Problem pre-filtering though the 10 microns

[delicat]

Tried to filter my first 55 gallons drum of WVO but not much luck. I brought my oil to 90F and ran it through my 30 microns filter, this went real nice and fast.

Then I switched my 30 microns for the 10 microns but it plugged within a few minutes. By that time the oil was down to 80-85F. The next day I brought the oil back to 140F and tried again but no luck.

I suspect I should have cleaned the filter before trying again but I hoped the higher heat would help. From your experience, what temperature should I bring the oil to filter it through the 10 microns? And filter had to be cleaned before trying again? (Didn't have any diesel on hand...)

On the positive side, I did the water test and nada! Brought the cast iron pan real hot, dropped some of the oil I had previously heated to 190F and nothing happen, it just slowly burned off. I tried the same with oil that had not been heated but only siting for a few weeks and same thing, nada, no bubble, no popping. If I understand right that means I have no water in my oil? And when at 190F no popping neither, just fumes.

Suggestions?

Thanks,
David

[BCDelica]

Morning David, what kind of pump and 10 u filter are you using? How do you tell the filters plugged?

You use Redline filters and pumps right? I can't guess why your having such issues going from 30 u to 10 u; is the impeller not strong enough for the 10 u, is it not a 30 u but a coarser filter, is your 10u actually over rated, does your supply have a good amount of fines that happen to be between 30u and 10u. Just some ideas, but can't see the last holding any water.


Cause it doesn't, LOL.

Mmm, that was the result of too much coffee.

Been down the same road, trouble shooting can help cause I can't right now.

Kev

[AndrewH]

The only problem I saw with your filter setup is the fact that it is 'small' meaning that the filter only has so much area to plug up before it becomes clogged. When I run my oil through the final 10 micron filter I use I get the oil to 93* in the 55 gallon drum (with a 300w fish tank heater) and then just pump it through the filter into another drum. I have a pressure gauge on the filter head and it reads zero psi throughout the process. The filter I use is a large Donaldson filter threaded into a filter head with 3/4" NPT in/out ports. The filter itself is about 11" tall so there is ample surface area for the WVO to flow through as it passes through the filter. Remember if, lets say, oil is coming in through a 3/4" hose at 5gpm then the filter that oil needs to pass through must have a large enough area so no pressure is really built up.

The filter head is about 11 bucks and the filter is about 16, both can be found at princess auto in the hydraulics department. You can add this to your system very easily and actually take one step out of the process which will save you time. Just keep your 30 micron filter in your pump and then run a 1-2 ft hose out of the pump after the 30 micron filter into the filter head/donaldson filter and then into your tank. Filters two steps in one pass!

Andrew

[BCDelica]

Thank you for pitching in Andrew, filter surface area is such a big factor. Those prices are awesome from Princess auto!

Remember reading you use a 300w aquarium heater, how long does that take to heat up a 55 gallon barrel to 93c?

[delicat]

Hum?

This set up (Redline) is actually sold for WVO and seems pretty heavy duty but yes, it's a smaller size filter. The best thing about it is that it's a stainless mesh so the filter is re-usable and should work fine. I guess next step is to contact the company itself and see what they have to say. EricN has a similar set up and seems to be doing fine? I too have a gauge and the pressure builds up quickly with the 10microns while the 30 is up just a little...

I'd really like to keep using these filters as there's no waste and although they are pricey up front they would pay themself quicly. The filters you buy from Princess, how many gallons can you filter before needing to replace them (the 10 microns)?

Troubleshooting, what a nice word!

Thanks,
David

[EricN]

Hey David, I was going to call you today, I finally had mine plug while filling the tank the other day. Keep in mind I filter when I fill and do both at the same time so that is why I have no problems and you do.

[delicat]

Eric, give me a call when you have a chance. I'd like to get the filtering going... I also have my 2 tanks ready, they look good but will be even better once we put the lines fittings! Getting close!

[Kuan]

Keep us updated on how it goes. I just got a redline kit and will be using it to filter my finished biodiesel but haven't had time to set it up yet.

One thing that I do sometimes with my normal pumping is pump from the top down as the bottom is where a lot of the stuff will sit after heating.

[delicat]

Well,

I tried cleaning the filter with pressurized water (garden hose) from the inside out and blew the water out with my air compressor but still not much luck. It ran for 30 sec and plugged again. I also tried to pump from the top but no difference.

I'm getting some spare diesel tonight and I'll let it sit in it for a while to see if it works better. I really wasn't expecting such a headache from this system. Maybe cleaning it after 50 gallons or so but barely 15 gallons isn't very good, especially that my oil is quite clean. Spoke with EricN today and he can fill his truck but then needs to clean it as well so seems to be good only for very small batch. Might have to resort getting a larger filter as previously mentioned... Will keep you informed Kuan.

