Daniel McCurdy
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Has anyone used the mineral oil from a transformer in an idi. How well does it need to be filtered or is it already relatively pure.
Waste Transformer Oil
- Thread starter Daniel McCurdy
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Mt_Man
Full Access Member
I have never gotten any to try out, but I have heard it's good stuff.
Mt_Man
Full Access Member
Also it's usually clean, no carbon or metal bits. Which is a plus. Do you know what weight it is?
Daniel McCurdy
Full Access Member
Don't know what weight. My dad got a security job at a coal mine and they have giant transformer s just laying around. They have a newer tag on them that says less then 50ppm pcb.
Daniel McCurdy
Full Access Member
So even at only 50 ppm that would still be bad to burn
Mt_Man
Full Access Member
https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/learn-about-polychlorinated-biphenyls-pcbs
Man not nice stuff at all.
So do they still use it in the USA? Looks like they were banned in 1979. Wondering if the new transformer oil has pcb's...
Man not nice stuff at all.
So do they still use it in the USA? Looks like they were banned in 1979. Wondering if the new transformer oil has pcb's...
@GOOSE runs it all the time. I asked him and don't remember what he said about PCBs, might have said they don't use them anymore so it's a non issue, just don't remember.
He's got LOTS of miles on the stuff though.
He's got LOTS of miles on the stuff though.
I get a hazmat course every few years. Main content is absestos, lead, PCBs...
PCBs linger in our environment, and compound at the top of the food chain. Toxicity is known to be congenital too.
Incineration is normally how its dealt with, but diesel engine combustion passes unburnt fuel into the atmosphere. It's not going to harm the engine.
50ppm is/was(?) an EPA threshold to prevent the disposal venues in place from being overwhelmed. 'Classic' transformer oil had much higher levels. My guess is the oil in those has been changed at some point, and a 50ppm decal is a disclaimer against any residual content.
Copper transformer windings have really good scrap value. So the fact they haven't been recycled yet indicates some kind of obstacle.
At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, I do burn WMO myself (self-generated automotive sources)... but I won't knowingly procure and burn PCB-containing oil in my truck. I guess that's where I draw my line.
PCBs linger in our environment, and compound at the top of the food chain. Toxicity is known to be congenital too.
Incineration is normally how its dealt with, but diesel engine combustion passes unburnt fuel into the atmosphere. It's not going to harm the engine.
50ppm is/was(?) an EPA threshold to prevent the disposal venues in place from being overwhelmed. 'Classic' transformer oil had much higher levels. My guess is the oil in those has been changed at some point, and a 50ppm decal is a disclaimer against any residual content.
Copper transformer windings have really good scrap value. So the fact they haven't been recycled yet indicates some kind of obstacle.
At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, I do burn WMO myself (self-generated automotive sources)... but I won't knowingly procure and burn PCB-containing oil in my truck. I guess that's where I draw my line.
Oledirtypearl86
Full Access Member
I worked at a copper mine that wpuld steal from their own mother for buck but all the old and even newer transformers sat because of the pcbs they are pretty bad juju a old buddy of mine is a lineman and he is terrified of it
Daniel McCurdy
Full Access Member
Alright looks like I'm not going to try and use it. Eventually I'll get a centrifuge and run waste oil. Anybody tried using crude oil.
You mean heavy fuel oil (HFO)? I'm told the tales at work from back in the day... its needs to be kept at something like 100F to be pumpable. You can jam fuel systems solid if your fuel goes cold.
Mt_Man
Full Access Member
There was a thread about using thin crude a while back
https://www.oilburners.net/threads/running-crude-oil-fresh-from-the-wellhead.84602/
Best to centrifuge it, it seems
77 F-250
Registered User
HFO needs to be heated to get the same viscosity as diesel to atomize correctly, (11 to 18 cSt) 130 to 150C is about where we ran it depending on what was the cheapest stuff they could find for us. heated fuel was always being circulated around the engine to keep it flowing. constantly repairing leaks. injectors were steam heated. but we measured our fuel consumption in tons per mile not MPG.
Mt_Man
Full Access Member
I have heard maritime used to use a bunch of wmo in the past. Is that still true? I was reading that 2020 requires world wide that ships burn low sulphur diesel/ng instead of hfo. Haha tons, that is nice. Little price difference makes a big $$. I have heard heating is required,150c that is warm. Not surprised. Did you filter it at all?
There is different type of crude, some are thinner?
Thanks
There is different type of crude, some are thinner?
Thanks
