Simple Centrifuge Home build

107632 Views 132 Replies 23 Participants Last post by john galt, May 7, 2013

FastCote

Discussion Starter · Jul 19, 2008 (Edited)

After reading tons of messages on various forums I decided a centrifuge would be ideal for my filtering/dewatering system. I read trade offs of the pump driven style (Dieselcraft) vs a "real" centrifuge based on components from the guys at Simple Centrifuge

After sitting the fence a bit and hearing that the turnkey system from simplecentrifuge was going to cost $2,200 I decided to jump in and build one myself. I stumbled across Leon Griffin at WVO Designs who shares an open-source design using the simple centrifuge bowl and a welded enclosure.

I decided to spin a version of his design and try to build one as cheaply as possible and more importantly require no welding.

What follows are some pictures and captions detailing my progress.

1 - 15 of 133 Posts

vegginpsd

· #23 · Jul 19, 2008

Looks like it should work.:thumb: Just be certain that the oil temp is at least 120* and you flow rate is about 8gpm. You will love it. Dont discard the oil that comes out of the inner wall. Simply let it settle a little bit, and remove all but the bottom inch and reprocess. I have had a simple centrifuge running since Randy and Mike introduced it a few years ago and love it. Remember 120* plus and 8 gpm. Very important!

TIP-:woot: go to a sport shop and buy a tube of bore grease for a muzzle loader. Put it on the shaft and in the bowl recess. It makes the bowl come off way easier!

vegginpsd

· #25 · Jul 19, 2008

Logan said:
Very cool set up. How well does it work?

I can only speak for the system I built and I would not have any other cleaning/dewatering system.

:thumb:

vegginpsd

· #33 · Jul 19, 2008

bfloyd4445 said:
Whew! A real project and you used good quality components cept for the plastic barrel. When you turn that puppy on she is gonna vibrate off that barrel. You need to use a steel drum and solidly mount the centrifudge to the drum or just mount the centrafudge to the concret andpump the oil into the drum. I use lots of centrafudges for honey extraction and things gotta be perfectly balances or they walk.
Question, what is the purpose of slinging the oil against the sides of the pot at 3450 rpm anyway? How is that gonna separate anything out?

My centrifuge has been sitting unbolted on expanded metal for years and has yet to move. The only way you will know its running is by hearing the humm of the motor.

The purpose of running at 3450 rpm is to create the 1200+ g-forces and it does work like something you have never seen. The bowl is already balanced perfectly.

vegginpsd

· #36 · Jul 20, 2008

Maybe this would help those who have never seen a continuous feed centrifuge. These units set up properly do a remarkable job. :woot:

Simple Centrifuge ...putting a centrifuge in every garage!

vegginpsd

· #40 · Jul 20, 2008

bfloyd4445 said:
but the video link earlier showed them turning off the cent to allow the water to drain off and to remove the sludge.

You didn't answer my question about whether you ahve had the product you make from wmo tested for heavy metals?
Thanks

I dont recall me making referance to crankcase oil......:dunno:

vegginpsd

· #43 · Jul 21, 2008

It looks to me that what you may have there is creamy (hydrogenated) oil samples. The sample on the left, may have far less water than you might think. The botom layer looks like hydrogenation.

Did you calculate your flow rate? Are you able to maintain 120* oil temp at the rotor bowl? Remember temp and flow rate are critical. Also, what does the centrifuge discharge look like when you stop for cleaning? Is there a thick black coating on the rotor wall?

Keep up the good work!:thumb: You will love your system when you get it totally dialed in!:woot:

vegginpsd

· #49 · Jul 21, 2008

bfloyd4445 said:
I guess we first need to further refine what the discussion is about. I have not seen an analysis of the oil in question and am not sure wether the reference is to hydrogenated, halogenated, or hydrogen. If hydrogen then i would question the actual water content of the above sample. But, without seeing an actual analysis of the oil I'm not sure how we can be sure what we should really be discussing can you?

HUH?:dunno:

Hydrogenated oil is frying oil that has a stabilizer added to it giving it longer fry life. It is hydrogenized for this purpose.

vegginpsd

· #84 · Mar 25, 2009

avengeusa said:
I just ordered some aluminum, I have found the baldor dealer near me, and i am going to attempt to make one, I have a lathe, and have access to cnc lathes

the metal is not too pricey, low volume is 80 dollars for one 9 inch X 3.25 inch thich 6061 aluminum disc

I have to research the center a but more, I seen where the guy who built one was using the special nut for his, and it had to be an inch +-.001....

