Processor setup
Hey all,
I got a twenty gallon old oil barrel that's been emptied for a few months and I flushed with water and I have a heating element inside it and a harbor freight tools Clearwater pump for my biodiesel processor. I need helP with the plumbing. I was wondering if instead of black steel I could use nylon barb fittings with reinforced vinyl tubing for piping and if I could use PVC instead of brass ball valves. Also I need help figuring out how many valves my processor needs and if for draining (since the barrel has a flat bottom) if I should bother drilling a hole in the bottom or just drilling a hole in the side of the processor and using that. Thanks, Sirnobody |
Originally Posted by sirnobody
(Post 10379608)
Hey all,
I got a twenty gallon old oil barrel that's been emptied for a few months and I flushed with water and I have a heating element inside it and a harbor freight tools Clearwater pump for my biodiesel processor. I need helP with the plumbing. I was wondering if instead of black steel I could use nylon barb fittings with reinforced vinyl tubing for piping and if I could use PVC instead of brass ball valves. Also I need help figuring out how many valves my processor needs and if for draining (since the barrel has a flat bottom) if I should bother drilling a hole in the bottom or just drilling a hole in the side of the processor and using that. Thanks, Sirnobody |
The plastic will not hold up to repeated heat cycling with biodiesel. Especially the plastic valves. You need one valve at the very bottom of your tank to drain all the glycerol out. That valve is also used to choke off the pump input when you start siphoning in the methoxide, (which is another ball valve). You will need a valve on a drain, which can also serve as a port to pump in your wvo. So there's 3 so far. One more is good to have pre pump to isolate it when settling and draining. So there's 4 valves. After the pump, I have 2 more valves, one for tank nozzle input, and I close that one off when I pump settled bio into my wash tank, which is another port/valve. So, there's 6 altogether. I have 8 on my drum processor since I use a separate port to draw in wvo from my settling drum. And, I have another port plumbed with a filter on in which I use to pump to my fueling tank after drying. (I also use my processor to dry my washed biodiesel) This sounds far more confusing than it actually is. You can see my processor pics to get an idea what the plumbing looks like at the top of this sub forum under 'pictures of processors'. My current set up is crude but effective.
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Thanks for the good answers I will be sure to just use black steel plumbing. I don't understand your methoxide isolation valve though. Aren't you allowed/supposed to run the pump with methoxide in the wvo to thoroughly mix the two?
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Originally Posted by sirnobody
(Post 10381709)
I don't understand your methoxide isolation valve though. Aren't you allowed/supposed to run the pump with methoxide in the wvo to thoroughly mix the two?
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Originally Posted by fabmandelux
(Post 10379782)
You will need a hole in the bottom to drain off the glycerol after you let it settle. I would NEVER use anything but black iron pipe and fittings on a processor. There have been many fires from using plastic tubing and fittings. Watch your clear water pump very closely. They have a habit of shorting out, and causing fires also.
However, fittings are relatively cheap and easy to replace. |
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