New to making WMO+Watf

[njdub]

Ive been reading up on WMO and Watf for probably over a year now and am finally ready to start the process. I am a VW mechanic so I have access to my own
controlled supply of WMO and Watf (i.e I will drain it straight from the cars into a jug so there will be no risk of contaminating with water or antifreeze etc). I have a 55 gallon drum and am getting ready to purchase a centrifuge (most likely one from PAbiodiesel). I plan on filtering through a 10 micron to get out all the big junk then centrifuging.

I have a few questions though. How many inches above the bottom of the tank should I make a drain port to drain off all the sludge and debris?
Does anyone have a picture of their centrifuge setup? Or if someone had a crude drawing that would be nice too. Im a bit confused at how to hook it up 100%.
Also how long should I be centrifuging waste trans fluid?

I will be running all of this on a 1986 vw jetta coupe 1.6d Ive already been running new transmission fluid at 20% in 2 tanks (I had a bunch of extra trans fluid
and wanted to see how it ran on it).

 

[m67tang]

In my past experience, which is limited to about 5k+ miles, running tranny fluid is easy compared to WMO. Oil is usually much heavier. in my 55gallon drum I leave the bottom 3-4". Sorry no pics availble.

 

[m67tang]

about the centrifuge-
I dont use one, but if I did, I prefer the open bowl low pressure types. Most here might disagree, all I can speak from is seeing them in action, not personal ownership. Instead of a centrifuge, I have a filter tank setup. It was cheaper at the time. The most beneficial way to help clean the oil is gravity + time - settle debris to the bottom. I think most here would agree. Lots of different input on the WMO topic. Much depends on your source quality. If you have clean oils to start with it takes little to get it ready to run. Heavy & or dirty oils can be so bad its hard to prep sometimes.

remember a centrifuge is gravity cleaning on super speed.

 

[Brad S.]

I would second the using the watf first or the easiest to burn.
BTW welcome aboard & congrats on using wmo or watf for fuel.
If you haven't done so, do a search through this section, think there's many pics of others setups.
Usually its one barrel-motor/pump-CF-second barrel.

 

[njdub]

about the centrifuge-
I dont use one, but if I did, I prefer the open bowl low pressure types. Most here might disagree, all I can speak from is seeing them in action, not personal ownership. Instead of a centrifuge, I have a filter tank setup. It was cheaper at the time. The most beneficial way to help clean the oil is gravity + time - settle debris to the bottom. I think most here would agree. Lots of different input on the WMO topic. Much depends on your source quality. If you have clean oils to start with it takes little to get it ready to run. Heavy & or dirty oils can be so bad its hard to prep sometimes.

remember a centrifuge is gravity cleaning on super speed.

Thanks man! I just ordered a filter for before the centrifuge (cim-tek 2 micron). I plan on messing with Watf first. I have access to a good amount and i control what i take if out of and will know that it doesnt have contamination.

I would second the using the watf first or the easiest to burn.
BTW welcome aboard & congrats on using wmo or watf for fuel.
If you haven't done so, do a search through this section, think there's many pics of others setups.
Usually its one barrel-motor/pump-CF-second barrel.

Thanks man! Im really excited about posting about all of my endeavors in Watf and WMO. I found some pictures of other setups and im getting a feel.

I want to run a 2 or 3 barrel system and have the centrifuge running a loop into the middle barrel then i could open a valve after i deem it clean and flow it into the last barrel.
Does this seem feasible? Im just now in the process of collecting as much watf as i can.

 

[IDIMAN94]

Welcome to the wmo world. I personally have a 65gph pa centrifuge that I bought 2 1\2 years ago. Ive made about 3500 to 4000 gallons of fuel with it. The only thing I have had to replace is the o rings in the rotor and hat from swelling.
My drain port is about 4 inches from the bottom but I use this port to empty the drum of usable fuel. To get the sludge and junk out I just dump and clean the drum every few months.
As far as run time I centrifuge everything for 12 hours. I make 30 gallons batches at a time, so my fuge will do 65gph so the whole batch is filtered twice an hour. Thats basically 24 passes in the fuge. Maybe a little over kill but I know that its clean fuel.
I think the biggest part to not starting off with a bunch of sludge and water is to let it settle as long as u can. I have a few ibc totes that I keep dirty oil in before fuging. Once full I let them sit for 2 to 3 months before fuging the oil. This way all the heavier solids and water goes to the bottom and I pull from the top.
I have no filters in my centrifuge setup.
My system is basically 2 barrels. First barrel is all plumbed with the fuge and motor. My second barrel is basically my clean barrel. Once im done fuging the fuel/oil its transfered from the first barrel by a pump to the second barrel. My second barrel is not tied into the first, I just transfer a hose over. Once my second barrel is full I wheel it out to the truck and pump in the fuel. Hope this helps.

 

[njdub]

Welcome to the wmo world. I personally have a 65gph pa centrifuge that I bought 2 1\2 years ago. Ive made about 3500 to 4000 gallons of fuel with it. The only thing I have had to replace is the o rings in the rotor and hat from swelling.
My drain port is about 4 inches from the bottom but I use this port to empty the drum of usable fuel. To get the sludge and junk out I just dump and clean the drum every few months.
As far as run time I centrifuge everything for 12 hours. I make 30 gallons batches at a time, so my fuge will do 65gph so the whole batch is filtered twice an hour. Thats basically 24 passes in the fuge. Maybe a little over kill but I know that its clean fuel.
I think the biggest part to not starting off with a bunch of sludge and water is to let it settle as long as u can. I have a few ibc totes that I keep dirty oil in before fuging. Once full I let them sit for 2 to 3 months before fuging the oil. This way all the heavier solids and water goes to the bottom and I pull from the top.
I have no filters in my centrifuge setup.
My system is basically 2 barrels. First barrel is all plumbed with the fuge and motor. My second barrel is basically my clean barrel. Once im done fuging the fuel/oil its transfered from the first barrel by a pump to the second barrel. My second barrel is not tied into the first, I just transfer a hose over. Once my second barrel is full I wheel it out to the truck and pump in the fuel. Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot man. This does help tons! I'll have my pump and motor here soon and will order the centrifuge shortly. Then I'll be setting it all up. I've just been trying to get all the Watf I can from work