David

[Kuan]

hmmm. Thats not very promising. Have you contacted redline yet?
I'm surprised that there are that many particles between the 30 and 10 micron size. I assume you had the prefilter screen and the wand inline too?

Perhaps try running it through your 30 micron filter again. Hope it works out.

For some reason, it doesn't sound right that the filter should clog that quickly despite its smaller size. (although this is just speculation because I have not setup my system yet.)

Good luck.
Kuan

[Adam]

Hey David,

I`ve been meaning to respond to this thread for a long while, but I`ve been having trouble finding the time. I`m having the same issue with my 10 micron TruFilter stainless steel element and I haven`t found a good fix for it yet.

I plugged my 10 micron TruFilter when I was transferring cold WVO that had already been warm filtered (140F) through a goldenrod element. I was moving the filtered WVO from my 10 micron storage tote to some clean cubes which I use for filling up my van, instead of setting up the pump every time I need to top up the tank.

The weird thing is the filter doesn`t even look dirty. I`ve tried soaking in biodiesel and varsol (paint solvent) but I still haven`t had much luck. I was planning on contacting redline for their solution, but again haven`t found the time.

The 30 micron filter seems to work really well. Right now I`m:

• pouring through a 100 micron screen
• heating to 180-200F to dewater, and letting cool over night or as long as possible to settle out as much as possible
• heating to 140F on filtering day
• filtering from slightly above the heating element through the 30 micron stainless steel, and then through a goldenrod 10 micron element

Something is definitely going on with these 10 micron TruFilters.

[delicat]

Thanks so much Adam,

Now I don't feel like such an idiot for not figuring out what was wrong! Sounds like it's mostly to filter very small batch, like 50L or so before they get clogged. But still, I was under the impression that it should have worked much better.

I think AndrewH has the best answer to it, it's too minimal of a surface area for a 10 microns, for this design type anyway. I'll contact Redline tomorrow and will post their comments.

My steps are very similar Adam,
200 microns screen
140 microns pre-filter
30 microns stainless filter with heat. (this one works great)
10 microns that sucks right now

Catch up soon,
David

[BCDelica]

Curious as to what Redline says. When I started I used a small diesel filter, the kind with the clear bowl for water collection and filter media inside that, rated at 10 microns. Also found I could get 15 gallons through before it stopped, though others reported using the same filter for WVO.

Maybe that 10 micron Trufilter, with a wrap heater might make a good in vehicle filter for your processed to 10u veg. Eg. http://www.dieselveg.com/bio-band_band_heater.htm

[Adam]

Maybe that 10 micron Trufilter, with a wrap heater might make a good in vehicle filter for your processed to 10u veg. Eg. http://www.dieselveg.com/bio-band_band_heater.htm

I'm tending to think that heat is not the issue here. I could heat the oil up to 200F if I wanted before filtering through the 10u trufilter, but I wouldn't feel good about it. Heating it up hotter that the temp it would be going through my on board VegMax filter makes me a little uncomfortable. Even if it solves the problem with the Trufilter I'd still want to pass it through a filter at nothing higher than 140F before I stuck it in my tank. My fear is that it would just plug up my VegMax 5u filter, and changing those elements are a bit of a hassle.

What I find strange is that the clogged 10u filter doesn't look dirty at all, while the 30u filter can get covered in crude and still run great. Even after soaking in biodiesel for a week the 10u filter doesn't seem to release and fine sediment, like the goldenrod elements do. The used goldenrods shed a ton of fine particulates when left for a week soaking in their clear bowls.

[delicat]

Spoke to Dave at Redline this evening and he mentioned that they should be good to filter 30-40 gallons before being cleaned up. He suggested using "carb cleaner" (spray can) or putting "Awesome-cleaner" in water along with the filter and boiling it for 20 min. (that's the best option).

He also said the oil should be at 140F for the 10u filtering. This could have been my problem as my oil was only at 85F by the time I initially filtered it.
Another comment he made was that the TrueFilter rated at 10u were absolute and did not compare to the 10u paper filter which aren't as efficient.

I was so upset of not being able to fully filter my oil that I went to Princess Auto and bought a monster 10u (I mean it, that thing is 10" high by 5" wide!)
I brought my oil up to temperature and filtered an entire 55G drum in no time, FINALLY! But if those filters aren't as good as the TrueFilter (stainless) then I can always do one last pass using the 10u TrueFilter, it shoudn't get plugged at that point and if it does it means the paper filter really isn't that great...

Oh, and Dave said he'd take my filter back if I wasn't satisfied. Nice of him...

I might take a picture of my setting if anyone is curious,

David