I liked your explanation on preheating the fuel but to watch the proof was really great! So worth watching to the end. Thanks for great job. Can't wait for number 11.
Thanks ! I think the results could be different if you used waste oil that was from a different source and / or filtered it really well, dewatered it and so on... Most of the gassing here is likely from contamination of the oil and not from the motor oil itself, but this is how I use my oil, so this is how I ran my test. Cheers !
@Lowered Expectations I also was wondering about using new oil and of various types (Synthetic vs Dino) to have a base line on what to expect. I keep looking at the oil centrifuge (like Diesel Craft) but hate to spend the money. If I do, I would probably use compressed air in a holding tank vs buying a pump... best laid plans or something like that.
@@darrylbrown1319 Haha... yeah. There are lots if variables when it comes to waste oil... it's hard to know what you are getting. I used a high quality semi synthetic Motul 10W40, and it takes a lot more heat to burn than my waste oil... it made a LOT of blue smoke. I may end up building a small centrifuge, but based on my testing, the number one issue is keeping heat in the chamber to flash the oil off (or significantly lowering the flash point of the oil)
Every time I see you have a new video, it reminds me of the "Lowered Expectations" skits they did on Saturday Night Live years ago when it was actually funny.
That's funny. When I came up with the name for this channel I searched the name "lowered expectations" and there was one other channel that had one video many years ago (or something like that) I didn't see anything on google... Then once I made the name and searched for my channel on youtube, all of these skits started popping up, haha. I had never heard of it.
i think you have a bit of water in that waste oil, my heated wvo (same way you do just 9 mm pipe) dont form bobbles - though it takes some time for air to clear the lines
You got 9mm pipe ti fit in the heat exchanger ? Interesting. Did you squish it oval ? Yes... I do have some water contamination, but also, I am mixing with gasoline and waste motor oil from air cooled engines, tends to have a lot of combustion byproducts. If I run pure diesel it does not bubble ... I was sure that it would worse than the oil.... I have not not tested new motor oil or waste automotive oil, but I have a feeling that they would not vaporize as much.
@@loweredexpectations4927 yup, petrol/gas will be the bubbling issue. i think more airflow might help the burn once it gets started with the heated oil.
@@mightyfinejonboy I do think that air flow is a part of the puzzle, but the chamber needs to be really hot before you increase air flow, ir it will just cool it off. I've done a lot of testing since this footage and it seems the main challenge is getting / keeping heat in the burn chamber. Oil requires a much higher temperature to flash off, and if this doesn't happen, then you get lots of carbon pooling in the bottom of the chamber.
@@loweredexpectations4927 haha no 9mm will now fit, but i broke two gills off to fit it :) - i only had a 9mm pipe. I was thinking if it was due to gasoline. i have also bend the end of the metal pipe that runs to the glowplug so i dont have this u shaped plastic pipeline running down besides the exhaust.
@@mnp3713 I was going to do the same thing with the metal line so that my new line connected directly. The reason I didn't, is because I wanted a piece of clear line where I can see it so I know what's happening with the fuel, and so when I prime it. I know when it's getting close. I may do it in the future, as it is cleaner looking and less likely to burn ...
could maybe just warm it through the brake line in front of the warm air blowing out, it pumps slow enough to get it pretty warm. just a thought. i admire your determination
Yes... I had thought about that... Just making a oil / loop of brake line in the air outlet. I'm not sure that would get it hot enough and it's actually more tricky to do, in my opinion. Determination is a good word for it... some call it insanity, haha. I have been making more progress ! Testing continues.
I'm sure if you could regulate the fuel temp to a 60-70 degrees you would get a better result. You could lift your brake line off the fin's, or insulate enough off the brake line until desired temp is reached !
@@Keith24GB Thanks... I have had that suggestion a few times. From what I have read, waste oil furnaces generally heat the oil to 90C or more. The difference being that they filter their oil really well and generally have some sort of drying process. I believe my oil mix is vaporizing because 1. It has some water content and 2. It has some gasoline in it (even when I don't purposely add it)
One of mine runs at 230C all day, it's normal. Probably melted inlet fan with the hot air intake. I have three, one has fuel coil around exhaust with tin foil to insulate between exhaust and copper tube, about .200". Used oil needs to be filtered and thinned. I used gas, 10-15%. Done all these experiments already, opted out ,sticking with diesel and 5% gas. Another tip, to make lean or rich, move intake fan in (to lean) or out on shaft.
Your heater runs at 230C ? That curious. I've had someone else tell me theirs ran at 245C, I believe. The owner's manual says that the overheat limit is 230... but mine is just above 236. I have seen many videos of these heaters and the normal / average temperature seems to be closer to 186. Oh... You run waste oil and gas 👍 that temp makes more sense now. You're not too far off with your fan melting guess... My oil is filtered some, and always thinned with diesel and sometimes also gasoline. Currently 70% oil, 20% diesel and 10% gasoline... and because I don't want to do the math ... I have added 20ml of cetane booster. Since this video I have made many modifications, some of them complete fails and others steps in the right direction. Currently running a test that seems very promising, but I've had that thought beforehand they never end well, haha. Testing continues.
I think what you meant to say is "I'm looking forward to running this as per the manufacturer's recommendations as anything else would be silly!" 🤣 For real tho. I hope you enjoy it !
Love your ”never quit” attitude. 😄👍 I mentioned in a comment a couple of videos back, the amount of particels in the oil and suggested a test with clean motor oil to see if something changes and you answered you would try that. I do understand it will take a while before that video will come. But the metal on your ”glove-magnet”…😄, is kinda pointing in the same direction im thinking. I am deeply impressed by the heater and how much abuse it can take, but i also think its going to be a bit of a challenge to make the heater to burn the metal in the used oil. I think part of the build up you have in the heater comes from that. It would be very interesting to see what would happen if you ”clean” that used oil a bit before using it. Like running the oil through a hanging textile filter with a magnet in the bottom or something similar. I will follow this adventure until you will be successful with the heater or maybe until your garage is no more, either way you will get a lot of heat. So keep up the good work. 😉
Thanks again for the comment ! I have done some testing with new motor oil. Motul 10W40 semi synthetic stuff. I think I have a few videos to release before that one, but it's coming. Yeah... There's only so much you can do without good filtration / a centrifuge. The idea of testing the new oil is to see if the main / current battle is due to oil or contamination. HAHA.. let's hope that I'm not making a video of me roasting weenies over my garage !!
Oh just thought of something else I was going to comment on. So on mine when it has been running on highnfot a while and I reduce the setting, I too have noticed the housing temp increases significantly for a while, it then drops down shortly afterwards. I have put it down to the reduced airflow on the lower setting and the latent heat in the housing.
Still following and hoping it works. An idea I want to try: small steel tank heated to about 150F to supply the pump. I am not sure the pump will take it. But would flow more consistently. Then add rubber tube over the steel line going through the intake to the burner. The cold air blowing over it must cool it some. I think best case scenario with start up on diesel and preheating to 150 or 160F we may get like 100 hrs between clean out....that would be decent. Keep it up!
Thanks for the comment! My fuel tank sits beside the heater and warms up quite a bit... not quite that warm, but the consistency of the fuel / oil, after I have added gasoline and diesel, is not too thick. As long as the oil wasn't vaporizing before the pump, this would work, but it gets plenty hot after the pump, so I don't think I need to worry about this. The steel fuel line is in a pretty hot area. The body of the heater is usually around 200C (93F) and that area of the heater doesn't see too much air flow. I wouldn't hurt for sure... and I have some insulation sleeve stuff... so maybe I'll give it a go. The video is not yet released, but I have been starting it on diesel and it helps👍
@@loweredexpectations4927 I do not know how much difference it makes but the last 2 or 3 " of steel line to the burner are exposed to the airflow goinf into the chamber...in my case cold air. So depending on the fuel flow rate and such it may be cooling that fuel back down a lot. I was going to take 1/4" rubber fuel line, split it open and roll it on the steel line to insulate from the cold air. Again...may not be a big impact.
