase. The inlet goes around to the barrel AND to the HWH...you can see that in the next pic.

[Clay]

Here you see the clear hose on the far right goes to the inlet on the pump. The black hose with the valve goes to the barrel and is plumbed in 4" off the bottom. If i open the valve on the right and close the one on the left, the pump will transfer the oil from the barrel to the HWH. When the HWH is already full of heated and settled oil, i open the drain valve shown and drain 3-4 gallons of the crud off the bottom of the HWH, then the left valve is opened and the right valve is closed (right valve is always closed unless i am transfering oil from the barrel) and then the pump will draw the oil from the bottom of the HWH around to the filter...those pics are next.


another pic of the drain with a temp guage going into the HWH drain opening. That clear tube is a site tube that has a valve on the top to open when filling the tank and it will show you the level of oil in the tank.


Here are a couple pics of the filter and valves to direct oil to either the top of the tank or through the valves. This is a tad complicated to explain but i'll do my best.
Lets call the valves A B and C from bottom to top. (All valves are pictured in the closed position)
When i am wanting to fill the HWH from the barrel, A and C are closed, B is open. Oil comes up from the pump and goes straight to the inlet on top of the tank. Once i have heated the oil for 4 hours to 150* (+/-) and let it settle, drain the crud, i am ready to open the lower valve (you already saw) to draw oil from the tank around to the filter housing, valve A and C are opened and B is closed. Oil comes up from the pump, makes a left turn at valve A, drops down to the filter inlet (which you can't see because its behind the fiter housing) and goes through the 5 micron filter bag, out the bottom of the filter and up the hose on the left to valve C and back into the top of the HWH. The oil is circulated through this cycle for about 30-40 minutes to give it multiple passes through the filter bag. This seems redundant but i once reduced this cycle time and the result was i was changing my Donaldson filter more often. I currently am going on 8,000 miles on my donaldson. Not show is a pressure guage that will go on top of the housing in place of that brass plug. I have to get a guage yet. The guage will let me know when a filter bag is getting dirty and clogged by showing higher pressure.

The outlet of the pump is seen here, the clear tube returns oil back to the top through valve C and back into the top of the HWH, the blue hose goes to the filler nozzel, when i am ready to fill the truck i simply open the nozzel and oil then flows to the blue hose into the truck tank. Valve C acts as a bypass at that point, which slows the rate at which the nozzel flows - oil is able to go to the nozzel AND to valve C...it takes the path of least resistance of couse. I can close valve C and ALL the oil is the forced to the blue hose to the nozzel.
Is that completely confusing?
My next mod to this unit will be to go from the blue hose to a 275 gal. holding tank for storage. Another pump will then be used to move the oil from that tank to my truck tank with the nozzel.

[Clay]

Heres the filter bag that goes inside.


Another picture of the left side


This shows the vet/overflow tube going from the top back to the prefilter barrel. It allows for several things. Air has to be pulled into the HWH when pumping oil out of the HWH, this allows for that. Also, if i am pumping oil from the prefilter barrel, into the HWH and the wife steps into the shop and starts telling me about the 13 pairs of shoes she bought at the store and distracts me - you can see where this is going can't you and i am not watching the site tube to stop the pump when it gets full, the oil will overflow out this tube and back into the barrel. The original design of this Still simply has a filter on top to keep dirt out and NOT if but WHEN you have an overfill situation, the oil flows at 16 gal. per minutes out this tube, blows the filter across the shop and sprays a shower of oil all over the cieling (even a tall cieling) and causes you to bring out new words in your vocabulary that would make a sailor blush.
The other purpose for this tube is....once the HWH is full and you begin the heating, the oil expands (did you know that - i didn't untill i built this with the little filter on top) when the oil expands, it will comeup and out this vent, not fast but slowely...which doesn't matter becasue you have already gone in the house to shower and eat and watch monday night football...so when you coem out to the shop next time, you will find and nice oil slick originating from the top of this tank, flowing down to the floor and across the concrete. (don't ask how i know this)
The Bud Light bottle on top is optional...

[Clay]

This is the drawing i originally used to build mine...notice the filter on top i talked about?

1 connects to 5
2 connects to 4
3 connects to the filler nozzle
6 connects to the pump outlet
7 is the drain
8 connects to the prefilter barrel
9 connects to the pump inlet

Check out Frybrid Vegetable Oil Fuel Systems -- Filtraion and Dewatering Plans for a more complete look.

Parts I used
Filter Housing - found here - Part number 6870K59
Pump i would reccomend - Northern tool Pump This is not the pump i use but this one is alot less $$ and i believe it to be just as good.


Update... I changed my setup to include a 300 gal. IBC tote for clean oil storage. Now instead of the oil leaving the filter hosing through the blue hose and into my truck tank, the blue hose has been moved and the oil leave the filter housing and into the tote.



Heres the whole setup...the blue filler hose and nozzel are now attached to a pump which is hosed over to the outlet on the tote so i just pull the truck in the shop, turn on the pump and fill the truck from the tote.

