Working on designing a WMO filter system

[cbvet]

I did a fair amount of research before I started filtering WMO. Steel & plastic barrels are SUPPOSED to be able to withstand up to 10 psi internal pressure.
I never exceed 2 psi when filtering through filter bags & run about 5 psi when pushing through a final water separator filter & into the fuel tank.

 

[NMCShooter]

Shooter what kind of life are you getting out of your filters running a pressurized system at 10psi? Also what is the filter rating?

Filter rating is 15 micron....filter life? ask me in a month....I just built it a week ago 60 gallons hasn't slowed it down though.

 

[Crawdaddy]

I guess I'm at least on the right track with the filters? I guess this weekend I'll pick them up and start assembling the filtering setup.

 

[bodi044]

Cool, I will do the same. I may try a two filter setup. A 25 micron filter then a 5 micron filter. Hopefully I can push it through without heating the oil but that is an easy addition to the system if needed.

 

[bodi044]

Ran a test batch of 40 gallons of WMO. At room temp and 10-12lbs of air pressure the filter took about 35 minutes to do 5 gallons. Using a Culligan system and a 5 micron filter. I will be purchasing a band heater for the barrel and I am sure it will run through much quicker.

 

[paulfarber]

How do you know when the water separator filters are 'full'?

Regular filters can be monitored with pressure gauges... but water separators??

 

[cbvet]

My Racor water-separator filter has a clear plastic segment on the bottom & you can see the water level in it.
I open the drain as necessary.
I filtered about 30 gallons of mixed WMO from various sources yesterday & found about 1 ounce of water. Obviously these containers were stored indoors or covered.

 

[Kalashnikov]

Geez, you guys must use a lot of time filtering oil. I bought a cheap HF 2.5hp water pump and filter through a 10 micron spin on filter and I can pump 25gallons in a about 20 minutes. I took out the canister filter on my M818 and replace it with 2 spin on filter bases of 10 microns which is better than the original 12.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

It seems that the optimum fitration in the final stage is 1 micron.

I have not seen much, if any, discussion of the need for this final reduction factor.

Is it the fuel injector orifice, and potential blockage or clogging of the injectors that necessitate 1 micron filtration?

Is it that larger particulate could damage mechanical parts, such as the fuel pump or injector pump?

Is it that larger matter could settle into sludge at the bottom of the fuel tank?

Is material trapped in the 1 micron filter of a composition that, if allowed into the fuel system and burned, will leave harmful residues in the combustion chambers of the engine (Cyliinder Walls & Piston Faces), or cause Compression Ring problems?

What are the effects of filtration to a grain size greater than 1 micron, such as 5 micron? ...10 micron? etc.

What I am looking for here is a TECHNICAL justification of any selected level of filtration.
Thank you.

 

[Kalashnikov]

I think 10 microns is enough. After all, most oil filters are around 10-20 so if that is fine for machined bearing surfaces, I'd think it'd be fine in the fuel system. I'm not talking old 70's engines either, the newer stuff uses the same filters pretty much. Stock fuel filters around around there as well being close to 10. Keep in mind these are all nominal ratings.

Now that I think of it, I don't recall seeing any threads about blown/worn IPs due to dirty or unfiltered fuel although I haven't looked very hard to find any.

 

[paulfarber]

Geez, you guys must use a lot of time filtering oil. I bought a cheap HF 2.5hp water pump and filter through a 10 micron spin on filter and I can pump 25gallons in a about 20 minutes. I took out the canister filter on my M818 and replace it with 2 spin on filter bases of 10 microns which is better than the original 12.

How do you know you are not lifting the internal bypass and shooting dirty oil right past the element? A cartridge filter (if it has a bypass) an easily be monitored on the pressure side. If pressure never builds (after use) then you may have put a hole in the element.

I filter through three sock filters (50,10,1 IIRC) and the 50 micron sock is full of crud.

My main concern is water.

I manually pump with a barrel pump and pour out the bucket into 5 qt jugs. Takes a while, but I might only need 10-20 gallons a week.

 

[paulfarber]

I just found this... 55gallon plastic sealed barrels for $12!!!!!!!!!!

55 Gallon Plastic Barrels (Drums) / Rain Barrels / Compost Barrels

Picking some up.. since they are white seeing how full they are should not be an issue with black oil.

 

[Hammer]

The sub-5 micron stuff is what wears out parts in your injection pumps and injectors.
Basically, it doesn't plug anything up, it just acts as an abrasive.

Personally, I doubt that many people will actually put enough miles on their MF engines to truly see this wear on the IP and injectors.

 

[goldneagle]

Ive got just about 300 gal of wmo stored and need to try out one of the filters I got from GL. Think I have 4 like this and 15 smaller ones.

I got a very similar one that I bought 3 years ago. It does 75 gallons per minute. It's a fuel water separator with 4 filters inside. 1-1/2" input and output. I bought some quick connects in that size and 1-1/2" to 3/4" reducers for my system. i am waiting for my pump assembly to arrive Wednesday. It's a air operated diaphragm setup I found on Ebay.

Sorry, can't get the pictures off Ebay.

 

[Kalashnikov]

How do you know you are not lifting the internal bypass and shooting dirty oil right past the element? A cartridge filter (if it has a bypass) an easily be monitored on the pressure side. If pressure never builds (after use) then you may have put a hole in the element.

I filter through three sock filters (50,10,1 IIRC) and the 50 micron sock is full of crud.

My main concern is water.

I manually pump with a barrel pump and pour out the bucket into 5 qt jugs. Takes a while, but I might only need 10-20 gallons a week.

I closed my bypass on the filter base used with my pump. I replaced the canister filter on my M818 with 2 bases with no internal bypasses so there is no chace of anything getting by.