I think a funnel and a coffee filter would probably works better
Filtering used oil with a rope.
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Tried that too. Funnel and rope, funnel and coffee filter, funnel and coffee filters, funnel and toilet paper, funnel and cheese cloth, funnel and old tee shirt. The oil will run through all of these and still be dirty, (it will however pick up any sludge and finally clog the filter material.
With all that's been posted, I leaning toward either doing without the loop or making my rope simply come out of the dirty oil jug and follow an incline toward clean jug. I've got two nice clean gallon jugs from my most recent transmission fluid change. Will begin this weekend and see what happens. It's cool enough here in Florida flies shouldn't be a problem
With all that's been posted, I leaning toward either doing without the loop or making my rope simply come out of the dirty oil jug and follow an incline toward clean jug. I've got two nice clean gallon jugs from my most recent transmission fluid change. Will begin this weekend and see what happens. It's cool enough here in Florida flies shouldn't be a problem
Have you tried different types of rope? These days who knows what goes into a "natural fiber" rope
I have never had much luck filtering oil through coffee filters. A buddy of mine has 2 old BMWs. One is a garage queen,the other is his commuter with over 500k miles on it. Every year he drains the Mobil 1 in the queen and uses in the beater. Wabbout one of those filter housings that uses a roll of TP? I would try loosely rolled cotton and maybe a funnel that pinch the fibers all together. Please post your results.
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Have tried different kinds of rope and even different sizes of rope, (the starbucks bottle experiment I used sisal twine). From what I can gather, a cotton rope works the best, but so far I am unable to find a pure cotton rope. Everything I've looked at so far as a nylon inner core that is surrounded by cotton. I have debated using a cotton towel or tee shirt cut into strips but have not done it yet. Perhaps this weekend, I'll set up several "stations" using sisal at a low angle and grab an old shirt, (maybe the one I'm wearing now, it has seen better days) and see what happens with it. I do like the lamp wick idea in a previous post and am wondering where I can get a few feet of lamp wick.
Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
I do like the lamp wick idea in a previous post and am wondering where I can get a few feet of lamp wick.
Google to the rescue! http://www.auraoil.com/aurakits.html#.UUJqZTi3M94
I do like the lamp wick idea in a previous post and am wondering where I can get a few feet of lamp wick.
Google to the rescue! http://www.auraoil.com/aurakits.html#.UUJqZTi3M94
i have used industrial oil filters, a LONG time ago, that filtered down to 3 mu. some was in filter housing like is on your car, but 12" long. one was in a cast iron housing running 3,000 psi. the elements was NOT cheap. dont know what the iron housing cost.
I've been messing on and off with the idea for a decade or more, using rope of various constructions, and woven cotton window-sash seemed closest to getting it running.
To answer some of the questions, It will climb, through capillary action up the wick, and then run down....contaminants get trapped.
My best working set-up was in an old tin clothes locker, with an old pulley hung from the roof, and a really long drop to the receiving bottle.
Next trial will be 2 20L drums, 1 atop the other. Bottom cut out of the top drum, half of the top cut out of the bottom, making a ledge for the used delvac 1 to sit, while it runs through the rope to become delvac 2...
Or I just run o to the other through a TP filter.
To answer some of the questions, It will climb, through capillary action up the wick, and then run down....contaminants get trapped.
My best working set-up was in an old tin clothes locker, with an old pulley hung from the roof, and a really long drop to the receiving bottle.
Next trial will be 2 20L drums, 1 atop the other. Bottom cut out of the top drum, half of the top cut out of the bottom, making a ledge for the used delvac 1 to sit, while it runs through the rope to become delvac 2...
Or I just run o to the other through a TP filter.
So Shannow, you've done it? Do you have pics you can post? Does the oil come out clean or just a little less dirty?
And how long does it take for your oil to "cycle" through your system?
So you're having the same problem I'm having. Mine will climb to the top of the loop within a day or two and then just sit there for months. This weekend, I'm going to attack this thing one last time trying several different set ups. Somehow the old timers figured this one out, (either that, or they've just been pulling the wool over our eyes all these years).
It will work, but it's a pain and more of a problem than it's worth.
The rope has to be cotton, and the containers have to be at specific heights relative to one another. The rope cannot touch the edge of the container opening or the sides of the containers.
It takes several weeks, and the entire contraption has to be covered to avoid contamination of the "filtered" oil. It's an old timers trick; I had to ask an 85 year old farmer friend of mine about it who did it in the 1940's on the farm when clean oil wasn't available for the tractor (wartime and financial shortages).
For my 4 Ford N's I'll simply purchase a quart of cheap 30 weight oil, that's enough for a couple years worth of oil bath air cleaner changes.
The rope has to be cotton, and the containers have to be at specific heights relative to one another. The rope cannot touch the edge of the container opening or the sides of the containers.
It takes several weeks, and the entire contraption has to be covered to avoid contamination of the "filtered" oil. It's an old timers trick; I had to ask an 85 year old farmer friend of mine about it who did it in the 1940's on the farm when clean oil wasn't available for the tractor (wartime and financial shortages).
For my 4 Ford N's I'll simply purchase a quart of cheap 30 weight oil, that's enough for a couple years worth of oil bath air cleaner changes.
You must be doing something wrong. I accidentally had this going for several months at work!
One of our metal forming presses sits in a raised pan about 10cm tall. Over the past 30 years it's accumulated quite a bit of gear oil. 3 months ago I dropped a rag off the operator's platform and it landed half in the pan, half on the floor. One end was sitting in a pool of used Mobilgear 629 but the end that was laying on the floor was causing an ever larger pool of much lighter oil to accumulate under the platform.
This was a typical red cotton shop rag (ours are from Cintas, FWIW) and it appeared to have wicked about 50ish mL in a couple months. Naturally, I chucked it in a flame-arresting can and mopped up the oil slick.
So maybe try some cotton shop rags instead of rope if you're insistent on doing this.
One of our metal forming presses sits in a raised pan about 10cm tall. Over the past 30 years it's accumulated quite a bit of gear oil. 3 months ago I dropped a rag off the operator's platform and it landed half in the pan, half on the floor. One end was sitting in a pool of used Mobilgear 629 but the end that was laying on the floor was causing an ever larger pool of much lighter oil to accumulate under the platform.
This was a typical red cotton shop rag (ours are from Cintas, FWIW) and it appeared to have wicked about 50ish mL in a couple months. Naturally, I chucked it in a flame-arresting can and mopped up the oil slick.
So maybe try some cotton shop rags instead of rope if you're insistent on doing this.
I've done it with the level of success you'd expect. Not good.
I found that dog rope toys are 100% cotton rope. They work, kind of. I found that the oil must be in a pan. And the rope must go downhill into a cup about 6-8 inches. But, if one ounce per month is good, by all means, go for it.
The oil does come out cleaner.
I found that adding acetone to oil, shaking it up to mix it well, and letting it sit in a sealed container (mason jar) will actually settle out much, or all, of the sediment. If the oil is not too dirty, you could achieve clean oil this way.
I found that dog rope toys are 100% cotton rope. They work, kind of. I found that the oil must be in a pan. And the rope must go downhill into a cup about 6-8 inches. But, if one ounce per month is good, by all means, go for it.
The oil does come out cleaner.
I found that adding acetone to oil, shaking it up to mix it well, and letting it sit in a sealed container (mason jar) will actually settle out much, or all, of the sediment. If the oil is not too dirty, you could achieve clean oil this way.
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