Lister Engine Forum
Alternative fuels => Waste Motor Oil => Topic started by: mikenash on June 13, 2021, 08:31:15 PM
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See pics?
I have been looking at needle valves and they're not cheap
But gravity-feed isn't demanding and so a cheap Chinese one might do the trick?
I attach a link - should be easy to google
https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3128518899
Cheers
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Is there a whole question in your post ??
What's the application?
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For what you are doing (WMO feed regulation) it should be fine.
The only issue with needle valves for WMO is the tendency to clog due to the fine passages around the tip of the needle.
Stringy bits can cause a obstruction very quickly.
So ... make sure your oil is well filtered. Maybe down to 5 microns.
veggie
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Hi Yes, I have a 4 micron filter drum. But my oil is effectively "new" anyway - I've had no issues to date with blockages
What I have is gearbox oil with no combustion by-products or casual mixing with engine filter bits or brake fluid or whatever - and then diluted a little with diesel as I establish what works & what doesn't. Its only contaminants are metal particles from gear wear - and I'm hoping that by letting 200-litre drums stand for a few years and then just using the top 80% or so, that these will simply "gravity out". It seems to be very, very non-hygroscopic - when we drain gearboxes there tends to be a teaspoon or two of "clean" water in the bottom if the water-trap diaphragms have failed; but there doesn't seem to be mixture
I'll bring the feed assembly home this weekend and fit that valve below the existing isolating valve. I'm keen to see if I can get an improved drip consistency within the limits of temperature/hydraulic pressure etc
Mihit - no, no question. Just an observation - there had been some conversation around the use of needle valves. But good-looking ones are expensive - so I'm keen to have a play with this Chinese cheapie
Cheers
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Hi Mike,
That one you linked is for hydraulic service and has a one-way check valve in it. Gravity won't open the check, so unless you can remove the check valve I doubt it will work.
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Hi Mike,
That one you linked is for hydraulic service and has a one-way check valve in it. Gravity won't open the check, so unless you can remove the check valve I doubt it will work.
cseyfert, ... Good catch !
Mike .... remove the check valve ;D
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Hi guys
lol check-valve yes. Maybe it needs to come out - we'll see
But it blows air through at mouth pressure OK . . .
We'll see lol
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Hi Mike,
That one you linked is for hydraulic service and has a one-way check valve in it. Gravity won't open the check, so unless you can remove the check valve I doubt it will work.
Hi guys
That cheap little valve is good as it is - no mods needed
The tank is only about 250mm above it, but will adjust and stay consistent anywhere from a very slow drip to a stream of whatever size is wanted
I'm keen to fit it and have a play
I attach links to two very short, very crappy-quality, but quite self-explanatory vids
Cheers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l48gI_QLZ4Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DubHK5jnVt4
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Mike,
Your videos are set as "private" and are not viewable by us mere mortals :(
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Sorry, Duh
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Hi guys
I recognise this is a topic in which few people are interested. However there has been some conversation around it, I have a goal and I am working towards/maybe getting close to achieving it – so I continue to witter on about it as I play with it
What I want is a clean-as-possible oil-burning space-heater
If it will work efficiently adapted to the front of my wood-stove - with the added benefits of heating the top-plate and putting some energy into the wetback – then all the better
What I don’t want is the complexity of fans, solenoids, controllers etc. I accept that that way lies efficiency. It’s just not what I’m after
One of my motivations is the availability of large quantities of a “clean” oil without combustion by-product or garage workshop contaminants – just a heavy oil somewhere in the 180-240 range, maybe, with occasional contamination by metal fragments and sometimes small amounts of water
I have many 200-litre drums of it. I figure if I let it stand for a year or two then use the top 150 litres of each drum without disturbing the rest – it should be effectively “clean”
Our small country is back in a Covid lockdown so I was isolated at that site for a few days and took the opportunity to refit the unit to the wood-stove and do a test burn for the first time since fitting a needle-valve into the drip tube (see pics and vid?)
It’s easy to get a consistent rate of feed with the new valve
The 1.2-litre top tank provides a margian of safety in that its capacity is quite a bit less than that of the burn chamber at the bottom. So it’d be pretty near impossible to flood the place with burning oil or anything like that
I’m using that aforementioned oil 66%/33% with diesel. It wouldn’t surprise me if a lesser dilution would work well too – and if it was pre-warmed, I think that stuff would burn just fine at 100%. After all, it just has to drip and vapourise. We’ll see. One thing at a time
I burned a 5.5-litre container of oil mix in four and one half hours. That’s burning at “full throttle” and understanding that the engine of the unit is the flue; and that once the burner is red-hot and burning quietly and steadily – there’s nothing to gain by trying to feed it more oil than it will vapourise
The tube with holes in it is 125mm and the bend is 150mm
See the “clear blue sky” pic? That’s my flue, mid-burn, and there’s no visible smoke at all
Equally there’s no smoke, vapour or smell (apart from a small hot smell) in the shed
The top plate of the stove doesn’t get as hot as it does with a fire in the firebox, of course. But it’ll cook eggs-and-beans OK, or boil the kettle . . .
Please see a couple of images and very low-tech video attached. Cheers
See link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ZWFcQo6CI
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Mike,
Very nice job there. A very good furnace and cooking surface.
With winter approaching, you will be the one that the women of the tribe choose to breed with ;D
cheers
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Mike,
Very nice job there. A very good furnace and cooking surface.
With winter approaching, you will be the one that the women of the tribe choose to breed with ;D
cheers
By crikey - that'll be a disappointing experience for them
As a father of four, grandfather of (if I remember rightly) 11 going on 12, and with a baby great-granddaughter - my line is secure; for whatever that's worth. But at 64, I'm pretty sure my breeding days are over lol
Good on you