This system works well and eliminates me having 30-50 nasty cubies stacked up as my reserve - they do draw roaches so i like to get them processed and into the tote as soon as i get them home.
The tote was half full last summer but my supply of oil has had a huge interupton so i am a little low right now...that will change soon i hope!
When i took the pictures i was filtering a batch and in 2 pics i have an empty tote and one pic was taken after I finished filtering and pumped it into the tote showing 50 gallons in it.

[waytallwhitey]

Clay, what micron screen do you have in the top of your barrel?

[Clay]

its a 200 micron bucket strainer. I just ordered more strainers and i got a 400 micron to try - the 200 plugs up easily with thick vo in the winter. In fact it just arived on the big brown truck today...

[waytallwhitey]

its a 200 micron bucket strainer. I just ordered more strainers and i got a 400 micron to try - the 200 plugs up easily with thick vo in the winter. In fact it just arived on the big brown truck today...

I use a 600 and a 400 micron when I strain into my 5 gallon funnel. That 400 micron will plug pretty easily, too.

Good luck!

[HORSEMOVER]

I currently use a 200 and haven't had any issues with it clogging (oil is fairly clean - just a few large frys or chips every now and then) but may need to look at going up for cold weather filtering. Let me know how that 400 works out for you Clay.

[Wilson]

CHENRY-

So Galvanized fittings all around? No issues with poly, at least not enough to cause any trouble I presume?

I just ordered the damn canister from Mcmaster because I am tired of gravity filtering and with cold weather it aint gonna get better!

What type of psi do you see in the filter canister? I dont see if you even monitor that?

EDIT: I see in your notes you mention press gauge to come.

I will let you know how mine turns out... I bought a 1" gauge.

Also, I use 1u bags as my dirty oil gets dumped thru 25u bag into dirty drum. I leave the last inch of oil in the container and collect the gunk until I fill a cubie, then I dump in woods or trash and recycle empty cubies.

Considering putting a heat blanket (like dfa filter)on the alum filter housing in winter as I have one sitting around from nitrous old bottle

[Clay]

CHENRY-

So Galvanized fittings all around? No issues with poly, at least not enough to cause any trouble I presume?

Have not seen any poly, no. I have taken fittings off and looked inside them and they are tarnished looking but thats all.

What type of psi do you see in the filter canister? I dont see if you even monitor that?

My pics don't show it but i did put a pressure guage on top of the canister...it is already threaded for it. A fresh clean filter bag with oil at 110*f will show about 9 psi. When i see that rise to around 15 psi, i change the bag.

[Marv]

Not to derail Clay's thread, but currently I use a 100 micron bucket strainer in the top of my pre-filter barrel and it usually on takes 30 second to a minute to pour a cube (about 5 gallons) through. I put about 200-250 gallons through the first one before I had to replace it.

Also, my canister pressure gauge shows about 13 psi pretty consistently. After another batch or two, I'm going to change the filter just to see what it looks like.

I guess my oil is fairly clean...

[Clay]

Not to derail Clay's thread, but currently I use a 100 micron bucket strainer in the top of my pre-filter barrel and it usually on takes 30 second to a minute to pour a cube (about 5 gallons) through. I put about 200-250 gallons through the first one before I had to replace it.

Also, my canister pressure gauge shows about 13 psi pretty consistently. After another batch or two, I'm going to change the filter just to see what it looks like.

I guess my oil is fairly clean...

Why did you have to replace the strainer? Did it come apart?

You don't have to change the bag filter just to look at it, pull the lid off the canister and look at it and keep using it if its not plugged yet.
A dirty filter works better than a clean one.

[Wilson]

My pics don't show it but i did put a pressure guage on top of the canister...it is already threaded for it. A fresh clean filter bag with oil at 110*f will show about 9 psi. When i see that rise to around 15 psi, i change the bag.

OK cool.

So how are you only getting 15psi max? you are pushing it through with a ~1HP motor so are you saying that the oil flows that easily through the bag?

Or do you bleed off oil pressure at some point pre canister?

[Clay]

OK cool.

So how are you only getting 15psi max? you are pushing it through with a ~1HP motor so are you saying that the oil flows that easily through the bag?

Or do you bleed off oil pressure at some point pre canister?

The oil is heated to 110* prior to filtering. AFter i heat it and settle it, most times when i come back the next day to filter, it has only colled down to 100- 110 and i may switch the heat on for 30 minutes is all and its hot enough to filter.
The bag has enough area and the oil is hot and viscous and it flows without alot of pressure. If the oil is cooler, like 90* it will still flow but with higher pressure and i don't want that higher pressure so i heat it to filter.
However, i can "bleed off" pressure by opening valve 2 a little (see diagram) and some oil will bypass the canister and return to the inlet on the tank. I have had to do this a couple times when the bag filter became dirty when i was in the middle of filtering a batch...i let off a little pressure with valve 2 and my pressure was still creaping up - i think i had rushed the settling process and not drained off all the snot on bottom and it trashed the filter fast - but the problem is, i can't take the lid off of the canister in mid process without a valdeeze spill...when all the lines above the canister are full, if i open the lid, i can only imagine the oil would over flow from having head preasure above the lid level. I havent tryed it but i am sure thats what would happen.

[Wilson]

thanks clay...you explained it the way I imagined it worked.