Centrifuge vs. Waterfilters,socks,bags,etc.?

[greasemonky]

I see alot of guys using 3 part filters 20micron and then 1 micron etc,etc. For filtering then WMO,WVO or what ever alternative fuel they plan to run. My Question is which is more cost effective and easy to use plus which is the better filtering setup??

I will start be saying that I have a Centrifuge setup for under $150. It can be purchased through PABIODIESEL. They have many sizes to chose from. So far it works great and filters some amazing crud from the WMO that I put through it. O just clean it out and go again. So besides the electric cost of the motor to pump the oil and the little coleman camp stove to heat the oil it's a one time investment.

Right now with my Brother and I both having IDI's running 50/50 WMO blend we Filter roughly 15 gallons a week. I usually filter Batches 15gal. at a time, It's quicker to heat some amounts, and run the centrifuge about 3 hours total per batch. My centrifuge is a 60gph unit, so 15gallons is filtered 4 times an hours. 3 hrs 15gallons is filtered 12 times. I am confident that my WMO is probably cleaner than the diesel at the pump.

How often does the bags and hard case filters last. How much per hr filtering before they stop up and need changing? I'd would like to compare Pros and Cons to both setups. Thanks for any input on these matters.

 

[Armo]

If its worth anything i plan to swap to a centrifuge mostly cause the wmo i am getting in large quantities is from diesels. I have a 1 micron sock filter that is as tall as a 55 gallon drum it holds a lot of oil so i tend to transfer about 5 gallons of wmo from a settling tank into the sock filter wait an hour or 2 then come back and pump filter it through my canister filters. Here is the kicker that made me realize bag filters probably arent so great. I have a 10 micron water seperator and a 2 micron canister filter after the sock filter and it seems to plug them quickly where the amount of wmo im getting is barely saving me any money once filter cost is factored in. I think some of my issue is im not cutting the wmo our heating it so this could be why my filters are prematurely clogging. Still you would think the 1 micron bag filter would be catching most of the gunk but that doesn't seem to be the case especially since i have yet to plug the sock filter.

 

[jonathan]

I see alot of guys using 3 part filters 20micron and then 1 micron etc,etc. For filtering then WMO,WVO or what ever alternative fuel they plan to run. My Question is which is more cost effective and easy to use plus which is the better filtering setup??

I will start be saying that I have a Centrifuge setup for under $150. It can be purchased through PABIODIESEL. They have many sizes to chose from. So far it works great and filters some amazing crud from the WMO that I put through it. O just clean it out and go again. So besides the electric cost of the motor to pump the oil and the little coleman camp stove to heat the oil it's a one time investment.

Right now with my Brother and I both having IDI's running 50/50 WMO blend we Filter roughly 15 gallons a week. I usually filter Batches 15gal. at a time, It's quicker to heat some amounts, and run the centrifuge about 3 hours total per batch. My centrifuge is a 60gph unit, so 15gallons is filtered 4 times an hours. 3 hrs 15gallons is filtered 12 times. I am confident that my WMO is probably cleaner than the diesel at the pump.

How often does the bags and hard case filters last. How much per hr filtering before they stop up and need changing? I'd would like to compare Pros and Cons to both setups. Thanks for any input on these matters.

do you any pics of your setup

 

[phazertwo]

I noticed that your centrifuge only cost $150 if you get it w/o a motor. How do you power it if you don't have a motor? Did you buy a motor to hook it up? Or is the motor only running a pump, and the centrifuge is powered by air??

More info on you set up would be nice!

PZ

 

[greasemonky]

do you any pics of your setup

Click on my sig link to see pics.

 

[greasemonky]

The Centrifuge is very simple. The pump sends oil into the rotor. The rotor fills up with oil and exits through two small jets that are 180* apart thus making the rotor spin. Thing if you put a air nozzle on a bicycle wheel it will make the wheel spin around, if there was no hose air hose to bind it would continue to spin at a very fast rate.
How it filter is that all the particles is held on the inside wall of the rotor due to the centrifugal force from the spin. (Every rode the gravitron amusement ride at the local fair?)
The centrifuge spin about 10,000rpm at 90 psi. 90 psi is max pressure.

