Summer is here and many of us have ramped up fuel production with our centrifuges. Here are a few pointers...
Raw Power Centrifuge Operation and Maintenance Tips
1. Settle the oil prior to centrifuging. The centrifuge is meant to be a polisher to raise the waste oil to a fuel quality spec. Settle most of the debris and garbage prior to centrifuging. Let gravity do the bulk of the work.
2. Interrupt the centrifuge operation every 50 gallons and let the trapped water drain. The bowl will only hold 220z of debris/water at best. Once the bowl fills up with waste, the centrifuge becomes ineffective. Solid contaminants really pack down in the bowl, so clean them less frequently. I check my bowl for solid buildup every 300 gallons or so. Once debris builds up over 1/4" on the walls of the bowl, clean it out.
3. Vent the lid to evaporate off additional water. There are 2 extra ports on the centrifuge lid. You add a hose barb along with a short piece of hose to vent water.
4. Be proactive about leaks. Oil running down your motor needs to be addressed. It’s near impossible to kill the motors, but leaks will drastically shorten the life of the top bearing. If your centrifuge is leaking, check your shaft seals. We designed an upgraded seal kit in November 2011, that has since shipped with all centrifuges. .
Cleaning the bowl - The liquid contaminants will drain automatically, but the solids need to be removed by hand. To clean the solids, remove the bowl from the centrifuge with 7/8" socket. You may need to give it a nice jerk to loosen the nut, holding the bowl in one hand, ratchet in another. Remove the bowl and scrape out the debris. The bowl is easier to clean when it is warm. Some customers use plastic spoons or plastic paint scrapers. The inside of the bowl doesn't have to be perfectly clean, but the outside should be be sparkling. Use the brown, caked debris in rodent traps!
Booster Cone - This is a nice upgrade. I've recently had a customer tell me that after a booster upgrade, he is trapping gunk in the bowl that he's never seen before.
Feel free to drop a line to share other tips below, or let us know if you have any questions. As always, we are here to support you in your alternative fuel endeavor.
-Jason Jelonek
support@wvodesigns.com