First post......

metal will be here in 2 days, I ordered a lot extra

Would it be close enough to being in balance by turning one? That thing could become a gernade of its out of balance. Keep us posted on the project please.

The one I'm running sure runs smooth. Works great too. You are going to love it. If you needs pictures of the one I'm running, just PM me.

vegginpsd

· #86 · Mar 26, 2009

avengeusa said:
I think turning in a cnc will do fine if it is billet material, which mine is, porous material would be out of balance for sure

I will do some testing of the first unit that i turn

when looking at the ones from simple centrifuge and others i see no marks or machining which would balance the bowl......

so i assume turning will be adequate

Actually, I think you are right about the lack of balancing holes. I'l have to look at mine and see if there is anything that resembles material romoved for balance. The only varieable might be the placement of the drain holes in the bottom of the rotor. . . i.e having the drain holes indexed and concentric.

vegginpsd

· #100 · Mar 31, 2009

Nightcrawler said:
Yea me too. I got a reply which has confussed me a little. I asked if the machine would work on uk 240 volts. This is the reply:

"The standard motor will work on 240V but the 50hz will make it run 20% slower. The three phase or high speed option comes with an inverter/VFD that will allow you to run up to 6000rpm and will work on your power.

Price is $995 for the base unit plus $300 for the upgrade motor and controller. Shipping is $100 and I will be able to ship next week."

So I'm now worried if the cheaper fuge is not going to be up to the job. If I have to upgrade to the better motor than the price will be $1295. I noticed tonight that DFA sell the "Simple Cenrifuge" for $1500 which looks like a better bowl. I'm not sure if thats a better machine or not. I'm not sure if I will be better off buying from them as it looks like I will be buying a Veggiestroke kit from them. I could really do with some advice on these fuges. Maybe I should save money on the fuge & buy just the bowl & make a system. arrrrrgggggggg ! I'm going to bed..

Nitecrawler-

You can buy the rotor direct from simplecentrifuge.com. Call and talk to Mike. He's a great guy and very knowledgeable. You certainly could have the housing fabricated over there. The included instructions are first class, and a descent machinist could do it with ease. Ask for the Blador MFG ID # of the motor as I am sure it is available there as it is here. I would sure think that would be a far less costly way to go.:thumb:

vegginpsd

· #103 · Apr 3, 2009

Nightcrawler said:
Anybody know if the motor above would be any good if I bought the bowl from Simple Centrifuge?

.

I'm thinking ......not without some fancy machine work. The simple centrifuge rotor in designed to put on a specific size shaft. They have a propriatary nut that holds it on. It is more or less friction fit with a nut to hold it snug.

If memory serves, the motor you have is a threaded shaft, female. So my gut feeling is no. Not to say it cannot work, but it isn't gonna be easy. Sorry. JMHO from looking at the photo you posted, and what mine looks like.:dunno:

vegginpsd

· #106 · Apr 3, 2009

Nightcrawler said:
Yea that was my main concern tring to fix the bowl to it. Thanks for you input dude. That has confirmed my thoughts. I'll forget this motor then. In your opinion which is the best fuge? Raw power from wvo designs or the simple centrifuge?
Which one do you have?

I have simple centifuge. I have nothing bad to say about it. Works great:thumb:

vegginpsd

· #110 · Apr 24, 2009

can you show how you are fastening them to the motor shaft?

Otherwise they look awesome!

Right on man!:woot:

vegginpsd

· #112 · Apr 25, 2009

Cheap, easy, simple.

I like that.:thumb:

vegginpsd

· #128 · Oct 26, 2009

nightcrawler
what was the air temp where you were running that batch of oil? Are you getting condensation because the air temp is so low? Just a thought. I dont remember having that problem with with condensation.

Have you ruled out very water saturated oil? If not try a hot pan test with the feed stock and see if what you are running is highly contaminate with water.

I never run WMO in the CF. However, I cant imagine it differing greatly from WVO though.

Are you seriously gonna put WMO through you DFA V3?

1 - 15 of 133 Posts

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