What are you guys using to pickup WVO with. i found a guy who is selling a gas powered water pump real cheap. he said he used it to drain a pond. figure it should transfer oil pretty good. i have made a homemade filter with pvc pipe and window screen warpped around it to keep out any solids.

 

So far we are doing things the old fashioned way with a hand pump, but have the plans and material to build a "super-sucker". Just need the time to build it...

 

I've been using this one and it's worked pretty good so far, I added a filter in line to it just to be sure. Makes straining obsolete, has a screen on the pick up too though.

 

Super sucker...a 120 gallon propane tank drawn down to 28" of vacuum. I fill it up in under 15 minutes.

PM me your email address if you want pics

 

Did I forget to put the link?

Tuthill Diesel Fuel Transfer Pump with Hoses — 12 Volt, 10 GPM, Model# FR1614 | DC Powered Pumps | Northern Tool + Equipment

 

How cold can it get before you start having issues pumping/vacuuming oil? Seems like there was a discussion in another thread (or a VO yahoogroup) that pumps like that are fine as long as the VO is in a liquid form, but once it gets cool that's when the 12V pumps don't have enough "guts" to move the oil.

 

Don't let it get that cold, warm up a part and let the pump recirculate the oil in the container. The pump itself gets pretty hot so I imagine that would be enough to get it moving. They also sell the heating straps if you look around.

 

Trust me, if I had a role in it...it would only get below 60F for two weeks each year...and that would be Christmas to New Years for a snowy Christmas; I'd mandate 25-28F for the white stuff to stick around. The rest of the year it couldn't get below 60F or over 90F. I assumed the original poster was asking about pump WVO at the collection point...some where electrical heaters may not have a long enough cord to reach the 120VAC outlet; thus the use of a 12VDC pump.

 

Seems for us anyway that once it starts getting into the teens, the WVO becomes slushy and takes alot more effort to pump. At zero or below forget it, is almost frozen solid (at least the water is easy to remove, it forms a layer of ice on the top) From reading this and other forums it seems that we might have hydrogenated oil...

 

Trust me, if I had a role in it...it would only get below 60F for two weeks each year...and that would be Christmas to New Years for a snowy Christmas; I'd mandate 25-28F for the white stuff to stick around. The rest of the year it couldn't get below 60F or over 90F. I assumed the original poster was asking about pump WVO at the collection point...some where electrical heaters may not have a long enough cord to reach the 120VAC outlet; thus the use of a 12VDC pump.

 

DFA is selling a nice pump now.

 

i have the tuthil pump already. doesn't do the job very well. it was about 55 when i was pumping with it last. it lasted about 45 sec before blowing the fuse. had to put a bigger fuse. held my hand on the wire and pumped till it got hot(30sec). then let it cool down and did it again. took me about an hour to pump 100 gal, boy was that fun. i want something that will move the oil. i have been lucky till now and my fryer always put it back in the 5gal containers. lost my main guy but my new source and get me 400 gal just between the monthes of nov and dec. should i have any problems using a gas water pump?

 

Firemedic is right, build a super sucker. I cut a 1" hole in a horizontal 120 gallon propane tank to pressure out the oil after picking it up and used the 1 1/4" hole in the top to suck it in (so I don't have to lift the oil that is coming into the tank. I ordered a 12 volt air compressor from JC Whitney (Superflow Heavy-duty Air Compressor : JC Whitney: Auto Parts & Accessories), moved the outlet hose to the inlet port and use it for vacum. My compressor has pumped hundreds of gallons of oil without a problem.

I tried the Tuthill pump and it lasted for about 100 gallons. I sent it back for repair and haven't heard from them since then. In my view it is not suitable for the WVO.

 

Super sucker! recycled compressor w/ 80 gallon tank. I modified the compressor to do both vacuum & air pressure. It is driven by a 14hp gas engine. Takes ~1 minute to build ~30" of vacuum.

I have 20ft of 2" plastic hose attached. It really sucks!

However, because of the current WVO supply issues, I have not used it in a while.