motorguard as WVO filter?

[burntkat]

I'm looking at possibly using a motorguard filter as a prefilter for when I pick up Waste Vegetable Oil to use as fuel.

Oil would typically be about 80 degrees or so, so probably substantially more viscous than diesel fuel.

anyone got experience doing this, or input? I tried calling Ralph but there's no answer.

 

[Gary Allan]

Rig up a gravity feed system for the MG. Then it just doesn't matter how long it takes to make it through the tp roll.

 

[burntkat]

that's the problem-

this will all be built into a portable harvesting system- I'll literally have a big plastic "suitcase" on wheels (actually a Pelican case, surplus from our activity here) which will contain filters and pump, along with output hose and pigtail for power.

I have front and rear high-current 12V taps on my jeep. I'll plug into onoe of those once I'm at the site I'm getting oil from, put a harvesting pipe into the oil, and decant the oil into 5 gallon NATO jerry cans right there. It'll take a bit but that's ok.

I'd like to use the MG's since the filter media is obviously cheap and effective. If I have to, I could also use the hydraulic filters or some other that you folks might suggest. I have two extra hydraulic filters from Northern Tool that I bought before I realized I already had everything I needed for my transmission filtration setup.

 

[Gary Allan]

Hmm...well, if I had to do that ...I think that I'd gang a few MG's in parallel with the restrictors removed. I'd also (probably) put a course filter in front of them. This does get into a bunch more $$ in equipment cost ..but long term it would work out.

 

[burntkat]

cost isn't such a huge concern, as I machine my own adapters to make the pneumatic-only MG's workable for lubricant filtering.

(Don't bother PMing me folks, I will not sell/trade/or tell you how. If you can't figure it out on your own, I can't help you anyway)

Would a standard oil filter be acceptable for use in front of the MG's in parallel? perhaps something without a bypass?

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, I don't see a problem with a bypass valve in the filter. I would probably put a set of gauges on either side of the oil filter so I could gauge when it was saturated. Two cheap mini air gauges should work well. You just swap the filter when it reached about 10 PSID ..depending on which filter you use.

There is a 3/4-16 thread filter with no bypass. It's the Wix 51410/NAPA 1410.

You still need to install the gauges since you'll need to figure out if the media is breeched. If you see 10 PSID on Tuesday ..and ZERO on Wednesday ...it's a sure bet that there's a ruptured pleat somewhere in there

Part Number: 51410
UPC Number: 765809514102
Principal Application: Ariens, Bolen, IHC, John Deere, Kohler, Toro
All Applications
Style: Spin-On Hydraulic Filter
Service: Hydraulic
Type: Full Flow
Media: Paper
Height: 3.790
Outer Diameter Top: 3.660
Outer Diameter Bottom: Closed
Thread Size: 3/4-16
By-Pass Valve Setting-PSI: None
Beta Ratio: 2/20=17/41
Burst Pressure-PSI: 325
Max Flow Rate: 7-9 GPM
Nominal Micro Rating: 25

Gasket Diameters
Number O.D. I.D. Thk.
Attached 2.729 2.415 0.200

 

[burntkat]

outstanding. You just saved me a couple hundred dollars.

Thanks very much, sir!

 

[Gary Allan]

You're quite welcome

 

[Shaman]

A guy on biodiesel.infopop was using a MG as a final filter before putting it into his truck. WVOalaska is his name.
I think as long as you heat it a little before putting in through the MG, you should be okay.

 

[Gary Allan]

Opps. I didn't know why I didn't think of it sooner (or did I on another thread

- at times it's rough for me to keep things straight).
Here's bona fide diesel fuel filters. No bypass - 10um nominal.

Part Number: 33281
UPC Number: 765809332812
Principal Application: Fiat/Allis FL-9, FL-14 Dozers, Iveco Engines (10 Micron)
All Applications
Style: Spin-On Fuel Filter
Service: Fuel
Media: Paper
Height: 6.605
Outer Diameter Top: 4.262
Outer Diameter Bottom: Closed
Thread Size: 3/4-16
Burst Pressure-PSI: 400
Max Flow Rate: 7-9 GPM
Nominal Micro Rating: 10

Gasket Diameters
Number O.D. I.D. Thk.
Attached 2.834 2.462 0.200

 

[unDummy]

Fuel filters can get expensive.
If the vegetable oil is heavily contaminated with food particles, it is smart to prefilter it. But if your prefilter clogs regularly, for a disposable, you're gonna want something cheaper to prefilter with.