@@fmemories I just had my heater apart and was going to try this, bit decided not to try two different experiments at the same time, haha. I will try it some time.
@@loweredexpectations4927 so was thinking too much about this. I believe the density of oxygen in air is reduced at higher temps. So routing high temp air into inlet may help with preheating the oil but its at a cost of oxygen to make a complete burn in the chamber. Ie I think we may want to ensure oil temp is high enough and get the mixture right with cool inlet air.....but that assumes you can get the burn chamber hot enough. It all boils down to: can you get enough fuel and air at the right mixture to make it hot enough, along with the preheated oit, to flash burn the oil
@@fmemories Yes, this is 100% it... I have been doing lots of experiments trying to keep the chamber temps up while still feeding enough air. The air, even at room temp, cools off the chamber where the oil enters, so the oil doesn't want to ignite in the main burn area. I've had a few small successes, but this is going to be a challenge for sure. I may need to start over with a new chamber as mine has had so many mods, it may be junk...
Preheating the oil definitely seems to burn cleaner, and together with some preheated inlet air is a step in the right direction. I think it would be wise to filter the waste oil a lot better using a pump and fine filter. This should result in less gunk buildup. Another thing you could try is to mix a bit of (pork) gelatine (5grams) in hot water and add it to the filtered (1:8) waste oil. Let it cool down and settle overnight. A lot of contaminants will get caught in the gelatine, which forms a (solid) layer on the bottom of the container. Mix in about 20% kerosine to the filtered/cleaned oil and you should be good to go. Good luck!
Thanks for the comment. I think that filtering is a good idea. I have just finished some testing on new motor oil to see if the issues were due to garbage in the oil, just a result of burning oil. The results were interesting... high quality oil burns with less ash when it is completely burned, but it also takes more heat to burn. It seems the main issue with these heaters is that the chamber doesn't get hot enough. I purchased gelatin a few weeks ago now and plan on doing this test. Mostly out of curiosity, as I don't think this is a practical method on any sort of scale. Kerosene would likely be better than diesel, but it is also over twice the price here. $4/L ...In some places I hear it is actually less than home heating oil.
Also the red diesel is not much cheaper in Canada and you have to be a farmer to buy it or to get a farmer to buy it for you, not worth the hassle for the price difference
@@5roundsrapid263 Yes, that's basically what I was saying about the "...less ash when it is completely burned, but it also takes more heat to burn." As for the additives, this will vary drastically depending on the intended application. Motorcycle oil and classic car oil tends to have a lot of zinc compared to other oils. I wonder how much of this stuff comes out in a centrifuge....
The pictures of vapour bubbles in the hot oil resurrected a thought in my mind, that might be worth a look when you get back onto efficient running on plain diesel. With this type of dosing pump, on the power stroke, the rapid movement of the piston or slug, causes a partial vacuum to form behind it allowing cavitation bubbles to form. on the return stroke, these pass through the one way valve and on the next power stroke, they are pumped along the fuel line. Since the bubbles formed are comprised of vaporised fuel, and the swept volume is liquid + bubbles, it must mean that there is marginally less liquid fuel pumped/min than the expected [no. of strokes/min] x chamber volume. To avoid this cavitation the fuel needs to be delivered to the back of the piston at a pressure at least equal to the vapour pressure of the fuel at running temperature. This could be achieved perhaps just by having a suitably large head between the tank and pump, or by a second pump circuit to feed positive pressure to the fuel entering the dosing pump, with a variable relief valve returning unused fuel to the tank. This might just make a percent or to increase in output and could give a smoother burn. Small maybe, but every little bit counts. OG ps I'd love to know why these bubbles don't just condense back to liquid fuel once they have passed the pump and move into the slightly pressurised environment of the delivery pipe, as they travel to the burner . All I can think of is perhaps some kind of surface tension effect ? Any ideas fellas ??
😂 Thanks for the detailed comment... Your brain works a little like mine... However... why not just make the correction with increasing the hz of the pump ? I do always make sure that my tank is above the pump and it is gravity fed, specifically for this reason, more pressure = more head = less cavitation. That is a great question about why the bubbles don't totally collapse. My guess is that the fuel isn't just heating and cooling, but some if it is actually "burning" in this process. A chemical change due to the heat from the cavitation. Miniscule diesel effects.
@@loweredexpectations4927 < why not just make the correction with increasing the hz of the pump? > What ? ..... doing something the easy way ...? ! c'mon, no fun in that ;
@@bigoldgrizzly 🤣 .... Don't forget who is saying "do things the easy way".... a guy who has spent two months trying to make this heater burn waste oil, when he could just build a dedicated waste oil burner. haha. It is possible that some pre vaporized fuel could be helping things along during startup 🤷♂
@@loweredexpectations4927 My old Physics teacher was fond of saying " Experience is what you acquire, when you don't get what you expected! A year or two back. I found an old [1969?] practical assignment of mine he had marked. I had made an error in my method and he tasked me to identify and report back what that error was. He also added " Not to worry. You wouldn't be doing it right if you didn't do something wrong .... provided you learn from the experience" One thing I particularly like about your videos is that after reporting about what you have tried and the results. you tell us what you are intending to try next. This Stimulates us to think through what might happen and why and to discuss it in the comments. A fun way for us all to learn as your experiments proceed. Thank you!
I'm not 100% sure what you're trying to say. My oil is filtered so there won't be any chunks of stuff and the temperature is not hot enough to cause it to carbon up in the line. If I were to use the exhaust to heat the oil, I think that this could happen.
Just saying that it’s going to happen eventually. Might take a while. Any time a liquid turns to a gas, anything that’s in it will pretty much stay right there unless it gets flushed through by the fluids that follow. The metal particles, and other contaminants are pretty likely to stay there. The magnet idea is an excellent one. Like putting a magnetic oil plug in an oil pan. Put one in the fuel tank next to the fuel outlet. 👍🏼
@@markcoyle8003 Oh. yes. I have a feeling that where the fuel vaporizes there will be a pie if ash and unburnable stuff that settles. I'm guessing that good filtration is important once you get to the point where the fuel is vaporizing and burning completely.
1.) why not tap the s holes and just put tiny machine screws in. Then you can use the holes to clean it out 2.) preheat oil doesn’t mean make it dangerously hot. I’d recommend a 8-12” long tightly coiled spring such as a tension spring or a garage door spring. Put the fuel line (real rubber fuel line or even silicone fuel line) inside the coil, and wrap it to the exhaust pipe with a bit of foil or high temp tape to encourage contact and heat transfer. You can adjust the amount of conductivity so the fuel is hot but you can still pinch the line at the point where it goes into the motor for 5 seconds without burning your fingers. That’s about right. I’d recommend tying the coil tightly to the exhaust at the bottom, where the exhaust is not as hot. And have them not touching at the top. It will be easier to adjust the heat if you do that. Make sure the top and bottom of the coil is open and vertically aligned, so air can pass up through the inside through induction. 3.) I’ve found that even though I’m in calgary, the high altitude mode is making things worse. Instead, I’ve had much better luck adjusting the schedule power supply voltage. That “lightsaber noise” you heard is a repeated flame out and reignite on. The gasses aren’t hot enough, or there is too much air. Coil about 20’ of .25mm nichrome wire up and shove it into your burn chamber. It will glow bright red hot and conduct throughout so the entire wire gets cherry red. Any I burned hydrocarbons will be forced to come in contact with that wire upon exit and will burn. This will ensure that 100% waste oil (no diesel) will burn consistently and maintain a core temp of 180. 4.) I have two fuels tied in with valves. I start on diesel and switch to 100% waste oil. If you are paying for diesel to blend, in order to have a functioning heater, you are defeating the purpose of this heater. The whole point is to make a free and sustainable heat source that can also be used if shtf long term. Stick your oil and fine tune your machine. 5.) buy a full aluminum automotive radiator or 1”hydronic convection pipe (with the fins on it) and plumb your exhaust through that on its way out of your structure. You will be amazed how much heat you’re wasting. Don’t go any longer than you have to, or you’ll create too much back pressure. Larger diameters are better if possible. The exit should be no hotter than 35 degrees Celsius or you’re wasting heat.
