Some Q's about the centrifuge...

I have read and re-read the threads here in alternative fuels and I've watched the vids and read the info on Simple Centrifuge.com, so please firgive me if this has been covered, but have some questions still...

I will refer to the turn-key centrifuge on SImple Centrifuge in these questions.

As I understand it, you know when the centrifuge is full when, while you are pouring in the WMO, the material you are spinning out gets to the "lip" of the bowl as it spins, correct?

At what point do you know that the material is finally clean? Let's say the centrifuge bowl holds two gallons (I have no idea how much it actually holds). Do you look at the WMO and say, "Yep, that looks pretty dirty. I autta run 'er for about two hours in the centrifuge..." Is there a rule of thumb one uses to determine when the WMO is finally clean?

My old job sells its WMO to a company for about .15 cents per gallon. Knowing what goes on at my old employ, there is all manner of other waste in the "WMO", like antifreeze, speedy-dry, etc. My question here is, in the end, it doesn't matter what's in the WMO, since it will all get spun out of the oil anyway, right?

The bummer is that the business will no longer let guys roll up in pick up trucks and fill 55 gallon drums with WMO because they are afraid if there were an accident on the road and the WMO went all over, someone could sue them. I might be able to get away with three or four, five gallon pails since I get along great with everyone there, even the owners and board members. (fingers crossed).

Thank you for any info!

Ok, lets start over......the centrifuge in question isn't running say 2 gal for an hour or whatever. Its processing a constant stream of fluid. Dirty flows in, clean flows out. So no guesswork on when the oil is clean, it either is or it isn't. Pretty much i can't see anything you just rattled off that would be an issue as it will all be spun out of the oil. Keep in mind thought the more crap in the oil the more often you will need to shut down and clean out the goo. As far as when it is you need to shut it off and clean......i honestly couldn't tell ya, have to wait for someone that runs one to give you that info.

i just bought one it's fun, but in the long run it's cheapr to just buy diesel.dud

I disagree, I have been running WVO for years and it is MUCH cheaper than buying diesel. My setup took a few days to build but it works great and it takes me lees time (man hours) to run than it takes to cut my 1 1/2 acres of grass on a bi weekly basis. The bad is, it can be messy. the oil should be heated and run through the centrifuge, slow about 5-10 gal/hr. I get pretty clean oil and have already drained the settled water on the bottom so I just leave it running and do a 55 gal to a 55 gal transfer(gravity through the centrifuge) I do blend a little diesel but its anywhere from 5-20% depending on the temperature.

agreed, the fuge is the way to go, nothing is better, period....

the initial cost is higher, but once up and running it is cake, and cheap to run

OK, thanks. So all you have to do is heat the oil so it flows easily, then adjust the rate of flow of oil into the centrifuge so it doesn't spill over... dirty in; clean out.

Thank you all for the replies!

John

the flow rate does not keep it from spilling over, but it just assures that the oil stays in the bowl long enough to get really clean oil for use.....

i run mine at about 10 gallons per hour, and some run as fast as 20, but the slower you let the flow go... the cleaner the oil is, but like i said, 10 or so gph nets some really clean oil

Thank you for the insight. All I lack now is a centrifuge! (...and a Deuce )

I could have paid for a centrifuge this week on fuel for 3 deuces.
I have plenty of wmo

I have paid for 2 vehicles and am working on the third!

How big in diameter are the centrifuge drums? How fast are they turning?

Thanks!

-Chuck

my rotor is about 8-10" and the motor is turning at 3450 rpm

scooter01922 said:

Ok, lets start over......the centrifuge in question isn't running say 2 gal for an hour or whatever. Its processing a constant stream of fluid. Dirty flows in, clean flows out. So no guesswork on when the oil is clean, it either is or it isn't. Pretty much i can't see anything you just rattled off that would be an issue as it will all be spun out of the oil. Keep in mind thought the more crap in the oil the more often you will need to shut down and clean out the goo. As far as when it is you need to shut it off and clean......i honestly couldn't tell ya, have to wait for someone that runs one to give you that info.

Click to expand...

I don't know if this falls under "don't ask don't tell" but, what do you do with the "goo" left over?

stampy said:

my rotor is about 8-10" and the motor is turning at 3450 rpm

Click to expand...

Thanks! Now I know what sized aluminum billet to look for.

-Chuck

coolnick73 said:

I don't know if this falls under "don't ask don't tell" but, what do you do with the "goo" left over?

Click to expand...

I'd shovel the goo out, and give it to the oil recycling containers at the local dump/transfer station.

-Chuck

Common trash is where the goo goes as it isnt much maybe a baseball sized piece for a 55 gal drum of oil. It really depends on how clean your oil is from the get go. I put the real thick nasty stuff (drained from the bottom of my heated barrel)on my weeds in areas I want to kill, even then its only about 1-2 gals of water and heavies. Remember this is VEG oil not WMO so its biodegradable I would never put WMO on plants.

One thing of note about centrifuges, they hold onto the heavy stuff, but release the lighter stuff. So if your oil has any light weight contaminants (sawdust, Styrofoam beads, etc), they will pass through the centrifuge like the oil.

It might be a good idea to filter the oil before use.... Oh yeah! The engine already does that!

-Chuck

Stampy is a friend that showed me his setup. I then made my own . I have less than 1 hundred dollars in mine but having access to a machine shop realy helps. Like Stampy I heat remove the water and then let it run while i work in my shop. Have a bag of oil dry you will make a mistake and have a spill. I run wvo and diesel in a 6.2. Love it.

Just built a bowl, 8in dia. 3 piece welded bowl out of a hydraulic cylinder part. Had it balanced to less than a gram, just need to put it all together. One of these days....

Group,

About two months ago, I purchased a Dieselcraft OC-50 centrifuge. This week I finally got some time and set it up. Took two days to assemble it all on a 55 Gal drum, the way I wanted it.

Once I got it all assembled, I ran 10 gal of waste oil for approx 1 hr. (centrifuge flows 60 gal an hour, recommended running oil through it 3 times) After runnig the oil, the burrend oil smell is gone and it flows at a consistant rate.

I pumped the oil out of the drum into a 5 gal bucket, to make some adjustments to my set up. When I emptied the bucket, it was completly clean (no sludge or anything else).

I have approx 100 gallons currently to run through my centrifuge. As I get enough to fill my Deuces, I will and start testing what mixtures to run. I also have an ex-USAF tug (Dodge 12 valve, turbo Diesel), that I will be testing mixtures in.

If the Tug test work out, I will be looking for a Dodge Diesel for my everyday driver. I am hoping to get enough WMO to run a 50/50 mix for street use.

Laterrrrr
Avn-Tech