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Cheap / Inexpensive portable WMO filter & storage setup.

peashooter

Well-known member
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Location
Hanover, minnesota
I downsized from my previous WMO filter last year which can be seen HERE. I needed a bit more room in the garage and just didn't need the larger filter setup that had the 55 gallon drum.
I was given a Lincoln 3601 Pressurized oil drain pan (probably an exact copy of the Harbor Freight 20g Portable oil lift drain pan).
I modified this setup to be my waste oil collection tank and filtering station. It filters by closing a valve and attaching it to an air compressor. The tank comes with a built in regulator that pressurizes the vessel and pushes the wmo out the bottom clear hose (and now through 2 filters) and into your container or fuel tank.
One of the clear hoses comes up from near the bottom of the tank and now goes to the filter setup, it also serves to show how much fluid is in the tank.

Honestly I haven't filtered yet with it, but will soon. I'm pretty excited at how small and mobile it is, all the built in stuff that's nice to have on a filter station (bottom drain, pump{compressed air}, level sight, casters, funnel, hose, spigot. While I didn't have to pay for this tank system, I still would have been pretty happy that they only cost around $150.

Modifications made were:
- I took out the extension tube between the funnel and the tank so now the funnel attaches directly to the valve (This doesn't need to be done, but I chose to).
- I added a "sediment drain" to the bottom of the tank. It already had a threaded hole there with a plug so I just added a valve and drain hose (the blue one) to be able to drain out the settled garbage before filtering the rest of the oil.
-added a couple of the napa/wix oil filter bases, Baldwin fuel filter/water separator on the first base, and BF7587 fuel filter on the second base.
-added 2 gauges to hopefully be able to tell when filters need changing (1 before the first filter, 1 after it)
-added a pizza pan to the top to cover funnel when its just sitting around.
 

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Wildchild467

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Milford / Michigan
That is pretty much the same thing that I built except I used an old propane tank. It works great! Just like you said, let the oil settle and a lot of the sludge will go to the bottom, then drain that off. I love my system and it works very well!
 

Special T

Member
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Location
Wetside/ WA
I will be building this setup for an oil furnace I'll be using to heat the shop. So I'll take some pics As to my work

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Special T

Member
495
21
18
Location
Wetside/ WA
@peashooter
I realize this is an older post that I am refreshing. How has this setup worked for you? Size/range pressure gauges did you buy, and what pressure do you run the filtering at?

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peashooter

Well-known member
1,038
202
63
Location
Hanover, minnesota
@peashooter
I realize this is an older post that I am refreshing. How has this setup worked for you? Size/range pressure gauges did you buy, and what pressure do you run the filtering at?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
The setup has worked really well other than me overfilling it once. I like the simplicity of pressurizing the tank to make the fluid move through the filters rather than an electric pump. The gauges i have on it are 30psi. The regulator to pressurize the tank is set at somewhere between 7-10psi so I could have gone with 15psi gauges. The only thing i would do differently is to add a breather valve between the clear outlet hose at the bottom of the tank and the first filter. That should let the outlet hose work as a fluid level sight glass again. I had thought the way i did it would work but once the filters filled up with oil then there is no way to tell the fluid level anymore.
 

Special T

Member
495
21
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Location
Wetside/ WA
Picked up some of the parts today had to wait on another filter base. I went with a more common base 1"x12 pitch. 12 micron waters separator filter and a 2 micron secondary got about $180in parts and bought the tank new at harbor freight last week... unfortunately I forgot they are opening a new store in Mt Vernon WA next week....

The one tricky thing for me was the bottom drain was metric so it took tome looking to find the right elbow.


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Beyond Biodiesel

Active member
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Location
Prescott, AZ
The problems with WMO are: ultra-fine carbon particles, which are sub-micron in size; and dissolved carbon, either of which can turn into coke on the injectors.

Centrifuging will remove the sub-micron particles. Running a trubocharger will improve combustion, which will prevent coking of your injectors, rings and valves. And/or fractionation will remove both suspended sub-micron carbon particles, as well as, dissolved carbon.
 

Special T

Member
495
21
18
Location
Wetside/ WA
Well this setup is for a oil furnace so it will be adequate. This may also be the first step before an investment in a centrifuge... I've been eyeballing some vehicles but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

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Special T

Member
495
21
18
Location
Wetside/ WA
So just a couple comments. I bought all the components new save a couple of pics of threaded pipe, and a pice of aluminum to mount it to. I'm in the whole thing about $330.

The inside of the clear tube is 3/4 inch and the outside is 1" but don't think you can out on a hose clamp that size get one bigger and save yourself the cursing. The bottom plug was metric thread so I used a 90 deg metric to hydro coupler and just ran the hose up the side then put the valve on.

I know this could be done cheaper by scrounging but I needed it right now and you can't beat how easy it is to move around. I have a big tote to store and settle my oil/gas mix so this will likely just be a container to warm and filter the oil for the furnace. I'll update after I get some gallons under my belt.


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Special T

Member
495
21
18
Location
Wetside/ WA
I've started using this for my heater project and it's working good. If you need to figure out the fuel level in the tank what you should do is release the pressure in the tank then open the large ball valve on top to let the pressure equalize. It may take a min or 2 as the oil moves out of the filters. Hope that helps. I also added a 3 way valve with a JIC connection. That way I can feed the furnace or pump out the tank to another container.

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peashooter

Well-known member
1,038
202
63
Location
Hanover, minnesota
I've started using this for my heater project and it's working good. If you need to figure out the fuel level in the tank what you should do is release the pressure in the tank then open the large ball valve on top to let the pressure equalize. It may take a min or 2 as the oil moves out of the filters. Hope that helps. I also added a 3 way valve with a JIC connection. That way I can feed the furnace or pump out the tank to another container.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Good thinking with the 3-way valve! I should have done that.
 
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