1. That could work. I don't want to add too much thermal mass as I want that area to get hot and cook off the oil. 2. I'm aware that superheating the oil is not a good idea... This is why I recommended not using copper tubing coiled on the exhaust. Most waste oil preheaters heat the oil to about 90C . My oil seems to be right in that ballpark. Your idea would work and also scavenge heat from the exhaust, however, it adds complexity to my system that I don't want, considering I take it apart 2-3 times a day, haha. 3. I think it may have been you that recommended the wire previously. It has been my experience that the alpine mode does not produce enough btu energy. The chamber runs cool and that causes build up more quickly (with waste oil ) It runs fine on alpine on diesel. I have tried the scouring pad idea and a few other things and hope to have a video out on it soon. I'm in the middle of testing something that seems very promising... but, those test usually end in failure. 4. I believe it was just after this video (was filmed) that I started using diesel to start and stop the heater. It helps for sure. I would like to run strait oil, and that is the plan. Running diesel allows me to run tests for long enough to see if my latest experiment is better, worse or the same. It has been my experience that using strait waste oil with my current setup will not produce enough chamber heat to run for more than a few hours. 5. Totally. My focus at this time is on making the heater run for more than a few days on a waste oil mix. If I can make that happen, then I will focus more on making it efficient. Also, I'm trying to focus on experiments that will lead to the average person being able to do the same to their heater. That somewhat limits what I do. Cheers !
Cooked Bearing in the fan or just simply damaged the inlet fan from the heat I think. Enjoyed the video and am very curious to see what's going on with the chemistry experiment.
You're not too far off with your guesses... I won't spoil it for you. I have completed the testing with new oil and these chemicals, and now am trying another modification and chemicals with waste oil. Lots of stuff happening.
Thanks for the comment. That's not a bad idea, but I don't think it's terribly necessary to control it that accurately. There are also other issues as well. If you heat a large reservoir of oil, this would method would work, but it would take a lot of heat, and evaporate off lighter fuels that are used to thin the oil (gas, kerosene or diesel). If you use it on a closed system where it does not release gasses, then you build pressure. The only way practical way to do this is to heat between the pump and the heater. If you heat to 90C between the pump and heater to 90C, you're going to get some off gassing. The 12V heater would likely cause less fluctuation, but with the "right" length fuel line this doesn't seem to be too much of an issue. Cheers.
I was sure that I responded to this... I responded to another of your comments that basically answers this... but yes, I have thought of this and ig could help, once the burn chamber heat is under control. I have ordered a ECU and controller that should allow me to control the fan speed and fuel separately, so hopefully that works.
Has anyone actually had any luck running these on waste oil long term? I tried 60% oil 40% diesel. My heater outlet is ducted through my oil tank to preheat it a bit. Then I have a few wraps of brake line around the exhaust right before the fuel nozzle to further preheat it. I have also tried without heating it around the exhaust. Didn’t seem to make much of a difference in how it ran. I have a valve that goes to a tank with clean diesel so I start and stop on that. I have adjusted my fuel pump in the Locked settings menu so it’s pumping less fuel but the fan is still full rpm. My oil tank has a hydraulic filter plumbed into the filling inlet so anything that goes into the tank is filtered through that plus I have an inline filter before the pump. The air intake for the burn chamber is also preheated. The longest I have got it to run is 3 days and I took it apart after it shut itself off and the entire thing was completely full of soot and solid ash.
Many claim that they have had great luck, but I have NEVER seen any video evidence of this. You see a bunch of people making 2-3 videos saying it's great and then never hear form them again... From talking to lots of people who work on commercial waste oil burners, the soot is inevitable, so it's a matter of being able to deal with the ash / soot. I have experimented with burning brand new oil, so it is not a matter of the oil being clean. I have heard people say that they run 10% oil with no issues... and I find that somewhat believable... but for me that's not worth it. Your 3 days of run time seems about right to me. I have 30 videos that all end in failure... many many experiments that were not filmed.
Preheating the oil has nothing to do with clean burning of waste oil. We have 50+ years of burning waste oil in many different designs. To start, take NEW clean motor oil and you will be surprised at the amount of ash produced. When you add the carbon of waste oil you will generate enough ash to plug a Chinese diesel heater in a few hours. The best we have been able to do with a group of many people, spending 100 of hours experimenting is to add @ 10% of used ATF, Automatic Transmission Fluid. Any other waste oil will quickly plug a STD CDH. What we have learned from all our experiments is to use the concept of a gauze pad from the CDH in a drip waste oil heater. By using 2 layers of 1/4 SS mesh in our DRIP HEATER burn chamber, the waste oil vaporizes and we get up to 1000° F hotter flame. Bright white instead of dull yellow flame tips. The blue tinge from the chimney is completely gone and it is almost impossible to see from the stack output if the heater is running or not. Only from a certain angle, do we see the heat shimmer. The composition of the waste ash left in the bottom is now completely different. Much less in volume, lighter in weight and much easier to clean. Reduced cleaning frequency from every 24 hours to 72+ hours. Perhaps, as many of us have learned, you will one day realize a CDH is NOT for used oil?
Thanks for the comment. I have a video where I burnt new motor oil and came to the conclusion that it is the oil and not the "waste" part. I realized a long time ago that these heaters were not good for waste oil, but just like you did lots of experiments to come to this conclusion, and more time to come up with the 2 layers of 1/4ss, I have been doing lots and lots of testing. I have enjoyed experimenting. Thanks for sharing your results... this is quite interesting. Was this testing in one of these types of heaters, or a larger unit ? Just curious/ The last video in this series I started to build a different heater unit. Not sure if I will have any success with it at all, but it's fun.
The problem with the veggie oil is the glycerin that exists in it. Glycerin is not a flammable substance. If we get rid of it (i.e. making biodiesel) then we can burn it.
If you plan on burning a lot of waste oil, you may want to skip fiddling around with different filters and just go right to the centrifuge (e.g. WVO Designs, Utah Biodiesel, US Filtermaxx, etc...). They're not cheap, but cheaper than a number of failed attempts first. 🤷♂️
Thanks for the tip ! I have been considering building a centrifuge. I have a lathe and a mill... but I would like to try to do this without that step if possible. I have been testing new oil over the past few days and my findings were interesting. It seems the contamination of the oil is less of an issue than burning oil... I am now making modifications to try to get more heat into the chamber so that it gets hot enough to burn.
@@loweredexpectations4927 best of luck. Yes, I imagine particulate contamination is less of a factor in a burner than an injector as long as you're at least filtering LARGE chunks that would clog lines even on the burner. I think the problem that still plagues burners is getting a consistent burn when there is water or other non-burnable contaminants (engine coolant sometimes, or other mystery oils with different flash points). I can say that water is removed pretty well with a centrifuge with a preheater, being heavier than oil. You can also use water separator style filters or even something like a P-trap to separate heavier waters. I seem to recall they even make clear P-traps for demonstration purposes, but would be perfect to see if it's filled with water. Anyway, sorry if this sounds like unsolicited advice from a know it all, maybe it is. 😆 But I am just trying to be helpful. I wish you the best of luck from an admirer south of the border.
@@Gideon_Judges6 I think you are correct about it being a bigger deal for systems that use injectors. Also, oil "quality" and type is going to vary wildly depending on your source. My oil sits for a long time before use and the way I filter it removes any water that is actually pooling at the bottom, but there will always be some oil in the oil that does not separate, unless you use a centrifuge or heat it up quite a bit. I appreciate your comment and you taking the time to share you ideas / thoughts.
