Stewart Corman
28th November 2008, 19:09
I told Rob that I would start a new thread as my project proceeded.
I am in the process of converting a HHO furnace "gun" into a siphon feed WVO furnace by mounting the gun to the door of my firewood furnace.
Have a buddy who uses WVO mixed 50/50 w/diesel for summertime use ...he donated to me several 5 gal containers of the fryer oil for me to experiment.
The first stumbling block was the means to filter the french fries out ( just kidding), but there is particulate matter that could gum up the works.
Most I have contacted, prefilter their goo by hand pouring the container slowly over a bed of cheese cloth ( or a T shirt ) placed in a funnel of some sort ...the bigger the better.
BUT, as the sediment accumulates, the gravity feed process slows down to a trickle and the cheese cloth needs to be dispensed with and replaced. Not my style!
In an effort to automate the process, I obtained a self priming low volume vane pump for $10. It has an integral 100 mesh screen filter which plugs quite easily and after several attempts with small dimension prefilters, I came up with a bigger answer.
A 55gal clear poly drum was donated by another enthusiast, and I purchased a slightly used 12v transfer pump and a cartridge filter was scavenged at the salvage yard for $5 (have a supply of cartridges)
561
The concept was to use inexpensive PVC plumbing fittings, but maximize the filtering area.
Turns out that 6 inch PVC fittings are prohibitively expensive, so 4 inch PVC were chosen:
562
Primary componets are a 4inch standard pipe coupling and a 4inch PVC waste/drain cap. I had a 3->4" reducer and an 3/4->3" reducer for the bottom section, but a second waste cap would be sufficient. I mounted a 3/8"tubing connector to the top, cut a round SS filter mesh for the bottom and stretched a square of cloth for the top fine filter medium.
When the cap smushes the cloth down, it becomes drum tight and seals at the same time. A short piece of 3/4" PVC pipe is the dip stick. The whole assembly functions in vacuum mode, so any leaks simply injects air bubbles into the stream.
563
the cloth is inserted as follows:
564
565
the final assembly is either slip fit or sealed with hot glue as is the screen mesh inside :
566
note that the unit sits on top of a 5 gal veg oil container and the dipstick goes to within a inch of the bottom, whereby crud plugging the filter can drain back down when the container is finished and pump is turned off ...to enhance the clearing operation, a tire valve is mounted at the pump, so when the pump is off, a blast of air back flushes the filter. Pump runs at about 10 psi, and if the cloth filter plugs, the pressure would drop to near zero, requiring back flush.
Was able to run five 5 gal containers, and the filter never plugged ...if the cloth ever ruptured, the pump inlet screen would immediately plug. Need to settle another 6 containers and start filling up that 55gal storage barrel. The 10um cartridge filter is probably overkill, but I had it anyway (needed for diesel engine use).
Other photos of the furnace project are posted at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stewcorman/WVOBurner#
Stew Corman from sunny Endicott
I am in the process of converting a HHO furnace "gun" into a siphon feed WVO furnace by mounting the gun to the door of my firewood furnace.
Have a buddy who uses WVO mixed 50/50 w/diesel for summertime use ...he donated to me several 5 gal containers of the fryer oil for me to experiment.
The first stumbling block was the means to filter the french fries out ( just kidding), but there is particulate matter that could gum up the works.
Most I have contacted, prefilter their goo by hand pouring the container slowly over a bed of cheese cloth ( or a T shirt ) placed in a funnel of some sort ...the bigger the better.
BUT, as the sediment accumulates, the gravity feed process slows down to a trickle and the cheese cloth needs to be dispensed with and replaced. Not my style!
In an effort to automate the process, I obtained a self priming low volume vane pump for $10. It has an integral 100 mesh screen filter which plugs quite easily and after several attempts with small dimension prefilters, I came up with a bigger answer.
A 55gal clear poly drum was donated by another enthusiast, and I purchased a slightly used 12v transfer pump and a cartridge filter was scavenged at the salvage yard for $5 (have a supply of cartridges)
561
The concept was to use inexpensive PVC plumbing fittings, but maximize the filtering area.
Turns out that 6 inch PVC fittings are prohibitively expensive, so 4 inch PVC were chosen:
562
Primary componets are a 4inch standard pipe coupling and a 4inch PVC waste/drain cap. I had a 3->4" reducer and an 3/4->3" reducer for the bottom section, but a second waste cap would be sufficient. I mounted a 3/8"tubing connector to the top, cut a round SS filter mesh for the bottom and stretched a square of cloth for the top fine filter medium.
When the cap smushes the cloth down, it becomes drum tight and seals at the same time. A short piece of 3/4" PVC pipe is the dip stick. The whole assembly functions in vacuum mode, so any leaks simply injects air bubbles into the stream.
563
the cloth is inserted as follows:
564
565
the final assembly is either slip fit or sealed with hot glue as is the screen mesh inside :
566
note that the unit sits on top of a 5 gal veg oil container and the dipstick goes to within a inch of the bottom, whereby crud plugging the filter can drain back down when the container is finished and pump is turned off ...to enhance the clearing operation, a tire valve is mounted at the pump, so when the pump is off, a blast of air back flushes the filter. Pump runs at about 10 psi, and if the cloth filter plugs, the pressure would drop to near zero, requiring back flush.
Was able to run five 5 gal containers, and the filter never plugged ...if the cloth ever ruptured, the pump inlet screen would immediately plug. Need to settle another 6 containers and start filling up that 55gal storage barrel. The 10um cartridge filter is probably overkill, but I had it anyway (needed for diesel engine use).
Other photos of the furnace project are posted at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stewcorman/WVOBurner#
Stew Corman from sunny Endicott