1000 mile fuel filter clogs?
June 5, 2012 - 8:14am
I'm using the luber finer filter that came with the greasecar kit that I put in my 92 jetta, and I only seem to get 1000 miles or so on it before it clogs.
Luber-finer tells me this is a 5 micron filter.
The filter bags I can readily obtain are 10 micron bags.
I'm wondering if the clogs are:
1. from the small difference in filtering between my bags and the fuel filter
or
2. if the fats etc... in the oil I get are coating the surface of the filter and thus causing the clogs.
I've cut open some of these after I remove them, but dont really know what a fat-clogged filter might look like.
I dont use enough to warrant purchasing/building a centrifuge - gotta stick with the manual filter process for now.
I do tend to have the filtered oil settle out for at least a week before I pull it from my tank - and I pull from high up in the tank (a 1/2 full 55 gal drum)
Looking for ideas for extending the cars veg oil filter life (ok, dont send the obvious one - get better oil I'm doing the best I can!)
Thanks
June 5, 2012 - 12:27pm
#2
Quick ideas.
Get 2 barrels. Build a cold upflow. Use google plenty of instructions out there. Put a golden rod filter between 1 & 2 . Replacement cartridges. Cheap from fleet filter. Put a heat spear in barrel 2 heat and settle. Pull a sample from as deep as you can. Hot pan test. If it passes. Get a 1-14 filter head and cat 1r0749 or high efficiency. Crossover. Hand or electric pump through that to car or storage.
Option 2 build a frybrid still. Final filter thru cat filter.
Bag filters stretch. And lose there rating.
I final with the cats 9k on filter without. Backwash. And still going.
June 5, 2012 - 3:00pm
#3
Forgot one more.
Acme juicer centrifuge. Cost around. $100 to make. One.
June 5, 2012 - 3:22pm
#4
I would have to agree with KirkH, water in your wvo will damage the filter membran and not allow you to get all the miles out of it. Are you adding any heat to your filtering process, have you been able to fry pan test the fuel sample before it goes into your tank.
If you do have clean de-watered oil, I would add heat to your system. I use to own a 98 Jetta TDI and those are some cold running cars. I ended up placing a large FPHE in the car and it helped alot. I know you don't have alot of room under that hood but give it a try if you don't have one.
June 5, 2012 - 7:40pm
#5
Drain next filter in a jar for a day. Chill it and see what settles. Fats and water will settle to the bottom. Post a good pic for opinions.
What type of oil? How's it collected? Storing it in direct sunlight will prevent settling.
June 6, 2012 - 7:48am
#6
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll get my storage drum out of the sun - and I'll try filtering better before it goes into the car too.
Next filter pull, I'll pour off some and see how it settles out too.
gonna look into cheap centrifuge ideas too.
June 13, 2012 - 6:28am
#7
Time and heat are you best friends and never suck grease from the bottom of any storage tank.....
I have had severel settling and holding tanks in the sun for the past 4-years (still do.)
They are plastic tanks though, and my veggie has hardly any water in it, so I do not see a problem with using the sun to assist you in the settling / filtration process.
If I ever smell the "funky" smell, I would drain out the bottom of the crud and re-settle it or just simply burn it at the next bon fire.
June 13, 2012 - 8:45am
#8
There is a problem with using the sun to help settle your oil. The sun will only heat one side of the barrel, causing convection currents in your barrel and stirring up the water and junk again every day. You can see this happen by taking a cubie that has some PHO on the bottom and set it in the sun. The sun will hit one side, heating it up and that PHO will start rising, you can see it. You can watch the whole convection cycle stirring up the oil, from the bottom.
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Are you de-watering? Water in the oil can swell the filter media and clog it.
It could also be poly clogging the filter. The heated filter does not get flushed with diesel during the purge cycle. The veggie oil sits in the hot filter when you drive on diesel and it cooks in there. You can remedy this by plumbing the "tee" of the return after the filter, therefore flushing the veggie filter with diesel during each purge. Cut open one of your filters when you change it and look for brown flakes of poly.
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2002 Powerstroke Greasecar kit, 20 plate heat exchanger, water injection, Aeroforce Scan Gauge II, ISSPro fuel pressure, trans temp, boost and EGT gauges, Cyberdyne grease and coolant temperature gauges, auxilliary coolant pump, 282,000 miles, 82,000 on grease.