Can you do a water spray into the combustion chamber next by adding a motorcycle fuel tee valve into the fuel inlet. Cycle it by switching the valve between fuel and water and have a windshield washer pump to pump using windshield washer fluid so it doesn't freeze in your garage. See if it removes some of the carbon build up. You would have to take it apart before you cycle it to see the existing carbon build up then inject the water once up to pressure for a few cycles. You may need a water clean out weep hole in the casing or not because it would go out the exhaust.
I have considered something like this, and I may try it in the future. The number one issue as of now, is that the burn chamber is not getting hot enough. If it is hot enough, water could potentially help, but I am now working on mods to try to get it hot and keep it hot. Cheers.
HAHA... "fear free"... It may appear that way, but I do actually think things through a little... I stay clear of gasses that explode easily. Propane, natural gas, hydrogen... When these things go wrong, they can go very wrong in a hurry with almost no warning.
Are you using rtv or do you reuse the gaskets? Seems it would be expensive to use new gaskets every time you break the unit down, as you tend to do that frequently.
I reuse gaskets many times. Before you install the gaskets, smear somet high temperature grease on the outside of the gasket. This will stop it from sticking on the surface of the parts.
I also think that the hot air as intake air heated up the motor to much...also don't be afraid of the temperature to much, mine is (for now) stil running on diesel like it should and I changed the settings on it so that the fan is running a lot slower to the pump speed and I have it now running all day at 2,4hz and the core temp is steady at 245c...the safety is at 246c, than the pump slows down to cool too 239c and from there it picks up again...I do understand that you would want to stay clear of that safety while you are cooking the oil and making it flow at a higher rate... another idea maybe if you want to keep experimenting with this method could be to fix your fuel line higher on the heat exchangers fins so that it is not at the core and heating up as fast...changing the distance to the core let's you tune the amount of heat in the fuel. I think there is some truth to this but as always you need to find the sweetspot between heating and bubbling of the fuel. Together with cleaning up the oil and changing the a/f ratio it might work. But at some point you might as well just be making your own diesel.
You are correct about the hot air heating the motor ... That is interesting ... my heater will overheat / shutdown at 238 (the manual says 230C) but I have been told by others that theirs will run much hotter. You could be right about moving the line to a spot that heats and cools more gradually.... I suppose this could also be done by making a much larger heatsink for the heated line, but your idea is easier.
Hi Joel, could you make a video about the new talking controller from Vevor. They are sold with a remote but can't figure out how to pair it. I contacted the company and the asked me to send them a picture?!? Never got it to work and can't find videos on YT. Thanks.
Hey, sorry to hear you have been having issues. I do not have access to this product at this time. I have seen that David McLuckie has done a few videos with a talking controller, but I think the video was about something else and just happened to have that controller. I assume that you have checked the manual for pairing instructions ? There are also several other pairing videos for other controllers that may be the same ? ua-cam.com/video/lJDEggrx8Ic/v-deo.html&ab_channel=VanlifeUK_Nomad
I am going to have to print myself a C to F chart so I know what your temps are. Here in Texas we are still in the stone age,and use the Kelvin scale to measure temperature.
LOL... yeah... I sometimes try to use both, but in this series of videos there just WAY too many conversions for me to do. My google search is FULL of searches similar to "90C to F"
Thanks for the comment. I may be wrong, but I don't think this is a good idea. Unless you are using perfectly clean oil with no water or gas, you are going to get bubbles. These pumps don't work well with bubbles. Even if the pump does work with bubbles, the delivery rate of the fuel will be very inconsistent, the oil will have time to cool off on the way to the heater and if you heat the oil hot enough, it could cause premature failure of the pump.
I'm sure that there is a little too much fuel. I have ordered another ecu and controller that will allow me to change the fan and pump speed independently. Thanks.
Centrifuge and filter that oil so that its really clean..... that will help with buildup some.... i would also move your fuel heater line to wrap around the unit closer to the injection port, to avoid massive heating in the fins and vapor locking.... you want the oil hot but not vaporizing..... there is a sweet spot somewhere around where the injection is.... take a temp reading on the side of the burn chamber while it is running, that will tell you where to place your preheater line......
Yes... I would like to build a centrifuge.... They are a little pricey to purchase. I have tested burning new oil, to see how much of the issue was contamination... and the results were interesting. Video not yet released.
Hallo, I ordered a new pump because the pump which is installed is a 22ml pump. You need a 28ml pump to run this heater with real 8 KW! Here is the guy who did it. According to his experiments it works well. Just watch his last 4 videos if you're interested in. ua-cam.com/video/ZLukn3oTuDA/v-deo.html
Thanks for the comment... You will also need a LOT more airflow to get 8kw... I do not think it is practical, and if you do get 8kw, I'm guessing the heater would overheat. I think David McLuckie calculated that the fan would have to spin at 10K rpm to deliver enough air, and I don't think that accounts for efficiency losses of the fan, or the restriction of the exhaust and inlet. It would be interesting to see your results, but I assume you will just get a lot of blue smoke and soot. Good luck.
All he 'proved' in his trials was that it was possible to deliver significantly more diesel through the heater using the same size and speed of fan. without the heater flaming out. Heat outputs were never measured and compared, nor was the carbon monoxide and smoke in the exhaust, indeed despite many comments, these issues were not addressed and he studiously avoided even one view of the exhaust emissions. In order to burn that much extra fuel a larger more powerful fan would be require to burn properly, without expelling monoxide and unburnt fuel out of the exhaust.
@@loweredexpectations4927 Sorry for any misunderstanding - not your tests, you are pretty methodical about how you do things and so is David, ....in his inimical way ;
I liked your explanation on preheating the fuel but to watch the proof was really great! So worth watching to the end. Thanks for great job. Can't wait for number 11.
Thanks ! I think the results could be different if you used waste oil that was from a different source and / or filtered it really well, dewatered it and so on... Most of the gassing here is likely from contamination of the oil and not from the motor oil itself, but this is how I use my oil, so this is how I ran my test.
Cheers !
@Lowered Expectations I also was wondering about using new oil and of various types (Synthetic vs Dino) to have a base line on what to expect. I keep looking at the oil centrifuge (like Diesel Craft) but hate to spend the money. If I do, I would probably use compressed air in a holding tank vs buying a pump... best laid plans or something like that.
@@darrylbrown1319 Haha... yeah. There are lots if variables when it comes to waste oil... it's hard to know what you are getting. I used a high quality semi synthetic Motul 10W40, and it takes a lot more heat to burn than my waste oil... it made a LOT of blue smoke.
I may end up building a small centrifuge, but based on my testing, the number one issue is keeping heat in the chamber to flash the oil off (or significantly lowering the flash point of the oil)
Every time I see you have a new video, it reminds me of the "Lowered Expectations" skits they did on Saturday Night Live years ago when it was actually funny.
That's funny. When I came up with the name for this channel I searched the name "lowered expectations" and there was one other channel that had one video many years ago (or something like that) I didn't see anything on google... Then once I made the name and searched for my channel on youtube, all of these skits started popping up, haha. I had never heard of it.
i think you have a bit of water in that waste oil, my heated wvo (same way you do just 9 mm pipe) dont form bobbles - though it takes some time for air to clear the lines
You got 9mm pipe ti fit in the heat exchanger ? Interesting. Did you squish it oval ?
Yes... I do have some water contamination, but also, I am mixing with gasoline and waste motor oil from air cooled engines, tends to have a lot of combustion byproducts.
If I run pure diesel it does not bubble ... I was sure that it would worse than the oil.... I have not not tested new motor oil or waste automotive oil, but I have a feeling that they would not vaporize as much.
@@loweredexpectations4927 yup, petrol/gas will be the bubbling issue. i think more airflow might help the burn once it gets started with the heated oil.
@@mightyfinejonboy I do think that air flow is a part of the puzzle, but the chamber needs to be really hot before you increase air flow, ir it will just cool it off. I've done a lot of testing since this footage and it seems the main challenge is getting / keeping heat in the burn chamber. Oil requires a much higher temperature to flash off, and if this doesn't happen, then you get lots of carbon pooling in the bottom of the chamber.
