Whats the best way to dewater?

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Whats the best way to dewater?

Post by Guest »

I've been doing some research on converting my rabbit over to WVO and it seems the 64 dollar question is what's the easiest way to get the water out of the oil? I really don't want to go with the boil and blow bubbles method, seems to me if I can retain a good source of wvo, a simple dewatering filter in my recovery pump system should do the trick. I live in NC where we are now paying $3.69 a gal for diesel, so it's time for me to take action and convert or go to the bank and get a second mortgage on our home so I can fill up on Monday!!! Dam politicians!!!!
SlowandLow
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Re: Whats the best way to dewater?

Post by SlowandLow »

Anonymous wrote:I've been doing some research on converting my rabbit over to WVO and it seems the 64 dollar question is what's the easiest way to get the water out of the oil? I really don't want to go with the boil and blow bubbles method, seems to me if I can retain a good source of wvo, a simple dewatering filter in my recovery pump system should do the trick. I live in NC where we are now paying $3.69 a gal for diesel, so it's time for me to take action and convert or go to the bank and get a second mortgage on our home so I can fill up on Monday!!! Dam politicians!!!!
Remember that the water will always rest below the oil, so it is possible to just siphon the Oil off leaving the water behind. This is what I do and it works best.

I also have a drain plug at the bottom of my barrel that I can use for draining the water. I shut it off when I see oil starting to come out.
Fatmobile
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dewatering

Post by Fatmobile »

I've been reading about dewatering over on the biodiesel forum and they suggest heating the oil above 212F then spraying it into the air.
They are saying the water will settle to the bottom and heating the oil won't cause it to vaporise, rise off the bottom and dissipate into the air. I think they said heating the oil will cause the water to gather on the bottom.
I saw one setup that was like one of the old perculating coffee pots. In fact an old perculating coffie pot might work. As the oil is heated, water on the bottom of the pot explodes and rises up through the pipe in the middle. When it gets to the top and is exposed to the air it evaporates.
There can be disolved water in the oil that is not gathered in the bottom of the container.
They mentioned a sizzle test. Like putting oil into a frying pan and watch for sizzle. Like butter sizzles when you put it in the pan but after the water is gone it stops sizzling.
I'll have to check but I think they said disolved water will form small bubbles in the oil. If you heat it in a spoon.
79dieselbunny
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Post by 79dieselbunny »

What I recently read, and will try shortly, is using a submersible aquarium heater (300W) to heat the oil in a 55 gallon drum to 90F. Do that and let it sit a couple of days. Heating the oil makes it thinner, making it thinner allows the water droplets to sink more readily.
1979 4d, 531,000 miles and counting! 1.6 NA
GreaseBaron
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Evaporating water!

Post by GreaseBaron »

Whenever I suspect water contamination in veg oil, I boil the hell out of it using some real simple (FREE) equipment. My situation may be somewhat unique, so it may not work for everybody, everywhere.
I live in the middle of "cow country" in the middle of the woods. So I have an endless source of "free" fuel using "blow down" scraps. Practically every farm in any area that has livestock, will have old galvanized "stock tanks" laying behind the barn or the "back 40". These tanks were initially used to hold water, but over many years use will get small holes in the bottoms of them. This renders them useless for their intended purpose and they are now most likely "free junk" availalable for the asking. Their "second life" begins when you cut a few "breathing" holes along the bottom sides, and one big hole at one end of the tank. Voila'.. instant and very efficient burner unit you can fill with scrap wood and boil anything! These tanks will vary in size, but look for one that is 6 to 8 feet long and has a width of roughly that of a closed head 55 gallon steel drum. The drum (or 2) will lay very nicely over the top of the "burner". You can cut the drums in half lengthwise using a torch or plasma cutter and you will be left with a 25 gallon steel oil container that sits perfectly on a very efficient burner. If you cut just the 1 side off the barrel, you will have a container that holds more than 25 gallons. Throw your "suspect" oil into the barrel and light that baby up. You can bring it to a rolling boil for 15 minutes and every molecule of water is going to get the hell out of there! Once it cools back down somewhat, its a good time to filter it down to that desireable 5 micron level because its so thin. 160-180 F is a good temp to filter at depending on your filter material limitations. Also where I live we do a lot of "maple sugaring" and maple syrup pans are made especially for fast evaporation of water from the sap. These pans are like really large cake pans and are long and wide but only about 6 to 8 inches deep. They too will work great for evaporating water out of your oil real fast! They fit perfectly on your "burner" and will hold many gallons!
Off the GRID since 1995!
1986 Volkswagen Jetta 1.6D
1982 Volkwagen caddy (pickup) 1.6D
1986 Winnebago Le Sharo with Renault Diesel
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