Biopowered - vegetable oil and biodiesel forum

Biodiesel => Chemistry and process => Topic started by: neisel on April 11, 2021, 11:08:39 AM

Title: Change car fuel filter 2x as often instead of using Filtertechnik SDFC(W2)?
Post by: neisel on April 11, 2021, 11:08:39 AM
When I bought my processor it came with a Filtertechnik FTP180 polish pot that I use in the very last stage of my conversion process as I decant my fuel into 25L hard plastic containers.

Filtertechnik have raised the price of the filter for this thing (known as an SDFC(W2) https://datablad.hyco.no/Hippo_Filter_System.pdf ) from about 15 quid to £34.50 with a hefty £8.50 P&P charge. I used to change the filter every year so it had only had 2,500 litres of made & already much filtered BD in the drying process fuel p.a. run through it. I've now used it for 2 years so it's filtered approx 5,000L 1 x.

My questions for the panel are:

1) How many years of 2,500L p.a. polishing do you reckon I can get away with between filter changes,or,
2) Should I ditch the polish pot & just change the Mann or Hengst fuel filter on the car (at £5 a pop) every 6 mths instead of every year, &,
3) Would that achieve the same result?

TIA.
Title: Re: Change car fuel filter 2x as often instead of using Filtertechnik SDFC(W2)?
Post by: RichardP on April 11, 2021, 02:31:16 PM
I think it depends on how clean the bio is before it goes through your polishing pot before you can determine how long it could be effective for.

If you water wash it fully and it's properly dried then there should be barely anything to take out, so you could just use a couple of 10" filters with 5 & 1 micron filters which are way cheaper than the polishing pot element and finer than on-car fuel filters.
Title: Re: Change car fuel filter 2x as often instead of using Filtertechnik SDFC(W2)?
Post by: neisel on April 11, 2021, 04:43:38 PM
RP,

Thanks for the reply.

Yes it is properly w/w'ed & dried. I had wondered if the polish pot was actually needed at all.

I have one 10" 1 micron 'big blue' filter set up on the processor now & when drying all the BD goes through that many, many times on the way to the spray bar. I'd need to change the plumbing to add a 2nd filter.
Title: Re: Change car fuel filter 2x as often instead of using Filtertechnik SDFC(W2)?
Post by: neisel on April 12, 2021, 11:05:07 AM
Well, I offered Filtertechnik £22.50 for their filter (the last one they sold on ebay nearly 6 mths. ago sold for £20) but they declined.

As I can buy FIVE 10 x 4.5" 1 micron spun yarn filters for the price of one FT filter I'll be retiring my polish pot & not darkening Filtertechnik's door again.
Title: Re: Change car fuel filter 2x as often instead of using Filtertechnik SDFC(W2)?
Post by: dgs on April 12, 2021, 04:11:32 PM
neisel, a little tip for you. Wrap your 10" filter in blue workshop roll. From tests I have done I rekon the aperture size of the blue roll is about 0.1 microns.

I'm pretty sure it filters more efficiently than my centrifuge, certainly a lot finer than the hippo pot filters.
Title: Re: Change car fuel filter 2x as often instead of using Filtertechnik SDFC(W2)?
Post by: neisel on April 12, 2021, 09:41:24 PM
That's interesting.