@@loweredexpectations4927 haha no 9mm will now fit, but i broke two gills off to fit it :) - i only had a 9mm pipe. I was thinking if it was due to gasoline. i have also bend the end of the metal pipe that runs to the glowplug so i dont have this u shaped plastic pipeline running down besides the exhaust.
@@mnp3713 I was going to do the same thing with the metal line so that my new line connected directly. The reason I didn't, is because I wanted a piece of clear line where I can see it so I know what's happening with the fuel, and so when I prime it. I know when it's getting close. I may do it in the future, as it is cleaner looking and less likely to burn ...
could maybe just warm it through the brake line in front of the warm air blowing out, it pumps slow enough to get it pretty warm. just a thought. i admire your determination
after thining about it ,the fuel would have too much time to cool back down before it got into the heater
Yes... I had thought about that... Just making a oil / loop of brake line in the air outlet. I'm not sure that would get it hot enough and it's actually more tricky to do, in my opinion.
Determination is a good word for it... some call it insanity, haha. I have been making more progress ! Testing continues.
That is possible.
I'm sure if you could regulate the fuel temp to a 60-70 degrees you would get a better result. You could lift your brake line off the fin's, or insulate enough off the brake line until desired temp is reached !
@@Keith24GB Thanks... I have had that suggestion a few times. From what I have read, waste oil furnaces generally heat the oil to 90C or more. The difference being that they filter their oil really well and generally have some sort of drying process. I believe my oil mix is vaporizing because 1. It has some water content and 2. It has some gasoline in it (even when I don't purposely add it)
One of mine runs at 230C all day, it's normal. Probably melted inlet fan with the hot air intake. I have three, one has fuel coil around exhaust with tin foil to insulate between exhaust and copper tube, about .200". Used oil needs to be filtered and thinned. I used gas, 10-15%. Done all these experiments already, opted out ,sticking with diesel and 5% gas. Another tip, to make lean or rich, move intake fan in (to lean) or out on shaft.
Your heater runs at 230C ? That curious. I've had someone else tell me theirs ran at 245C, I believe. The owner's manual says that the overheat limit is 230... but mine is just above 236. I have seen many videos of these heaters and the normal / average temperature seems to be closer to 186. Oh... You run waste oil and gas 👍 that temp makes more sense now.
You're not too far off with your fan melting guess...
My oil is filtered some, and always thinned with diesel and sometimes also gasoline. Currently 70% oil, 20% diesel and 10% gasoline... and because I don't want to do the math ... I have added 20ml of cetane booster.
Since this video I have made many modifications, some of them complete fails and others steps in the right direction. Currently running a test that seems very promising, but I've had that thought beforehand they never end well, haha. Testing continues.
Try carbon felt cloth, It can resist 1800 degrees! Amazon sells it!
Thanks... I will look into that !
I have ordered one can wait for it .
Looking forward to try to run it on my biodiesel made of waste vegetable oil.
I think what you meant to say is "I'm looking forward to running this as per the manufacturer's recommendations as anything else would be silly!"
🤣 For real tho. I hope you enjoy it !
@@loweredexpectations4927 yes as the manufacturer recommendation👍
@@dorienhachey5909 That's what I thought you said... 🤣
Im curious to see how will that work. Please let us know or make a video. Didn’t see anybody posting video of running it on biodiesel
@@trikator yes I will let you know.
Love your ”never quit” attitude. 😄👍 I mentioned in a comment a couple of videos back, the amount of particels in the oil and suggested a test with clean motor oil to see if something changes and you answered you would try that. I do understand it will take a while before that video will come. But the metal on your ”glove-magnet”…😄, is kinda pointing in the same direction im thinking. I am deeply impressed by the heater and how much abuse it can take, but i also think its going to be a bit of a challenge to make the heater to burn the metal in the used oil. I think part of the build up you have in the heater comes from that. It would be very interesting to see what would happen if you ”clean” that used oil a bit before using it. Like running the oil through a hanging textile filter with a magnet in the bottom or something similar. I will follow this adventure until you will be successful with the heater or maybe until your garage is no more, either way you will get a lot of heat. So keep up the good work. 😉
Thanks again for the comment ! I have done some testing with new motor oil. Motul 10W40 semi synthetic stuff. I think I have a few videos to release before that one, but it's coming.
Yeah... There's only so much you can do without good filtration / a centrifuge. The idea of testing the new oil is to see if the main / current battle is due to oil or contamination.
HAHA.. let's hope that I'm not making a video of me roasting weenies over my garage !!
Oh just thought of something else I was going to comment on. So on mine when it has been running on highnfot a while and I reduce the setting, I too have noticed the housing temp increases significantly for a while, it then drops down shortly afterwards. I have put it down to the reduced airflow on the lower setting and the latent heat in the housing.
Yes... I think you are right about the lowered air flow over the exchanger.
Still following and hoping it works.
An idea I want to try: small steel tank heated to about 150F to supply the pump. I am not sure the pump will take it. But would flow more consistently.
Then add rubber tube over the steel line going through the intake to the burner. The cold air blowing over it must cool it some.
I think best case scenario with start up on diesel and preheating to 150 or 160F we may get like 100 hrs between clean out....that would be decent.
Keep it up!
Thanks for the comment!
My fuel tank sits beside the heater and warms up quite a bit... not quite that warm, but the consistency of the fuel / oil, after I have added gasoline and diesel, is not too thick. As long as the oil wasn't vaporizing before the pump, this would work, but it gets plenty hot after the pump, so I don't think I need to worry about this.
The steel fuel line is in a pretty hot area. The body of the heater is usually around 200C (93F) and that area of the heater doesn't see too much air flow. I wouldn't hurt for sure... and I have some insulation sleeve stuff... so maybe I'll give it a go.
The video is not yet released, but I have been starting it on diesel and it helps👍
@@loweredexpectations4927 I do not know how much difference it makes but the last 2 or 3 " of steel line to the burner are exposed to the airflow goinf into the chamber...in my case cold air. So depending on the fuel flow rate and such it may be cooling that fuel back down a lot. I was going to take 1/4" rubber fuel line, split it open and roll it on the steel line to insulate from the cold air. Again...may not be a big impact.
@@fmemories I just had my heater apart and was going to try this, bit decided not to try two different experiments at the same time, haha. I will try it some time.
@@loweredexpectations4927 so was thinking too much about this. I believe the density of oxygen in air is reduced at higher temps. So routing high temp air into inlet may help with preheating the oil but its at a cost of oxygen to make a complete burn in the chamber. Ie I think we may want to ensure oil temp is high enough and get the mixture right with cool inlet air.....but that assumes you can get the burn chamber hot enough.
It all boils down to: can you get enough fuel and air at the right mixture to make it hot enough, along with the preheated oit, to flash burn the oil
@@fmemories Yes, this is 100% it... I have been doing lots of experiments trying to keep the chamber temps up while still feeding enough air. The air, even at room temp, cools off the chamber where the oil enters, so the oil doesn't want to ignite in the main burn area.
I've had a few small successes, but this is going to be a challenge for sure. I may need to start over with a new chamber as mine has had so many mods, it may be junk...
Preheating the oil definitely seems to burn cleaner, and together with some preheated inlet air is a step in the right direction. I think it would be wise to filter the waste oil a lot better using a pump and fine filter. This should result in less gunk buildup. Another thing you could try is to mix a bit of (pork) gelatine (5grams) in hot water and add it to the filtered (1:8) waste oil. Let it cool down and settle overnight. A lot of contaminants will get caught in the gelatine, which forms a (solid) layer on the bottom of the container. Mix in about 20% kerosine to the filtered/cleaned oil and you should be good to go. Good luck!
Thanks for the comment.
