The internet is full of designs for WVO filtration. My design
is similar to many of these but it includes a few simple tweaks
which I believe make life easier.
The Barrel / Settling Tank
Starting with the barrel itself, WVO is fine filtered into this and stored.
My barrel was purchased from eBay. They're actually recycled shipping containers, so that adds to the green value of what we're doing.
Release Tap
My release tap is positioned approximated three-quarters of the way down the barrel, but it's not strictly necessary. The important things to remember when positioning your tap are as follows:
I would
recommend having the tap a couple of inches or so above the
base
of the barrel,
so any
water
or stray
fats
can
sink
safely below the
level of the tap. However, my arms couldn't reach that far
inside my barrel so I positioned it as low as I could... very
much a
case of do as I say, not as I do.
From the image above you'll see that I soldered a small length
of pipe on my tap, together with an elbow pointing downwards. As
I've said before, it's important not to draw your
WVO from the surface of the barrel, but ideally an inch or so below
the surface (because
some fats float, etc). The elbow fitting ensures that oil is never
taken from the surface. And as this is a fine filtering tank (as
opposed to the settling
tank) the oil near the bottom of the barrel
should be free of nasties down to 1 micron.
Sludge / Water Drain
Any stray fats or water should sink to the bottom of the barrel and stay there, so it's nice to be able to remove these. With that in mind I decided to add a drain facility.
I made this using 15mm copper fittings. A tank connector was drilled into the bottom of the barrel and to this was connected to a 15mm pipe. At the end of this I placed a full bore release valve (remembering to make sure it was in the closed position). For added support I glued a block of wood and a pipe clip.
Lid
Don't forget a lid. If your barrel comes with one, great. If it doesn't, make one. A barrel without a lid is an open invitation to dust and flies, spoiling you attemps to get nice clean oil.
“For it is in giving that we receive” - Saint Francis of Assisi
If you'd like to offer a donation (and help me fund a few new projects), then please click the donate button below. Payments are handled securely by PayPal. For more information on why I have this button, click here.
Alternatively, if you can spare a little each month, consider becoming a Patron. Patron's make it possible for me to continue developing my YouTube Channel and my websites. Please CLICK HERE for more information.