 

[jonathan]

so do you just pour the dirty wmo into that one drum and the centrifuge cleans it and put back into the same drum.... i might have to check out your setup in person since your fairly close to me

 

[phazertwo]

The Centrifuge is very simple. The pump sends oil into the rotor. The rotor fills up with oil and exits through two small jets that are 180* apart thus making the rotor spin. Thing if you put a air nozzle on a bicycle wheel it will make the wheel spin around, if there was no hose air hose to bind it would continue to spin at a very fast rate.
How it filter is that all the particles is held on the inside wall of the rotor due to the centrifugal force from the spin. (Every rode the gravitron amusement ride at the local fair?)
The centrifuge spin about 10,000rpm at 90 psi. 90 psi is max pressure.

Sorry I posted before I googled (one of my pet peeves). I understand how it works, now I am just wondering how I get it the pressure it needs. I know my pump will supply enough pressure, but it flows at a much higher rate. Guess I am going to have to mount it and figure out flow rates! I am very interested in this now!

PZ

 

[7.3 powerstrok]

fuel / oil filter that never needs replacement

this cuno filter i use filters down to about 20 micron when almost pluged then i just turn the handle and its clean again ,works awsome

 

[greasemonky]

I am working on a detailed video of my system, Should have it up in a couple of days.
If you look at my pics you will see a valve at the centrifuge and a line that runs to the barrel next to the valve. You use this valve to adjust the pressure, it's a bypass so if your pump does more than you want it to you adjust it to divert the flow back into the tank. The flow will take care of itself. If you have a 55gph centrifuge you will need a pump to supply at least that much. Many people run power steering pumps, they work great!

 

[greasemonky]

this cuno filter i use filters down to about 20 micron when almost pluged then i just turn the handle and its clean again ,works awsome

I'd like to run some of your oil that you have filtered through my setup. I think you would be shocked

 

[greasemonky]

My video just up on Youtube. It pretty well explains my setup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuqqG2G6b8U

 

[seriousbum]

I have a little different philosophy. I use both a centrifuge and bag filters. I buy bag filters and have them set up over my tank in sets of three. I start at 400 microns and filter down to 1 micron with bags. In order to get the oil through the smaller filters (below 100 microns) you have to heat it. Otherwise the bags explode from the pressure. The bags last a few thousand gallons.

What I do is pump the oil through the first set (400, 200. 100 micron, bag-in-bag) then start heating the oil and filtering through the next set of bags. Usually by the time I get to my target of 140degrees I am using the 5micron + 1micron bagset and I then turn on the centrifuge. My centrifuge requires a relief valve and I turn that oil into the filter.

So I am getting my oil down to less than 1 micron and zero water. I have 60k miles (on grease) on my Powerstroke and it is still going strong.

 

[Brad S.]

The motor oil sample kit you can buy at some truck stops has anyone ever sent in a sample of the oil after its been run through the CF, to get a "particle count". Then send in a sample of normal fuel just for comparsion. I wonder how many passes through the CF to get that particle count to be close.

 

[wmoguy]

Ok I am flat out impressed with the centrifuge cleaning ability. I ran 30 gallons of the blackest nastiest used oil thru my pabiodiesel centrifuge setup. It made approx 8 passes thru the centrifuge. At first glance after removing the rotor to inpsect what it collected I was a little disappointed. Somehow I imagined it having about a 1/2" layer of tar built up inside it. All it looked like was a thin gritty film on the inside of the rotor.
Fast forward to tonight, with brake cleaner in hand I decided I would wipe it down. WOW! That gritty nasty film was seriously caked on there! Where I thought Id give it a quick wipe and be done, it actually took a good 5-10 minutes to get the grime off! It took quite a few sprays of brake cleaner to break this stuff out of there. That 30 gallons of oil I have no doubt would've clogged filters or bags very easily.

Now to get my super sucker completed.