I think that filtering is a good idea. I have just finished some testing on new motor oil to see if the issues were due to garbage in the oil, just a result of burning oil. The results were interesting... high quality oil burns with less ash when it is completely burned, but it also takes more heat to burn. It seems the main issue with these heaters is that the chamber doesn't get hot enough.
I purchased gelatin a few weeks ago now and plan on doing this test. Mostly out of curiosity, as I don't think this is a practical method on any sort of scale. Kerosene would likely be better than diesel, but it is also over twice the price here. $4/L ...In some places I hear it is actually less than home heating oil.
Better quality oil has a higher flashpoint, and fewer impurities. It still has the metallic detergent additives, though.
Also the red diesel is not much cheaper in Canada and you have to be a farmer to buy it or to get a farmer to buy it for you, not worth the hassle for the price difference
@@5roundsrapid263 Yes, that's basically what I was saying about the "...less ash when it is completely burned, but it also takes more heat to burn." As for the additives, this will vary drastically depending on the intended application. Motorcycle oil and classic car oil tends to have a lot of zinc compared to other oils. I wonder how much of this stuff comes out in a centrifuge....
@@loweredexpectations4927 I was just agreeing that you were right.
Just one turn of copper pipe around the exhaust works great as a pre heater. Multiple turns is a problem.
Thanks for the comment. You sound like a person who may be talking from experience. More than one way to skin a cat, as they say.
The pictures of vapour bubbles in the hot oil resurrected a thought in my mind, that might be worth a look when you get back onto efficient running on plain diesel.
With this type of dosing pump, on the power stroke, the rapid movement of the piston or slug, causes a partial vacuum to form behind it allowing cavitation bubbles to form. on the return stroke, these pass through the one way valve and on the next power stroke, they are pumped along the fuel line. Since the bubbles formed are comprised of vaporised fuel, and the swept volume is liquid + bubbles, it must mean that there is marginally less liquid fuel pumped/min than the expected [no. of strokes/min] x chamber volume. To avoid this cavitation the fuel needs to be delivered to the back of the piston at a pressure at least equal to the vapour pressure of the fuel at running temperature. This could be achieved perhaps just by having a suitably large head between the tank and pump, or by a second pump circuit to feed positive pressure to the fuel entering the dosing pump, with a variable relief valve returning unused fuel to the tank.
This might just make a percent or to increase in output and could give a smoother burn. Small maybe, but every little bit counts. OG
ps I'd love to know why these bubbles don't just condense back to liquid fuel once they have passed the pump and move into the slightly pressurised environment of the delivery pipe, as they travel to the burner . All I can think of is perhaps some kind of surface tension effect ?
Any ideas fellas ??
😂 Thanks for the detailed comment... Your brain works a little like mine... However... why not just make the correction with increasing the hz of the pump ? I do always make sure that my tank is above the pump and it is gravity fed, specifically for this reason, more pressure = more head = less cavitation.
That is a great question about why the bubbles don't totally collapse. My guess is that the fuel isn't just heating and cooling, but some if it is actually "burning" in this process. A chemical change due to the heat from the cavitation. Miniscule diesel effects.
@@loweredexpectations4927
< why not just make the correction with increasing the hz of the pump? >
What ? ..... doing something the easy way ...? ! c'mon, no fun in that ;
@@bigoldgrizzly 🤣 .... Don't forget who is saying "do things the easy way".... a guy who has spent two months trying to make this heater burn waste oil, when he could just build a dedicated waste oil burner. haha.
It is possible that some pre vaporized fuel could be helping things along during startup 🤷♂
@@loweredexpectations4927
My old Physics teacher was fond of saying " Experience is what you acquire, when you don't get what you expected!
A year or two back. I found an old [1969?] practical assignment of mine he had marked. I had made an error in my method and he tasked me to identify and report back what that error was. He also added " Not to worry. You wouldn't be doing it right if you didn't do something wrong .... provided you learn from the experience"
One thing I particularly like about your videos is that after reporting about what you have tried and the results. you tell us what you are intending to try next. This Stimulates us to think through what might happen and why and to discuss it in the comments. A fun way for us all to learn as your experiments proceed. Thank you!
Where the bubbles form in the brake line, it will plug off right there with contaminants and carbon.
I'm not 100% sure what you're trying to say. My oil is filtered so there won't be any chunks of stuff and the temperature is not hot enough to cause it to carbon up in the line. If I were to use the exhaust to heat the oil, I think that this could happen.
Just saying that it’s going to happen eventually. Might take a while. Any time a liquid turns to a gas, anything that’s in it will pretty much stay right there unless it gets flushed through by the fluids that follow. The metal particles, and other contaminants are pretty likely to stay there. The magnet idea is an excellent one. Like putting a magnetic oil plug in an oil pan. Put one in the fuel tank next to the fuel outlet. 👍🏼
@@markcoyle8003 Oh. yes. I have a feeling that where the fuel vaporizes there will be a pie if ash and unburnable stuff that settles. I'm guessing that good filtration is important once you get to the point where the fuel is vaporizing and burning completely.
1.) why not tap the s holes and just put tiny machine screws in. Then you can use the holes to clean it out
2.) preheat oil doesn’t mean make it dangerously hot. I’d recommend a 8-12” long tightly coiled spring such as a tension spring or a garage door spring. Put the fuel line (real rubber fuel line or even silicone fuel line) inside the coil, and wrap it to the exhaust pipe with a bit of foil or high temp tape to encourage contact and heat transfer. You can adjust the amount of conductivity so the fuel is hot but you can still pinch the line at the point where it goes into the motor for 5 seconds without burning your fingers. That’s about right. I’d recommend tying the coil tightly to the exhaust at the bottom, where the exhaust is not as hot. And have them not touching at the top. It will be easier to adjust the heat if you do that. Make sure the top and bottom of the coil is open and vertically aligned, so air can pass up through the inside through induction.
3.) I’ve found that even though I’m in calgary, the high altitude mode is making things worse. Instead, I’ve had much better luck adjusting the schedule power supply voltage. That “lightsaber noise” you heard is a repeated flame out and reignite on. The gasses aren’t hot enough, or there is too much air. Coil about 20’ of .25mm nichrome wire up and shove it into your burn chamber. It will glow bright red hot and conduct throughout so the entire wire gets cherry red. Any I burned hydrocarbons will be forced to come in contact with that wire upon exit and will burn. This will ensure that 100% waste oil (no diesel) will burn consistently and maintain a core temp of 180.
4.) I have two fuels tied in with valves. I start on diesel and switch to 100% waste oil. If you are paying for diesel to blend, in order to have a functioning heater, you are defeating the purpose of this heater. The whole point is to make a free and sustainable heat source that can also be used if shtf long term. Stick your oil and fine tune your machine.
5.) buy a full aluminum automotive radiator or 1”hydronic convection pipe (with the fins on it) and plumb your exhaust through that on its way out of your structure. You will be amazed how much heat you’re wasting. Don’t go any longer than you have to, or you’ll create too much back pressure. Larger diameters are better if possible. The exit should be no hotter than 35 degrees Celsius or you’re wasting heat.
1. That could work. I don't want to add too much thermal mass as I want that area to get hot and cook off the oil.
2. I'm aware that superheating the oil is not a good idea... This is why I recommended not using copper tubing coiled on the exhaust. Most waste oil preheaters heat the oil to about 90C . My oil seems to be right in that ballpark. Your idea would work and also scavenge heat from the exhaust, however, it adds complexity to my system that I don't want, considering I take it apart 2-3 times a day, haha.
3. I think it may have been you that recommended the wire previously. It has been my experience that the alpine mode does not produce enough btu energy. The chamber runs cool and that causes build up more quickly (with waste oil ) It runs fine on alpine on diesel. I have tried the scouring pad idea and a few other things and hope to have a video out on it soon. I'm in the middle of testing something that seems very promising... but, those test usually end in failure.
