this is my first post here,Theres about 1000 folks in the U.S.running diesel vehicals on used veggie oil,,from deep fryers,,that figure is a very wild maybe ,,,could be 3 times that. We are all very interested in FILTERING our oil,it mostly contains burnt food particals,our bigest problem,and small amouts of animal fat,oursmallest problem,We mostly use gravity setteling for a week or so ,the through 5 nicon gravity filter bags 8"x30",,,this works adiquitly.....but were allways looking,,,and ,,looking for other or better ways, to filter,,I experanced an electrostatic event wilst filtering theother day,,my veggieoil was jumping across a 4" gap between two bags ,,,SOOOOO i found you guys ...IS there a way to filter used vegetable oil using voltage ?????? TROU

Electrostatic filteration of vegetable oil should work well, Only you should not use it for food again, without getting it tested by food labs.In fact it may be safe, but I am not the expert who can say that categorically.

So if you are going to use it as a lube oil, go ahead regardless.

Electrostatic charge is common while filtering oils and I have often see oil being drawn toward a ground source. It will fall at a diagonal instead of straight down. The viscous nature of the lubricant has a great deal of effect as the molocules sliding past each other generate lots of static. I do not see why electrostatic cleaning should not work with vegetable oils but you may want to strain the larger particles out. Use a basket strainer of around 25-40 microns to get the left over food crispies out. heat may also be necessary to thin the oil enough for the electrostatic filter to work efficiently.

Rember that this is now refered to as a bio-diesel What is the requirement for the proper operation of the injectors?? I would assume it would be the same as conventional Diesel Fuel

THANKS for youre replyz guyz,,abit more info from me ,,im using STRAIGHT USED VEG OIL in ma diesel truck,,after filtering to 5 microns ,it only needs to be heated to 150F before going to the injector pump,,,,,most of us are DIY guyz,,any of you electrostatic filtering guruz give us a simple home biult unit??????TROU

Gentlemen,

You could look at a product from my company (ISOPur Fluid Technologies). Balanced charge agglomeration technology. We apply equal charges (positive/negative) to particles in oil solutions that allow a balanced charge of the fluid & particles. This balanced charge prevents the sticking of these particles to internal components. Just as important...we agglomerate small particles into larger particles allowing a removal of particles down to and below 0.1 microns in size. We also apply our technology for cooking oil applications in Japan. Mostly we are focused on lube & hydraulic oils for industrial machinery.

The method we use to purify and recycle used vegetable oil ans well as used motor oil is as follows:
1. Pass the oil through a stainless steel 10 or 20 micron strainer that can be backwashed and reused.
2. Filter through a 5 micron filter.
3. We then inject an additive that homogenizes the oil and is also a combustion catalyst that makes the oil burn better and cleaner. The additive is injected in the oil in a ratio of 1 part additrve to 10,000 parts of oil.
If there is water in the oil we filter through a cellulose finalfilter to absorb the water (before the additive is injected)

where can a person purchase your additive and filters Im from Green Bay wisconsin . I own a resturant and a diesel ambulance (food to die for ) need all the help I can get to covert to used veggie oil in the cold north Tks

Hey, was reading your post. I'm trying to find a local supplier of filtered used cooking oil.
Any ideas? I work in Green Bay and commute from Sturgeon Bay every week day.

--2006 jetta tdi--

We've been experimenting a lot with bio diesel to use in our Toyota Landcruiser. We have found that straight WVO's (waste vegetable oil) have negative side effects for an engine. It regularly clogs filters and causes other associated problems. There is a stack of advice out on the net on cheap effective ways to process WVOs for everyday use.
We have found the cheapest way is straight filtration. Firstly through a cleanable SS filter and then through a 5 micron absolute element (cellulose).
Electrostatic filtration would be a great way of filtering but the initial cost may be somewhat prohibitive. They're expensive to buy and if you don't have some advanced knowledge on how they work, you may get a nasty shock if you try to build one (pun intended). They also work very slowly and have a higher cost to run the physical filtration and the end result would be a product that has been filtered well below necessary standards.
Bio diesel is a great way to save money and the environment. Just make sure you do some homework on the side effects before you get started.
You can check out websites like: http://www.journeytoforever.org/. But keep in mind a lot of the info available is not entirely correct. IE watch temperatures during some of the reactions as some of the chemcials cause an exothermic reaction and hence pre heating the fluid can be unnecessary.
We are currently saving $AU0.80/litre by processing our own bio diesel and other then the initial stage where the bio diesel cleans out the fuel lines of build up and clogs filters we haven't had any problems. We have noticed a slight increase in fuel efficiency and power.

pure power life time stainless steel remote oil filters work well to trap all the way down to 5-8 micron;also they are reuseable.

can i make biodiesel from waste veggie oil that's contaminated with used lub oil?