Centrifuge HELP!

[frakchered]

Hey guys, this is about the only place I can think to ask this question. I have a pressure type centrifuge that I have ran countless gallons of both WMO and WVO. Well today while processing WMO I notice an odd sound while doing so, well I have always had vibration while doing the filtering. So I left it and it ran probably 3 or 4 hours. Continuously filter about 50 gallons. Well I shut it off as I had to go into town. Came back while it was still hot to firing it back up to proceed with filtering. and the drum wouldn't spin. I figured I had a clogged jet. I proceeded to clean the centrifuge as I normally do, got it all back together to fire back up and still nothing. I have good pressure and flow. and the drum spins fine on the center stud. I can even hear the drum rise up on the inside when I put pressure to it, but for some reason it will not spin. Anyone had this issue with the pressure type centrifuges?

[MtnOilRIG]

Mine (OC-50) has a check valve inline with the inlet under the bowl opposite side. It opens at 40-ish psi. I wonder if you have something going on with yours? Pretty straight forward to remove and inspect.

Is the bowl full of oil after your attempts to run it?

[beyondbiodiesel]

I have a PA biodiesel CF that has orifices on the bottom of the bowl. They could plug and prevent the bowl from spinning, so that is another place to look.

By the way, I do not use an expensive gear pump to drive my CF. I put my waste oil blend into a recycled compressor tank that is sitting on end, and I apply air pressure to the top, which drives my waste oil blend at whatever pressure I apply to the top of the tank with a pressure regulator. My PA Biodiesel CF runs at 80PSI, so that is what I set the pressure regulator at, and I open a valve to the CF, and clean fuel comes out the other end of the CF.

[frakchered]

Originally Posted by MtnOilRIG

Mine (OC-50) has a check valve inline with the inlet under the bowl opposite side. It opens at 40-ish psi. I wonder if you have something going on with yours? Pretty straight forward to remove and inspect.

Is the bowl full of oil after your attempts to run it?

Mine is a knock off of the OC-50, and I figured it may have been the check valve in mine, so I removed it. And yes my bowl is full when I took it back out to inspect to see what is going on. I can hear the the bowl once pressurized rise up to the top of the stud.

[frakchered]

Originally Posted by beyondbiodiesel

I have a PA biodiesel CF that has orifices on the bottom of the bowl. They could plug and prevent the bowl from spinning, so that is another place to look.

By the way, I do not use an expensive gear pump to drive my CF. I put my waste oil blend into a recycled compressor tank that is sitting on end, and I apply air pressure to the top, which drives my waste oil blend at whatever pressure I apply to the top of the tank with a pressure regulator. My PA Biodiesel CF runs at 80PSI, so that is what I set the pressure regulator at, and I open a valve to the CF, and clean fuel comes out the other end of the CF.

I did look at the orifices on the bottom of the bowl, that was the first thing I checked.

Interesting way to run your CF. I think I can across a post once before of a guy who did it that way, come to think of it, I have a spare upright air tank I could do that once it is setup up right with the right fittings, or I could just use my setup I have now and process from the air tank to the barrel for a one pass setup.

[MtnOilRIG]

Did you loose a spacer or something that is now "clamping" the bowl down instead of allowing it to spin? Hence the noise while running (you had not tightening it down after sound started) and after reassembly you've tightened it down past its normal spot. On my spinner, there are no parts that come off when cleaning but that doesn't mean one couldn't disintegrate during operation. Did you find anything in the bottom of your barrel?

And DID do a flow test? 2 GPM?

[frakchered]

Originally Posted by MtnOilRIG

Did you loose a spacer or something that is now "clamping" the bowl down instead of allowing it to spin? Hence the noise while running (you had not tightening it down after sound started) and after reassembly you've tightened it down past its normal spot. On my spinner, there are no parts that come off when cleaning but that doesn't mean one couldn't disintegrate during operation. Did you find anything in the bottom of your barrel?

And DID do a flow test? 2 GPM?

Not many parts on my set up to loose. Everything is there that was there when i first bought the set up.

Haven't done a flow test yet, but even with the pump building pressure to 85PSI the bowl should still spin, and it isnt doing anything at this point.

[MtnOilRIG]

flow is just as important, if not more important than the pressure.

[frakchered]

Originally Posted by MtnOilRIG

flow is just as important, if not more important than the pressure.

Understood, trying to figure out the best way to do that test without a hell of a mess.

[MtnOilRIG]

If you're making a hell of a mess, my guess is flow is not your problem. haha

How well do you prefilter prior to CF?