Filtering used cooking oil for diesel use??

Beeman · #1 07/02/08, 08:30 AM

Wondering if anyone has a system for filtering used cooking oil to use it in their diesel. I've been using strainers and filters with funnels but I'm still getting some filter clogging junk.

cchapman84 · #2 07/02/08, 09:43 AM

You basically want to pump it through an actual fuel filter to start with. Not sure what people are using to pump it through, probably just some kind of siphon...

Batt · #3 07/02/08, 01:13 PM

You need to heat it and send it thru a loose filter such as a bag made from and old sheet. That gets the loose french fries, frog legs and such. Then while still hot pump it thru a 5 micron nominal filter (10 micron actual). Now you are ready to burn it as diesel in warm weather.

Gary in ohio · #4 07/02/08, 01:27 PM

Keep in mind that diesel fuel and cooking oil are not the same. MOST grease burners have seperate fuel tanks. They start on raw diesel then switch to greese. You cant just dump it in your diesel tank.

Old Vet · #5 07/02/08, 01:28 PM

You can get filters at NAPA Crow Burlingame and other parts places or you can get them from Grainger.

Ken Scharabok · #6 07/02/08, 03:08 PM

"Keep in mind that diesel fuel and cooking oil are not the same. MOST grease burners have seperate fuel tanks. They start on raw diesel then switch to greese. You cant just dump it in your diesel tank."

Another method is to mix it with diesel depending on outside temperature. I have friends who do this. During winter they may run a 80/20 diesel/WVO. During summer 20/80. Average is around 50/50. They made no conversion to any of their diesel engines to do this.

From reading, typically when you first start to use WVO you will have frequent filter clogs even were you using new, 100% pure oil. It loosens up crud in the system left there by the former diesel operation. Also, older fuel lines are not necessarily WVO friendly. They may have to be replaced with new lines.

Article on road tax implications: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....=2008807020389

Batt · #7 07/02/08, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok

typically when you first start to use WVO you will have frequent filter clogs even were you using new, 100% pure oil. It loosens up crud in the system left there by the former diesel operation. Also, older fuel lines are not necessarily WVO friendly. They may have to be replaced with new lines.

Article on road tax implications: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....=2008807020389

What he says...about clogged filters if you are using a single fuel system and a fuel/svo mix. Not so much if you are using a dual tank system. Older systems will have to change out the original rubber fuel lines for some newer synthetic lines. Not too hard or expensive to do.

Re: fuel taxes...Wonder when they will start charging the electric hybrids "road/mileage" tax.

Jim-mi · #8 07/02/08, 10:42 PM

We use a centrifuge to filter down to one micron.

Regular filters are not good enough partly because when they plug up then the bypass opens and you get zilch filtering. And yet the oil is streaming through the "filter" . . .
.Is the bypass open or not . . .????????

Yes the wonderfull lawyers are in the back room concocting the ideas on how to tax us veggie freeks and volt nuts.

So for now I just shutup and drive.

FL.Boy · #9 07/03/08, 08:06 AM

I have been wanting to try this but haven't dug in to it to much.
Where can you get newer synthetic lines?
What are people doing to get the water out of the oil?

homesteadforty · #10 07/03/08, 08:32 AM

One of the morning news shows had a segment on using used cooking oil in diesel engines. The guy they interviewed just collected oil, filtered it through a cloth sack as he poured it into a drum, then ran it through another cloth bag filter as he transfered it into 5 gal. containers. I believe he said he ran it straight. What he had in the 5 gal containers still looked kinda black.

BTW... they interviewer said that anyone doing this is supposted to pay a federal tax (18 cents?)... I won't ask if anybody pays the tax :baby04: but has anybody else heard about it? did I hear right???

Darren · #11 07/03/08, 10:04 AM

I met a guy who added a cooking oil fuel system to his VW. He had a separate tank in the trunk which was heated by the engine coolant for the cooking oil. He only used the oil from Chinese restaurants. He used a coffee filter while pouring the oil into the tank. There was a regular oil filter, also heated, in the engine compartment to handle the final filtration.

Ken Scharabok · #12 07/03/08, 11:11 AM

See the cited article above on state and federal road use taxes. It varies from state to state. Here in TN there is no application of state road use taxes to WVO. The article notes its use is not approved by the federal government and there is no current procedure for paying federal road use taxes (that $.18 gallon).

On another thread on this what one person said they did was send in a check with a cover letter to either their state or federal tax agency. It was returned saying it was not appliable. He saved their letter as proof he had at least tried to remit the road use taxes.

Unless you advertise (such as a bumper sticker saying "Go Green With Veg. Oil" or such), you probably won't be noticed. State inspectors normally look at places like truck stops, livestock markets and raceways - places with a lot of diesel engines. Being caught using it without a state permit can be pricy.

You can probably use 100% WVO in hot weather. In cool it would have to be cut.

On dual tank systems the engine is started on diesel. Once it is warmed up tanks are switched to 100% WVO. A couple of miles before stopping for any length of time it is switched back to the diesel tank to clear any WVO out of the fuel lines to help prevent clogging.

The Paw · #13 07/03/08, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adron

Older systems will have to change out the original rubber fuel lines for some newer synthetic lines. Not too hard or expensive to do.

I am not sure this is the case for SVO. From what I have read, when you take the veggie oil, cook it with methyl hydrate and lye to create bio-diesel, then the rubber lines degrade. They recommend switching to teflon.