I would consider one of those reusuable lifetime metal mesh oil filters. Some don't have bypasses and can be cleaned on the spot if they clog. But, they are expensive.

Another cheap option is the Nissan non-bypass PH3682 filter size. There should be several generic brands available for ~$3; not a bad price for a 3/4" disposable pre-filter usage.

GM oil filters don't usually have bypasses. If you don't mind finding a remote filter mount in the 13/16 thread, there are 1/2, 1, and 2-quart sized non-bypass oil filters in that thread size.

And, a simple fuel pump 'sock' can be added to your vacuum pumps pickup. That might be all that you need to prevent the motorguard from clogging too quickly.

 

[burntkat]

I am still in the design phase of the mobile harvesting platform, since I don't presently own anything diesel (going to get the engines on 8June), but am working on a way to have the pickup for the WVO barrel being both filtered and preheated so that cold-weather harvesting isn't a huge issue. Should be as simple as a water heater running off my truck's 12V and recirculating through a copper tube wound round the suction end. I'm trying to keep this as simple and problem free as possible, though, so we'll have to see what comes up. Any ideas are of course, appreciated.

 

[Shaman]

I think you should look for something bigger and coarser as a prefilter. A trip to the goodwill should yield you enough jeans to filter quite a bit of oil. Cut them in half, through the crotch, use some bungee cords to strap it to the barrel, and you have a lot of filter, which if I remember correctly should go down to about 50-100 microns. Put some window screen before that, with a little bulge down, and you can get all the fries in the window screen and most of the salt and #@$%! in the jeans. When you are finished with the jeans, trash ‘em, but they should filter for quite a while.

I think that a filter that fine would be better saved for polishing. A big Gulf Coast 750, maybe, but I don’t know how well the TP will do with cold fat in it.

You might want to think about giving your restaurants barrels, or requesting that they pour back in the cubies. Sucking from the garbage bins is illegal, as the oil becomes property of the renderer’s when it enters the can.

 

[burntkat]

already plan to give them a barrel, and I am aware of the legalities involved.

are you talking about using the entire leg as a filter instead of cutting pieces from the leg as needed??

 

[Shaman]

yeah, just use the whole leg, or whatever part you want to use, depending on space limitations.

 

[Gary Allan]

These can be found (relatively) cheaply in the marketplace compared to what McMaster-Carr lists them for on page 356.

Some guy on ebay appears to have a full drum strainer (for drums with removable lids) in the 200-600 um range for not too much. He claims that they are long lasting (cleanable/reusable) if cared for properly.

I'd like something like this if it proved of high enough capacity to not require servicing during the collection process ..or that both strainers were adequate to do a day's worth of collecting. Nothing worse than having to stop what your doing to service the machinery.

Here's another item. The housing is HUGE. The element, a spiral wire reinforced bag filter, is probably WAY too expensive to use in this application, but I'm sure you can either adapt something else, or buy a serviceable metal strainer to replace it with. The housing is a bargain at that price. The guy has lots of them.

 

[RalphPWood]

I don't think the Motor Guard would be any good for filtering the waste oil while loading. It would be too slow and would clog up too fast. They work very well as a submicronic filter to clean diesel or biodiesel. The Motor Guard might filter WVO after it is heated up to near 200 F. My Motor Guards work on the engine after I thin out the WVO with diesel and a little gasoline. A filter that can clean fluids is going to be too restrictive. The only filter I am familiar with that can clean the WVO as you load it as good as the Motor Guard without clogging so fast is the submicronic MG-750. It has a very large surface area and has a size advantage of about 15 to 1. It filters radially thru 2 rolls of Scott Center pull paper towels. I don't care how I get it out of the dumpster. I filter it after it sets in a cone bottom tank a couple of weeks. I pull it thru a big filter with a little Shur Flow pump. Dirty WVO never reaches the pump.

 

[Shaman]

That is what I was thinking Ralph. I think that if you are blending, it would be okay, or if you get the temps up, but I think that the tallow would be a little troublesome to get out of the filter.