Pumping coldish WVo with a dc pump is one of the most complicated
things I've found about this process. I just gave up and I use
something plastic as a pitcher to scoop the stuff. more recently I've
taken to using a 4 gallon bucket to do it (and have a bigger bucket
to then put the dirty bucket into so as not to get oil all over my
vehicle).
here's what doens't work too well:
the 12V pumps that SVOers commonly use are the 12V, $70 transfer
pumps from Northern Tool (also sold by Greasel and greasecar and
others I believe). These things come with a fuse- so you'd think,
why, I can't burn up this pump, the fuse will blow. But I know many,
many people (oh, about 5) who have cooked the wiring of these things
while the fuse sits there and does nothing (other than letting loads
of electricity flow right on through where it makes a smoky mess of
the other wiring). Northern can't even tell you much about these-
they're made in China somewhere and northern.. well, never mind. Just
don't try and get customer service from places like that.
anyway if you are using really nice oil that's liquid they're
probably OK-ish, but I don't recommend them. (and in Arizona you
won't have too much trouble with the liquid part like 70% of the year
due to the temperatures)
I have heard but did not experience myself that the cheap Simer Blue
12V utility pumps (thats the Pudl-Scooper deal from some Ace Hardware
stores) can work OK but knowing Simer's reputation I wonder about
this- they're cheap, and they're lightweight-looking.
I'm experimenting with a 12V macerator toilet pump from a boat marine
toilet, but it's not continuous-duty rated and I'm still
experimenting... and some expensive bilge pumps would probably work
too but I haven't tried it yet.
anyway, that brings me to....
AC!
There's much more of a choice in AC pumps- the motors are much
heavier-duty, plus you have more of a choice in what's available.
I use a Grainger (Teel brand actually) 'fryer filter' pump (a gear
pump with an huge heavy 8-amp motor) that's been pretty bulletproof
(we used it at the biodiesel coop for a year and it hasn't broken yet
despite serious abuse). it's pricey- $220, and it's heavy, but it's
designed for moving hot WVO around. If you can get an arrangement
with the restaurant to let you run an extension cord to the oil
dumpster, an ac pump is the way to go. If you want to use an inverter
I've found that many pumps are a pretty big draw...
Remember that all pumps push better than they 'suck'- so use a short
hose on the intake end and a long one on the outgoing end.
A foot valve is a good addition to a cheap non-self-priming pump. It
is a check valve with a strainer.
But scooping the stuff works OK if you're not a completely messy
person.
Also drill-driven pumps are sometimes suggested. I';ve found them
useful for biodiesel moving, but I've destroyed a lot of them using
them to pump oil- the rubber impeller (?) gets gummed up, then
quickly tears loose from the steel shaft. I haven't tried this for
the more expensive ($25) rebuildable versions sold by West Marine and
other boat catalogs- I've only used the $5 Craftsman/sears variety-
great for moving biodiesel, poor for WVO.
If you're a DIY'er , mating an engine oil sump pump to some kind of
appropriate motor (maybe even a cordless drill for small amounts of
oil pumped) should work really well- they're selfpriming up to a
point, and are 'bulletproof' gear pumps. The one I got came from a
Chevy 350 and it has a really difficult driver to adapt to a motor
without welding or machine work, so I 'lucked out' - not sure what
model engines to recommend asking for at the junkyard, but some of
them come with a female hex type drive, or other simple ones to mate
a motor to.
good luck,
mark
--- In biofuel@yahoogroups.com, "kirk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> If he was making his electricity with a small diesel the exhaust
could
> supply all his process heat.
>
> Kirk
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Keith Addison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 9:37 AM
> To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [biofuel] Retrieving the gold...
>
>
> >hello to all. Just joined and am setting up to make my
> >own fuel. I have a question. What kind of pump is best
> >for retrieving the used cooking oil from the
> >containers "out back" of the restaurant ? I'm looking
> >at 12 volt vane pumps, gear pumps, engine powered
> >Trash pumps. WHAT are the rest of you using ??
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >Bill in Az.
> >
> >=====
> >Bill & Melley Kitchin
> >[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> >602-999-7606
>
>
> Welcome, Bill
>
> Hope you get some good responses - I'd also appreciate some good
> advice on this, the methods we've used up to now have been less than
> ideal. Time to upgrade.
>
> Meanwhile, have a look at how Chuck Ranum does it:
> http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_processor4.html
>
> Best wishes
>
> Keith
>
>
> Biofuel at Journey to Forever:
> http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html
>
> Biofuels list archives:
> http://archive.nnytech.net/
>
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