If you are just blending SVO with regular diesel, I don't see the same caustic ingredients.

But do some more research on it, this is just my best recollection.

Beeman · #14 07/03/08, 10:51 PM

Road use fuel tax is not an issue, this is being burned in a farm tractor. I have run it on this oil for a while, just looking for a better filtering system. I currently use paint filters, cheese cloth and other filtering media just looking for a better way. The tractors fuel filter has no bypass so when it clogs it shuts the fuel off. Spin on filters like oil filters have an internal byapass which will allow the unfiltered oil to pass thru when the filter media becomes clogged defeating what you are trying to accomplish.

Batt · #15 07/04/08, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Paw

I am not sure this is the case for SVO. From what I have read, when you take the veggie oil, cook it with methyl hydrate and lye to create bio-diesel, then the rubber lines degrade. They recommend switching to teflon.

If you are just blending SVO with regular diesel, I don't see the same caustic ingredients.

But do some more research on it, this is just my best recollection.

I have some old rubber lines from a dual fuel SVO '85 Ford F-250 for sale real cheap. Run only on-farm you understand.

Ken Scharabok · #16 07/06/08, 05:41 PM

Visited with my friend this weekend who runs VWO.

He pick up from three location, two Legion Halls and one restaurant. Typically picks up 30-40 gallons per week, from which he will process out about 70% WVO fuel.

New cooking oil is delivered to them in 5-gallon plastic jugs. They empty old oil into them so he doesn't have to dip out or such. At his place the jugs are simply set off to the side to settle. After it has separated in layers he pours off the upper oil one into another container. This happens a couple of times before being pumped into a 275-gallon plastic (with metal frame) tank kept at about 115 degrees via his outdoor wood furnace. From there it runs through two 10-mc filters. The first is an el-cheapo chain store cartridge he buys on sale for $4-5 each and will last between 100-200 gallons. Next filter is larger and lasts significantly longer.

That's basically it. Once double filtered it goes into his tank in a diesel/WVO mix according to the weather.

Right now he has no use for the fat portion of the oil. He said he typically pours in a brush pile needing to be burned. However, he did note some folks with pigs simply pour some over the pig feed.

Beeman · #17 07/07/08, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok

Visited with my friend this weekend who runs VWO.

He pick up from three location, two Legion Halls and one restaurant. Typically picks up 30-40 gallons per week, from which he will process out about 70% WVO fuel.

New cooking oil is delivered to them in 5-gallon plastic jugs. They empty old oil into them so he doesn't have to dip out or such. At his place the jugs are simply set off to the side to settle. After it has separated in layers he pours off the upper oil one into another container. This happens a couple of times before being pumped into a 275-gallon plastic (with metal frame) tank kept at about 115 degrees via his outdoor wood furnace. From there it runs through two 10-mc filters. The first is an el-cheapo chain store cartridge he buys on sale for $4-5 each and will last between 100-200 gallons. Next filter is larger and lasts significantly longer.

That's basically it. Once double filtered it goes into his tank in a diesel/WVO mix according to the weather.

Right now he has no use for the fat portion of the oil. He said he typically pours in a brush pile needing to be burned. However, he did note some folks with pigs simply pour some over the pig feed.

What type of filters is he using and how does he get the oil thru the filters,pump or gravity?

I was getting oil from a local restaurant in jugs like that. I let them settle and use gravity to filter. It's tedious to hand filter gallons like this so I'm looking for a better way.

As stated I run it in my farm tractor and have run it pure. I did have problems running it pure and thought the fuel filter was clogging from trash in the oil. I worked on it this weekend and I believe on a farm tractor running the oil straight causes problems because it's gravity feed thru the fuel filter. I drained the tank through the fuel filter and it came through very slow. I removed the filter and disassembled it and it was very clean. The gravity feed of the pure oil isn't fast enough to keep up with the injection pumps demand under power running equipment. I cut the oil with diesel and filled the tank and it works just fine.

raymilosh · #18 07/07/08, 03:46 PM

beeman,
i run our ford 3000 on homemade biodiesel. i don't make it myself, some neighbors do that. i'll ask them about how they filter it.
I'm writing because i thought i was having trouble with clogged fuel filters and it took me a year to figure it out.
the top of the fuel filter is covered with a thin sheet of tin. somewhere in the past, when a fuel filter was changed, the sheet of tin came off the filter and was left lodged up in the fuel filter housing. then another one got stuck up there, too. From underneath, the tin circle looked like it was supposed to be there. When I realized what I was seeing and pulled the 2 old ones off, there were years of crud on top of them restricting the fuel flow to a trickle.
It seems some of the fuel filters are poorly manufactured. I figured I'd let you know in the off chance that's what's going on with your tractor

belladulcinea · #19 07/07/08, 04:25 PM

We have friends who just filter it and run it through their trucks and vw's no problem. They actually have a route they run now collecting from several fast food places. They use cloth of some kind.

Ken Scharabok · #20 07/07/08, 04:30 PM

"What type of filters is he using and how does he get the oil thru the filters,pump or gravity?"

I didn't notice specifics. First one in line is a replaceable cartridge. Size maybe 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" - 4". Second was larger with a white outer case. I assume there was a replaceable cartridge in there also. Looked like it might have come off of a large tractor or such. Just remember both were 10 mc.

He used a pump to get from final settling jug into tank. Gravity from there back into 5-gallon containers. From containers into vehicle.

I'm wondering if you couldn't wash these cartridges in gasoline to reuse them???