4. I believe it was just after this video (was filmed) that I started using diesel to start and stop the heater. It helps for sure. I would like to run strait oil, and that is the plan. Running diesel allows me to run tests for long enough to see if my latest experiment is better, worse or the same. It has been my experience that using strait waste oil with my current setup will not produce enough chamber heat to run for more than a few hours.
5. Totally. My focus at this time is on making the heater run for more than a few days on a waste oil mix. If I can make that happen, then I will focus more on making it efficient. Also, I'm trying to focus on experiments that will lead to the average person being able to do the same to their heater. That somewhat limits what I do.
Cheers !
I realy like you stubbieness... sorry about my english.... love what you do and so funny that pepole just have to be over proved! Nice work!
Thanks for the comment and your kind words. I will keep doing what I'm doing !
Weres the bacon fat
On the stovetop… not kidding. That video may take a while.
@@loweredexpectations4927 that will smell awesome neighbors be drooling
@@vinvinn7050 I figure it's the nice thing to do after all the nonsense they have to deal with, having me as a neighbour.
Cooked Bearing in the fan or just simply damaged the inlet fan from the heat I think. Enjoyed the video and am very curious to see what's going on with the chemistry experiment.
You're not too far off with your guesses... I won't spoil it for you. I have completed the testing with new oil and these chemicals, and now am trying another modification and chemicals with waste oil. Lots of stuff happening.
Have you considered using 12v heat tape to heat the oil to a more controlled temp
Thanks for the comment.
That's not a bad idea, but I don't think it's terribly necessary to control it that accurately.
There are also other issues as well. If you heat a large reservoir of oil, this would method would work, but it would take a lot of heat, and evaporate off lighter fuels that are used to thin the oil (gas, kerosene or diesel).
If you use it on a closed system where it does not release gasses, then you build pressure. The only way practical way to do this is to heat between the pump and the heater. If you heat to 90C between the pump and heater to 90C, you're going to get some off gassing. The 12V heater would likely cause less fluctuation, but with the "right" length fuel line this doesn't seem to be too much of an issue. Cheers.
would increasing airflow help by using a 12v mattress air inflator with a speed controller?
I was sure that I responded to this... I responded to another of your comments that basically answers this... but yes, I have thought of this and ig could help, once the burn chamber heat is under control. I have ordered a ECU and controller that should allow me to control the fan speed and fuel separately, so hopefully that works.
Glad you do this shit so I don’t have to
HAHA... Yeah, I get that comment a few times on each video..
26:33 you melted the impeller with the hot air intake. Classic ID-10-T error.
Pretty close.
Has anyone actually had any luck running these on waste oil long term? I tried 60% oil 40% diesel. My heater outlet is ducted through my oil tank to preheat it a bit. Then I have a few wraps of brake line around the exhaust right before the fuel nozzle to further preheat it. I have also tried without heating it around the exhaust. Didn’t seem to make much of a difference in how it ran. I have a valve that goes to a tank with clean diesel so I start and stop on that. I have adjusted my fuel pump in the Locked settings menu so it’s pumping less fuel but the fan is still full rpm. My oil tank has a hydraulic filter plumbed into the filling inlet so anything that goes into the tank is filtered through that plus I have an inline filter before the pump. The air intake for the burn chamber is also preheated. The longest I have got it to run is 3 days and I took it apart after it shut itself off and the entire thing was completely full of soot and solid ash.
Many claim that they have had great luck, but I have NEVER seen any video evidence of this. You see a bunch of people making 2-3 videos saying it's great and then never hear form them again...
From talking to lots of people who work on commercial waste oil burners, the soot is inevitable, so it's a matter of being able to deal with the ash / soot.
I have experimented with burning brand new oil, so it is not a matter of the oil being clean. I have heard people say that they run 10% oil with no issues... and I find that somewhat believable... but for me that's not worth it. Your 3 days of run time seems about right to me. I have 30 videos that all end in failure... many many experiments that were not filmed.
🪦Rest in peace 🎀Heaterena we will all miss you😭😭😜
You should name your next heater after a high-school bully- will be therapeutic 😜
LOL... That's funny. I can't even remember back that far... but go for it 🤟
Preheating the oil has nothing to do with clean burning of waste oil. We have 50+ years of burning waste oil in many different designs. To start, take NEW clean motor oil and you will be surprised at the amount of ash produced. When you add the carbon of waste oil you will generate enough ash to plug a Chinese diesel heater in a few hours. The best we have been able to do with a group of many people, spending 100 of hours experimenting is to add @ 10% of used ATF, Automatic Transmission Fluid. Any other waste oil will quickly plug a STD CDH. What we have learned from all our experiments is to use the concept of a gauze pad from the CDH in a drip waste oil heater. By using 2 layers of 1/4 SS mesh in our DRIP HEATER burn chamber, the waste oil vaporizes and we get up to 1000° F hotter flame. Bright white instead of dull yellow flame tips. The blue tinge from the chimney is completely gone and it is almost impossible to see from the stack output if the heater is running or not. Only from a certain angle, do we see the heat shimmer. The composition of the waste ash left in the bottom is now completely different. Much less in volume, lighter in weight and much easier to clean. Reduced cleaning frequency from every 24 hours to 72+ hours. Perhaps, as many of us have learned, you will one day realize a CDH is NOT for used oil?
Thanks for the comment. I have a video where I burnt new motor oil and came to the conclusion that it is the oil and not the "waste" part.
I realized a long time ago that these heaters were not good for waste oil, but just like you did lots of experiments to come to this conclusion, and more time to come up with the 2 layers of 1/4ss, I have been doing lots and lots of testing. I have enjoyed experimenting.
Thanks for sharing your results... this is quite interesting. Was this testing in one of these types of heaters, or a larger unit ? Just curious/
The last video in this series I started to build a different heater unit. Not sure if I will have any success with it at all, but it's fun.
The problem with the veggie oil is the glycerin that exists in it. Glycerin is not a flammable substance. If we get rid of it (i.e. making biodiesel) then we can burn it.
Yeah... I'm burning waste motor oil, so I'm guessing most of the processes for cleaning WVO will not work... It is a very interesting process tho.
If you plan on burning a lot of waste oil, you may want to skip fiddling around with different filters and just go right to the centrifuge (e.g. WVO Designs, Utah Biodiesel, US Filtermaxx, etc...). They're not cheap, but cheaper than a number of failed attempts first. 🤷♂️
Thanks for the tip ! I have been considering building a centrifuge. I have a lathe and a mill... but I would like to try to do this without that step if possible.
I have been testing new oil over the past few days and my findings were interesting. It seems the contamination of the oil is less of an issue than burning oil... I am now making modifications to try to get more heat into the chamber so that it gets hot enough to burn.
@@loweredexpectations4927 best of luck. Yes, I imagine particulate contamination is less of a factor in a burner than an injector as long as you're at least filtering LARGE chunks that would clog lines even on the burner. I think the problem that still plagues burners is getting a consistent burn when there is water or other non-burnable contaminants (engine coolant sometimes, or other mystery oils with different flash points). I can say that water is removed pretty well with a centrifuge with a preheater, being heavier than oil. You can also use water separator style filters or even something like a P-trap to separate heavier waters. I seem to recall they even make clear P-traps for demonstration purposes, but would be perfect to see if it's filled with water.
Anyway, sorry if this sounds like unsolicited advice from a know it all, maybe it is. 😆 But I am just trying to be helpful. I wish you the best of luck from an admirer south of the border.
@@Gideon_Judges6 I think you are correct about it being a bigger deal for systems that use injectors. Also, oil "quality" and type is going to vary wildly depending on your source.
My oil sits for a long time before use and the way I filter it removes any water that is actually pooling at the bottom, but there will always be some oil in the oil that does not separate, unless you use a centrifuge or heat it up quite a bit.
I appreciate your comment and you taking the time to share you ideas / thoughts.
Can you do a water spray into the combustion chamber next by adding a motorcycle fuel tee valve into the fuel inlet. Cycle it by switching the valve between fuel and water and have a windshield washer pump to pump using windshield washer fluid so it doesn't freeze in your garage. See if it removes some of the carbon build up. You would have to take it apart before you cycle it to see the existing carbon build up then inject the water once up to pressure for a few cycles. You may need a water clean out weep hole in the casing or not because it would go out the exhaust.
I have considered something like this, and I may try it in the future. The number one issue as of now, is that the burn chamber is not getting hot enough. If it is hot enough, water could potentially help, but I am now working on mods to try to get it hot and keep it hot. Cheers.
Can you run these on lpg / calor gas / propane . Worth a try . Seeing your the test pilot an all and fear free , have at it 😁👍
HAHA... "fear free"... It may appear that way, but I do actually think things through a little... I stay clear of gasses that explode easily. Propane, natural gas, hydrogen... When these things go wrong, they can go very wrong in a hurry with almost no warning.
I’ve heard large trucks and ships use propane injection to make diesel/fuel oil burn cleaner. I wouldn’t try it inside a building, though…
I have tried injecting a little propane, haha... but it does make me nervous... I don't think I will play with that much and not at all on camera.
Put that magnet under the fuel exit on the tank. See what you get.
I have set it beside it for now, just to see what happens.
Are you using rtv or do you reuse the gaskets? Seems it would be expensive to use new gaskets every time you break the unit down, as you tend to do that frequently.
I reuse gaskets many times. Before you install the gaskets, smear somet high temperature grease on the outside of the gasket. This will stop it from sticking on the surface of the parts.
I also think that the hot air as intake air heated up the motor to much...also don't be afraid of the temperature to much, mine is (for now) stil running on diesel like it should and I changed the settings on it so that the fan is running a lot slower to the pump speed and I have it now running all day at 2,4hz and the core temp is steady at 245c...the safety is at 246c, than the pump slows down to cool too 239c and from there it picks up again...I do understand that you would want to stay clear of that safety while you are cooking the oil and making it flow at a higher rate... another idea maybe if you want to keep experimenting with this method could be to fix your fuel line higher on the heat exchangers fins so that it is not at the core and heating up as fast...changing the distance to the core let's you tune the amount of heat in the fuel. I think there is some truth to this but as always you need to find the sweetspot between heating and bubbling of the fuel. Together with cleaning up the oil and changing the a/f ratio it might work. But at some point you might as well just be making your own diesel.
You are correct about the hot air heating the motor ...
That is interesting ... my heater will overheat / shutdown at 238 (the manual says 230C) but I have been told by others that theirs will run much hotter.
You could be right about moving the line to a spot that heats and cools more gradually.... I suppose this could also be done by making a much larger heatsink for the heated line, but your idea is easier.
Hi Joel, could you make a video about the new talking controller from Vevor. They are sold with a remote but can't figure out how to pair it. I contacted the company and the asked me to send them a picture?!? Never got it to work and can't find videos on YT. Thanks.
Hey, sorry to hear you have been having issues. I do not have access to this product at this time. I have seen that David McLuckie has done a few videos with a talking controller, but I think the video was about something else and just happened to have that controller.
I assume that you have checked the manual for pairing instructions ? There are also several other pairing videos for other controllers that may be the same ? ua-cam.com/video/lJDEggrx8Ic/v-deo.html&ab_channel=VanlifeUK_Nomad
I am going to have to print myself a C to F chart so I know what your temps are. Here in Texas we are still in the stone age,and use the Kelvin scale to measure temperature.
LOL... yeah... I sometimes try to use both, but in this series of videos there just WAY too many conversions for me to do. My google search is FULL of searches similar to "90C to F"
Try a bottle of dipetane in your mix , be interesting if it helps !?
Or a wynns injector cleaner
I did a search and it doesn't look like it is available in Canada ? Or at least not readily available. That does sound interesting.
Heat oil before pump that is the Solution
Thanks for the comment.
I may be wrong, but I don't think this is a good idea. Unless you are using perfectly clean oil with no water or gas, you are going to get bubbles. These pumps don't work well with bubbles. Even if the pump does work with bubbles, the delivery rate of the fuel will be very inconsistent, the oil will have time to cool off on the way to the heater and if you heat the oil hot enough, it could cause premature failure of the pump.
Controlled heat like max 50-60C
@@freelancerfreeman6341 What is the benefit of preheating before the pump vs preheating after the pump ?
Lmao we must share similar mentality I have the exact same multi meter, vevor heaters and shop at prince auto 😂
Great minds think alike ! I had another meter and took it for a swim in salt water this summer.... it didn't like that.
@@loweredexpectations4927 if I may offered a piece of advise .... don't take a multi meter swimming in salt water next time 🤷♂️😂
@@ChippyOutdoors If only I had talked to you first...
@@loweredexpectations4927 guess there needs to be another warning label ... 😂 have a great day buddy 🤘
No spoilers here but DClean
Did I miss something... what is "DClean" ? Oh... Deep Clean ?
Why i dont order stuff from Murika the shiping is insane 10 dollar item 40 dollar shipping beyond ridiculous
Murika ? Shipping is a little insane in / from many places these days. I ordered a t shirt and hoodie and the shipping was almost $100
All here is what not to do
I don't completely understand, but I think you are saying that this video is an example of what not to do ? haha... Thanks.
All this technical talk is driving me crazy 🤪 I'm still trying to figure out how one commentor is going to burn his used gas?
Used gas.... does he have some sort of collector on his tail pipe ? haha.
Maybe he uses his gas in different ways than I do.😂
Not after fine tuned. To much fuel in
I'm sure that there is a little too much fuel. I have ordered another ecu and controller that will allow me to change the fan and pump speed independently. Thanks.
Jammer
I'm not sure what you mean... but 👍 Like ... Yamaha WaveJammer ?
You lost me at part 3
Don't blame me for getting lost... If you decide to follow me, getting lost is almost a certainty.
Centrifuge and filter that oil so that its really clean..... that will help with buildup some.... i would also move your fuel heater line to wrap around the unit closer to the injection port, to avoid massive heating in the fins and vapor locking.... you want the oil hot but not vaporizing..... there is a sweet spot somewhere around where the injection is.... take a temp reading on the side of the burn chamber while it is running, that will tell you where to place your preheater line......
Yes... I would like to build a centrifuge.... They are a little pricey to purchase. I have tested burning new oil, to see how much of the issue was contamination... and the results were interesting. Video not yet released.
Hallo, I ordered a new pump because the pump which is installed is a 22ml pump. You need a 28ml pump to run this heater with real 8 KW!
Here is the guy who did it. According to his experiments it works well. Just watch his last 4 videos if you're interested in.
ua-cam.com/video/ZLukn3oTuDA/v-deo.html
Thanks for the comment... You will also need a LOT more airflow to get 8kw... I do not think it is practical, and if you do get 8kw, I'm guessing the heater would overheat.
I think David McLuckie calculated that the fan would have to spin at 10K rpm to deliver enough air, and I don't think that accounts for efficiency losses of the fan, or the restriction of the exhaust and inlet.
It would be interesting to see your results, but I assume you will just get a lot of blue smoke and soot. Good luck.
All he 'proved' in his trials was that it was possible to deliver significantly more diesel through the heater using the same size and speed of fan. without the heater flaming out. Heat outputs were never measured and compared, nor was the carbon monoxide and smoke in the exhaust, indeed despite many comments, these issues were not addressed and he studiously avoided even one view of the exhaust emissions. In order to burn that much extra fuel a larger more powerful fan would be require to burn properly, without expelling monoxide and unburnt fuel out of the exhaust.
@@bigoldgrizzly Are you talking about my tests or David's tests ? I think you are repeating what both David and I said, just in more detail.
@@loweredexpectations4927
Sorry for any misunderstanding - not your tests, you are pretty methodical about how you do things and so is David, ....in his inimical way ;
@@bigoldgrizzly Oooooh... I was really confused, haha.